Patriots Draft Countdown: Breaking Down Wide Receivers, Running Backs and Tight Ends

Taking a look at potential fits for the Patriots at wide receiver, running back and tight end in this year‘s NFL draft.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Patriots Draft Countdown presented by bud Like.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Welcome to an NFL draft.

Speaker 3 (00:07):
Hosted by the writers of Patriots dot Com.

Speaker 4 (00:09):
From now until you here, New England Patriots, the countdown
is on.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Welcome to the Patriots Draft Countdown presented by bud Light.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Welcome everybody.

Speaker 4 (00:21):
This is Patriots Draft Countdown presented by bud Light, Easy
to Drink, Easy to enjoy, Budlight, the official beer sponsor
of the New England Patriots, and guys. Just over a
week until the NFL Draft, We're kind of in silly season.
I feel like this is when the rumors start to
come out. This is happening, this isn't happening. But for
the Patriots, Paul, it's all about shouldhar Sanders. Is he
going to go in the top three and push either

(00:42):
Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter down. We've been back and
forth all spring with this and it sounds like Shoulder
Sanders taking some meetings with the Giants, perhaps some interest
out there in him that maybe should be intriguing to
the Patriots.

Speaker 5 (00:52):
So you're saying there's a chance, you know, that's all
anybody wanted, and you know, coinciding with that, you know,
there's reports that Abdul Carter came to borrow and visit
with the Patriots as well, so I think they're doing
the due diligence. Obviously, it makes a lot of sense
to know as much about those guys that you are
going to have a possibility of selecting it for. You
can't just assume that prospect X is not going to

(01:16):
be available. You have to make sure you figure out
who you know that you are interested in, and you
know as much about those guys. Abdul Carter is sort
of an interesting guy. I think it'd be a no
brainer pick if he somehow slipped to four, much like
I think the rest of the panel does. But you
still want to know, you know, some of this off
field stuff that you mentioned Silly season that's starting to

(01:37):
pop up about all these guys.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
You want to learn as much as you can have.
How do you feel about the roller coaster with with
Carter this whole spring?

Speaker 3 (01:43):
Stilly season is right? I mean, we're at the point
now where every team in the top three or four
has picked everybody that they could possibly pick. You know,
the Patriots have picked six different guys at this point.
So I'll find out here soon enough. I think you know,
with the Giants and Shador specifically, it's one of two things.
Either this was their plan all along, that they were
going to do some last minute homework on the top

(02:03):
of the quarterback class, or as we like to say,
this is when the owners tend to get involved in
this process, and maybe you know, there's some push from
upstairs to get involved at the quarterback spot. And the
one thing I would just say with the Giants is
you look at last year. Don't you think that there's
a little bit of a remorse there that they didn't
draft Pennix or bow Nicks or even JJ McCarthy even

(02:26):
though he didn't play. I think all three of those guys,
McCarthy maybe less so than the other two, showed some
signs of starting quarterback potential and maybe even franchise quarterback potential.
So if you're the Giants, you have to be one
hundred percent sure that Shador Sanders is not going to
be that To pass on him for the second year
in a row, to pass on the quarterback, I think

(02:46):
it's going to be tough for that regime if that's
what they do now. At Abdil Carter just quickly it's
a no brainer. If he's there at four for the Patriots.
I think he's one of the best players in the draft,
if not the best player in the draft. Certainly be
at the cherry on top to your defense their deuce,
and I think you'd look at a defense that's pretty
complete at that point. I agree with Paul, though. There

(03:07):
are some things with his football character that have come
out with this foot injury as well that have come
out that make a lot of sense to have him
here and host him on a thirty visit, just to
make sure that you get all those informations behind the scene.

Speaker 4 (03:20):
Yea, and that visits sports supposedly Carter visiting the Patriots
earlier this week on Monday Batists break it down for me, though,
Is this real? Like, I'm sick of going back and
forth on Abdul Carter. I ruled him out early in
the draft process. I'm like, I'm not gonna get my
hopes up. But here we are and we're still being
toyed with Is this real or is it?

Speaker 6 (03:38):
I mean, we've been going in waves of if it's
gonna happen. I always said it was gonna be blessing
if we get Travis Hunter or Carter. I've made my
peace with Will Campbell, but I think there's a chance
they're really like, it's real that there's a chance that
the Patriots could end up with Apple Carter.

Speaker 4 (03:51):
What do you guys think though, as we sit here
right now one week to go, what do you.

Speaker 2 (03:55):
Think is gonna happen here for the Patriots?

Speaker 4 (03:57):
I mean, I did my final mock draft spoiler alert
check it out, Will Campbell. I just tried to hit
it down the middle. I think it makes sense. Wasn't
trying not to get crazy like Ashtrian Genty last.

Speaker 2 (04:05):
Time, Paul. But to me, at the end of the day,
it seems like a pick that makes the most sense.

Speaker 5 (04:09):
So you let Evan beat you down, is what you
So you're saying, what do I think the Patriots are
going to ultimately do? Because I do not think that
Hunter and Carter. I don't think there's much of a possibility.
I think the Giants are sort of putting a sign
up saying we're open for business if someone wants to
come up. You know that the situation with the Saints
and Derek Carr, maybe they think that they have them

(04:29):
in a desperate situation now, I just don't see it happening.
I don't see Sheda Sanders going in the top three.
I think Carter and Hunter will be two three in
some order. I would like to see one of the
Georgia defensive guys, you know, Jalen Walker would be the
guy that I would pick. But as I said earlier
in the week, they do not consult me, and nor

(04:51):
do I make the big bucks to make these decisions,
so I can sit here and be wrong and not
have any consequences about it.

Speaker 4 (04:57):
Good track history though with Georgia defensive players. I'm just saying, Paul,
I think, do you think what's gonna happen?

Speaker 6 (05:02):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (05:02):
I think you look at the top three as it
stands right now, I would say it probably goes Cam Wore,
Travis Hunter, Abdul Carter in that order. And the Browns
feels like they've been gravitating maybe a little bit more
towards Travis Hunter versus Abdul Carter in recent weeks and
now leaves the Patriots in a spot where I feel
like we all have known they will be in basically

(05:23):
for months and have been trying to convince ourselves that
maybe it's a possibility that Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter
could be there for them. I look at the leveling
off of the draft and just feel like all these
players that you're talking about, Jalen Walker, Will Campbell, even
Armand Membu or Mason Graham, they're all similar prospects in
terms of talent level, and they have similar grades on them.

