Patriots Playbook 4/26: Pre-Draft Predictions

This is Patriots Playbook, the legend. Welcome into the What month is this? They need a corner, They need a corner, you did, I know? Listen, Well, that's why I'm setting you up here. I'm throwing you a big fat softball. It's time for you to smash it out of the park. You're not gonna pick me up to the eighteen wheeler. You're gonna pick me up with the Camaro. Camaro. All right, all right on and Eldrid in the Camaro. Watch out, ladies, ready said go Now, here's your host of Patriots Playbook,

Hep for Eldred's sake, he's got a better looking passenger. You no offense job.

Wow, let's start right like that? Shall we do that? That's good, Evan Lazar. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. Welcome into the Playbook, the April pre Draft edition, off

You know, I'm in a Celtics show.

But that was lousy.

That was lousy, and the head coaches is in my.

Iran. I can't speak. I cannot speak ill of Joe Missoula because he's a Rhode Islander. He's from Johnston, Rhode Island, where I spent you know, twenty five years of my residence here in New England. So I will not speak ill. But he made a mistake, and he's made several mistakes, and I am willing to live up to a certain number of those because of his relative inexperience as a head coach. But when that inexperience then costs you in the postseason, yeah, all that's are off.

Plus what you know, when your window is open, wide open to go on a title run and you put a coach in charge of a zero head coaching experience for a team that should win a title, correct, it's a lot of pressure.

It is. It is. So I'm gonna I'm gonna give him one pass, okay, And they need they need to figure out a way to win it Thursday night, which of course is when they will have to play Game six in Atlanta, and of course that'll be going right up against.

The draft, so right up against, right up against. They get lucky if they blow it again, and then half of New England will be watching the draft instead of and.

Half of New England probably won't care, which is probably gonna be for their benefit at any rate. All right, So we'll get back to the original premise then, because the thought process was we were going to combine Catch twenty two in the playbook for this week. But then, of course I'm listening to ninety eight five this week to filgrin maz because they always do draft stuff, and Alex Barth is working for them during the afternoon, so his day job, as I used his day job. Yes,

Sure?

Okay? Right, So we're taking at eleven here, uh, And he's going to join the playbook for the pre draft show, and then you will be a part of the Patriots Unfiltered Draft Show tomorrow night during the draft party.

Draft party with me and Deuce and Paul and Fred and Tamara and Alice. I'm sure we'll be around too, so it'd be a good time.

Yeah, there's there's no room for Rook, so you know, just go right ahead and always welcome. Yeah. Oh yeah, it depends on who you talk to. Look, we made Matt spit out his sput out my coffee. See, Matt's been in on all these these Uh, he's been in all these conversations. We don't really need Rook and he's he's my advocate. He's my Matt. Matt's my advocate, Matt Marine, Matt, I wouldn't listen if I was going to war with you in Afghanistan. That's one guy i'd want to sit

So yeah, I told you earlier when Marine said that he survived Afghanistan so he can survive the draft. I'm just gonna keep telling myself that on Thursday night, right, I'm gonna be like, listen, relatively speaking, Marine in Afghanistan. So this is really just not very high on the things that we need to worry about.

I understand completely. So you'll understand if there's angst in Evans's voice after the pick has made it fourteen, No, no, no better yet, they're gonna trade down. They'll trade down then you I think you'll start to hear his throat titan.

Trading down is. I'm not totally out on trading down, but you gotta tell me what the first thirteen picks were, Okay before I sign off.

So if you have if you have a guy like Skeronsky from Northwestern, or you have a guy like Broderick Jones from from Georgia, or Quintin Johnson from TCU, or hell my favorite, which is b Jon Robinson, although they don't need him, but it wouldn't it wouldn't kill me to see him slip that far because the guy's a tremendous offensive talent. You may be one of the better running backs to come out of the Pros or to

I mean he's a top five player in the draft, no doubt about it. I'm fascinated to see where he falls in the first round because it's really going to be a bigger conversation of running back value and where the position is.

And that's the nature Hume. You're right, Evans, that's the nature of the beast over the what maybe the last six to ten drafts where the value of running back up high just has not been there because running back largely take such a physical beating. Their prime is only five or six.

Years, right, and you look at I think the main thing is most teams look at, especially a top half of the first round pick as a five to ten year investment that you're hoping for your organization is going to be somebody that you're gonna have as a pillar of your team for a decade. You know, that's always the old draft cliche. Oh, you draft this guy is gonna be your left tackle for a decade. You know, that doesn't always work out like that, as we know.

To play the Eagles twice if that happens.

Yeah, so I think that that's the spot. I also wouldn't roll out Tennessee at eleven if they feel like they're gonna trade Derrick Henry. They did it last year with AJ Brown and they ended up drafting Traylon Burks with the pick. So maybe they do another one for one swap where they find somebody to take Derrick Henry and then they just put Bjeon right in and don't skip a beat. But I really like the Eagles at ten for Bjon?

Why not?

Cherry on top for them?

Why not? And then that's usually teams that will take backs like that, especially that high, because they just their need is specific and they've got enough depth where they can gamble on something like that.

Yeah.

Absolutely, So all right, so we got the Bejon issue out of the way. If he does slip, we'll see, but I don't expect him to, as you don't I before we get to potential draft picks, and before we look at, you know, the positions really that need to be addressed by New England and realizing of course that if you're listening to this on the podcast after the draft, the funny part will be we're either really right or really wrong, okay, because yeah, well but that's okay. Yeah.

I don't know what the headline is, so I can't. I can't tell you.

The headline was Bill Belichick must crush this NFL draft the rest of his career, and the Patriots place in the AFC East may hinge on it. And the story is written by Dan Wetzel, who I know a little bit. I've read his stuff for a long time. He's a very knowledgeable writer, especially a football writer, and he's writing for Yahoo. But that was this story he put out today, and when I read it, my initial thought was I've been thinking this for like two or three years, and

Yeah, I hear you.

But you are now out of four teams in the AFC East, you're fourth on paper, on paper, and I think here's the scary part. I think you'll agree here. But if you don't say so, the Patriots are better this time now than they were this time a year ago on paper.

On paper, if you include coaching on paper, then yes.

So my question to you here the philosophically is, Okay, how much did Aaron rodgers arrival in New York change the Patriots outlook on this draft and this season?

I don't think all that much because I think that the importance of the draft was hugely important regardless of who the quarterback was in New York. And I just look at the Jets as a team that had a better roster than you. Anyways. I really believe that or at least had had guys, especially younger guys like Garrett Wilson, like Sauce Gardner, who are guys that you can look at as franchise changing, altering players that are gonna be

That's the nature pro football, though, right, And this happens to every team. It just hasn't happened New England in the last twenty four years because that's when Bill came in, and he had extraordinary success because he had wrong early drafts. He had strong early identification of veteran players.

You once upon a time it felt like they hit on every right, every first round pick, and it felt like you just knew it's a given that that guy might not be. You know, Ty Warren wasn't a Patriot Hall of Famer, He wasn't an all time great player, but he was a very good player.

And what they.

Wanted him to do, and that was that was the bottom line. We knew that they were going to clear that bar, and then we knew that there was also another bar that they could clear that was a Patriot red jacket type of guy, and they just haven't had that. You know, Cole Strange, We'll see, but it's not. That's not happening for Cole Strand he's not probably not.

