Patriots Draft Countdown: Final Draft Preview, Takes, Predictions and More

Tune in as Deuce, Evan, Matisse and Chris go live for the final episode of the 2026 Patriots Draft Countdown podcast. They give their final preview, share their updated takes, and make predictions on who the Patriots and other AFC East teams could pick as round one draws closer!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome everybody to Patriots Draft Countdown. That's right, is the
live edition. The draft is finally here, guys, the countdown
what is it? Seven hours? Officially here soon, finally, pretty soon,
pretty soon, getting close to my favorite part of the draft,
which is of course Sunday, when you know the picks
and then you can just kind of dive in. But
in the meantime, we've done a ton of work here
over the spring, and I think we're all excited just
to put a cap on the Patriots Draft Countdown, which

(00:21):
is presented by bud Light, Easy to Drink, Easy to Enjoy,
bud Light, the official beer sponsor of the new Patriots,
And we're gonna be with you guys for the next hour.
Thanks for hanging with us. We're all counting down to
the big draft, and I think we'll be counting down
tonight too. I want to start off. It feels like
all the tea leaves. I don't know, why are we
trading out of the first round.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
And I have it does feel that way.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
It feels like there's a couple of I could like
rank the possibilities, right, I think number one I would
probably be trade out at this point.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
If I had to rank them, I don't.

Speaker 3 (00:51):
The one scenario I don't think they trade out is
if one of these tackles falls.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
To them at thirty one.

Speaker 3 (00:56):
If Iana Shore or Blake Miller slips through the craft
and ends up being on the board at thirty one,
I just find it hard to believe that they would
pass either of those two players up. But I think
what we heard from Elliott Wolf on All Access actually
with Mike Reese his last couple of days, is that
they feel like prospects twenty five through about fifty are

(01:17):
kind of the same talent level. So when you hear
that from Elliot Wolf, like that tells you trade down, right.
I mean, if you feel like the guy you're gonna
get at thirty one is basically the same prospect that
you're gonna get at thirty six or thirty eight or whatever,
then why wouldn't you take the extra draft capital and
trade down. So I would say it's a pretty high
probability right now that they're thinking about it, or at
least trying to entertain the idea of trading down.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
Let's talk about those tackles too, because I feel like
if we got to a point this offseason, I feel
like where we were just protect Drake, Like he's a
talented kid. He's going to start to pick up this
offense more and more where he can be the conductor,
he can put guys in position to be successful. And
maybe it's an oversimplification, but I saw something on the
Twitter this week that showed kind of the devaluation of

(02:00):
running backs and the expanding value of the offensive line.
So I mean, it's not related to wide receiver, and
that's you know, a direction we could kind of go
because we spend so much time talking about getting that
number one wide receiver. But doesn't make sense to you
tease that if a tackle is there, even though you
have Morgan Moses and they've expressed confidence in Will Campbell,
that you take this kid even if he might not

(02:22):
step in and.

Speaker 4 (02:23):
Start at thirty one.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
At thirty one, if it's let's just call it Blake
Miller at right.

Speaker 5 (02:26):
Tackle, it's it's not fun Like it sucks to see
you like draft of player that's not going to hit
the ground running, But it makes sense the long term investment.
You got a young quarterback, I wouldn't be surprised. Also,
if you pick at thirty one, you get the fifth
year option, which I think that's easy, Like it means
a lot there.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
Yeah, I mean it's Ty Simpson. The wild card is
the fifth you know, as a quarterback, somebody wants to
come up have that fifth year of control on him.

Speaker 6 (02:51):
Yeah, I mean, I I don't know. I yeah, I
kind of want to talk about the tackles.

Speaker 2 (02:58):
So Chris comes in one.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
Starts and then he's just like, I want to know.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
If he didn't hurt his angle in high school?

Speaker 6 (03:07):
You know this every show that we're on, you drafted
this year. I think, yeah, maybe, uh no, I definitely would.
But I think a big thing with the tackle is
you said it's not a pretty pick. I think it
is in a way a pretty pick. Again, maybe not
the flashiest, but I mean I'm not sure is solid pick.

(03:28):
He's super athletic, can help the help the outside, his speed,
his agility is great. Blake Miller just a stout tackle,
like just another brute guy that you need on the
old line. And I find them very appealing like that.

Speaker 5 (03:41):
Just kind of here's a question with that thirty first pick,
say it's not a tackle, what if you know, you
nobody really wants to trade up, and you know, the
tackle's not there. What if it's just the best position available,
Like what what if Colton Hood's there and you have
a cornerback you take him, Like, yeah, it doesn't really
feel a need instantly, but you get a pretty damn
good player that you're going to have for I hate

(04:03):
hate it.

Speaker 1 (04:03):
No, I do, I kind of do. I mean, look,
I hate it.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
No.

Speaker 3 (04:07):
Not the obvious pivots to edge rusher, right Like, if
you're not going to go tackle in that spot, you're
not going to go receiver, then you're probably going to
go edge.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
And I think the the thing I keep.

Speaker 3 (04:18):
On coming back to with all of this is the
drop off at tackle compared to.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
The depth of the edge class.

Speaker 3 (04:24):
You might be able to get a edge player at
sixty three who's going to be able to come in
and really contribute to this team as a rookie. It
might be like almost getting a guy that would be
a top fifty player in another draft because of how
deep it is there at that spot. So if you
can get a guy at sixty three, a Gay Baccus,
a Derek Moore, a key On Crawford, like one of

(04:46):
these types of players, but then at tackle, if you
pass on one of these tackles and we're acting like
they're both going to.

Speaker 2 (04:53):
Be there, and I don't know if they will be.

Speaker 3 (04:55):
But if Jana Chora Blake Miller is there but you
pass on that for another position, then where are you
getting tackled depth from? And are you really feeling great
about that pick? I think if you're getting a guy
like a Markel Bell or like a Travis Burke or
somebody like that, you know what's realistically the ceiling of
that player. Is it fair to say that, oh, well,

(05:17):
we got our starting right tackle the future in the
fourth round, especially in a draft like this where I
feel like everybody's telling me it stinks. So like I
just you're telling me it stinks, yeah, because everybody's saying that,
Like you know, like everybody you talk to is telling
you the same thing, that there's a drop off in
talent about ten to twelve picks into the first round

(05:38):
where this thing levels off like crazy, and like really,
like some people think from like twenty to ninety is
like the same player, not let alone from twenty five
to fifty, like Elliot Wolf said, like I mentioned, so
if that's the way you look at Edge Rusher and
you say, well, is there really a big difference between
Malachi Lawrence or cash As Howell or TJ. Parker at

(06:01):
thirty one and Derek Moore at sixty three versus Blake
Miller at thirty one and Travis Burke at ninety five
or Markel Bell or Isaiah World or whoever you end
up picking there. I think that there's a much bigger
gap between those tackles than there are the edge rushers.
So that's why I think it makes sense to go

(06:23):
tackle edge rusher as much as I hate it, Like
I've said all off season that I don't want to
do that because of the red shirt thing for the tackle,
But is Morgan Moses gonna play seventeen plus games?

Speaker 2 (06:34):
You know?

Speaker 3 (06:35):
Is who's behind those two with Will Campbell and Morgan
Moses in terms of death? You know, there's a chance
that that tackle at thirty one still plays, you know,
as a rookie, maybe more than we want them to.

Speaker 1 (06:46):
Yeah, maybe it's the third tackle. But I think that
speaks to the great unknown of this draft being at
thirty one, which is you're gonna have to wait and
see where the positional runs are and who falls through
the cracks. And I think a lot of time teams
in this position. It might not be your greatest need there,
but you say this will be you need at some point.
And this is a really talented player that we love,

(07:08):
and even though we might not have an open spot
for him to step right in, this is what the
draft gods have presented with us, you know, and let's
just take advantage of it.

Speaker 6 (07:16):
I just feel like it needs to be a smart
draft in less of like a flashy draft, Like it's
about filling, like Evan say, it's about filling the holes
where you need depth and tackle you need depth. Edge,
you definitely need depth. I wouldn't I see a scenario
where the Patriots take two.

Speaker 1 (07:31):
Edgedressers in this draft.