(05:46):
So I feel like the need at left tackle is
going to push Membu and Campbell to the top of
the list, and if it whoever, whichever tackle they like better,
and Mike Rabel and Elliott Wolf like better, is going
to be the guy that they ultimately pick. And I
understand a lot of people want to say best player available,
best player available, but I can make a case for
all of these guys being the best player available. So

(06:08):
when that case, when that is the case, I would
think positional value in need is going to end up
being what trumps everything else. So I would say it's
probably gonna be Will Campbell sneaky dark horse arm On Membu.
But one of those two.

Speaker 6 (06:21):
Tackles, you got a sneaky dark horse teas, I think
it's I've made my bed with Will Campbell, which isn't
a bad thing. It's a pick and a player that
you can play day one, and that's a win for
me in the draft.

Speaker 4 (06:32):
All right, well, we got a jam packed episode here.
We're talking about the wide receivers, the running backs and
tight ends. Long positional preview, the first check out, Evans
film review.

Speaker 3 (06:40):
What's up, everybody, It's Evan Lazard's the Patriots Countdown film Room,
and today a really exciting position for you all. I
hope you guys are looking forward to this one. The
wide receivers in this year's NFL draft. We look at
the top five. Yep, Travis Hunter. I have them as
the number one corner and the number one receiver in
this year's draft. But I also want to show you
some film on to Tour Millan from Arizona teed really athletic,

(07:03):
great body control, great size for the position. I love
Luther Burden, I think everybody knows that, and Mecha Buka
and Matthew Golden two really solid receivers as well in
that twenty to forty range of this year's draft. But
let's start with those top two guys. We'll break down
the film on those guys a little bit here in
a second, and this right here is just Travis Hunter

(07:23):
at his absolute best and why I think he's the
best receiver in this class for two reasons. Play speed
ball skills. So we're gonna run the same concept on
both of these examples, but we're gonna run it against
man and we're gonna run it against zone. So up
here at the top of the screen, if we can
posit here for a second, we're gonna run these double
posts here. We're gonna just clear out this side for
Travis Hunter to come across on the crossing route and

(07:45):
he's gonna get man to man coverage right there and
then well you can see is he can run away
from it and then he can go up and get it.
So we're gonna show this play from the end zone angle.
I want to show you how he high points the
football and just his explosiveness from a vertical standpoint to
go up and jump up and catch his football. So
we're gonna run away from the man to man, get
him in trail then positive right there, you can see
those fantastic ball skills right here at the top. Just

(08:08):
watch him go elevate for this football right over the
head of the defender and bring it in with those
strong hands. And then on this next play here, it's
the same exact concept. So just positive right here for
a second. We're gonna have the double posts here at
the top, and then we're gonna have the crossing route
from Hunter from the isolated side. This time, though, we're
gonna get zone coverage. And I think an underrated part

(08:30):
about his game, if we posit it right here, is
that he has a really great feel of making himself
quarterback friendly in zone coverages. So he knows that he's
gonna get this clear out from the double post, and
he's just gonna settle in this void and you can
see Sadors running for his life and he just finds
that soft spot and then look at the yak watch
this move at the end, see you right, that's what
he brings to the table with the ball in his

(08:51):
hands as well. You have that ability to get open
against zone and then run with the football. And the
next one here with Ted McMillan, a different type of receiver,
not explosive, not as dynamic. But what I think what's
fun about Tet McMillan is his start stopability. He's got
a great ability here to run these nine stop routes
with just nine steps and then stop at the top
of the route and watch how he can break down

(09:13):
efficiency efficiently at the top. Make them respect that vertical
stop down, create that separation, and watch this just turn
right up the field. Make the defender miss for some
easy yak. Now, what's fun about McMillan is that you
can also move him inside. So he's a big slot
or an ex receiver. So we're gonna move him inside
on this possession and we're just gonna run the seam

(09:33):
right up the middle of the field and just watch
the catch radius and watch the size that he can
play with right there, back shoulder seamball, just go up
and get it. So we can move him inside. We
can move him outside and then down on the goal line.
Here he is against Hunter at the bottom of the
screen from twenty twenty three. We're just gonna play him
in isolation and we're gonna throw him the back shoulder
fade on the goal line and watch this one handed

(09:54):
catch by Tet McMillan. So you have size, you have
body control, you have hands. He doesn't have that didynamic
down the field speed like Travis Hunter does, but he's
got a lot of really good qualities about him that
are gonna make him a top ten pick. A couple
of other thoughts on the rest of these guys. Luther Burden,
I just love his game. Had a really good twenty
twenty three season. Kind of took a step back last year.

(10:16):
That's caused him to fall a little bit. But he
is a three level separator right He can run at
the first level, he can run deep, he can run
with the football in his hands. He's just a burner.
He gets open everywhere. Has a good frame about him
as well. If you want that yards after the catch,
that Deebo Samuel type of player. Luther Burden reminds me
a lot of him coming out of college. Matthew Golden,

(10:36):
we all know about the forty yard dash ran in
the four two's plays to it as well. Great route runner,
great speed, really separates at the top of routes. One
of the best route runners in this class and probably
the best all around wide receiver. A Mecca Abuka from
Ohio State. A little bit older than some of these
other guys, but he blocks well, He's tough, he goes

(10:56):
over the middle of the field. He can run routes
from multiple alignments. He just doesn't have a whole lot
of flaws to his game. I wouldn't say that he's
as explosive or as high end talent as some of
these other guys above him, but Abuka is just a
safe bet there early day, you know, late Day one,
early Day two, somewhere in there. So those are your
top of the wide receiver class. It's a decent class,

(11:17):
not like last year, not as good at the top
when he had those three big receivers and Harrison junior
neighbors and a donsay, but I still think there's a
lot of talent there for the Patriots at wide receiver.
On days one and two, I expect him to take
a player at that position at some point in the
top one hundred.

Speaker 4 (11:35):
At long last, it's finally time to talk about the
wide receivers, the running backs, and the tight ends. Guys,
these are three positions we spend a lot of time
talking about every single year.