But I again, I still can't judge last year's draft. It seems like, Okay, they got some wor couple pieces out of that. They they dipped into free agency as well, and or they dipped into undrafted free agency as well and got guys to stick. They've done that. What nineteenth

Yeah, I just think they really have to look at it. And I understand that there's been drafts. You know, the eighteen Draft always comes to mind when I say stuff like this, because they drafted win Michelle Dawson with their first three picks. Georgia, Georgia, Florida, right, Like, those are huge, big time programs and we're not talking about guys.

And we're not talking about any of those guys still here.

No, we're not talking about UT Chattanooga, right, we're talking about three Georgia played or won the national championship that year. If I remember correctly, you know, with those two guys, I believe they've won the last two. Yeah. So I'm not saying it's it's a fail safe there, it's never goes wrong when you do this. But I really feel like in this draft, my one prerequisite going into this draft is I want a name brand pick in the first round. We cannot have a cold strange.

And with fourteen, with fourteen picking up in the upper half, now, and that's a big car too, Okay, you need your chances of getting a name brand something, somebody that everyone's talking about or has talked about, or has been in every mock or whatever is out there. Your chances are

Uh.

And we did this, you know, with our our fantasy football league winner, who was where the hell was he luxemberg Luxemburg? I see even Evan remembers that, because that's good. Evan has a mind like a steel trap over here. I have a mind like a mouse trap. So that's the difference between the two of us here. But yeah, I think that's worth it. We can definitely do that, right, So we'll have somebody come on as our you know, quote unquote a Patriots playbook fan expert, and you nailed

Am I supposed to answer that?

Now?

Would you like to sure? If I'm Bill Belichick, I would draft Jackson Smith and jigbo Okay, I knew he was going there. I knew he's going there. Now, if I was going receiver, I would probably go Quentin Johnson. But I'd only say that because I grew up in Fort Worth and he's a TCU guy. So see, I'm letting my bias get in the way. Jean, Yeah, Jeon, Yeah, Well yeah, if he's there.

So this whole process, I had been a big Jay Flowers guy. I love Za Flowers. I've read a lot of stuff that you've written about Jay Flowers. Yeah.

And the Patriots have known about this guy, and they've seen him, and they followed me.

They have been They love him. They know more about Zay Flowers than any other prospect in the draft. I just know that because he's at the Shrine Bowl. He was at BC's pro They were at BC's pro day, which is right down the street, and they had him in for an extended visit with Bill O'Brien and the staff a couple of weeks ago. So this is a guy that they have been in meeting rooms with in Vegas.

Well, now is he available at fourteen?

Is he available at fourteen? And I think there's a real conversation here. You have the Texans at twelve, who, depending on what they do at two, if they do draft CJ. Stroud, then pairing him with his college teammate at twelve makes a ton of sense. Thirteen. The Packers just jumped the Patriots in that Aaron Rodgers trade up

That's a very You did that in your mock here on the website.

It's a very It's rare for Belichick. He's only done it four times, and two of those times is in the same draft, so he's really only done it in three different draft rafts. But we're not asking him to trade up from fourteen to two. We're asking him to trade up from fourteen to eleven, like it's it's a jump, it's not if.

You got fourteen to eleven, do they still take JSN? Is that what you think they should do?

It's what I think they should do. Okay, I can't What do you think they will do? I think they would trade if they were to trade up, even if they stay at fourteen, I still think that it's either a trenches pick alignment on either side of the football, or maybe they would trade up for a cornerback. But I don't trust Bill Belichick or think I shouldn't say. I don't think Bill Belichick would trade up for a receiver.

Now you're talking my language, because if I were Bill Belichick, I'd draft Broderick Jones. Yeah, I think Broderick Jones will be there at fourteen. That's my thought, and I think that we all know that if you're going to try to make Mac Jones a viable quarterback beyond this year, and he needs to have every chance he can get because they screwed up last year. And I think everybody can see that, and hopefully Bill can too. He needs

By the way, Yeah right, me too.

And I think, and I still believe my overall prediction is just that that's what's gonna happen. Yeah, that they'll trade down, they'll get and they'll still keep a first round pick, just lower in the round. They may still go offensive line with another you know, type of lineman, but they'll get an extra top one hundred guy. I think to me, that's the top pick. However, if they keep fourteen Broderick Jumps.

Yeah, it's it's a good pick. And I think based off of their history very recently with Mac Jones in twenty twenty one, I do think that they see the value in at least picking when unfortunately, when they're up this high, not going back too far right, we've seen them trade out of the first round or trade back like last year in the twenties because they're already in the twenties. So at that point you're already in second

Board, it's a unanimous first round guy that everybody has.

Right, and I think that especially with how different their board tends to be from everybody else's.

We learned that last year their their first.

Round guy being there. It seems very likely like because maybe some other teams might not view player X as a first round guy, but the Patriots do, so I think that that's a really nice pick. I think the biggest thing that you you look at with Brodrick Jones, his ability, his athletic ability, and his ability to block in space, whether it's like getting in front of a screen or in the run game is tremendous. Okay, it's

I'm all for making mech the best guy he can be, especially now the subject we talked about about twenty minutes ago. Yeah, with Aaron Rodgers coming into the division and so the three quarterbacks Josh allen to a type of law Aaron Rodgers.

Yeah, yeah, come on, yeah, but he's it won't be boring around here in the fall. His ability to block on the move, I don't think will be boring to people. And I also would say that their ability to then incorporate that into their offense, and knowing that they have this athletic specimen at left tackle, they can do a lot of really fun things to his side of the field, right.

Be attacked eligible tight end and a lot of the formations and the potential as well.

Yeah, I mean that's the forty nine ers do that with Trent Williams, or they move him around and put him at the point of attack. Sure, so it potentially now the one concern that I really have with broder Jones, I guess it's one concern that's twofold one. He only made nineteen starts at Georgia, so he's still relatively young, relatively raw. He's an underclassman who declared for the draft. The big thing about the Patriots, especially at the offensive

Let me ask you a different question then, all right, just because since you brought it up, what lineman are we talking about? We're in the Senior Bowl that would be takable at fourteen.

I would say that the one guy that has really generated a ton of buzz as we get into the deep process here is Darnel Right from Tennessee, who was fantastic in the fall season, especially against good competition. I think there is nobody better against Will Anderson from Alabama than Darnell Right last year. He was fantastic in that game against Alabama. Goes to the Senior Bowl, has a great Senior Bowl week, had a great combine. You know,

Let me ask you one more hypothetic Okay, just because the rumor might be at least has been the last twenty forty hours, have seen that a guy likes Skearansky Northwestern might slip to fourteen. If it does, do you take him short arms and all, which is what he allegedly has. I'm picturing a Tyronosaurus rex and purple. Is that, like you know, Barney the dinosaur running around. You know, that's Skeronsky from Northwestern a little bit. Do they take him over Jones if he's available.

I can't say no. Do they, like, in my mind predicting Bill. I can't say no because they have not. Historically, they have not been a team that has favored arm length as much as other teams. I don't think that they historically think that it's a big factor and as big of a factor as everybody else does. Dante Scarnekia famously has come out and said that arm length is hogwashed, right, that is, it doesn't matter. So in that respect, I can't roll it out. Scarnsky is the best tackle or

And that may be ultimately what they decide to do, because we know they need that improvement overrle.

The problem is is that with Cole Strange here, with Mike Onwenu here, and obviously Scronsky is not a center. But with David Andrews here as well, where are you playing him as a rookie And are you playing him on the outside as a rookie just to move him inside long term? And is that really worth it? Knowing

No?

Uh?