Speaker 6 (07:32):
I think it's very possible because they need to expand
that that depth.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
Yeah, they just need to get better. It kind of
hits on some Chris I think is a point that
kind of keewing up my points for tonight on our
on our Draft show, it's gonna laugh and talking about
three hours before the Patriots are even on the clock.
And I don't want to put too much on it
because I think that the Patriots have a young quarterback
that we all believe in that's, you know, a good
player that should be continuing to ascend. But at the
same time, I think, to your point, Chris, you need

(07:59):
some impact up top, and I would I would call
it tackle that even if it's not an immediate starter,
it's a guy who's going to be protecting Drake may
in the not too distant future for a long time.
But I also think the late rounds are really important
to pad that depth and to continue to make this
in the what the kind of team that they want
to build. You know, they weren't able to do it

(08:19):
all last year. We saw a lot of guys earlier
this offseason, you know, that had been with even back
to Belichick, that they moved on from. You know, with
guys like Tavia that you know, hey, we're gonna play
with him for a year, but it's either perfect fit
for us, maybe not, so let's go a year now,
we're going to move on. But again, I don't want
to put too much on it, but I feel like
at the top of the draft they need to find
some guys at edge, maybe tackle, and at the end

(08:40):
of draft they gotta find guys that can provide some depth,
you know, maybe a cornerback. I mean, you talked about
cornerback tists, but you know it's a little bit tenuous there.
I'd still think that that's a position that you know
that they have decent depth at as well as running back.
But they just have to continue to get their kind
of guys in this draft, and every draft is important.
This is where you build yourself a long term, sustain
enable program. And they have a lot of picks tonight.

(09:02):
I just hope they make the best use of them
and they move around the board a lot and are
able to get those get those guys that are there
kind of guys. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (09:09):
I mean with with cornerback too.

Speaker 5 (09:10):
I mean people forget like has gone to play a
full season yet Carlton Davis is getting up there in age.
But another interesting thing is with the draft, you always
see the veteran trades. So like, for example, if you
miss out on the tight end, but Atlanta has Kyle Pitts.

Speaker 1 (09:23):
Now, where did that come from?

Speaker 5 (09:24):
I said, if it's not after a rapport, I don't
like that being said, Like it's an idea. I mean,
he's franchise tag, But what if there's a player like
that who's on a tag you know, tag and trade,
maybe give up your fourth or next year's third.

Speaker 4 (09:40):
I don't know.

Speaker 6 (09:40):
It's just something that's That's the thing with the Kyle
Pits situation is he's going to be a free agent
this year, so it's is it worth giving up something
when you could pray.

Speaker 1 (09:50):
Give him a contract? You know, see he can work
something out.

Speaker 4 (09:52):
I mean, I I just just in this moment, though,
is it worth it?

Speaker 1 (09:55):
I would say yes. I mean, and I'm I'm a
Kyle Pitts fan just because I think he's a great
fit for Drake. It's a great fit with Hunter. Henry
talked about positions we feel like they have to hit
in this draft, and tight end is certainly one that
would solve that problem. But have we done this fall spring? We?
I mean, we go back and forth with Max Claire
and Sam Rousch and Oscar delp who I posted a

(10:16):
picture of himself in a Patriots jersey today. I don't
know that it's another Antonio or a J. Brown, So
keep calling Antony a J. Brown situation where he wants
to be a Patriot. But tight end is a position
I'd put a top the list tonight. Maybe not necessarily tonight, Yeah,
but tomorrow.

Speaker 3 (10:32):
Yeah, it's another one of those positions where you know
you mentioned tonight like Kenyon Zadik's the only first round
tight end, so they're not going to take a tight.

Speaker 2 (10:39):
End at thirty one.

Speaker 3 (10:40):
I'm just gonna go out on a on a big
limb and say Sadik's going higher than thirty one, and
they're not going to take a tight end at thirty one.
You know, I have seen some mock drafts with conversations
about Eli Stowers, like I think Stowers is a sixty
three guy, Like right, he's a guy that you're looking at,
maybe targeting him in the second round.

Speaker 2 (10:58):
I've gone back and forth with this tight end class.

Speaker 3 (11:00):
I feel like I've beaten the dead horse on my
thoughts on Stowers.

Speaker 2 (11:04):
Not my guy, not my type of flavor at that position.

Speaker 3 (11:07):
But you know, Claire, I think kind of is the
forgotten one here.

Speaker 2 (11:12):
I feel like we've talked a.

Speaker 1 (11:13):
Lot my first favorites.

Speaker 3 (11:15):
We talked a lot about Delp, we talked a lot
about Rauch, and we talked a lot about Stowers. I
don't feel like we've talked enough about Max Clair, who
I feel like is sort of in the middle of
all these guys. He's got some of the receiving upside
that Eli Stoweres has, but he does block a little bit,
maybe not as good as delp and Rausch do, but
he has a little bit more of that receiving profile
than those two players do. So I wonder if him,

(11:37):
you know, in the second round, is a little bit
more realistic than what we've given credence to. But I
still feel like the one thing I keep coming back
to with this entire draft, this is your side of
the street, Duce. They have not drafted a defensive player
in the top one hundred since twenty twenty three. It's
been two straight drafts where they've been all offense or
with their early picks. And for good reason. They've had

(11:59):
one of the worst offense in football, and they have
a young quarterback and they needed to fix what they
had going on offensively. But Christian Gonzales and Kean White
and Marte Mapu in twenty twenty three. Since twenty fifteen,
they have made two first round picks on the defensive
side of the ball.

Speaker 2 (12:17):
That's it.

Speaker 3 (12:18):
So at some point, and I know they have Gonzales,
and I know they have Milton Williams and Barmore, and
they do have, you know, guys like Gonzo who are younger,
skew younger. But at some point you need to start
drafting some real talent on that side of the ball
because otherwise the cupboards is gonna go dry quick. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (12:37):
Yeah, it goes right to what I was saying earlier.
And I mean I think edge is a position that
you're gonna look at early. You're gonna have a guy
who can come in and maybe be your third rusher,
you know, maybe competes with Ponder. But I look over
there at like the defense that you know goes spallane
because someone certainly with Christian ellis entering the last year
of his deal. You mentioned Carlton Davis, just all these

(12:57):
different guys. I like what they have talent on defense. Yeah,
but they but it's tenuous. Guy gets hurt, you know,
with Splaine. No, you know, you don't have any more
Jack Gibbons coming back this year. So I think it's
that's another spot of the inside linebacker, off the ball linebackery.
How do they approach that.

Speaker 2 (13:13):
I love this off the ball linebacker class.

Speaker 3 (13:15):
You know, Wolf said that it didn't grade out quite
as high as he thought it was going to when
they started the process. But Day three seems like the
sweet spot, like the third or fourth round, where I
think there's gonna be a lot of value there. You know,
maybe eight to ten guys that are worth picking in
the middle rounds of this draft. At linebacker, you know,
do they shock us tonight and go C J. Allen

(13:37):
or Jacob Rodriguez, Like maybe that's a possibility, but I
still think that that's sort of that sweet spot. But
you know, on offense, and if we're being real about it,
you know, the AJ Brown part of it aside, like yeah,
they could use like that number one star receiver of
an ilk like AJ Brown. They certainly need depth along

(13:59):
the offensive line, and they need a successor to Hunter
Henry at tight end, But it doesn't feel like they
have a ton of holes. Like if they had to
start the season tomorrow on offense, I feel like they
could feel a pretty good starting eleven offensively. I mean,
they have their five offensive line, and they have three
receivers that I feel pretty good about. They have Hunter

(14:21):
Henry still, they have their two running backs still, and
of course they have the quarterback, So like, what more
do they really need for twenty twenty six besides depth
and then maybe you know, putting them over the top
by trading for AJ Brown. Whereas defensively, you know, I
look at that edge spot and I have concerns. You know,
I think that that spot not only is thin on
dep but I think it's thin on pass rush juice.

(14:42):
Like I like Draymond Jones. I think he's gonna be
a good addition for the team. But to me, it's
kind of a wash with Klevon Chase on leaving. Like,
you know, I don't really think that they may They
kind of treaded water there by swapping those two guys
out and then at behind that, I you know, are
we gonna put a lot of eggs in Elijah Ponder
and Braden Swinton baskets that those guys are gonna take

(15:04):
leaps and be really three down players and starters and.

Speaker 2 (15:08):
Stuff like, Like, I don't.

Speaker 3 (15:09):
I think that's putting a lot of expectations on guys
that were late round draft.

Speaker 2 (15:13):
Picks or udfas.

Speaker 3 (15:14):
So I really would like to see them come away
from this draft, maybe even tonight, with one of these
studs on the edge that we've been spending the last
four month talking about We.

Speaker 1 (15:23):
Heard from Elio Wolf last week and he said we
could have some add some speed to this edge room. Yeah,
change how you looked at this group overall. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (15:31):
And I think the tough part about it is that
some of the guys, especially at thirty one, don't fit
that description, like you know, Zion Young, TJ.

Speaker 2 (15:42):
Parker, Eldrick Flers. You know, I was.

