0:01

His is Patriot's playbooks.

0:04

If I turn to talk.

0:04

Now he's your host.

0:06

If Patriots playbook, John Brook.

0:10

Selects, where

0:14

did you find that?

0:16

I and everything archived? I

0:19

kind of like that one.

0:22

All right, well, welcome into the playbook.

0:24

It is.

0:25

Oh, there's something going on here today. There's people

0:27

coming in and out and up and down the hallways,

0:29

and you know, talking about football and

0:32

something going on with the NFL Draft that tomorrow.

0:35

It's a big week finally here a stadium. I

0:37

know that. You know, we're a football program,

0:40

but the other football has a

0:42

pretty big guy coming.

0:43

Down on Say there's some dude named

0:45

Messy.

0:46

Yeah, he might be in town, the sneak

0:48

I've heard. So pretty big week at Jollette

0:50

Stadium.

0:50

Here's the big kicker. Place is sold out right

0:52

for his game against Miami. And

0:55

and he won't play because its total official turf.

0:57

So he's been playing like he's not hurt. He's

1:00

been playing their other games. And I know he's played

1:03

some games on because we actually have tickets too

1:06

for the game because uh just played soccer

1:08

in college, but you know a big soccer fan also, So

1:11

we're going to the game. We're supposed to be but

1:13

if we get that notey that Messi's

1:15

Messi's not in the starting lineup, you

1:17

know, and you can have sixty five Thomis

1:20

out there, we're gonna be like, never mind, I'm

1:23

not gonna be able to catch the radio broadcast on one

1:25

O two five. Mary go oh, I

1:27

love that.

1:29

With with the yours truly the marine

1:32

at the controls.

1:32

Right, you're welcome, revs. We just gave you something

1:34

to give you some.

1:35

Free pub Yeah right, clearly. Uh,

1:37

this is an important day in

1:39

this calendar year for the New England Patriots.

1:42

And frankly, I'm really happy

1:45

that it's finally here. I knew I would

1:47

be when it got here, because for the last three

1:49

or four weeks I've been in hurry

1:51

up and get here mode because

1:54

I just can't talk about it anymore. And yet that's exactly

1:56

what we're gonna do today. And by the way, I'm

1:58

John Rook. Evan has kindly

2:01

graced us with his presence today, and

2:03

I think it only appropriate because Evan is

2:06

you know, mister mock on Patriots dot com.

2:09

Certainly in hosting his Catch twenty two

2:11

podcast with Alex Barth you know here on Patriots

2:13

dot com. As well, and so what we're gonna do today

2:15

is a little old school talk radio style

2:19

mock draft. Now, this is something that

2:21

I did, and actually I got taught

2:24

how to do by the great

2:26

Bob Valvano years ago before

2:28

I actually even started at ESPN

2:30

Radio, and I admit Bob through his

2:33

coaching circles, but then I took it back

2:35

to my local station after being on ESPN

2:37

with Russell Baxter and some of those others number of years,

2:39

and so we learned how to do a mock

2:42

NFL draft on the radio on

2:44

the sports talk shows that we did, and

2:46

largely we pick to give you a bit of

2:48

what we'll transpire over the next two hours. We're

2:51

gonna run out of time because

2:53

we're gonna spend a little time with each writer only

2:55

because we want to kind of contrast and compare

2:57

to some of the thoughts that you've had in the

2:59

first round, the mocks that you've done

3:02

over the course of the last several weeks as we

3:04

lead up into the draft. And so we've got beat

3:06

reporters for each of the first nine

3:09

teams in the draft of

3:11

the first round to actually make the pick

3:14

based on who just got selected ahead of

3:16

them. So this is going to be as

3:18

a This is going to be a fire drill for

3:21

what you see tomorrow night transpire on

3:23

NFL Networking on ESPN.

3:25

Yeah. I love that. Yeah. I

3:27

mean we've been doing these for a

3:29

while. Alex Bart and I actually did our

3:32

own top ten mocks that

3:34

will compare after the draft who got the most

3:36

picks? Right, I think that's there. He

3:38

does the whole league a lot more than

3:40

I do. So that was the only time that I had done that

3:42

exercise. And it gets complicated

3:44

where you start to think about trades and different

3:47

scenarios and all this type of stuff, and then you

3:49

get to the tenth pick and you're like, oh, wait, night, you

3:51

know, Joe Alt's still on the board somehow, like

3:53

I forgot to take them, you know, and you have to really

3:55

excitly think about it.