Man, do you want to make a prediction if you were Bill Belichick, you would draft?

Nope?

You know he's shaking his head. Now, Okay, I just thought i'd offer you the opportunity. Just appreciate it. But I rather just keep my mouth closed and not proven them stupid. That's okay, Well, we're all proven ourselves stupid here. That's the ultimate, uh, the ultimate challenge, just to find out who's less stupider than others. All right, eight five five patch, five hundred. Let's get to the phones. Let's find out what you would do, and we're gonna lead

Hello, good afternoon, gentlemen. What's going on?

We're good, We're good, We're good. So if you were Bill Belichick, you would draft.

Flowers number fourteen. I don't care. I'm not I'm not dropping down to take them. I'll tell you what, man, I'm I'm a little bit worried that the Packers moved up to thirteen because I think they're going to be looking to get a pass catcher themselves. And here's kind of where I'm coming from. John. We heard when when the media got the opportunity to speak to all the coaches minus Belichick the first phase of the OTAs, what did Gerrod Mayo say? He said, we feel like our

He'd just do it with a different guy I love. Yeah, I've tried not to be too heavy.

I've already pounded the table enough for him.

And I mean, at least from my perspective, if I was Bill Belichick, that's what I would do. I don't think that's what.

He's gonna do.

What I think he's gonna do is just do something completely outside the box. But I think if he listens to the guy like his owner, his offensive coaches, and they say, hey, you know, we need to get somebody in here, Well, look at look at the teams like Buffalo, seems like Cincinnati, seems like Miami that went out and got the guy, whether it was through the draft or

It's a fair point.

Yeah, Listen, there's no wrong answer here.

I mean we're on the same page when it comes to a receiver like that, That, to me is is really the missing ingredient. I think with line play, I'm I'm with you, John, that there's line play is important and certainly with a quarterback like Mac Jones who's not

And like you said too, Evan, I mean there's a lot of smoke there, and like just the later maybe not at eight round guy, but like a day two guy, guy that I've been harping on a lot too, Lake Freeland. I mean, the guy gave up one sack and in the last three years and I'm looking, I'm looking at it right now, that's I mean, that's thirty over thirty seven games, he gave up one sack, you know, and over eight hundred, well it looks like over a thousand, you know, pass blocking snaps.

You know, you coach that guy.

Up, you get him in the program, you get him to get him to uff his plate strength. And yeah, I mean, I know you're only going to carry three three tackles into each game, but maybe you make like one of one of the swing guys in active a couple of games and get him in if you draft them, to get him a little bit of experience this year, and it becomes your starting right tackle next year.

Yeah.

Yeah, you mentioned earlier, John, we were talking about senior Bowl guys. Bike Freeland was a senior Bowl guy wasn't really great down there, to be honest with you. In the film that I saw at Mobile Mobile that BYU offense like pass protecting on an island in like true pass sets. They're not a ton of them on the film for him. But I would say that the comp is Nate Solder. He's a skyscraper. He's six foot eight, three hundred and five pounds, three hundred and ten pounds,

Maybe he could just you know, like the quarterback could just like hide behind him, you know, that would keep him pro rushing.

Right, guys are gonna be able to can't see him, how can you tackle him? I can already tell you right now that we're gonna get out there at training camp and Blake freelin in one on one is gonna go gainst Josh and joshu j is gonna smoke him off the ball right because o Ja has got that explosiveness and that bend right. He can get underneath guys and bend underneath and turn the corner and really just

Eight five five pats five hundred Sean and Vancouver. Hey Sean, you're in the playbook.

Hey guys. Before I get to answer your question, I just wanted to bring up one other thing of you know. Recently, Bill O'Brien said we got a clean slate, which is, you know, a good concept but I'm also a believer that you need to learn from history. I mean, those who don't learn from history are damned to repeat it. So I think you got to, you know, recognize your

We know that.

But another one that doesn't get as much play is changing an offense philosophy, specifically blocking, you know, for the offensive line, to something that you don't have experience in doing, and you don't have the people to do it, and you don't have the coaches to coach it. So that was that was a huge mistake that caused other issues and made the draft last year a bit strange because I'll point it out this way. You know you're going to a zone blocking scheme. Now you think, oh, we

If I'm Bill Belichick, I would draft yeah who, Yeah, this.

Is your question, right, So I like your pick JS and and uh, you know the and the tackle you know those I'd be happy with that I don't think will be there and I'm thinkings Alves will be there. I actually see the Patriots trading down, stay with Jacksonville and you know, going down to the Jags of twenty four and then getting their second round at was at fifty six, right, taking those those picks for fourteen and

Okay, So which one then are you gonna you? If you're Bill Belichick, do you trade down or are you taking Zay Flowers?

Both?

Oh? So a? So when fourteen Zay will make it to twenty four? Right? So with fourteen, your inclination is to trade down? Correct?

Yeah, okay unless something crazy happens and one of the major guys falls like Gonzalez. But I don't think that's happening, all right, or even.

All right, So I'm putting you down, then, Sean is if I were Bill Belichick, I'd trade down. It's a good bet, okay, Which is there's nothing wrong with that, Okay, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Yeah, I actually believe, I actually believe too that that will happen. I don't think they're gonna, you know, I don't know where they'll trade down, which is why, you know, if they could trade down and get Zay Flowers, I think everybody would

I like that.

I'm happy with that.

Yeah, I would be if they're going to trade, try to try to really thread the needle here and trade down and take Zaye and get both things accomplished. I don't think you can go lower than twenty, Okay, I think that there's two teams. Nineteen is Tampa, right, so you.

Gotta find will and trade partners in that range.

And twenty is Seattle, so who's desperate to get up. Let's say, for argument's sake, that there's still a quarterback that team's value that's on the board, like a Will Levis or maybe a hen and Hooker.

Maybe that because he Levis is going number one.

Maybe maybe that is a Maybe that's that's a way that that you can entice teams to trade to make that trade, or maybe a team uses you, which has happened in the past as as a lily pad. Right there there, they say they go Tampa goes from nineteen to fourteen tomorrow afternoon, and then during the draft, once that quarterback starts, they go from fourteen to nine, right or something like that, and that's when they take the quarterback.

So in my small dream scenario, I also see the Patriots moving up in the second round and getting Dwan Jones right tackle.

Yeah, yeah, I mean, I think the trade down and then the move up in the second round is a good strategy. I just would be really wary of trading too far down that now you've lost all of the blue chip talent. Right now you're picking somebody that's really in that second or third tier.

That's been made a very good point earlier Sean that once you start getting into the twenties, you're looking at guys that are in the second round on a lot of teams boards, right, So if you want the blue chipper, you really need to be going in the upper half of the first round.

Yeah, yeah, I just think there's too many teams between fourteen and twenty four that would love to have Zay Flowers on their team, or would be willing to trade up to get say Flowers that come ahead of you. You know, I look at teams like Buffalo and Kansas City picking towards the back end of the round. I could easily see the Chiefs who love to trade up. They traded up from Mahomes. They traded up last year from McDuffie to the Patriots pick at twenty one, the

Well, the Seahawks would they trade up twenty and say of their second round fifty two to the Patriots fourteen?

Yeah, I don't know if you're getting the second round pick.

Yeah, you might have to give something else. They might have give up a third Yeah.

I don't know if you're getting the second round pick unless you're really trading, like your scenario to go from fourteen to twenty four, I could see that nitting a second round pick, because it's a ten picking dropworks. But if you're going four or five picks down now we're talking about nineteen or twenty, I don't know if you're gonna get a second round or out of that. That might be a third or third and a fourth or just a third.