Speaker 2 (11:44):
Each year the position seemed to change.

Speaker 4 (11:46):
A little bit though, and this year I'd say the
running back class very strong. Wide receiver not as quite
as top heavy as we saw last year, but probably
some gems in there. And then the tight end class
not as great as we certainly saw last year. I
want to start off with a wide receiver, and I'm
just going to throw Travis Hunter out there to start.
He plays both ways, but if he was drafted by
the Patriots fourth over Paul, He's probably.

Speaker 2 (12:06):
Going to come here and probably going to be a
wide receiver out.

Speaker 1 (12:08):
Of the gate.

Speaker 5 (12:09):
Obviously, you love the athleticism, you love all the intrigue
around him. I can't think of a guy like him,
you know, in recent not even recent memory, any memory,
a guy strictly coming into the league with this kind
of versatility. I'm intrigued, like everybody else, with the idea
of him committing to wide receiver and what he might
be able to do. I know Evan talks about this

(12:29):
a lot. He talked about it during the week on
PU just how little time he gets to practice that craft.
And people say, well, he's not a great route runner. Well,
no kidding, you know, he doesn't spend a whole lot
of time sort of you know, honing that skill set.
So I am intrigued by what he could be in
the NFL if he were to vote devote his time
to being a wide receiver.

Speaker 4 (12:50):
What does it look like Evan, if he's drafted here
going to be a wide receiver, what's that process look like.

Speaker 3 (12:55):
I think at first you need to have him dive
two feet in with wide receiver and not put corner
totally on the back burner, but at least focus one
hundred percent on wide receiver to start, which I think
is what the plan that Mike Rabel hypothetically laid out
during the league meetings was, let's get let him master

(13:15):
one side of the ball, and then once he gets
to mastery level, then maybe we can start introducing the
other side of the football. So the Patriots do draft
Travis Hunter, I would not expect him to come out
in Week one be playing seventy you know, snaps on
both sides of the football. I think it's going to
be heavily tilted towards one versus the other. But when
I watch him play wide receiver, I just see a

(13:36):
lot of the natural movement skills that tend to really
translate to the NFL. Obviously, play speed, acceleration after the catch,
ball skills, ability to change gears within the route to
set up defensive backs, like all those different types of
things that he does at an extremely high level is
what all the top receivers in the league do at

(13:57):
an extremely high level. So if you have it picks
about nuance like that'll come, I think over time. But
there's a he's built different, Like there's only so many
people that move like that on a football field.

Speaker 2 (14:08):
Yea, Tsu, you're always on these wide receivers. I remember
a probable.

Speaker 4 (14:11):
I always bring up t Higgins, but you always really
watched the wide receivers.

Speaker 2 (14:14):
What do you think of Yeah?

Speaker 1 (14:15):
I love Hunter. It's crazy.

Speaker 6 (14:16):
You remember when he flipped from Florida State to Jackson State.
It's kind of crazy to see a progression go all
the way through his college career and then maybe he
ends up being a Patriot. But I think so much
emphasis is put on the defense during the free agency
period that like, let's put him at receiver and then
we can figure out what happens with the defense.

Speaker 1 (14:32):
I agree with having with that.

Speaker 4 (14:33):
So all right, I'm gonna throw a few more names
out here just at once, and you guys can jump in.
I see these as kind of the first second round guys.

Speaker 2 (14:40):
But the four guys Ted McMillan.

Speaker 4 (14:42):
Plenty about him, big tall receiver, contested catch guy, Matthew
Golden really had a strong year.

Speaker 2 (14:47):
Fast ran a four two nine.

Speaker 4 (14:48):
A mechag Buka from Ohio State, probably the most pro
ready polished wide receiver. Maybe not a standout in anything,
but knows how to play, knows how to get open.
And lastly, Luther Burden ran a four to four to one.
He's another guy that you know, all these guys have.
What's your flavor? You know, and Paul, I don't know
who stands out to you of this group if any of.

Speaker 5 (15:06):
Those two, Golden and Burden would be my preferences. I
like the idea of Burden. Now, he didn't have a
great year at Missouri. Evan talks about, you know, the
quarterback situation. He's a thousand percent right, so Missouri play
a couple of times. They didn't have the same kind
of production that he had the previous season. But I
like the idea of his ability not just like not

(15:27):
a pure slot but a guy who can play in
the slot, a guy who can sort of play.

Speaker 2 (15:31):
Which the one Z, there.

Speaker 3 (15:32):
You go the ball, noa blanker.

Speaker 5 (15:35):
Yeah, you know that kind of versatility athleticism. I like
Luther Burden a little bit, and I know that he's
sort of falling a little. And that's why I've been
watching him. There's some you know, some character concerns off
you know, how much he loves football, how much he
wants to compete and all. So that sort of drops
into that second round category. I'm interested in that. Obviously,

(15:56):
Golden ran the unbelievable forty time with the combine. I
don't think he'll still be there in the second round,
but Burden is a guy that might.

Speaker 4 (16:02):
Be Maybe Burden falls, but the other guys maybe in
that as well.

Speaker 2 (16:07):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (16:09):
Yeah, I've always loved Luther Burden. I think Luther Burden
to me is the third best receiver in the class.
You know, I have a first round grade on Luther Burden.
I think his year in twenty twenty three. You really
have to go back and watch the year in twenty
twenty three when he was more consistent and then the
play around him was more consistent. And I just look
at the way that he can really challenge the defense

(16:31):
at all three levels. You can throw catch and run
targets at him, you know, quick hitters over the middle
and have him run with the football. You can also
have him, you know, separate over the top. He's really
good at double moves, deep crossers, things like that. So
he's a complete receiver for that type of receiver, that archetype,
that slot receiver. Mold I see a little debo in there.
I know he gets a lot of Deebo Samuel comparisons,

(16:53):
but I think he's a better downfield rut runner coming
into the league than Deebo was. So I've compared him
a lot to Zay Flowers throughout this entire process, and
I just think that those two guys kind of in
a similar mole would win differently at the same time,
and I could see him in that category just quickly.
On Matthew Golden, he doesn't really play to that time speed.