3:56

Yeah, well, what we've got here, We've got

3:58

the first nine slotted. We don't have

4:00

anybody. We didn't have anybody from Atlanta. The

4:02

two three guys we contacted were unavailable.

4:05

So I'm going to open it up right now

4:08

to our audience who may be listening here today

4:10

and whomever whoever wants

4:12

to select for the Falcons. At number

4:15

eight. I want you to call right now

4:17

on the listener line. Okay eight five

4:19

to five, Pats five hundred, Okay, talk

4:22

to marine, say I'll make the Falcons

4:24

pick at eight, and the Marine will tell you when

4:26

to call back in to make that pick. Does that

4:28

work? Let's just open it up and

4:30

just make the pick, and then what we'll do after

4:33

nine. We have Rich Semini from the Jets

4:35

to round out the top ten. To get to I

4:37

want to get to eleven because quite

4:40

frankly, that's the one pick that if the Patriot's

4:42

going to trade down to all the talk has

4:44

been centered around, right, yeah, So Evan,

4:46

I may let you step in at ten and eleven. Sure

4:49

if you're still around by that top. If you don't, if you don't

4:51

need to go anywhere, I don't know.

4:53

This is what I'm doing.

4:54

This is your your all draft, all the time.

4:56

This is my favorite day of the draft

4:58

because the hay is in the barn and now there's

5:00

nothing enough to do.

5:01

Perfect all right, So then that yeah, that's right.

5:04

Let's get on with it and get over it, all right. So with

5:06

the first pick of the twenty twenty

5:08

four Patriots dot Com NFL mock

5:11

draft, it will be the Chicago

5:13

Bears who are officially on the clock. I

5:15

really kind of get nauseous when I hear that,

5:18

you know, on ESPN and an IF the network,

5:20

when they say, you know, the Patriots are on the clock. Well,

5:22

yeah, of course that's a phrase that

5:24

is probably as old as milkiper junior,

5:27

or older than milkiper junior. But technically

5:30

I guess that's we've it's become a part of

5:32

the vernacular now. So what that means clearly

5:35

is that you know, once the clock starts, you've got X

5:37

number of minutes. Can we go through some of

5:39

the ground rules? How many

5:41

minutes do teams actually have to make their

5:43

first round pick?

5:44

So it's ten now, okay, it used

5:47

to be more. Yeah, I think it used to

5:49

be fifteen, and then they think they might

5:51

have went down to twelve. Now they're down to

5:53

ten. Yeah, So most

5:55

of the time, I would they know who they're picking

5:57

before they're on the clock, right, I should. Hey, One

6:00

more of the question is is just the

6:02

phone call right, just kind of

6:04

buying time a lot of the time for

6:07

a team that maybe wants to trade up

6:09

into the pick to give their teams

6:11

opportunities to negotiate on the phone and

6:13

see. But even those, you know, the Patriots

6:16

have had phone calls with teams over

6:18

the last couple of days. There's a lot of reporting out

6:20

there on that they have frameworks

6:24

of deals in place with

6:26

some teams. I'm sure that Okay,

6:28

once you're on the clock, maybe you ask for that extra

6:31

pick and you get you know, you really try to all right, this

6:33

best and final right now. But they've

6:35

talked to Minnesota, They've talked to the New York

6:37

Giants, they've talked to the Las

6:39

Vegas Raiders. You know, they know what the

6:42

general structure of the

6:44

trade is going could possibly look

6:46

like. And that's what the conversations have been the last

6:48

couple of days.

6:49

Yeah, and that this is why I think it's kind of fun

6:51

to do this if we can, especially

6:54

because mocks are made for

6:56

mistakes, and I don't think

6:58

I don't know that I've ever heard of anybody that had

7:00

a perfect mock draft in the

7:02

first round. Oh thank

7:05

you, so, marine, says Rodrigo

7:07

in Florida is going to make the Atlanta pick for

7:09

us. Love that outstanding Rodrigo. All

7:11

right, you need you need to step up to the plate when it's time

7:13

to go. All right, very good, So we actually

7:16

have we have a listener that's going to make

7:18

the pick for the Falcons at number eight.

7:20

Maybe we'll see if Terry Fotteno agrees

7:22

with him, you know, well.

7:23

Yeah, exactly, I think we should. Wouldn't

7:25

there have been something though? It had been Bill Belichick's the coach

7:28

that pick, then we know that would have been a trade down right.

7:31

Or Dallas Turner, you know, one of the defensive

7:33

players that he really liked.