Speaker 3 (15:45):
Watching TJ Parker and I went back and watched his
twenty twenty four tape recently because he had more production
in twenty twenty four, and everybody kept saying, well, you know,
you got to go watch the twenty twenty four tape
because that's you know, he broke out as a true sophomore,
you know, underclassman, you know, sort of early breakout type
of player at Clemson. I watched the twenty twenty fourteen

(16:05):
it's the same guy. Like I was like, this is
the same thing.

Speaker 2 (16:08):
Like what are we talking about here?

Speaker 3 (16:09):
You know, I watched him against Texas and the College
Football Playoff and he's going up against Kelvin Banks and
NFL caliber tackles there and had one pressure. You know,
it's it just doesn't He's not a pass rusher like
that's not his strength. He's a really sturdy, stout edgesetter,
good speed to power, good long arm. You know, can
bul Rush can do that type of thing. But if

(16:29):
you are taking Elliott at face value and just saying
that's what he told you, they're going with speed off
the edge, that those three guys fall young Parker, I
just like, don't see how that's their guy?

Speaker 1 (16:42):
How our guy?

Speaker 2 (16:43):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (16:43):
And I so I look at you know, Lawrence, I
look at Howell, Armyson Thomas. Maybe if it's in a
trade down scenario, like those are the types of guys
that I think fit that description.

Speaker 2 (16:55):
You know, maybe if they're.

Speaker 3 (16:56):
Gonna wait a little bit longer and get involved with
Ramel Height and Keon Crawford and bar him from Michigan
and you know those players that are more second third
round guys.

Speaker 2 (17:04):
But I kind of crossed the Parkers and the Young
is off.

Speaker 3 (17:08):
I just if he can't go to the podium and
say he want speed off the edge and then draft
Zion Young, Like he just doesn't make any sense.

Speaker 6 (17:15):
Of of those three, I would say t J. Parker
is probably the speed.

Speaker 3 (17:20):
Guy, in my opinions, got the most.

Speaker 2 (17:24):
Off the edge.

Speaker 6 (17:24):
I love those three and I mean you mentioned I
think another one to keep an eye on to is
Derek Moore.

Speaker 1 (17:29):
I like Derek Moore a lot.

Speaker 6 (17:31):
Him and Malachi Lawrence are very similar with their plus
Malaky's more.

Speaker 2 (17:35):
A little a little more quick, a little more twitch.

Speaker 1 (17:37):
Yeah, I would actually more does more split the difference
between what we're talking. He got a little power, but he's.

Speaker 2 (17:42):
I would I would say so.

Speaker 6 (17:44):
I would say so when Lawrence relies a lot on
his legs and his agility and his speed to get
to the quarterback, I think more is you know, a
little more straight line kind of bull rush get to
the quarterback that way.

Speaker 1 (17:54):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (17:54):
His speed to power is definitely his calling card and
one of the better pass rush moves that it really
anybody has in this draft. And the one thing I
really liked about him was his inside move too, because
you know, guys are going to brace for that power
and so they're gonna set out and they're going to
try to put their feet in the ground and drop
an early anchor, and he's got that ability to you know,
jump inside of those over setting tackles. So that's where

(18:17):
you see some of that twitch or speed off the
edge from Derek Moore. I wouldn't say it's really high
side like around the edge. It's more inside, you know, Lawrence.
I think what's impressive about him to me is how
skilled he is with his hands. Like when I keep
saying it, but when I first started watching him back
in February, I thought that I was going to be

(18:37):
getting this like Combine superstar right, where like he doesn't
really know how to play football, but man is he
an athlete?

Speaker 1 (18:43):
Right?

Speaker 3 (18:44):
And then I turned on the tape with him, and
he's got some skill. He's got some pass rush moves.
You know, he's got a wide repertoire, things that he
can go to to beat tackles. And you know, I
was reading some of the mock drafts from some of
the big insiders, you know, the Schraggers and the Daniel
Jeremiah's and things like that, and they got Malchay Lawrence
going before the Patriots. You know, a guy that's gonna

(19:04):
maybe slide all the way up into the twenties of
this draft. So he's your classic riser. He is skyrocketed
up the board.

Speaker 6 (19:12):
It's really interesting too, because he was pretty pretty much
in that second third round area.

Speaker 1 (19:16):
For a lot of that's how it happens.

Speaker 3 (19:20):
I'm telling you it's a UCF thing, right, He's a
it's a smaller school. It's not a blue blood. It's
not Georgia, it's not Alabama. You know, it's not one
of those types of programs. And nine times out of ten,
when you see a guy like that tear up the combine,
he's got no feel for the game. He's just a
raw athlete, a ball of clay. And there's definitely some
development needed with mal Ky Lawrence against the run, but

(19:42):
as a pass rusher, I was really impressed. I was like,
this guy knows what he's doing. Uh, but you know
that's rare from those types of schools. So good on UCF.
They coach that kid up. Good for them.

Speaker 1 (19:52):
Well he humored me for a little defense talk on
the edge. But I don't ask question like.

Speaker 4 (19:57):
What about wide receiver?

Speaker 1 (19:58):
It talking all right, just simple questions. He do the
Patriots draft a wide receiver this weekend?

Speaker 4 (20:04):
Yes?

Speaker 5 (20:04):
I don't know where though, dude, this is this is
draft like number six for US seven, maybe Auntie Higgins.
H It's just crazy, like out of all the prospects
we've had CD Lamb, we've had JSN Alave, we never
take them.

Speaker 3 (20:16):
All those guys went ahead of the mill.

Speaker 1 (20:19):
I'm just saying, saying the drafted McMillan.

Speaker 5 (20:25):
But we're getting that is that like we've had all
these like blue trip players and naturally this draft which
doesn't have anybody that stands out to you and me, Duce,
We're going to take somebody, and I just don't know
when it's going to be Boston.

Speaker 1 (20:36):
But I think the tea leaves are I'm reading the
tea leaves to say, if the aj brown things in
the works, you're not going to spend a high round pick.
Kind of takes the wide receiver out of the mix
for me, at least in the first few rounds. You know,
maybe you take a shot at a bigger, developmental kind
of a guy. I find myself gravitating now everything I
look at with wide receiver, it's based on Drake May.
And what does Drake May like? He likes big guys,

(20:57):
big catch radiuses, uh, guys that he can roll the
ball downfield too with accuracy. So you know, if you
can outsize somebody short, or you can outspeed somebody deep
and catch that deep ball, I think it's a good
match for Drake, but I have to. I mean, I've
been pointed out all spring. You know, a bunch of
guys are free agents next year, and it's it's Mac Collins,
it's you know, Tomorrio.

Speaker 2 (21:16):
Douglass in the twenty twenty three guys, and.

Speaker 1 (21:18):
We're seeing Kyshan Boody is rumored with trade speculation.

Speaker 5 (21:21):
Now, my thing is if you take a receiver, like
obviously not first round, well who knows these days, but
like mid round, Like what does that do for Kyle Williams,
Like we just drafted him. I want to see him
get more touches, like he had a couple of breakout
games last year. I just think it does more damage
to those players that are already here.

Speaker 3 (21:36):
Yeah, Like I hear the argument for well, why don't
you split the baby and draft one in like the
third or fourth round, so at least you have one
developmental guy. But if you do end up.

Speaker 2 (21:46):
Trading for a J.

Speaker 3 (21:46):
Brown, it's not like you're burying somebody that you drafted,
you know early on in the draft too early. But
then you know, you start to think about the guys
that would be in that RANGEO stribbling to john'stribbling.

Speaker 2 (21:56):
From all miss.

Speaker 3 (21:57):
Now everybody's saying he's going to the second round. So
like at one point he was the darling fourth round
pick for the Patriots. Oh like, you know, you want
to split the baby. Just take de John Stribbling at
one twenty five. Now it sounds like he's going to
be off the board by one twenty five.

Speaker 2 (22:10):
So who is it?

Speaker 1 (22:11):
Is it?

Speaker 2 (22:11):
Bryce Lance?

Speaker 3 (22:12):
You know, there's a couple of different guys in that
Ted Hurst, you know, like who falls maybe in that range,
But I'm still not.

Speaker 2 (22:20):
Ruling out Denzel Boston or CASEC.

Speaker 3 (22:22):
Like CASEC to me is, you know, probably the best
pure separator out of any of the receivers in this draft.
I know he's got some concerns at the catch point
with his hands and things like that, but if you
just want an electric playmaker that gets open at the
top of routes that eats up you know, Cushion with
his speed, a really really good three level separator and

(22:43):
big play type of guy.

Speaker 2 (22:45):
I'm with you, Duce.

Speaker 3 (22:46):
I know we get a lot of flak for liking
Denzel Boston. They get on us for it. It's like
Nikhil Harry went to Jalen Polk school.

Speaker 2 (22:55):
I know, but I thought he moved pretty good.