(17:13):
Now he'll tell you that he wasn't asked to play
to that time speed, So I guess maybe that's a
little bit of a you know, hidden talent of his potentially,
But I don't think he plays to four two eight
four two nine. But he's a very good route runner,
very angular, very good out of the top of the route,
very good hands at the catch point as well. There

(17:34):
have been and I know he's on the Patriots now,
so it's fun to say there have been some Stefan
Diggs comparisons with Matthew Golden, and I could definitely see that,
but that's more of a intermediate route runner than really
a true deep threat route runner that might every once
in a while, you know, have that in his back pocket,
but isn't his calling card or his carrying trade.

Speaker 5 (17:55):
I would just say, you know, on the field, he
was in and out of games in the playoffs, and
there was an enormous difference in the Texas offense when
he was off the field. I'm thinking of the Arizona
State game in particular, they were doing whatever they wanted offensively.
I think he left that game for a period of
time and that's when Arizona State made the run. So
he's a guy who definitely made a big impact on

(18:18):
his offense.

Speaker 3 (18:18):
Two really opposite like career arcs for Burden and Golden.
Like Golden's the early breakout guys, true sophomore breakout Golden had,
like all of his production is really in like four games,
but they all came on the biggest stage in the
college football playoffs.

Speaker 6 (18:33):
What stands out tot for those top guys, Well, listen,
I like amigag Buka, just think about all the great
receivers that have come from Ohio State, and Evan correct
me if I'm wrong he is the record for receptions.

Speaker 3 (18:42):
Or yeah, well he's there for five years.

Speaker 6 (18:45):
Yeah yeah, but fair like that's a great receiver, that's
been all of them, all of them. But he I
think if he could maybe fall into that late first round,
maybe early second round, that'd be a good a good
shot there. I also want to talk about, maybe a
bit later, Kyle william and Isaiah Bond Just too fast, guys.

Speaker 3 (19:02):
You got to get to that. We're gonna get to that.

Speaker 6 (19:05):
No, no, But Kyle Williams the one that stands out
to me too just you know, not the greatest route runner,
but he's very fast.

Speaker 1 (19:10):
Get the ball in his hand and see what happened.

Speaker 4 (19:12):
Yeah, you just stole my thunder there a little bit
tea because I was going to talk about three guys
a little bit later down and we can skip around
a little bit. Please bring up you know, Jayden Higgins,
Jack Besh if you guys want, But I just gonna
throw out Jalen Noel, Isaiah Bond and and and Kyle Williams.
Three guys who can all run, who are all fast
and That's what I think personally, I want to see
out of this draft is get maybe it did Day

(19:32):
three guy, not Day three, third round kind of guy
somewhere in that range. Doesn't have to be a high roundup,
but just to bring this an element of speed to
this team. I've been all over I mean Isaiah Bond
since early. You know, he was at Texas, you know,
with Golden and it hasn't quite lived up to that potential.

Speaker 2 (19:47):
But all these guys are absolutely is talent.

Speaker 4 (19:50):
Alabama guy, I mean ran a four to three seven,
Noel ran a four to three nine. Kyle Williams not
too far behind with a four to four to rowho.
So for me, when I look at this wide receiver
roster right now, those are the kind of guys that
I'm intrigued in.

Speaker 2 (20:01):
Doesn't have to be a high round pick.

Speaker 4 (20:03):
I think those high round picks need to go towards
offensive tackle and defensive end. But I think when we
get to Day three, those are three guys that jump
out to me as guys who have some speed.

Speaker 2 (20:12):
I know, Paul, you have a comment on those guys. Yes,
somebody else.

Speaker 5 (20:14):
Haines is my you know, because I like the guys
on the outside. I think that at some point. You know,
we talk a lot about left tackle, and rightly so,
about kicking the can down. They have not had that
kind of guy in a while. The bigger guy. I'm
a little intrigued by him. I mean, obviously this flaw.
He's not a first round projection, so there's problems with
his game, and there's going to be problems with these
kinds of guys. Not probably as fast, is what you know.

(20:36):
The guys certainly not certainly not as shifty as some
of those smaller guys. But I think they have enough
of the smaller guys. I'm looking for some size.

Speaker 3 (20:43):
Yeah, Jayden Higgins, his issues really are with speed and
with separation down the field. I compared him to like
Michael Pittman junior with the Colts, where he's going to
really be like a big possession receiver. You know, you're
not going to really get a ton of downfield stretch
with him, but you're going to have those for some
second level wins. Like he's really good at, you know,
running slants in cuts, finding soft spots and zone coverage

(21:06):
like that sort of thing. That's why a lot of
people help project him to maybe move inside and play
like a big slot role instead of a pure outside
guy at the next level. Kyle Williams is interesting. He
can play a little bit on the outside and he
can stack over the top on go routes, so you
see some of that release quickness and that ability off
the line of scrimmage certainly with him. He's got good

(21:27):
play speed, really good with the football in his hands
if you want to scheme touch his for him and
things like that. He's been someone that's I would put
in kind of like the late riser category. He's twenty
three years old, he had a little bit of a
late breakout and has just kind of steadily climbed up
the media boards at least during the draft process. But
when we get into that Kyle Williams mold, it's kind

(21:48):
of like a day two stack to me of you know,
Jalen Noel, Kyle Williams, Isaiah Bond, and then Jalen Royals
from Utah State. All four of those guys are kind
of the same type of receiver. It's just a flavor
thing of which one you prefer. I'm no guy Jalen
Nole from Io State. I think he reminds me a
ton of Tyler Lockett speed slot receiver, a really good separator,

(22:09):
really good technician, but he has the speed to push
it down the field. But if you had Kyle Williams
as your guy in that stack, like it's it's pretty
clustered together, So I wouldn't, you know, be too mad
about that. But those four guys, if that, you know
what Deuce was describing, and I agree just looking at
the way they've moved throughout this process too. With the Patriots,
it does seem like they're trying to get separators, which

(22:31):
I think is is good. Like I think they are
kind of trying to get away from, you know, the
Jalen polk archetype maybe a little bit, and get guys
that can really get open at the top of the
route and down the field. And all four of those
guys would fit that category.

Speaker 4 (22:44):
I'm just soon to jump in real quick before I
go to uts, just because Jack Bash and Savior of
Restrepplo Restrepber around four a five down and is pro
day not good.