Right, yeah and the third. Yeah, I guess they could still do that, I mean and get like eighty three. That would make sense.

Yeah. Last year there was a trade between I think it was the Saints when they picked a Lava. They went from sixteen to eleven. I believe is the mat is the trade if I remember correctly, and they got a third in the fourth. The team that they traded with got a third in the fourth, So that was five spots in the first round. That's you a third and the fourth. So I think trading down from fourteen to twenty, I think that's a framework that you can kind of count on.

Eight five, five, pats, five hundred. Moving along. Raj in Wakefield, Hey, Raj, Hey, Hi, guys, good good good, all right. So if I'm Bill Belichick, I would draft.

Whom Yeah, nice ball by even yes, I just want to I know that even hits man, I know what I'm going to say, but in this draft, I think there are only two players who most of the NFL teams say that they have the red jacket or the gold jacket standard of talent, and those are Jalen Carter and B John Robinson. Well, I think if they stay at number fourteen, I think then the check is going

Them, they're taking they will take him.

Because they will say, we don't have blue chip players, Let's take him and we'll figure it out.

How.

Yeah, he'd be a good thing to have to figure out.

All we all say that we do. We all say that they are never taking the best talented place. When the best talented player faulty, how to take it right. It does not matter how which position is. They will figure it out how to use it. That's not enough. The betist for twenty years.

Okay, okay, thoughts.

When I'm driving home, Matt, make sure I don't go over the Tobin bridge.

Hypopectically, if you think through it, you say that this wide receiver class is not even good to go in first on last year's draft? Yeah, yes, Why do you think we have to take up? Why do you think we need to eat and take the vibray.

I don't think that this draft has the plethora of talent at receiver that some of the other drafts have. But I personally feel, especially with jasm but also is say Flowers that both those guys go in the first round of most drafts, right that That's that's sort of my outlook on it. So I think we're getting a little bit too technically.

I agree, but this running back usually used to go in top five pigs right in every in maybe three years back.

Yeah, college, then what's wrong.

In taking him at fifteen fourteen?

In terms of talent in this draft there there's nothing necessarily wrong with it. There's a whole rabbit hole of positional value that we can go down a little bit that it is important to talk about. I really feel strongly that the running back position in today's NFL is as devalued as any position in football.

It's a position the Patriots itself.

The Patriots have did that system ten years back and now part up approach.

I just think that, on top of the fact that running back is a is a position that you really second guest nowadays, whether or not it truly moves the needle for you, it truly makes you a much better football team. They have a really good running back already like here, so I.

Know they have it. But if you think from the philosophy of football things, they're like to have a good defense, good offense with a good defense, good special teams, mistake three quarterback, ball control game. That's what they believe in.

Right mm hm does that?

Does that quarterback who is mistake free, who does not throw interceptions, do dumb mistake? They have a good defense, they are having they will be hopefully having a good special teams after two years of disaster. And now it's a ball control game. If you have two running backs, take the series by series control the ball control the game.

Does that.

The game is the fourth quarter.

It does not be does that win or anything?

But they can win games. They were they are winning games. They were winning like this following this pass.

I don't know if that wins games like it used to ten years ago. I just don't know if it does.

I feel like I know, but but but that's what he believes in and he built his entire.

You're loving this because this is your guy. So you're just you're letting, you're letting.

Through his philosophy. Still, he's the headport.

We cannot if that let me pretty this way because I I I I try to be as polite as I possibly can to to to the head coach of the team, not to you. I I'm always.

I hope I should have brought this yesterday on, but I did not want chance to join that college today.

Or no, that's okay, Yeah, no, it's okay. I I say this with all due respect to Bill's resume and his success. If he drafts John Robinson at fourteen, I'm going to start thinking the game has passed him by that that that's a twenty years ago philosophy, that we are going to win the game with ball control and time of possession and no turnovers and like that.

I und I understand your appointment, but don't you think the gest that the Sepens will go up with Bijon.

I just don't know how that. I don't know how drafting Bijon puts you any any closer to to to competing with the team like Buffalo. You're gonna go into Buffalo and you're gonna try to run the ball forty times and win the game seventeen fourteen, and you're going to bank on your defense to be able to hold

Score on four of them. Yeah.

Yeah, I I an agreement that this team is currently constructed cannot get into a shootout with Buffalo. They're not going to win forty one to thirty eight against the Bills. They have to be they have to build up their offense, though to the point where they can win a game into the high twenties, low thirties. They can't. They have not won a game in the mac Jones era, scoring more than twenty five four points they have to think about.

By the way, there's nuts.

Oh, for any game where the opponent scores more than twenty four points.

They've lost.

They've lost at some point in time. You got to be able to win a game thirty to twenty seven. You just have to be able to do it. And I just don't know if the running back gets you over that hump. It's just tough, Raj. I love you like a brother. Appreciate it.

I appreciate the call.

That was a good back and forth.

Absolutely, it was great. And I thought hecause there's definitely a sound argument. It was not cousin, Raj, however, So there's.

Definitely there's definitely a sound argument for So I'm not coming at it and saying it's it's totally ridiculous, right, Like there is legitimate.

Yeah, and there is an argument to make for Bejon if.

I what I look at it as is, look, they're gonna have better coaching than this, And I get that, but look at Christian McCaffrey, look at Saquon bar Like, look at those players early on. Look at Christian McCaffrey and Carolina Christian McCaffrey was the number one pick and everybody's fantasy draft for five to whatever however long he was in Carolina, right, five six years, whatever it was. They were a terrible team. He didn't move the needle. He was the most productive player in the league from

Yeah, hard to argue, right, hard to argue eight five five pats five hundred. That's the toll. Free to all of a number at JR Broadcaster on Twitter if you got some thoughts, or you can send me the old fashioned email web radio at Patriots dot Com. Jody in Georgia up next, Hey Jody, Hey, how you doing great? So if I'm Bill Belichick, I would draft.

Whom well I really want would probably not be there, Christian Gondalas. But it's got to be a cornerback. I mean, we got Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen and Tua with all these weapons, we need somebody to lock them down. So I think we need to get a high end cornerback to kind of be able to trail some of these.

Guys longer linked here.

Maybe like Banks or Joey Porter, something along those lines.

Would you check which one would you take?

Personally? I would probably do Banks, but I don't know if the consensus is Joey Porter's probably you know, a little bit higher on people's boards, but Banks is linked and you know, athletic ability. I think it's got a lot outside.

What do you think about Banks?

Love Banks, Yeah, he's he's he's a great player. I think that you have to probably at this point take him at fourteen. I don't know if you can trade down for him anymore. I thought maybe if you'd asked me a month ago, I would have probably thrown out of trade down scenario and still get Banks, like at twenty or twenty one or something like that. I don't know if you can do that anymore. He's really consensus corner three or four in this draft at this point.

So and they've already done the J. C. Jackson experiment where they try to take somebody who they they thought could be number one but wasn't quite that guy, you know what I mean.

So, yeah, and I think they have a couple of those guys now with the Joneses. Right, you know that those three guys two through four, that's a great depth chart one through three, you're still thinking, all right, they could probably use the alpha right in that room. So I love banks. I like taking a corner too. That's I think this is probably more an indictment on where they are right now. John, that we can say tackle, we can say receiver, we can say corner, and be

Yeah, in all honesty, the guy that I was thinking if trade down was gonna happen, which I said earlier, I still think it might happen. I would think they would trade down, and depending on where they traded, somewhere in that twenty probably the twenty four area. Joey Porter's the guy I thought they would probably try to snag.