Speaker 1 (22:58):
I mean he's not as loose and and flexible as
McMillan is. I mean he's just a special, almost like
basketball kind of player.

Speaker 2 (23:04):
So I McMillan went in the top.

Speaker 1 (23:05):
But you look at the what is a three percent
drop rate with this guy? I mean, monster hands, catches,
everything is not everybody needs to be a burner. There
can be a spectrum of wide receivers on your team
that hey, we got a big guy to move the chains,
we got a fast guy to get down the field.
I just going back though, if you were to get
AJ Brown and you're looking at next year and Kyle
Williams has a good year, is it terrible to look

(23:25):
at AJ Brown, Romeo Dobbs, Kyle Williams emerging. Is that
a terrible top three? So ideally you'd love to get
back to a place where, hey, we're gonna have three
wide receivers up next year, let's draft one this year.
But I think they're almost a little bit over their
skis at this position right now. And the last point
I'll make on these guys is just I wonder if
Efton Chisholm's gonna push if he's if he's gonna do something.

(23:47):
Pop Douglas was so up and down. We saw him
like you want him to be a quick, short slot receiver.
It's not really what he is. He's a fast guy,
but he wants to make plays downfield. I don't know
if Drake loves throwing in the ball because he is
a smaller. He did make some big plays. He had
a big touchdown against the Chargers in the playoffs, so
it's not like he's a total loss. But I I
still have that Minnesota game with Efton Chisholm in my

(24:08):
head of toughness after the catch and the queen.

Speaker 2 (24:11):
Yeah, I know, I know, I know.

Speaker 1 (24:13):
That's why I know, and I don't want to get
over it, but it's there was something about him that
was tough and that I felt like I could see
something here that isn't necessarily what we're seeing from puffed up.

Speaker 3 (24:23):
I know it was essentially a preseason game against the
Jets too the second time, but he also had a
pretty nice game against that. You know, had a nice
catch over the middle against it, you know, all Helpolitz
and kind of knew where he was supposed to be
and got opened quickly. And was there and you know,
broke a tackle, made a big play. But I you know,
we were arguing about this on catch twenty two yesterday,
And I'll ask you guys this, there's a world where

(24:45):
they are up on the clock at thirty one tonight
and Casey c is staring them in the face and
he's just the best player on the board by a
country mile. Is it too much to sign Romeo Dobbs
draft CONCEPSI owner Denzel Boston and trade for Aj Brown?
Like are we sinking too much into wide receiver? I
kind of feel like that is a lot to sink
into one position. With that being said, I hear the

(25:07):
other side of, well, now you don't have a receiver
problem anymore, right, Like you just nailed it in terms
of that. So it's a little you know, is it
two bengalsy for me? Where like Drake may is gonna
spend his entire season on his butt, So like what
difference is going to make? Or you know, are we
feeling good about just blowing it out at wide receiver
and saying we just got three studs?

Speaker 1 (25:27):
It's tempting. It's tempting. I'm not gonna lie. I mean
as much as I would probably prefer to like go
tackle or along the line. It is tempting.

Speaker 4 (25:33):
It's tempting.

Speaker 5 (25:34):
But you guys have talked about this on PU but
we're just like throwing Kaishan Boudi's name through the mutt.
Like you drafted, he's twenty three years old. He's become
a productive receiver, and like the point of the draft
is to develop people. Well, you got a twenty three
year old developmental receiver that you drafted, and I know,
like the market adjusts. Paul thinks he's reached his level,
but I just I feel like he's sometimes too good

(25:54):
to just throw out the door, or at least you
got to get something good in return for him.

Speaker 1 (25:57):
It's another good debate and I Albert Breuer reported today
he was looking for a third day pick for Kaishan Boody, which.

Speaker 2 (26:03):
Sounds about right.

Speaker 1 (26:04):
I mean, but it's I tend to agree with what
you said. Paul said. I think he is what he is.
It's not at great hands. You know, uh gets downfield.
I mean the catch in the playoffs was outstanding. But
I wouldn't be upset to part with him if it
meant bigger thing.

Speaker 3 (26:17):
Do you have a you do, sorry, Chris, do you
is there a bigger ceiling there? Like, is there a
player that you can bring in?

Speaker 2 (26:21):
Obviously?

Speaker 3 (26:22):
Aj Brown has a higher ceiling than Kayshan Boody, you know,
Denzel Boston. I think, you know, I would like kind
of say he's sort of more Matt Collins and he
is Kai Shan Boody, but you know, like he's Matt
Collins with like a jet pack on his back, right,
and so you know, and younger obviously too.

Speaker 2 (26:37):
So I I just if you're.

Speaker 3 (26:38):
Bringing in another receiver, you're probably thinking it's going to
be in that sort of bigger body outside receiver prototype,
whether it's in the draft or it's AJ Brown. So
where is Kai Shan Boody's snaps coming from? Like where
is he going to play? And he's a good enough
player that he should be playing. You know, this isn't
a situation where you know you can sell to him. Hey,
you're a young kid, Kyle Williams is like, you know,

(27:00):
you're sitting behind digs, like you know, learn the ropes,
learn from the vets, like Kaishan Boody is gonna want
to play, and rightfully so.

Speaker 1 (27:07):
And it's if you're gonna trade him. I think now's
the time. I think you're selling high on him. You're
gonna have to give him a contractor let him hit
free agency next or maybe then you're looking at a
camp pick. But this might be the time to trade him.

Speaker 6 (27:18):
Right, I mean for a production level this past season.
Obviously you saw a lot more out of kai Shan
Boody than you did of out of Kyle Williams. But
you think about their two play styles and how they
were making plays and touchdowns. They were scoring all downfield touchdowns.
Kyle Williams only a tender sets on the air, but
he had three touchdowns that.

Speaker 1 (27:36):
Went for yeah, thirty plus yards.

Speaker 6 (27:38):
Yeah, So you know, these are the plays you have
to keep in mind. And Kaishan Boody being as big
of a downfield threat as he was for Drake, could
Kyle sort of fill role in that type of world
as well?

Speaker 3 (27:50):
You know?

Speaker 6 (27:51):
Yeah, And you saw you saw flashes of it this
past season. That's why it's really an interesting debate.

Speaker 1 (27:57):
We'll see what happens with Booty. I mean, that's that's
always the X factor. I think a couple of years ago,
or not more than a couple of years ago. Now
was like the Gronk trade, like I thought he was retired.
You know, there's some weird stuff that sometimes happens in
this weird period while you're building up to the draft.
But you know, I'm another person I want to talk
to you guys about and we do a lot of
these shows. We talk a lot about this stuff. We
never really talk about the running backs.

Speaker 2 (28:18):
And because what running backs do you want to talk about?

Speaker 1 (28:22):
Rondertive is the Treeman Henderson we know, we know we got,
but you know, Reggie Gilliam, they brought him in full back.
Brock might be your guy maybe coming back and to
try to push, but you know, Terrell Jennings, Elijah Mitchell,
land Larrison. Ideally i'd like to have a third back.
Is that something that in the draft or one of
those guys? Okay, and I know we're talking about the
third running back.

Speaker 2 (28:39):
Obviously I had real.

Speaker 3 (28:40):
Estate on on brock Lampy Island, all right, Like I
have a little house there. But I also would say
that I have a little house on land Larison Island
as well, because I really liked what I saw out
of land Larrison in the spring last year.

Speaker 2 (28:52):
And I know it's the spring.

Speaker 3 (28:54):
I know it's you know, flag football and they're not
hitting anybody. But I thought he looked really smooth running
routes out of the backfield.

Speaker 2 (29:00):
I remember Ricky Minni caamp, he was like the big take.

Speaker 3 (29:04):
Yeah. I was like, whoa, you know there's Rex burke Head.
You just printed out Rex Burkhead again, like cool. Uh. So,
you know, I thought that he showed a little bit
of something. Obviously had a tremendous production. I know it
wasn't a high level of football, but had tremendous production
in college. I just I wouldn't sleep on land lairs
and making a push for that running back three spot.
I'm with you, though, you know, maybe in the late

(29:26):
day three range, can you bring in some competition for
him and Terrell Jennings and and maybe you know, whoever
is the best in training camp is the one that
ends up winning the job. But I you know, listen,
there's a lot of property available on land lars in Island.
You're all welcome. You can all buy a house if
you want to buy a house. I'm telling you right
now to buy some property beachfront if you want to.

Speaker 2 (29:47):
It's all available. It's it's a really great.

Speaker 1 (29:53):
I went to our to our haircut gy g, a
r G might go after this and and the guy
was like, yeah, you know, I cut some of the
Patriots and I'm like, oh really, who was like lean lears,
that's a random.

Speaker 2 (30:04):
He just got off the he's dragging down Main Street.