Speaker 2 (22:52):
Drop his status.

Speaker 4 (22:53):
Those are the guys I'm struggling a little bit with
because I think I look at their personalities and they're tough,
and they may catches and they seem like Rabel kind
of a guy's But I don't think this is what
this team needs right now. We got a bunch of
those kind of guys, so I respect how those guys play,
and I mean he can't of course. You know Jack
Besh's story with his brother passing away, as you know,
and then the performance he had in the Senior Bowl
catching the last touchdown.

Speaker 2 (23:14):
Great performance. And you know you love how Reverstreppo.

Speaker 4 (23:17):
I loved him at the at the Combine too, just
the way he talked about the studying and the time
he puts in.

Speaker 2 (23:21):
But for me, I'm leaning more towards those speed guys.

Speaker 6 (23:24):
Yeah, I agree with you dudes. Ristreppo dropped down a
little for me. I like Tess Johnson also, and then
some really late round guys Jimmy Horn junior from Colorado.
You know, I'm a coach, frime guy, but best guy there.
I also want to throw out Rock Taylor. He was
in my NCAA season, of course, but no, he's He's
just a prototypical outside receiver. Good hands, can make a

(23:44):
big play. So that might be like, you know, a
seventh round pick guy.

Speaker 3 (23:47):
Yeah, I have a tough time, like you mentioned with
you know, Betch and Alika alamnaer Tz, you know, Tess Harris. Yeah,
like those guys, like I, I I don't know if
they're gonna really bring like the game bake breaking element
that this team needs. Like I feel like the Patriots
need some special movers on the offensive side of the ball,

(24:10):
like some real separators, some real speed to that position.
Like some people think Betch is gonna be like a
flex tight end at the next level. You know, I
kind of thought of him as sort of like Juwan
Jennings type, right, you know, like that kind of receiver,
you know, a man or same thing. Like he's he's thicker,
and he's got a really good, you know, play strength

(24:31):
to him, and he's got some explosiveness, but he's not speed.
You know, He's not fast down the field. And I
think they are going to try to get some more
of those guys. So just a couple of those guys
on on late you know, later in the draft Day three.
I mean, I've I've talked about Dante Thornton a lot
from Tennessee. I like to call him the Joe Milton
of wide receivers, Like he's one of those guys that

(24:52):
if you just looked at the raw data and the measurables,
you'd be like, how is this guy not like DK
metcalf good, Like he's a freak. He's like six foot
four two o five four three forty yard dash, just
looks the part coming off the bus. But then you
look at the box scorer and he's got like one
catch for fifty yards and you're just like, all right, well,
but he's really good at that one thing. You know,

(25:12):
he's got one really good thing vertical speed and game
breaking speed, and he's really good there. You know, if
you want more of like the Patriot type, you know,
the McDaniels type, Isaac Teslav from Arkansas reminds me a
ton of like a little bit more souped up Jacoby Myers. Right,
Maybe he has a little bit more burst and a
little bit more speed, but he's that guy that's gonna

(25:33):
play a lot inside and just be a you know,
reliable for you in that spot. So if they're looking
for that sort of Patriot old school archetype, you ever Strepo,
you have him, Like those are those types of.

Speaker 4 (25:45):
Guys everybody else, Paulia that stood out to you and
I can't believe.

Speaker 5 (25:48):
You haven't brought up Nick Nash. That just seems like
a Mike do So special right there. You know, Jake Bobo,
that's true.

Speaker 6 (25:56):
Where do you think, Kyle Phillips, where do you think
the receiver pick would happen?

Speaker 1 (26:00):
Like you, I feel like if it's not in the second,
it could.

Speaker 2 (26:02):
One of those two third rounders, one of those two
one of the third rounds.

Speaker 4 (26:06):
Yeah, that's the sweet spot. They got two third rounders.
There's usually a guy hanging around there. I mentioned the
group that I like, but but yeah, let's uh well,
let's move.

Speaker 2 (26:16):
On then, just one real quick on the receivers.

Speaker 3 (26:18):
Like on that note, I think this receiver class has
kind of gotten a little bit of a bad rap,
Like it doesn't have the top end talent that last year.
Did you know there's no Marvin Harrison junior. There's no
Molik Neighbors in this class. But to deuce his point
the day to talent like there, if you just want
to find a guy that can be a starting receiver
and like the number two or a number three receiver,

(26:39):
I think there's a lot of that in this draft,
and it's kind of gets meaty there. I mean we
just rattled off probably ten names of guys that fit
that type. So I don't like totally sleep on this class.
I feel like it's gotten a lot of crap because
it doesn't have those, like you know, blue chip prospects
at the top.

Speaker 4 (26:56):
Well, one class that hasn't really gotten a lot of
crap is the running back class, which we'll move on
to now, and I would qualify this as maybe a
questionable need. We've heard a lot of talk throughout the
spring from Mike Vrabel, from Robert Kraft that they're intrigued
by this class they'd like to add back with some speed.
I find myself I can't get a beat on this class.

(27:16):
I've looked at a lot of these guys a bunch
of times, and I think I just have a blind
spot for evaluating running backs, maybe because.

Speaker 2 (27:21):
They all look pretty good to me.

Speaker 4 (27:22):
Maybe that's why I picked Ashton Genty in one of
my mock drafts and made everybody very mad. But look,
when we get into this process of watching prospects every year,
I really enjoyed watching Ashton Genty.

Speaker 2 (27:34):
Now, is he the right pick for the Patriots is
probably not.

Speaker 4 (27:37):
But when I look at the draft process as a
whole when you have to sit down and watch guys play.
I hadn't have a better time watching anybody than watching
Ashton Genty just run through guys. And it got even
better at his pro day where he looked like a
mini Hulk out there. So he's the cream of the class, Paul,
and after that, there are some good players. But let's
allow ourselves to imagine what kind of player he's going

(27:58):
to be in the pros. I mean some questions, of course.

Speaker 5 (28:00):
Jense just saying yeah, no, I think he'll be terrific,
and I think he can catch the ball. And you
brought up when you caused all the commotion in the
first place, you brought up LT you know, And I
don't think that you're alone. I think people look at
that kind of versatility. I just think it's too high,
you know, it's it's too valuable of a pick to use.
But I don't do you guys have any doubt that

(28:21):
he'll be a productive player in the NFL. I think
you will be.