Yeah, he's somebody that's really impressive at the combine when we got to talk to all the players at the podiums in Indy. He's just a really polished, calm, cool, collected, confident kid, like you can just tell that he just he knows he's going to be playing on Sundays for a long time. It's not too big for him. He's not worried about where he's going. He's not worried about his dad. You know, I think that was a big question a lot of people were asking him, especially as

I can't imagine has anything to do with it.

I don't think it does, because, you know, with a Santa Samuel Jr. I think maybe he'd had a little bit of something to do with it. But Joey Porter Senior never played for the Patriots and doesn't have any real bad blood with Bill. It's just a rivalry, right, It's all it was. So I think that he's a really interesting player for them. But the one thing I would just say with him is I don't think that he's matchup proof. He's one of these longer corners. He takes a little bit of time to get up to

Okay, Jody, what else you got?

The only other thing I was I was kind of curious and somebody kind of mentioned it a little bit earlier. I was really concerned with the pick swap with the Jets and the Packers, just because you know, obviously I just thought, I want a cornerback, but you know, receivers always a big hope. I just don't have too many

Yeah, we we. We kind of touched on briefly early when we talked about the whole Aaron Rodgers, you know, to the Jets deal and how it could affect the Patriots and their draft, and I would agree with you, it could potentially, Uh, it could potentially alter some of the thinking.

Yeah, yeah, I think Green Bay. Unfortunately, Green Bay's needs are pretty similar to your needs. I think the Jets though too. The Jets have been written all tackle written all over their forehead, like they've been all over the tackles in this draft, and they're gonna I think they're gonna go tackle in the first round. So they were already a team ahead of you that was probably gonna take one of those tackles that maybe that you wanted.

Awesome.

I appreciate you guys, all Right, no problem, Jody, Thank you appreciate that. I did not know this. I just saw on Twitter. I don't know. Do you know who Chuck Carlton wrote Dallas Morning News.

Name sounds familiar.

Yeah, He's been a longtime football writer, covered a lot of college football, which those guys right now are experts, because yeah, because but you know, he'd been writing with Dallas Morning number of news. He just passed away, and I'm like, wow, that's a stunner. Yeah, because I've known of Chuck Carlton, followed him for a number of years. You why he started off in that part of the country, And I'm just like, wow, that's just that's a shocker.

Yeah, it's too bad.

Yeah, absolutely, eight five five pats five hundred the tot free number if you want to jump in again. The question today is if I'm Bill Belichick, I would draft blank fill in the blank. That's what we got. We got a pretty good consensus going well right now. Right now, we don't have an edge. Nobody has an edge. We've had Jackson and Jigba, We've had uh Roderick Jones, We've had Zave Flowers, We've had trade down, you know for a Flowers Uh, and we've had uh Robinson, Uh, and

He's got a slight lead if we want to.

I don't hear what. He's got a slight lead only because Flowers was selected by Patty and then Sean in Vancouver said trade down to select Flowers.

So he's hell give him one and a half.

He's got one and a half. Basically, he's got one and a half. Aiden in California writes this in web radio at Patriots dot com. John Hopaul is, well, glad to hear you are considering or listening to takes of about firing Bill, because when I emailed in January you said it was an extreme take. My take is still yes, I want to fire him immediately. We haven't had any impact players since twenty twelve, which you pointed out earlier.

He's really just saying that Bill is kind of just middle finger it to everybody on Thursday Night. Miles Murphy and edge rushers in general. I'm not the biggest Miles Murphy guy out of this group, but I am not sleeping on edge rusher being the first round pick by any means. It's a really strong class. And if you're just going off of talent, I think that there's a very good chance that one of those pass rushers is the best guy available on the board at fourteen for them.

Where is this deal at what.

Does the whole team do so to get another one of those guys have bookend pass rushers that can get after these quarterbacks that are now in your division. There's some reason in logic to it. I think what people need to continue to see what their edge rusher spot. Josh U j only plays forty percent of the time. Josh U j is a sub rusher. He is a situational pass rusher. He is not a three down player. He's not a run player. He doesn't play on first down.

Well, we've talked about that, we talked about that earlier. Yeah, you just you try to knock the hell out of them. That's totally true.

I don't hate it. The best defense in football right now is the San Francisco forty nine ers. They're built through the trenches. That's how they get it. They don't have a star in the secondary, they don't have a star cornerback. Jadevious Ward's their best corner right that. That whole defense runs through the front four. That's that's the entire defense. So I don't know. I can't, I can't, I can't say no. I can't say no.

Uh, Chad and the at L whoever the player is and wherever it is they're taking. Considering Bill's trading history, I would just like them to take an exciting potential playmaker, someone to put buds in the seats and training and the regular season. As surprising as it is for Evan, there are people who consider the cornerback position exciting to watch.

Shocks does.

He said, Although, by the way, if I am Bill Belichick, I would trade up and draft Christian Gonzales.

It's a good pick. Okay, it's a good pick, great player. I think Christian Gonzalez, out of all of these corners in this draft, he is the best at everything right, Like, there's not a flaw in his game. He's not. Yes, he's not as flashy as Devin Witherspoon, Right, He's not gonna make the plays on the football that Devin Witherspoon does. He's not as athletically freaky or as long as Joey Porter Jr. But he is sound and man, he's sounded zone.

Oil all over him. The feet are fantastic.

He flips the hips and he runs with anybody like you just looked at and you're like, how is he so smooth bound?

Chick a bow bow?

Yes, sir, hips don't lie. That's my Shakira.

Evans hips man, isn't he?

That's that's no way you talk like this at home. Just this is this is my Shakira. The draft his hips don't lie.

I love it. I absolutely love it. That's good stuff. Eight five five patch five hundred rolling along here. If you're Bill Belichick, you would take you would draft whom Claire in the UK, host of The Claire Perspective.

Listening live, I love I love it?

Hey Claire? How are you hey?

John?

Hey? Girl? Love it? Love it? So you probably have something to think about that hip movement yourself, right, I got it a bit.

I was shocked to hear this from Evan. This this a new side of.

Evan Oily hips John.

Okay, a little too much information there.

You can tell that I've been talking about these guys for four months.

Right, you're tired of look into the damn tape. Let's draft these suckers.

Let's go all right, Claire, which the tape?

He's looking at the hips?

Yeah, which which tight end are you taking in the first round? Claire, I'm not, Oh the upset of the century.

I thought for sure you'd be like a Michael Meyer.

Yeah, yeah, me too.

Oh well yeah, I mean he is kind of my draft for as they say, and he is the guy that I sort of would want, but he's the first round guy, and the Patriots kind of the first round isn't for the tight endage for them. There's plenty of kind of depth in the draft. Tiny, So I'm pretty well, I want I want to say, I'm pretty sure, but I'm really hoping that they do take at least I want to, but they shouldn't take it least on. But if you're sort of going number four, see if that's

And get them, there is a question of value there.

Yeah, yeah, okay, I want that kind of that top guy that you pick early, you pick high, whatever, and he lasts two years and years and you haven't got to drop those multi millions big deal to entice a tackle, to protect your quarterback, to kind of build your team for the future, to get success for the future.

Yeah, it's a really good point about tackles and the really good tackles do not come available too often because those guys typically get resigned or traded.

Exactly.