Speaker 1 (30:11):
You're probably gonna be there with him.

Speaker 5 (30:12):
Sorry, no, no, I remember for the running back section,
I was just looking for something that draft even that
just something that Patriots don't have. And I looked at
Mike Washington, just short yard. He's from Arkansas and the
kid from Navy Eli he can just mca he can
play everything, and that forces mccaffe does that not scream?

Speaker 4 (30:32):
One of our seven six round picks over there?

Speaker 1 (30:34):
Would have it? Bill Belchi.

Speaker 2 (30:35):
I think he might be going higher than that.

Speaker 3 (30:37):
But yeah, you know, Josh McDaniels, you have to think
that Josh McDaniels is like, I could have a lot
of fun with this guy, right, you know, is he
a receiver? Is he an h back? Is he a
running back? He might be all three? You know, I
don't really know. You know, if he can play, his
path to me is is you know, sort of in
that kind of jack of all trade sort of role
and then obviously being a big impact on special teams.

Speaker 2 (30:59):
So I don't know what.

Speaker 3 (31:00):
I don't break down the special team's gunner tape like
some people do, so I don't know what he brings
to the table and that uh so, but he's gonna
if he's gonna make a roster as a rookie and
really push, you know, to get playing time, he's gonna
have to play in the kicking game as well. It's
not going to be one of those situations where he's
just gonna be an offensive weapon. I would say that
with anybody that's running back three though last year, the

(31:23):
third running back, whether it was Antonio Gibson, it was
Drell Jennings, it was Dearness Johnson was returning kickoffs all
year long. So that player is going to have to
bring some sort of returnability kick coverage, preferably both, to
the table in order to make the roster. So I
think LeAnn Larrison has a little bit of that juice,
like he might. He doesn't have the straight line speed,
but with the new rules, he might be able to have,

(31:46):
you know, some kickoff experience and returnability. But if I'm
looking at running back late on Day three, whoever they draft,
I think is going to have to be somebody that
translates to the kicking game in some capacity.

Speaker 1 (31:56):
Yeah, I think the full back in the addition, you
know that they made all sleep with Gilliam might change
this a little bit. But for me, when I was
looking at the running backs, I felt like short yardage,
you know, Ramandre treveon third and one, those guys not
not their kind of scene. I think, I mean, they
can get it done, but maybe the fullback changes that
equation a little bit. Washington, I think he's going to
go to I mean, he's like probably the third back

(32:17):
in the class, right, I mean, he's going to go
pretty high behind Love and Price. But you know, like
Ca Tron Allen, Joe McColeman, those were a couple of
guys that short yardage with.

Speaker 5 (32:30):
Running back at least, that's the one position you can
actually pick somebody up off the street.

Speaker 4 (32:33):
They can get three yards I know and not speak
in my language.

Speaker 1 (32:36):
And that's what I like you get back to just prioritizing,
And I mean I thought your question was great of
about Concepcio being there. You know, do you just make
the pick even if it's not the biggest uh you
know need and you might be over stacking the wide
receiver room, but I kind of get back to the
trenches and trying to just build from there out. And
that's why when you said the cornerback thing, I was like, no,
and I get it, because let's face it, there a

(32:58):
multiple time last year you thought Calton Davis was done
and then he was back out there having like seven
times like even in practice like uh oh there go
there and then he's right back in. But that's and
that feeds into kind of the next thing I wanted
to talk about, which was just the nose tackle position.
And you know, this is a good class have There
are a lot.

Speaker 4 (33:15):
Of big dudes.

Speaker 1 (33:16):
I mean, we did the defensive tackle pre the defensive
line preview. I feel like maybe they didn't get their
due because we piled the edge, the linebackers and the
defensive lineman in there. But Kate McDonald's a guy that
I've seen more than a couple of people mentioned as
a potential fall through the cracks. Here he is and
there's something and you guys know me, this is what
I love. But there's something very appealing to me about
that kind of young, big defensive lineman who still is growing,

(33:39):
still has a ceiling to plug him in with Milton Williams,
with Christian Barmore. You hope that Corey Durdin continues to ascend.
Maybe you're getting something out of Lenny t But I
I would kind of like that pick, and I think
people probably wouldn't like.

Speaker 2 (33:54):
Well, there's two ways to look at that pick.

Speaker 3 (33:57):
One is in order to get the third down and
you have to stop him on first and second and
Cadan McDonald is one of the guys that's gonna stop
him on first and second down. And it's a copycat league.
And I understand that we do this and we overreact
every year to.

Speaker 2 (34:08):
The Super Bowl. But Seattle won the Super Bowl because
of the trenches.

Speaker 3 (34:11):
Like they did not win the Super Bowl because they
had Jsen on the outside.

Speaker 2 (34:15):
They won the Super Bowl because they dominated the line
of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

Speaker 3 (34:19):
Yeah, but it was the defensive line. It was the
run game in Kenneth Walker was the MVP of the game.
That's what won Seattle to the Super Bowl. So if
you're trying to replicate that, you know they come at
you on the defensive line and waves like, it's not
like they didn't have one necessarily, you know, Aaron Donald
or Miles Garrett on their defensive line. They just have six, seven,

(34:41):
eight guys and the year before who won the Super Bowl,
the Philadelphia Eagles with this same Bill Brams, just all
these different guys on the defensive line that could contribute.

Speaker 2 (34:50):
So point.

Speaker 3 (34:51):
He might not be the pass rusher that I wish,
you know he was. He's not a three technique, he's
not a penetrator. But the one thing that it does
really stand out with McDonald is he has the ability
to make plays in the run game. Like he's a
playmaking nose tackle. He's not a space eater. He had
thirty run stuff slash year that was the most in
the FBS. So this is the guy that can get

(35:12):
off blocks, his knock back power just ragged all guys
out of the way and made tackles. You know, that's
different than oh, this guy is just gonna stand in
the A gap and like he's gonna be hard to move.
He's more of like a playmaker at that position, which
is enticing. When we moved down the draft and we
get into you know, my guy big Citrus and Dante
Corley Big if they if they draft Big Citrus tomorrow night,

(35:38):
I'm gonna be.

Speaker 2 (35:42):
Squeeze on him.

Speaker 1 (35:43):
He beat him to a pulp. It's a lot of
work player with an orange. But the nose tackle is
really the only position that wasn't a one for one
swap this offseason. Everybody else, I mean, maybe you could,
I guess, I guess you can't even say Jack Gibbons
because k brit they brought him in. But otherwise, you know,
anybuddy they lost they kind of replaced. That was almost

(36:06):
toa say, Mike Ga SICKI I'm losing track of my
TV too.

Speaker 4 (36:08):
You've been here too long.

Speaker 1 (36:10):
I've been here too long. Austin Hooper replaced by Julian Hill,
which is definitely kind of a different swap. And maybe
we could circle back into these tight ends a little bit,
because I feel like that's the class today or not,
you know, this weekend. Yeah, that that that's the most
direct opportunity to give Drake a weapon that you can
see away to the field for them doesn't have to
immediately be thrust into first and second down and blocking

(36:33):
right right, you can you have a spot for hey,
you might only play third downs. And I keep going
back to what Aaron Hernandez did as a rookie. You know,
you know that fell apart obviously, but he was just
instantly a guy that came in and made an impact
in the passing game, maybe even more than Gronk right
out of the gate. I mean, Gronk obviously became all
all over the you know, the all around tight end

(36:53):
that that you need. But that's where we're at, and
that's when we look at these classes. He's two hundred
and thirty six pounds. Is he ever gonna be that
true dog blocking tight end? But do you even need
a true blocking tight like you could grab a guy
like Julian Hill. He's gonna do the dirty work. Let's
get an.

Speaker 5 (37:10):
Athlete, Julian Hill. He doesn't move the needle for me,
but he fills a role. But people just forget, you know.

Speaker 3 (37:19):
See this is the thing Matisse see in April doesn't
move the needle. But then when it's third and one,
and when it's third and one in the AFC Championship
game with a trip to the Super Bowl, they're running
behind and they and they can't pick up the yard
which they couldn't do really at all last year. And
their goal line rushing was not good last year either.
And he got Gilliam and he's coming through the hole

(37:41):
and Barrett tuckles on the double team, and and Julian
Hill is kicking out on the edge and they get
to one yard. You're gonna say to me, we're going
to the super Bowl. I'm gonna be like, yeah, matist,
who got us there? You know you're saying, oh, yeah,
prove wrong.

Speaker 1 (37:55):
During the draft. I love to be proved wrong during
the proved the room draft. Though, I feel like this
is all like you select the guys, Andre, like, we'll see.