Speaker 4 (28:25):
No.

Speaker 3 (28:25):
I think it's just a question for me of how long,
like how long is he going to have the shelf
life for he has a little bit of where and
Terry carried that offense at Boise State. I think that
the biggest thing, you know, I don't really see uh
Ladanian Thomlinson with him because Latanian Thomason, to me, like
was a difference making pass catcher as well. And I

(28:46):
don't know if gent at five foot eight, with that
catch radius and with his just kind of lower center
of gravity and skill set, is really going to be
a guy that you're going to be like moving around
the formation as a receiver and like trying to feed
the ball to you like the Chargers did with the
Danni and Thomlinson. So the comp that I've kind of
come to with him is like, you know, a better
version of Maurice Jones drew, like, you know, a low

(29:08):
center of gravity, you know, explosive bowling ball type of
running back. He's got great, you know, probably some of
the best contact balance that you'll ever see in a
running back that just bounces off tackles, runs through tackles,
runs around tackles, just a constant tackle breaking machine. I
think he had something like one hundred and sixty two
for Smiths tackles last year at Boise State.

Speaker 6 (29:30):
I think he was almost a thousand yards after content.

Speaker 3 (29:33):
Yeah, yeah, third, Yeah, so it's it's he's absolutely a
blue chip prospect and extremely talented.

Speaker 6 (29:39):
Here's here's a question though, like we say Forrest too high,
if we were at seven, like, is that do you like,
is that a serious consideration?

Speaker 4 (29:46):
I mean, is Membo still there? Is Will Campbell's still there?
But yeah, I mean I think we'll get to the
tight ends in a second. I think Tyler Warren is
probably worthy of that conversation as well. But as we
get down here the list, and as you said, it's
a very strong class. We've heard all ring that they're
gonna be guys drafted throughout the all three days of
the draft, where you'll have contributors coming and running back
A'mrion Hampton probably the second guy saw comp to him.

Speaker 2 (30:09):
James Connor seemed about right to me.

Speaker 4 (30:10):
And and I just throw the two Ohio State guys
out there, Henderson and Judkins.

Speaker 2 (30:15):
Some really good option run probably.

Speaker 5 (30:16):
Like Hampton's got good size and speed. So yeah, I mean,
I think there's some intriguing prospects. I'm looking more for
the old school, you know, Josh McDaniels is back. I'm
looking for those Shane Vveren James White types, you know,
probably a little bit further down. But these guys, I
mean the two Ohio State guys in Hampton, I think
these guys are all good players.

Speaker 1 (30:36):
I want to talk about that as well.

Speaker 6 (30:37):
Paul Chris and I did a joint mock and we
were kind of between Devin Neil and DJ Giddens. DJ
Giddens fits more in the receiving back role, but just
very shifty. I haven't given up Hope. I'm Ramondre yet,
so pair him get into with Ramondre.

Speaker 5 (30:49):
Devin Nils a football player, he can play.

Speaker 3 (30:51):
Yeah, I think you know, when you start to get
into Day two at the running backs, it's what kind
of running back do you want to draft? Because there
there really are a lot of different buckets that you
can put them into. Do you want the early down
Devin Neil type of running back that's gonna be sort
of like a lead you know, Bell cow type, or
are you looking for that Shane Vereen James White receiving
back which we can get to some of those names.

(31:13):
You know, I'm a big fan of Travon Henderson from
Oklahoma Ohio State. I just feel like he's a little
bit like Jamier Gibbs, like he's gonna have that kind
of game speed and that kind of big playability. Judkins
runs angrier and runs with a little bit more power
and force. But Henderson is the is the explosive machine.
You know, He's the big play machine. And then you
start to get into the Giddons and the Nils and

(31:36):
you know all that. You know, Scataboo, even like you
get into that tier, those guys are like early down guys.
Those guys are gonna be first and second down running backs.
I tend to think they're going to go more towards
the speed guys. Just from what we've heard them say.

Speaker 5 (31:49):
It sounds like even even Robber Kraft.

Speaker 2 (31:53):
A speedback.

Speaker 5 (31:54):
So I think you think you're probably onto something.

Speaker 3 (31:56):
Yeah, I can't get that out of my head. I
don't think that that was a miss take. Like I
think someone told him, not necessarily to say it, but
like someone was telling him that information. So you look
at the you know, the cluster of those backs maybe
on early day three, you know, Burchard Smith from smu Wood,
he Marks from usc LA, Quinn Allen from Sarahcuse, and

(32:18):
Jayden Blue from Texas to me or like the fourth
or fifth round sweet spot of receiving backs. Yeah, he
fumbles a lot and he drops a lot of passes,
so his hands aren't great bat but my goodness, can
that dude run right?

Speaker 5 (32:35):
Absolute home run here?

Speaker 3 (32:36):
Yeah? So you know, watching him like linebackers like try
to cover him on wheel routes is like, good luck
with that, you know. So he's got speed. Brichhard Smith's
a converted wide receiver, played wide receiver earlier on in
his career and then moved to running back at SMU,
so he can run routes as a receiver. Uh, and
with great ball skills. Woody Marks is kind of like

(32:56):
a little Dion Lewis type, right, you know, a little
scat back that got good lower body strength and good jukes,
you know, get on the juke stick and all that
kind of stuff. The Quinn Allen's like it reminds me
a little bit of James White, Like, you know, more smooth,
quick than fast, a good blocker. I see a little
bit of that. Like he's probably not a game breaker
in terms of the speed, but he's got that ability

(33:18):
to get open at the top of routes.

Speaker 4 (33:20):
I just got to get Damian Martinez in there. He's
another one I enjoyed watching from Miami. Tackle breaker, chain mover,
kind of guy, runs hard, those my style. I just
I'm with you guys, though, I find myself wondering, like,
what are they looking for? Are they looking for an
all around back? Do we want to go back to
having a big back and a catching back?

Speaker 2 (33:34):
Hard to say.

Speaker 6 (33:35):
I mean, you see all these teams are running back
goes down and they're able to just plug and play somebody.
But also Oli Gordon Oklahoma State thirteen touchdowns, eight hundred
and eighty yards.