There's really you know, Mike mcglinchy hits free agency. Mike mclinchy is a good tackle, but he's not an elite tackle. And then he goes ahead and he breaks the record for the most money given to a tackle for It's basically what the Patriots did in twenty one, and the issues that they ran into with that free agency spending spree was overpaying for B plus guys exactly. Yeah, and tackle it's completely point.

Yeah, it's a very valid point position where you're overplaying with glinchy even though he's not exactly what you really really kind of want, but you're overplaying because you need you need that tackle. And I think the likes of Broderick Jones and Peter Skrunsky could possibly really step them up when it comes to alone. It's kind of boring.

In this track, And which tackle do you favor?

I'm really still being between the two.

I really really get off the fence, Claire, get off the fence. I know, I know that you just kind of like nope, no, no, no fence walking, no fence walking not allowed.

Moment.

So you joined you joined me with Broderick Jones. He was my pick.

I'm very glad that Claire that you you listen to the programs and you listen to people that talk about positional value and money. And if you're following the money with this pick, which is it, really that's the best way to do things, especially with this team. Let me tell you where they can, Where they can, you know, get the best bang for their buck, that's typically where Bill Belichick and the Patriots go.

All right, we have to turn this conversation your direction, though, however, because we know that the tight end could definitely be a need here at some point when to the patrons take one and who's available.

I was hoping in the second round, but I think it's still too rich because of need. But when I've been like mocked and stuff like that, I've taken Family.

Reporter at like the forty six, okay.

And then later into maybe the fourth. I really like Luke Shoemaker. He's so rounded and stuff.

I think much language for the future.

You've got future as well. The thing is, at the moment, they do need that blocking tight ends, and they can't just look at the Porter and think they're set for the future, because they're not, because none of what they've got now is you know, you've got the serious blocking. But if you strengthen the O line. It maybe isn't as much of a need, but I think you've got a FAMI. Reporter is the kind of what they like say,

Yeah, he won't probably yet. Yeah, he will probably wouldn't last that long. I see some max taking him at thirteen. Wait, Marx taking Mayor higher, Meyer higher at thirteen.

Yeah, there's a mock today that somebody had the Mayor at thirteen to the Packers.

Is a myor? Mayor?

I think it's Mayor?

Is it?

I think?

So? Okay it's Maya.

Okay, he's he's a well rounded specimen.

That guy is.

Oh it was my draft course, like before draft crist.

Yeah, he's uh, he's he's an impressive player. I think that the best comp to me for him is Jason Witten.

You know, just is he I've heard that before.

Is he Rock or Travis Kelsey that he's going to put up fifteen hundred yards? Probably not, but he's going to be at like nine hundred and two one thousand every single year and he's going to block his fine off. Yeah, you know, just really well rashed. I think at the worst case scenario, he's like a t. J. Hawkinson and that's like the low floor for him. Yeah, he's a really good player. I love that you picked that Laporte is one of your guys though, because he's he's I

So you hadn necessary a two minutes ago, and now you've got the necessary now.

Because he is my total Yeah.

I love the port not a blocker, but past catching tight end don't need.

To have some kind of a blocking element because the way that they line up.

And there are some guys later on in the draft, like a Schoonmaker, like a I don't know if you've gotten this deep yet, Claire, but Breton Strain from Penn State is one of those blocking tight end types.

Yeah.

Yeah, the kid from Oklahoma to them blanking on his name is a little bit later is more of that like h back blocking tight end, but he's he's one of those types that maybe they could pick up. Uh. But yeah, those guys, there's some blocking tight ends later on. I love school, Yes, yes, I love Schoonmaker. Though he's schoon I don't know, you might be right on the pronunciation. There's Claire eyes.

He said shoe makers. What you say? Okay?

Yeah, Yeah, he's a really good player. And I think that he's somebody that you look at the forty time in the combine and his ability to just burst off the line of scrimmage and get up the field, up the seam or on crossing routes and things like that. And they didn't throw them the ball a ton because Michigan didn't really run the offense through the tight end as much as other teams do. So I think he

Yeah, I think so. Have you ever got any opinions on Josh Wiley from Susanastic. He's a much nicer, but he looks like he's got something.

Yeah yeah, him in in Mallory from Miami. I think are two guys that are that are interesting. Valeri ran the fastest forty at the combine out of the tight ends,

Yeah.

I liked him. He's one of those lighter guys. I'm sort of we'll still be keeping my.

Eye on definitely, John.

Did you know this is going to be a tight end breakdown segment?

I wasn't aware of it, but I knew that when I saw Clear's name on the on the queue here that I said, Okay, well, we're definitely gonna get some tight end cover.

They gotta take one, and they do need one. It's a great class.

I'll be hunter.

Henry and Gaseki are under contract for.

One moree more year, so you might be looking at the future here. Yeah.

Neither one of them is really a true in line guy either. You know, gaseckis certainly not. I think Henry has.

Which is why I would think that they would want If they're really gonna consider this as a draft pick, they gotta find somebody who can come in and block yeah, because that's not the strength of the other two guys.

Yeah, I think we're all an agreement that Mayor in the first round is probably out. So then you're getting into like the Darnell Washington's of the world. Tucker Craft from South Dakota steak and block a little bit.

By the way, don't have Washington. That's the key from Georgia, right. He hit is huge. He is a huge mammoth of a man. He's like six seven and seventy or something.

I think at the combine he he he slimmed down a little bit to run well and.

Oh well, but he towers over everybody. Yeah he's and I'm just like, dang, who wouldn't want to throw at that?

Yeah, he's And he's got body control too. Yeah, he's got that body control to to make those adjustments to make the catches, you know. So it's not just the catch radius. He's he can he can catch a back shoulder, he can contort his body.

If I'm telling you that, I mean.

He's a little bit more of like a I think that he's So that's the biggest thing that I think gets misconstrued with the combine because he tested so well at the combine that everybody thinks that he's this like freak athlete. He's he's got heavy feet, like he's a plotter. Uh, he's he's a train right. It takes him a little while to get up to that top.

Speed one of those guys though, the once he gets going, he can move.

Yeah. So I think that, you know, as a player comp like you know, I I when I did my big board, I just said discount Rob Gronkowski, like maybe like end a career Rob Gronkowski, right, like not prime Gronk, but like like eighteen to Tampa Bay Gronk. You know, So like somewhere in that range, I think is a player that is what he could become in the league. I don't think that he's going to be as dynamic of a pass catcher as the combine necessarily suggests.

That's what we're with me. He's got a really low flaw, but the possibility of a really high series, the gap that he could the gap between the sort of the skill set could be so vassed. Yeah, it could be kind of really he could actually like knock everybody sucks up, But there's that risk of him.

Really not kind of Yeah, he's either in the.

Potential that you think him.

He's either what I just said, Gronk in twenty eighteen, or he's Mercedes Lewis right like, and that's a pretty big difference play exactly.

That's what worries me about him.

Yeah, Claire, always good to talk to you. Yes, thanks ketto. You got it Claire in the UK. Let me end it with this here, V because I got one email from Howard and Stratford, Connecticut. He says. As I put on my BBGM cap, I look at the AFC East and the wide receivers the Pats go up against twice a year, and with number fourteen, I have to take Deonte Banks, which we've talked about. So that's a second vote for Banks, the cornerback from Maryland. Now the secondary

What do you think just from draft in Deontay Banks or the whole, the whole puzzle.

The whole puzzle. But he says he starts with Deontay Banks to create the rest of the dominos following him.