Speaker 6 (38:02):
Yeah, it's a big I mean, the draft is the draft.
That's why it is what it is. It's a guessing
game in a way. And you know you want to,
you know, watching film, who you're gonna get and what
you're gonna see from the player. But it comes down
to how this player can be developed and can grow.

Speaker 1 (38:16):
And I was looking back the first time I did
first big ward of the twenty eleven and I just
you know, over the years, like you're showing your age,
I'm showing my But I've always enjoyed it. But I'm
always amazed by the fact that we do our little
mock drafts and our big boards and all that kind
of stuff, and our little you know, they're big, are solid,
our solid drafts, and we're wrong a lot, but they're

(38:37):
wrong a lot too. Like across the league, thirty two teams,
like all they're doing like we do it. Like I
literally a Super Bowl ended, like the next week we
get in and we're like jump into the draft now,
Like who's this conceptsy own guy? Yeah, I mean you
probably know more than me. I'm like completely a blank
page when it comes to the draft. But even still,
like these guys do it year round. There are scouts
going to every school watching all these players, tracking them

(38:59):
through four years, like they swoop in their senior or
junior year and say, all right, he's coming out. Is
this guy good? Like they know they probably go all
the way to go back to high school and so
you think this is the culmination for this whole scouting class.
But every single team is going to have probably a
bad miss in this draft.

Speaker 5 (39:14):
I'm thinking of approve me wrong, guy, And this isn't
just for this isn't for me at just the media
in general. I would say Craig Woodson a lot. He
got drafted. I think a decent amount of people are.

Speaker 4 (39:22):
Like, I'm just not sure.

Speaker 5 (39:24):
Then he's bawling out in the Super Bowl, which also
goes to safety in general. Evan, on your big board,
you have a couple of safeties too, right, I.

Speaker 3 (39:30):
Do have a couple of safeties. I think you know,
Kevin Byern is thirty three years old, he's only on
a one year contract, and he's a great player. He
is an All Pro last year. But I think that's
a position that is sort of twofold to me.

Speaker 2 (39:41):
One.

Speaker 3 (39:42):
I think that they need pipeline players, they developmental players,
because Bayern's obviously going to be here for a short time,
not a long time. The other thing is is do
they want to get more three safety heavy? Do they
want to have that in their back pocket that you know,
dime defense sixty you know, defensive backs, third down and
not to keep going back to Seattle, but Seattle, right, Like,

(40:05):
do you want to be able to do that sort
of thing? Uh, then you need to get a third
safety in here that's maybe a little bit better than.

Speaker 2 (40:12):
What you have.

Speaker 3 (40:12):
You know, no disrespected del Pettis, but you know, can
you upgrade that third safety spot in the short term,
and then maybe in the long term that player is
Kevin Byard's long term replacement in Craig Woodson's wingman for
the next four or five years. So, you know, we
talked about cacc if Emmanuel McNeil Warren is one of
the guys that slides through the cracks at thirty one

(40:35):
because all the tackles go, and all the edge rushers go,
and the receivers all go, and you're sitting there and
you're saying, well, McNeil Warren bigger, longer, more physical player
than what we have already. So can he be like
our big nickel, you know, as a rookie and then
train under Kevin Byard, and then when Bayard is not
here anymore, then we have a guy to step right

(40:57):
in as a starter. With McNeil Warren. You know, you
can go later in the draft at that spot too.
It's a pretty deep safety draft, but I'm just saying,
you know, there's arguments to be made for that position
as well.

Speaker 1 (41:08):
I think you're touching on to me, which is one
of the most interesting schematic things of this draft, and
we've talked about a little bit, is just they have
a very specific set of safeties types that they like.
But how do they split that second level coverage?

Speaker 2 (41:21):
You know?

Speaker 1 (41:21):
And that feeds into do they look at a linebacker
and off the ball linebacker who might maybe having a
little bit more size to challenge some of these tight ends,
or do they look at a little bit more of
a strong safety. When you look at modern NFL defense,
I see that as like kind of the weird point.
And it was so on display when you went from
Jerrameo and Bill Belichick's defense where it's Patrick Chung and

(41:44):
Kyle Duggar and you know, match and never have too
many strong safety types. And our linebackers are gonna be
big dudes who we probably don't want them in coverage,
but they're gonna be able to stop the run and
be physical. I think you might maybe get a signal
here of like what direction the scheme's gonna tend to evolve,
because again, and going back to my main point, you
didn't they couldn't do everything last year. So I think
there probably are some players in positions last year that

(42:05):
we don't even realize that this isn't the perfect fit. Ideally,
we'd like to get a mobile middle linebacker in there.
But you know, let's use Del Petes for example, in
that role this year.

Speaker 3 (42:13):
You know, I just thought they got into some of
the dime stuff last year, and they did have Del
Pettis on the field in certain situations, and I just
love the look of that. I think that, especially on
third down, there's just a ton of flexibility that you
can get out of that schematically. Whereas you know, they
lived a lot in three corner nickel last year, and look,
they have three really good corners with Gonzales Davis and

(42:34):
Marcus Jones, so I get it. But when you're a
team that lives in three corner nickel like that, you
know eventually what we saw and I know we keep
going back to it, But in the Super Bowl, a
team just ran at three corner nickel and they were
able to run the ball right down your throat. And
they didn't have a bigger option in the nickel spot.
And I love Marcus Jones, but Marcus Jones is not

(42:54):
that right, and so you know, they didn't have a
bigger body type to put in the slot that might
be able to essentially stop to run like a linebacker
and be a little bit more physical and you know,
be take up a little bit more space. So you know,
that's a lot of these defenses, you know Seattle's and
you know the Baltimore's and the Chargers and you know,

(43:14):
all those different defenses that are kind of the darlings
of the league right now.

Speaker 2 (43:18):
A lot of them have that.

Speaker 3 (43:19):
Nick Ammon worry player that's sort of a Swiss Army
knife that can blur the lines between safety and linebacker,
and not necessarily in the same way as the Belichick
defenses did it, in more of a unique zone kind
of dropping type of way, but still a guy that
is just a little bit more sturdy in.

Speaker 2 (43:36):
There and you know, can hold up against the run.

Speaker 1 (43:38):
He's one of the first thoughts I had watching the
Super Bowl up in the six hundreds, the all twenty
two of you. But it was obvious from the start
that they had aj Barner and they're going to get
him on Marcus Jones. And you know, we saw Marcus
Jones almost pick off a pass. But all season long,
and I love Marcus Jones. I thought that was the
best year of his career. Last year he was an
All Pro punt returner. He is an impact player on

(44:00):
defense and he unleashed the level of physicality last year
that we had not seen yet. But you're gonna have
to live with the fact that when he gets matched
up on a tight end or a tall receiver and
teams are gonna try to get that matchup soright.

Speaker 3 (44:11):
You know.

Speaker 1 (44:11):
It's just it's one of those things where you love
the player, but you know that there are some things
that he just inherently is five foot eight and if
he's on a guy who's six foot five, you can't
blame another team for targeting that, you know. So I
but to have another player to slide in there, and
then it's like, well we pulling Marcus Jones.

Speaker 3 (44:26):
I've always wondered if, like you know, maybe this is
totally off base, but if they did get a guy
that could play a little bit bigger in the Nickels spot,
Like can Marcus Jones play a little bit of safety?

Speaker 1 (44:37):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (44:38):
Like can he move back a little bit to the
deep part of the field. I mean, he's got great speed,
you know, he's got instincts, he's got a nose for it. Like,
you know, maybe he's somebody that you could use in
that sort of way. Because I don't want to take
him off the field. He's one of their best players.
Like no one's you know, trying to take him off
the field. But at the same time, you know that's
there's an argument to be made for that, and I

(44:58):
had that tough time.

Speaker 2 (44:59):
Dude, you kind of hit on it with this draft.

Speaker 3 (45:02):
So many when you look for those bigger safeties like
a Nick Ammon worry, they don't exist because they're all linebackers.
So like in college now the two hundred and twenty
pound you know, strong safety is now Kyle Lewis, he's
now playing linebacker. You know, he's Harold Perkins, he's you know,
guys that have LB next to their dame. So it's

(45:23):
maybe semantics, you know, whether he's a linebacker or he's
a safety. But in this safety class, there's a lot
more cover guys and there are run defender types, and
like there aren't a lot of guys that are true
box safeties because those are all now being played at
linebacker in the college game. Like the one guy I
can probably think of his trade on Stokes from Arizona,

(45:44):
but he might now go in the first round two apparently,
so you know, I don't I don't know, But like
you know some of the guys that I gravitated towards,
you know, Bud Clark, Genesis Smith, those types of players,
those are cover guys like those are guys you want
to know.

Speaker 2 (45:59):
Is the one the one?

Speaker 3 (46:00):
Him and McNeil Warrener the two guys I think are
going to play closer to the line of scrimmage.