Speaker 5 (33:44):
Good player.

Speaker 6 (33:45):
Yeah, he got a little boxton in twenty four because
they weren't as good team, but as twenty three tape
was really good, so that'd.

Speaker 1 (33:50):
Be another player.

Speaker 5 (33:50):
But he basically was the offense. And sometimes, and I
know Evan talks about the workload with some of those guys,
But when you're the focal point. That's why genty I
think was so impressive. When you're the focal point and
you still find a way to crank out one hundred
yard game after a hundred yard game, there's something to
be said from that. You're not you're not sneaking up
on anybody, You're not taking advantage of light boxes. Everybody
is geared to stopping you, and you still produce those

(34:13):
Those are the guys that can play.

Speaker 3 (34:14):
Yeah, Ali Gordon, if they're going to go for that
early down running back, I think Oli Gordon might be
their guy. Somewhere in the fourth round would make sense
for him. Damian Martinez is another one of those guys
in that mold.

Speaker 5 (34:26):
The couple of guys that I like that probably too
rich for the Patriots, you know, like Dylan Sampson, Jordan James.
I just probably too early because you guys are right,
it's probably gonna be a day three.

Speaker 2 (34:36):
I think Jordan's back.

Speaker 3 (34:37):
Jordan James will probably go a little bit later.

Speaker 5 (34:39):
I like, I mean, I just like those organ guys.
I don't know, it might be, you know, one of
those things. It's kind of an irrational like you know,
earlier when we were talking about wide receivers, Tease brought up,
you know, the Ohio State guys and they have that
they've hit. You know, it's like those those little guys
from Oregon seem.

Speaker 2 (34:56):
To be good players.

Speaker 5 (34:57):
Yeah, yeah, they're not all the mo you know, physically,
you know, they're not gonna you know, be the most
imposing guys, but they find a way to produce. And
I've watched Jordan and James a little bit. I think
he could do some some of those things in the
Josh McDaniels offense.

Speaker 3 (35:11):
Yeah, I think he could be available on Day three, honestly,
and and and be there for them. Dylan Samson's my
one of my draft crushes out of this running back class.
I love him. I think he might go right between
pick thirty eight and pick sixty nine. And I just
don't know how the Patriots are gonna, yes, second exactly
how we're familiarow, yeah, how they're going to figure that out?

(35:34):
Good joke. But he's he's awesome and I you know,
really good runner. Kind of reminds me a little bit
of Brian Westbrook back in the day, like good, you know,
a good shifty runner. But but he's what I like
so much about him is that he's really efficient, Like
he's not just trying to dance to dance, Like he
makes a cut and then it's up the fields, right,
and it's really a fishing on the tracks. They don't

(35:56):
really throw to their running backs much. Alvin Kamara, So
like when you get to the league, I think he's
going to be able to catch more passes than he
did at Tennessee. I just don't know if the Patriots
are going to be in a spot to take him,
but they met with him throughout this process, and I
think he'll definitely be on their board.

Speaker 1 (36:10):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (36:11):
Well, if I had to place a bet, I would
say the Patriots are going to draft a running back.
I think we just rattled off about twenty names. It
felt like that all intrigued. So place your bets now.
Running back probably going to get taken. And that leads
us to our final positional preview here of the spring.
It's the tight end position. Last year, I remember we're
so all about the tight ends. It was a great
class two years ago, felt like it was a great

(36:32):
you know, there's always they always think this is a
pretty good I'm pretty solid class right now, and I
think for me, I wonder, you know, where are the Patriots.
We brought back Aston Hooper, have Hunter Henry, two veterans there.
You know, last year you brought in Jahean Bell as well.
Developing behind the scenes, You've got Jack Westover in some
of the I mean, you got a bunch of names
in there to any of these guys intrigue them enough.

(36:52):
Probably again and probably not at the top with Tyler
Warren and Colston Loveland.

Speaker 2 (36:56):
Loveland with some injury issues, but.

Speaker 4 (36:58):
I mean Tyler Warren in a perfect world, he seems
like an ideal kind of patriot, I mean, and do
it all tight end.

Speaker 2 (37:03):
Brings a little swag to it.

Speaker 4 (37:04):
If you watch college football, which even I did this year,
you couldn't miss him.

Speaker 2 (37:08):
He was outstanding.

Speaker 5 (37:09):
Yeah, he does a lot of things. Well, I've talked
to some people that are familiar with the program, as
you know, and they just they rave about him. You know,
He's just one of those guys that just always wants
to get better. He does a lot of different things.
Play even played some quarterback. Obviously those are things that
you're not necessarily going to ask him to do smart

(37:29):
though in the NFL, but just it speaks to his
versatility as an athlete. I'm not saying that I would
take him with the fourth overall pick, but I think
he's in whatever you want to say a dozen players
that you put him in a bucket, and depending on
what you need, you might say Will Campbell, you might
say Jalen Walker. You might say Tyler Warren.

Speaker 2 (37:49):
He's that good.

Speaker 3 (37:50):
Yeah, he's probably one of the cleanest prospects in the
draft period, just on the field, off the field work ethic,
but also just the prospect himself. He does a lot
of things really really well, and it kind of gives
him like a nice floor of this is gonna be
a starting tight end in the NFL. Do I think
he's gonna be Gronk or Travis Kelcey or I mean,

(38:12):
maybe not, but he's going to be a starting tight
end in the league. And I think the best thing
that he does to me, though, is his versatility and
his ability to move around the formation. And those guys
are interesting, but they're also you know, you have to
have a plan, you know, of how exactly we're gonna
make this guy a focal point of the offense. But
certainly he carried Penn State's offense on his back last year.

(38:33):
He was the focal point there. I like that. I
like that he's already had that on his plate at
that position. It's not always that way in college football.
They'd often underutilize the tight end, but he was the
offense at Penn State, so he knows what it's like
to have to be the number one guy. I would
say that in terms of his receiving ability. You know,
he's got that gronk to him where he can just

(38:56):
be a center on the basketball team and just out
muscle you, whether it's at the catch point in the
red zone, run people over after the catch. You know,
he's a physical guy. He can do those types of things.
He's got a little bit of burst in his routes.
Probably not as much as Colston Loveland, but like has
a little bit of that too. But I say the
best trait that he has is that he's just a beast.
You know, he's six six two and fifty five pounds.