Yeah, I think if you draft a guy like Deontay Banks, you hope that you are approaching a level of like a Sauce Gardner, get it, you know, that type of flip for your defense or the Jets went from a good defense to an elite defense really last year with Sauce. So I yeah, I mean I gave my Deontay Banks thoughts earlier, and I love the player. I think that that's if you're looking for that missing piece defensively, then it's probably a number one corner, Like that's sort of

All right, Then the final thing I have to put it here ev is because of the rumor and I don't know if it's just rumor. We've seen it written by several of the writers. I think you've even mentioned it as well here from time to time, But the fact that the Patriots might just be interested in finding

Here.

See he's born in Newton but lived in Connecticut, right, Okay, So.

And I think that's a that's ridiculous to even even consider. He'll be long gone, probably even before the Patriots take it fourteen. But you don't know, you don't know where guys are gonna slide. Do the Pats consider a quarterback? And when should they consider a quarterback? Considering now there's only two of them? Right? Well, I know they signed somebody, but I mean at the same time, right, they need

Absolutely, I I think there's legitimate interest in Will Levis for the Patriots. I don't think that this is just a due diligence pick the guy's brain because he might go to the Colts and he might play him down the line or all that type of stuff that gets thrown out. I don't think that that's I think there's legitimate interest in the player, and I think that he fits what they do a little bit better than maybe on the surface it looks like he would. I think

Even even with this Andrew situation.

Yeah, I think he'll end up going into the first round.

Wow. So because I was gonna ask you specifically about.

Hook he's the guy that everybody the guy that everybody's describing like the Jalen Hurts pick for the Patriots is probably hend and Hooker. But Hennen Hooker is going to go in the end of the first round and not in the second round like Jalen Hurts did, so there's a little bit of an issue there. And then once you get past Hooker, there's a huge drop off now to the next tier quarterbacks, you know, the Tanner mckeys of the world and the Josh Hayner is like j Hayner.

Let's get so you need something that's kind.

Of different, right, a little bit more toolsy. Yeah, correct, So I think that they could do that. I like Hayter a lot though, too, and he's got some he's got some khons, right, Like, he's got some of that that uh, that that grit, that that toughness and that intangible similar to kind of like a Taylor Heineke where he's just got there's something about him, right, and he's kind of a little wild and and just plays with his hair on fire. So I do like him a

There's somebody though that could be a little developable.

Right, Yeah, those two guys I think have some upside, have some athletic ability. I'd also throw out Jaron Hall from b YU as another one of those guys that has that athletic upside off platform ability can just flick the wrists and throw the football, uh, you know, twenty yards down the field on the line.

You know. So one of those picks on the fourth round might be one of the spots. Yeah.

I think Look, until until they hit, they know one hundred percent sure that they have the quarterback. Until you're in a look, they're not going to be in a Patrick Mahomes category. But like, until they're in that level of category where there's no question about who the quarterback of this team is, you gotta keep taking quarterbacks. I

Right, all right, I get two more quick rapid fire ones for you before I'm not gonnat that. No, no, no, you'll be fine. You'll be fine. You'll be fine right now. Number one, most surprised pick, you think, or most surprised position, I should say that the Patriots take highly What would really shock.

You anything on the interior, like defensive tackle or obviously an interior lineman. I don't think anything else would shock me though, because like even like safety. You know, Devin mccorty just retired, So if they took Brian Branch from Alabama, would any of us be totally shocked?

No, because they just yeah, as you said, they'd retire.

Of safety, right, So I would just say anything on the interior and I can't. I can't roll out running backs. I don't think that would surprise me either, So really de tackle or you know, like a center, I think it would be pretty shocking. But other than that, again, it's sort of the roster thing right of got a lot of holes. So like anywhere else, really maybe linebacker. It's not a great linebacker class, especially at the top.

Do the Patriots keep all eleven picks?

No, consolidate? I think that they're going to be way under eleven. I'd say like eight or nine. They just don't have the roster spots for it. You know, they have seventy five guys.

I was going to say, yeah, we're gonna update seventy five guys right now. Yes, so you can get to ninety.

Right sot free agents, right That only leaves you four spots for undrafted free agents if you have an eleven pick rookie class. So I think that they consolidate. My guess is is it's a trade back in the first round or pick at fourteen and then maybe trade up in the second round and do the Christian bar Moore trade reducts, you know, move up eight six to eight spots to to land a top forty player with the second pick in the draft, you know, their second pick in the draft, something like that.

All right, I'll let you go. I know you need I know you need a get go one. So I do, I do.

I got a. I'm gonna have a phone interview with Matt Light, Patriots Hall of Famer.

Yes, and a lot of that is gonna be because we have He's gonna You're gonna ask you about our next Patriots Hall of Famer.

Our next Yes, we don't know who the player pick is, but we know that Dante's Dante Skarneck. I've got some great stuff from Scar himself, Ivan Fears David Andrews, so I'd add that Light to it. It's very very cool. It's very cool listening to Ivan in particular talk about what Dante meant to his career and basically took him under his wing and made sure that he was he

All Right, we'll get right back to the phones and the emails. Just wanted Evan to get off to his interview here. Ev I appreciate it everybody listening to Catch twenty two with him and Barth. All right, and I know that you'll have the live coverage tomorrow night of the draft right here on Patriots dot Com Radio. Through all the Patriots picks, through all the picks in the NFL.

Hey, how we're doing today?

I'm great, Nelson. How's it going?

Good? Good?

If it said I'll get an edge Russer, I just think Junior Alabama?

Okay, is he gonna be around?

We need?

Yeah? But is he gonna be around?

Well, if he's around, I'll get him. Okay, I'll get him.

All right, all right, So tell me what it is specifically why you think he's going to be around, if you do think he's going to be around, and why you want him.

I want him because he's a big guy. He knows how to rush in and Judan does a lot of work. He needs, you know, he needs somebody else to help him out a little bit.

Okay, all right, Well I think for you we did talk about that, by the way, all right, go ahead, out.

Of all out of all of wide receivers, say they take the five top fire receivers at the tap. Which other receivers are you interesting at.

Of the receivers of the receivers, Well, the one the receiver that I like is Quentin john for TCU. That's the guy that I like. Uh, And it's probably because I've seen him play a little bit more often now I've seen a lot of Zay flowers as well, just because of him being at Boston College. But I'm intrigued by Johnson's length. He's I think he's got some some burst and some speed in a little bit of separation.

I told you, not no five? The five already gone? Say they gone already And he's in a five.

So he's gone.

They are the rest right? He was in there right now? I think six and seven and all the way down. Who will you think will be a good fit for you for the Patriots.

Well, there's no reason why he can't be a fit. You know, you're you're you're stuck in trying to, you know, fulfill roles. I don't think I think you have to look beyond that. You know, he can certainly fit with what he does. He's going to be an outside guy, that's all you say.

Yeah, I know he'll fit with us. Well, he's in a five, he's in a five top. Why receive where draft lift? I say, say they take the five, we see what's from the draft list.

I'll be Nelson. I'll be honest, I haven't gone any deeper than that because I'm not sure that they I'm not sure that they I'm not sure that they a that they need to because anybody after the second round, you know, to me, I think you throw him in a hat and you pick one and you're happy with it. See, the only guys, the only guys that you really need

All right, So I'll see you. I'll talk to you later than you. Have a nice day.

Thanks Nelson.

Quickly we don't trade down or nothing.

There you go, Thanks Nelson, appreciate you. Todd in Greenville, Hey.