Speaker 2 (46:05):
So you know, maybe Halsey's on the list.

Speaker 1 (46:07):
All right, guys, I hate to do this too, but
I'd like to just talk for a minute about the
other teams in the NFL, specifically AFC.

Speaker 4 (46:13):
Oh.

Speaker 1 (46:13):
There are teams, well, especially the Jets, who are are
picking second overall. And you know, look the Jets, they've
made a lot of moves this offseason. They kind of
hit the reset button again again. But if you were
the Jets, ev or you know, anybody can chime in,
just you know, you're picking here at two and sixteen,
I mean, opportunity for the Jets and this is just
the tip of the iceberg for all their picks. The

(46:34):
Miami Dolphins picking right before the Patriots. But I don't
love that either, because that's going to always be a
pick that's kind of married to the Patriots. And then
you know the Bill's going slightly before that at twenty six.
Just any general thoughts you guys have on on the
AFC East what they need to do. You know, especially
Buffalo I've said, is maybe panicking a little bit. Maybe
they're getting a little tight.

Speaker 2 (46:53):
They see as soon as Josh.

Speaker 1 (46:57):
Allen opened that game, I'm like, oh, this is gonna
look good for the Bruins. But you know, those are
the teams I see is obviously the Patriots most direct competition.
The Bill's looking to bounce back this year. They've got
a new head coach. What do you think the Bills need?

Speaker 3 (47:10):
So I think the smart move to make is to
draft one of these edge rushers because they are thin
there and you know, I know they have Greg Russou
on one side, but the other side has kind of
been a little.

Speaker 2 (47:22):
Bit more of a revolving door.

Speaker 3 (47:23):
And I think defensively, it doesn't get talked about enough
how much of a step back they've taken on that side.

Speaker 2 (47:29):
Of the ball.

Speaker 3 (47:30):
And I think ultimately what decided McDermott's faith. I know
it's because he didn't win any playoff games, but I
think ultimately why they didn't win any playoff games was
just as much about the fact that they couldn't stop
anybody when it mattered versus Josh Allen and his issues
in playoff games.

Speaker 2 (47:47):
So McDermott was a defensive coach. It was his system.

Speaker 3 (47:52):
It went back a lot of years, all the way
back to Carolina, like over a decade plus of running
that same system in Carolina and Buffalo, and it kind
of fell apart talent wise for them on all three levels,
I would say defensively.

Speaker 2 (48:05):
So Ed Rusher, I think is the one.

Speaker 3 (48:07):
Just listening to some of the people in Buffalo, that's
like that's a smart pick, right, Like that's the you know,
head on your shoulders kind of pick. The pick that
is the classic Buffalo Bills pick is wide receiver because
you're just trying to make Josh Allen as operational as
possible and appease people when they say that Josh Allen
doesn't have enough, you know, around him in the passing game.

(48:29):
They certainly took a step back in their downfield passing
game last year. They were not a very prolific downfield
deep passing attacks. They didn't really have anybody to throw
to them, right, So you have Shakir, you have Kincaid,
You have knocks. Those guys are kind of second you know,
first and second level. Yeah, the Dj Moore trade is

(48:50):
sort of along the lines of trying to get somebody
that can win on the outside and down the field.
But I think that ultimately they come back and they
take one of these edge rushers. The Jets are also
really fascinating to me. I feel like they should probably
go David Bailey because to me, r Vel Reese is

(49:10):
a ball of clay. He is Is he a linebacker?
Is he an on the ball linebacker? Is he an
off the ball linebacker? Is he a pass rusher?

Speaker 2 (49:19):
What is he?

Speaker 3 (49:20):
And if I'm the Jets, I'm thinking a little bit
pessimistically here, like, are we one hundred percent sure.

Speaker 2 (49:26):
Aaron Glenn is the guy?

Speaker 3 (49:28):
And if we're gonna give him this developmental player that
we don't really know where he is gonna play, and
it's sort of a feeling out situation, and we're gonna
draft him with a plan in mind from one coach
and then a year from now we're gonna have a
totally different coach. You know, Is that really the best case?
Where David Bailey has been playing EDG rusher his whole life.
You put him out over the tackle and you know

(49:48):
he's gonna be able to play the position. So it's
definitely a simpler projection, and especially if you're not one
hundred percent sold on the coach, giving him a guy
like Rvel Reese feels like tenuous at best.

Speaker 5 (50:00):
If you're the Jets and the Dolphins, you need to
draft an edge rusher because for those two you're playing
Josh Allen Drake May for the next minimum eight years.
If you're the Jets and the Dolphins, do not draft
Tie Simpson like you should, but I've just not really
sold on it when you got next year's draft class
or you're potentially getting on paper a better quarterback as
Evan said, like are you gonna draft Tie Simpson and

(50:21):
then Aaron Glenn's gone, and then you're kind of stuck
with a Josh Roseen situation, Like you don't want to
waste that pick.

Speaker 1 (50:27):
He is Simpson gonna get you to a point where
just out of range of the better quarterbacks, but you know, yeah.

Speaker 6 (50:33):
Serviceable that you can.

Speaker 2 (50:36):
Like a Dolphin or Jets pick.

Speaker 3 (50:38):
To me, no, I think the Jets are in full
you know, let's wait in for the twenty twenty seven
quarterback class and hope like Arch Manning or one of
those guys is falls.

Speaker 2 (50:46):
To our lap.

Speaker 3 (50:48):
The Dolphins, I think, kind of believe in Malik Willis.
I don't know if they should, but they kind of do.

Speaker 6 (50:52):
They do.

Speaker 3 (50:53):
It's like a bridgie thing though still yeah, obviously if
it doesn't, if it blows up in their face, then
they'll be at the top of the draft and they'll
be picking quarterback next year too. The team that feels
like the Ty Simpson team to me is the Cardinals. No, Like,
that's a team that I feel like, you know, they
have a Laflora now as their head coach, Like, if you.

Speaker 2 (51:10):
Can you plug him into that system that all.

Speaker 3 (51:12):
The you know, Shanahan Tree guys are running And is
he brock Purty, is he Jimmy Garoppolo? Is he just
the guy that's going to hit the right buttons and
get the ball where it needs to go?

Speaker 5 (51:21):
But you're talking about the Cardinals, it could be the
same thing. They're probably gonna stink again next year and
then you're in another top ten situation you have Ty Simpson,
Are you literally going to do the same thing?

Speaker 1 (51:29):
I mean, it's an interesting point, especially when you think
about our team is really gonna want to trade up
for him. That's been some of the speculation. I want
to get into the first round, get him with a
fifth year option. But I like what you're selling a
little bit better rather than expending capital now to get
them and then feeling like, well, we don't even know,
and let's face it, I don't even know if you'll
know next year with it, well, he might need a
couple of years.

Speaker 5 (51:49):
That also being said, we talk about quarterbacks, look at
two years ago by saying Michael Pennix going in the
second and he went number nine something like that, yet
pretty high.

Speaker 1 (51:57):
So nobody there is there that kind of pick this?
Hear you think, is there somebody? Because I've seen speculation
here today and this is of course we're all losing
our minds now. Having done this for a munthiple months,
you figured out every scenario and now you're coming up
with the ones that are the most ludicrous. But you
know it, is there a player this year you think
that somebody might fall in love with and just grab
I mean, maybe it is Simpson. Maybe somebody does love him.

Speaker 2 (52:19):
I think for me, I think for me, he really
loves Simpson.

Speaker 6 (52:24):
I'm gonna go a different angle with how you word
that question is and say, I feel like there's more
of a chance that a lot of these edge guys
that are in this draft.

Speaker 1 (52:32):
I think there's I mean, like everybody that's just a
run on edge first round.

Speaker 6 (52:37):
Yeah, like either that or some of the guys that
you were thinking might go early early in that like
top ten area. Maybe it's gonna be a different edge
rusher than we thought, you know what I mean something
like that. I think it's more likely that one.

Speaker 3 (52:49):
I feel like we've gotten to a consensus with this draft.
It's a weird draft. There isn't a ton of blue
chip talent. There isn't a ton of quarterbacks other than Mendoza.
I feel like sure things, but like I there's a
long list, but I feel like there's probably, like I know,
the nine guys that are like the guys in this draft.
You know, Mendoza, Reese, Styles, Downs, Jeremiah Love, David Bailey,

(53:14):
Monsieur Delaine, who I think is just a stud at cornerback.
And then I'm biking on the last one. Of course,
I'll pull it up a second bin.