(39:17):
He can block. He's a very good all round player.

Speaker 2 (39:20):
Do you think he's anything on Loveland?

Speaker 6 (39:23):
Not much on Loveland actually, but I have no love
for Loveland. But talking about the tight ends, Chris and
I and our joint mock, we've had Gunner Helm in
the fifth just kind of a do it all all
around tight end. Evan had a Hunter Henry comp there.
I don't think the Patriots are going to take a
tight end too early, So maybe that fifth round is
the sweet spot.

Speaker 1 (39:42):
A lot of athletes in this seat.

Speaker 2 (39:44):
I mean Mason Taylor. Of course, we know great geans
for him, look like a he's a good player, you know,
running a combine.

Speaker 4 (39:50):
I know he's kind of underutilized a little bit lsu
a little bit of a projection there.

Speaker 2 (39:53):
I'm just throwing a few names out there. Elijah Royo
coming off an acl Harrold fan and.

Speaker 4 (39:57):
Junior is another one I liked just you know, fifteen
hundred yards ten tds this year.

Speaker 2 (40:01):
But all athletic guys. I mean, it seems that that's.

Speaker 4 (40:03):
Where I think I struggle a little bit with, Like,
who do you get? I mean, is you're going to
draft in the day two, day three tight end weapon
good enough to knock Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper down.

Speaker 2 (40:14):
Hard to see that projection.

Speaker 4 (40:15):
That's why I'm a little bit lower on this overall class.

Speaker 2 (40:19):
For the Patriots.

Speaker 3 (40:20):
Yeah, I'm I'm kind of with you. I think it's
a good tight end class. Certainly, those two guys at
the top are really good prospects. And we talk a
ton about Loveland. He's definitely in the donut right, He's
definitely right there in the first round doughnut. But he's
probably the closest thing to Brock Bauers in this draft
in terms of the play speed and the dynamic route
running ability, but he had the injury. He doesn't have

(40:41):
the production that Tyler Warren had, but he's younger, and
he's faster, you know, and he's more dynamic. So if
there are teams out there that have Close and Loveland
as the number one tight end over Tyler Warren, I
won't be surprised at all. Like, I think there's definitely
a case to be made. But to your point about athletes,
like that's typically what translates at the position to the
league is the raw athletes. It's one of those positions

(41:03):
where like things like the combine is still holding up
in terms of translation. So you know, Terrence Ferguson from
Oregon had a great combine, had good college production. Was
used more of like as like a safety valve at
Oregon than a downfield receiver. But you think there might
be some untapped potential there. You know, Elijah Royo, same thing,
can't really block, but it can run routes and can

(41:24):
make plays down the field as a receiver. And the
gunner Heelm I comped to Henry because he's kind of
more of like that old school, like, you know, just crafty,
good at the top of the route, uses his body well,
uses his physicality well. Can run the scene, but probably
not his best thing, but he can do it. Blocking
can do it. Not his best thing, but he can

(41:45):
do it. I think that Gunner Helm's going to be
a quarterback's best friend. He's going to be very quarterback friendly,
big target in the middle of the field, and he'll
help you move the chains.

Speaker 4 (41:54):
You know.

Speaker 3 (41:55):
Those other guys maybe a little bit more explosive. But
if I had to pick one of these guys out
of this group, you know, if you want to go upside,
I'd probably say Ferguson probably has the highest ceiling just
because the athletic profile, but Helm is probably the steadiest.
Like he's probably the easiest to project.

Speaker 1 (42:10):
Else.

Speaker 6 (42:11):
I got Luke Lache, Lashie Lache. You just got shout
out all the Iowa tight ends. I mean, it's a
great program for that.

Speaker 5 (42:18):
You'd be wrong to overlook them. And you know another
you know NFL name right in Ronde Gatston. You know
the same kind of thing at Syracuse you.

Speaker 2 (42:26):
Always look for that.

Speaker 5 (42:26):
You know, we talked about Mason Taylor with the blood lines.
It's a lot of bloodlines at that position. But I
agree with you, Mike in terms of the Patriots. I
don't think when you you have Hunter Henry and then
you re sign Hooper, you're more than likely forget the doughnut.
You're more than likely not really interested in drafting that

(42:46):
position unless it's like a Day three flyer.

Speaker 6 (42:50):
Yeah. I think it's one of those things the way
the board plays out too, Like if if a gunner
Helm is there and like that's the best player, why yeah, he.

Speaker 2 (42:58):
Belt to offering, you know, just give us some time
to development. Don't know, an athletic guy.

Speaker 3 (43:01):
It's tough to I've kind of cooled off on the
tight ends a little bit for the Patriots because of
the reasons that Paul brought up, Like it's already a
position that's slow to develop as it is, and you
have two really steady veterans and Henry and Hooper. So
if there's your team like the Patriots, you want your
early picks to play like you want those guys to
have a path to the field and to play early

(43:22):
and to contribute early and as good as you know,
as appealing as some of these names are at tight end,
Like if you draft Mason Taylor, who I think might
be a really good player two to three years from now. Like,
you're not really in a position as the Patriots to
wait around for your draft pick in the top one
hundred to make an impact, Like you need guys to
come in that can help you today, you know, right now.

(43:42):
And I just don't know if this group necessarily is
going to do that for them unless they go like Warren,
you know, in the first round, if they're going to
really have that out of the group. So are you
willing to just use a pick on a stash, Like
are you willing to stash a Terrence Ferguson and develop him?
Are you willing to stash Mason Taylor, you know, younger
prospect and develop him and then kind of pass on

(44:03):
having a top one hundred pick play as a rookie.
I don't know if that's necessarily the best use of
that asset.

Speaker 4 (44:10):
All right, Well, that's gonna do it for this episode
of Patriots Draft Countdown presented by Bud Light. Just one
week to go until the NFL Draft, But don't worry,
We're gonna be back with one more live episode day
of the Draft, one pm Eastern Time. Will be here,
wrap things up, maybe do a mock draft, have a
little fun trying to pass.

Speaker 2 (44:27):
The time before the draft that night. So we'll catch
you then