Todd, long time no talk, mister rook How are you, Bud? Not bad? Went through some crazy times, had a house, lost the house, a new house, and move to going to move someplace else, to another country, then back to having a house and wow.

So it has been it's been up and down for you.

Huh, yeah, it's been. It's been a wild ride.

Well, I hope everything's okay.

Yeah, everything's fine and uh and everything will be fine when the Patriots trade right out of the first round entirely and get themselves like two second rounders, and then I'll be hosting the show with you there, rookie.

Okay, I like it all right.

So if they don't trade out, I would I would love to see them actually trade up and do whatever they could to get Gonzales. I think he's amazing, and I think that would set that defense to such a high level that if the offense does just case or twenty one points, because that was that was last year and hopefully they do better this year. But you know, they get twenty one, twenty four points, they can win because that defense would be just insane.

That's exactly what Evan and I were talking about, you know, and he said, look, you got to be able to beat teams thirty to twenty seven. You have to be able to do that. So that's why there's an emphasis on, I think, still finding some offensive players because at some point in time, you got to be able to outscore a team. You're not going to beat Buffalo in a twenty to seventeen game, probably not going to happen.

Well, I don't know. The defense last year was insane and if they.

Have, well it's they alongside they've made strides. Okay, I will certainly give you that, but nobody in this day and age of offensive football, nobody really is. I mean, if you give it up seventeen eighteen points a game,

Yes, yeah, I love Flowers. No, I'm just this is the way Bill thinks. And I'm pretty sure that if he doesn't trade under the first round, you'll get himself a defensive player there.

Okay, And which one do you like?

Well?

I like Gonzalez. I would like them to trade up. I don't think you want Gaza.

I don't know where.

Okay, Bill is too unpredictable. I really don't know where you to be honest, John, But my pick would be Gonzalid.

Okay, So you think that, so you'll say they trade up and they take gonz the corner from Morgan.

Oh No, what I'm really saying is they're going to trade out entirely of the first round and get the second round pack for their first round.

Is okay? So you so they'll you think they'll trade out all together? Oh yeah, okay, but I'm gonna hold you to the Gonzales pick. That's your pick. If they if they go, okay, all right, that's fine. And I kind of I kind of agree with you in terms of the not trading out. I don't think they trade out.

I hope you actually are in the home somewhere when they do the drafting, like in Patriots Stadium, so that are near the studios, because when Bill does something like take the running back first or something. I just want you to be there to eyewitness, you know, the explosion of Evan induce, because I I think that's going to be epic. Know Bill is going to do something. And those two like they're already a Debbie downers.

For ye yeah, I get they're they're.

A little bit out. Well then so is Andy hart Heart actually on his show said that he thinks Bill is losing it. He thinks Bill is slipping with you know, the draft.

I've seen and say that. I know I've seen Andy say that.

Yeah, you know who knows. But yeah, I hope you're there and I'll let you go and get somebody else's bick.

Thanks brother, all right, all right, talk to you all right, Thanks Todd, and take care all right, keep everybody safe, Eldred. What's happened in my man?

Hey, mister Manson, good to talk to you, my brother.

Always good to talk to you, my friend. How are you.

Doing? Really good? Hopefully I'm just the last load. I gotta do them going back to his yard. Hope I can go home.

Okay, that sounds good, And then you'll climb in that camaro and go home, yes.

Sir, And then sit back and the dread tomorrow and like I always do for the last ten to fifteen years. Okay, because the same guy doing the picket. So and I agree with Andy, But see I've been saying that for years. They've not been knocking me off. And I'm like, I'm telling you, you never get the guy. You always get the mother guys. And the mother guys go arounding out rosters,

True.

Then I hate just know this news they're talking about Max and Will Levis. Well everybody said they don't know why I knew England got all their interest when nobody else really do you know? But that's deal?

Well you think you know? Do you think it's the Patriot's interest as driving Levice is stock up?

I think so, But I be honest with you, I wouldn't be surprised that Bill'll go get him because he because of Max.

You know, well, we'll find out for sure if if you know, if he has any trouble with Mac, because if they end up taking a guy like Levis, especially somewhere there in the first round, then we know, Okay, Well, then why the hell didn't they trade Mac when they could have? I mean, that's what I would ask.

Because because the Texan I'm sorry, I mean to get.

Y'all start, that's right, No, no, go ahead.

Because the Texan does a night. Because I brought it up with PU. They just came out and said they might not take a quarterback in the second round. They thinking about trading for you the tree Lance or mac Jones. And they named him too pacifically, okay, and they named him partifically. They didn't say, well, we'll try about Sam, might get another veteran. I just they said Trey Lance

All right, So, Eldred, I'm gonna I'll put you on the spot here. You gotta answer the question. If I'm Bill Belichick, I would draft who.

I'm like everybody else, even though I'm a wide receiver guy. I'll go up and get gun dollars and uh hip out with my defense because them little show corners ain't gonna come nobody. I'm sorry, you ain't got speed on the iight, I'll get him and then I will double dip in the stuck in the third and get me another corner. So you wide receivers.

Are deep, okay? All right? So all right, So you think the wide receivers are deep enough where they can go get somebody later, and you'd take two corners with your first two picks.

I will cost be honest with you, Bill, he ain't thinking like the NFL that uh that you know you got to air the ball out to throw. Uh, I'm like Andy Games, I'm passing by. He still think it's a nineteen ninety Yeah, So uh, I beat up my defense with those corners because, like you said, you got Myles Bright no Jaalen Mills.

No.

I love the kids from last year, but he's fired. They good to the spot. But you ain't gonna get speed and tall guys fish for back that they we're gonna be facing this year. So you gotta get somebody. And I wouldn't put him on the bench. They're gonna just start, you know, and get your liscense in early, get your headaches in early. Because this is not a rebuilt of just not just not what you call just rebi go to the super Bowl. This gonna be a

Okay, all right, And I'm actually a little surprised that you were going defense. But okay, I like your reasoning. It's fine. I thought for sure you'd go for the separation guy on offense.

I do I want, I want him, ain't gonna liketch you. I ain't gonna nothing that I want. Quitting Johnson bad. But right now you need help on that defense. What you trying to score? If you can't stop him from scoring?

If you can't, okay, But conversely, if you don't learn how to outscore teams like Buffalo, how are you gonna beat them?

Exactly?

So you know, well, that's yeah, and john and like you, I like Johnson too, so that you know that would be because I don't think Flowers would be around, but I think Johnson could be. And I think Johnson is potentially an obtainable receiver.

Right, but I heard, uh cover these marks. It's twenty fifth to not twenty sixty whatever. Well, Buffalo is to Buffalo, and then some got him going somewhere, but some of them got him going in the second round.

Yeah, Well that's what I'm Yeah, that's what I'm banking on. He slides to the second Patrick take a chance, maybe even to move up in the second to take a guy like.

That, I will host so but if he's gone, Bill, get the confound corner, quit being stubborn and leave maclone. That's all you got to do it. It was your problem that calls this did like you just throw it Winn's career. You try to throw a Max now and I still say that.

I love it. I love it. Eldred, be safe out on the road, my man. Will you all right, sir?

You have a good one now, thanks.

Buddy, all right, the one and only Eldred to North Carolina. What day we pick him for next month? Man? Thank you? So the last day of the month. Hell okay, So our next edition our post draft, and I guess I should say post OTA because we'll have OTA's coming up beginning in May. As you know, we'll actually have players on the field and guys will can sign everything, and it won't be mini camp yet. Mini camp will roll around in June, but there will be OTA's beginning in