Speaker 2 (53:22):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (53:23):
Ruben Bain and so I feel like those nine guys
are are going somewhere in the top ten. I don't know,
you know, obviously we know where Mendoza is going, but
other than him, I don't really know an order. But
I think those nine guys are going to go somewhere.
I think the wild cards in this draft to me
are guys like Jordan Tyson, Carnel Tait. Like, do those
guys you know, sneak into the top ten? Do they

(53:43):
go ten to the giants? You know, something like that.
And I would also mention the offensive lineman that everybody
says is gonna are gonna fly off the board, But
some of these offensive linemen have some weird quirks about them.
You know, Francis Milwauga's had a little bit of an
injury thing going on pre draft, and uh doesn't have
you know, it's a wider body, shorter build, you know,
in terms of his arm length and things like that.

(54:05):
So he's kind of like a little bit of a
tweeter between a garden right tackle. I would say, you know,
Spencer for no. I some people think he's gonna play center,
you know, like he's like one of those guys that
is like you know, no one really knows where he's
gonna end up on the line, but everybody likes him,
you know, Like, but no one really knows where he's
going to play. So, uh, when you hear those types

(54:26):
of things about tackles, it just doesn't feel like that's
like a top ten tackle, like your top ten tackle.
You know where he's going to play, you know, you
know what his skill set is and his body type
suggests and all that stuff. You know, I don't know
if you're going to pick a guy like Fano in
the top ten that it might actually be a center,
you know, Like I.

Speaker 1 (54:44):
Don't know about that too soon. Yeah, all right, we
got five minutes left, guys. I want to have a
bold predictions here. There's only some bold predictions here on
this draft. This weekend can be anything. They're going to
select a position for Patriots. The Patriots only.

Speaker 5 (54:55):
That's what we're getting. We're getting a Gonzo Askue thing
and we're trading up and taking Sadik. Wow, they said bold.

Speaker 1 (55:05):
I mean I like it. We both kind of flirted
with that. It goes back to what I said, like
that second tight end, Like that's like.

Speaker 5 (55:11):
If you like a guy and he's a couple of
picks ahead of you go get your guy.

Speaker 3 (55:14):
So there are all these rumors about trading downs, trading up, don't.

Speaker 1 (55:20):
Make any picks, they trade him on next year.

Speaker 6 (55:22):
I do that, I would say for me, I mean,
my head's been selling it. I think in some way,
Casey conception.

Speaker 4 (55:31):
Might fall to be a Patriot.

Speaker 6 (55:33):
I do feel that way. I've been on him Tisa
and I've been talking about for a while. I think
as well, and I just think he's one of those guys.
If he falls, I think you just go with it.
I feel like he's the most well rounded receiver in
this draft as far as hands, speed, you know, rout ability,
just guy that can get off the ball and he's quick.

Speaker 2 (55:55):
You know.

Speaker 6 (55:55):
I'm just I'm kind of married to him in that
water shee resition.

Speaker 1 (55:59):
I really love.

Speaker 6 (56:00):
We would love to see Casey can concept you don't
be a Patriot.

Speaker 2 (56:03):
That's a good one. I don't think trading out is
bold anymore.

Speaker 3 (56:08):
Sent how about they trade out of the first round,
but then they trade back up from sixty three in
the second round and try to draft two guys in
like the top fifty range. You know, I feel like
there's gonna be a lot of maneuvering in the draft
like this, and I wonder if maybe they look at
it and say, let's take two bites at it, you know,
in that twenty five to fifty range instead of one,

(56:29):
and move around the board a little bit. If they
do trade down tonight, I hope that they get a
twenty twenty seven pick involved. I think you're gonna trade
a twenty twenty seven pick for a J. Brown, So
it'd be nice to get one back in that trade
to try to replenish the stock there.

Speaker 2 (56:42):
A little bit.

Speaker 3 (56:43):
But I am anticipating that the Patriots could be moving
around a little bit over the next couple of days.

Speaker 1 (56:48):
Yeah, I'm gonna go I don't know how both this is.
I'm gonna go defense, that they're gonna this is gonna
be a defense heavy draft, and that tomorrow there's gonna
be three picks, that two of them will be defensive
side of the ball, and that they're really going to
remake the color of this defense with some of their
some of their guys. I mean, that's when we were
in Indye for the combine, it was just anyone you
talk to you like, that's a that's a raable guy.
You know, you can tell the guys that play with

(57:09):
that kind of style. But otherwise, any any hopes for
tonight guys as we count down the last hopes we
got about eight hours.

Speaker 5 (57:16):
I hope we get I hope we get a good
a good vet in a trade like yeah, like, I
don't know what's going to be.

Speaker 4 (57:22):
It could have been no, no, like you know, not.

Speaker 5 (57:27):
That it's pits, but somebody that can plug and play instantly.
You're giving you're giving up a pick, but you're getting
a Star Brown not named a J.

Speaker 4 (57:34):
Brown.

Speaker 1 (57:35):
What position?

Speaker 4 (57:35):
I don't know?

Speaker 1 (57:38):
Ho anything else?

Speaker 2 (57:39):
Chris?

Speaker 1 (57:40):
What do you got going tonight? Chris?

Speaker 4 (57:41):
I need Max.

Speaker 6 (57:42):
I am not sure to be a patriot.

Speaker 4 (57:44):
I know what I want.

Speaker 2 (57:47):
That's that's the bull, that's the bullet.

Speaker 1 (57:53):
I can and I will.

Speaker 3 (57:56):
Like to pick somebody because I think, you know, maybe
Campbell had some detractors, but at the end of the day,
everybody saw the vision and understood why and all that
kind of stuff. This has been a draft has been
a little bit more touchy, I would say, because they're
of where they're picking. You know, we get hit crap
for you know, being sold a little bit on Denzel Boston.
I also, you know, cash is Howl in the arm

(58:17):
length and we're doing that whole thing again.

Speaker 2 (58:19):
So I just want all of you to be happy.

Speaker 3 (58:22):
I just want all of us to be able to
sit here and say, yeah, we like that pick.

Speaker 1 (58:27):
Last question just for like, is there that guy? Like
I feel like you could rattle off every single potential
Patriot pick at that position, and I can easily see
what we don't get that guy, you know, because somebody's
gonna make everybody happy.

Speaker 3 (58:39):
Like I think Howl is a really good player, and
all I keep hearing is bust Like he used. That
guy's gonna be like why because his arms are half
an inch like shorter than you want them to be.

Speaker 5 (58:48):
Like, come on, think about all the busts that we've
had here, Like is it that bad?

Speaker 1 (58:53):
And look all these guys that we're talking and we're
looking right now with like the top town of Dania
Joe Remia is final, Like a bunch of these guys
are gonna be bus As much as we're pumping every
single one of these first rounders up, there's gonna be
a large number of these guys that don't work.

Speaker 3 (59:05):
There's there's two guys maybe three, but if we want
to count Mendoza, Styles and Jeremiah Love are not going
to be bused. Like those are the two guys that
I feel really good about that are going to be
great players in the league. But yeah, like, let's just
pick somebody that you know we can all get behind.
I think if there are a couple of lightning rods
in this draft, I think Denzel Boston is certainly one

(59:25):
of them, and I think Howell's kind of the other
guy that like, because of the measuables, because of the
athletic profile, people just like don't want anything to do
with them, and I okay, so let's just go a
different direction.

Speaker 6 (59:36):
I think a big thing is if if you can
get the guy off the board and the consensus of
people can say, all right.

Speaker 1 (59:44):
I see the motion, Yeah all right, I want the
Patriots scout the guy with the Twitter. People think, yeah, okay,
but I have to deal with the Twitter.

Speaker 3 (59:55):
You are?

Speaker 1 (59:55):
You are? Oh boy? Well that's going to do it
for another season. Patriots Draft count Down presented by Bud Light.
Of course, we will be live tonight for Patriots Unfiltered,
the infamous Draft show which Fred always says, you better
bring it, So we got to bring it tonight.

Speaker 2 (01:00:07):
He's at me.

Speaker 4 (01:00:08):
You better bring it.

Speaker 1 (01:00:09):
I know, Evan, I'll bring it. I mean, locked in loaded.
We can barely contain him. But it's gonna be a
great draft night. Hope you'll stick with us for all
three and a half hours as we wait for the
Patriots to make their pick, and then we'll be back
tomorrow on Friday, and then of course Saturday too for
a final two to four. We'll wrap things up as
those six round picks continue to roll in and we
all try to find a way to get some sleep.
So thanks for spending this hour with us, and we'll

(01:00:29):
see you in about five hours.

Speaker 4 (01:00:33):
Hey, this is Deuce.

Speaker 1 (01:00:34):
Thanks for tuning into the show. If you really want
to help us, make sure you like us wherever you
get your podcasts like Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Also make
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channel to see this show and everything else that we
do here at the Patriots.

Speaker 4 (01:00:46):
Thanks a lot,