7:34

All right before we kind of start the proceedings here

7:36

and Herb Arkush, who covers

7:38

the Bears for Pro Football Weekly, He's going to

7:40

be the hub Arkish

7:43

thank you, I say, Herb, Yeah, I know it's hub Arkish,

7:45

thank you. My mistake. That's

7:47

you know, I can read, but I can't

7:49

pronounce. Okay, hub

7:51

Arkish for Pro Football Weekly, who

7:53

covers the Bears. He's going to make the first pick for the Bears

7:56

in just a few minutes. I

7:58

think though, that this is probably the most anti

8:01

climactic first pick

8:03

that I can think of really in recent memory.

8:06

We've known this bit pretty much. Gotta be CABLEB. Williams

8:08

for how long now, since he became

8:10

eligible to be drafted.

8:11

Yeah, I would say, you know, Trevor Lawrence is probably

8:14

the last one where I we you

8:16

pretty much knew, and I think they're very similar where

8:18

their best season was actually not their

8:21

draft year, it was the year before they were drafted.

8:23

So Trevor Lawrence, So it wins

8:26

the National Championship with Clemson, you know, they

8:28

go I think they went on defeated, They lost like one game

8:30

or something like that, something crazy, and

8:32

then they have

8:35

a bad year, maybe a little bit of a down

8:37

year, and then he gets drafted. Right, Caleb Williams

8:40

wins the Heisman Trophy last year. This

8:42

year he was good still, but not the Heisman

8:45

Trophy winning season that he had the year before, and then he gets

8:47

drafted. So both those guys, I feel like Trevor

8:49

we knew two years out that he was going to be the number

8:51

one pick in twenty twenty one. And with Caleb,

8:53

I feel like we knew after the twenty twenty two season that

8:55

he was going to be the twenty twenty four first round

8:57

pick. Yeah, or first overall pick. So similar

9:00

situations, I guess with those guys. But it's

9:02

generational, right, It's Trevor,

9:05

it's Andrew Luck. It's you know,

9:07

that type of talent that is such

9:09

a slam dunk, no brainer,

9:11

first round pick, and I think Caleb's in that

9:13

category.

9:14

I kind of thought that about Caleb when I

9:16

saw him when he was even at Oklahoma. Yeah,

9:18

you know, before he transferred to USC. I'm kind of thinking

9:20

this guy's got, you know, high first

9:23

round if not number one overall pick kind of talent.

9:25

Yeah, he kind of could kind of tell that coming.

9:27

Now, this being said, with

9:29

you know, the first pick and Washington

9:31

holds the second pick, Patriots hold the third pick, has

9:34

been well documented. At this point in time, we're

9:37

expecting, we think, at

9:39

this time quarterbacks to come off the board,

9:42

you know, barring something unforeseen over the next twenty

9:44

four hours or so. And this will be the

9:46

fun of listening to this on the podcast after

9:48

the draft is over, to see how close well

9:50

actually get, which is part of the challenge here, part

9:52

of the fun that we're trying to do. Let's see how well

9:54

we can measure up because we're trying to

9:57

take into consideration. I know, one of the things you just did in

9:59

your last mock here on the website was

10:01

you tried to take that trade possibility into

10:03

consideration, which we will be discussing here today.

10:05

Yeah. I think that was you know, as you do these

10:07

mock drafts, and mock drafts

10:10

to me are thought exercises and

10:12

more to talk about what players

10:14

are on the board or in these areas. I

10:17

think too much stock is put into you

10:19

know, is it actually an accurate

10:21

after the draft orre we actually write about.

10:24

It's not really the purpose. The purpose is

10:26

just to create the content to get the conversation started.

10:29

And so that's why when we get into third,

10:31

fourth, fifth mock draft iterations like

10:33

we do this time of year, I start to

10:35

just throw around scenario.

10:38

Yeah, I started to throw around scenarios.

10:41

You know, what happens if they do trade down with Minnesota?

10:43

Who are the players that would be on the board in that range?

10:46

Would they how would they address their needs

10:48

if that were the case. What would happen if they stick

10:51

and pick at three? I did a mock draft of that. You

10:53

do get after your wood.

10:54

Board as opposed to your Wiji board. You get your

10:56

wood your board? Yeah, and would you take so and so

10:58

with this pick?

10:59

Right? Right?

10:59

Yeah?

11:00

Right?

11:00

Okay? I got that, Thank

11:02

you very much. I appreciate that. The late drum riff,

11:04

I'd like to We'll take that anytime we can get

11:06

it. All right, So Chicago has the number one pick.

11:08

Hob Arcis, who covers the Bears, covers

11:11

the NFL for Pro Football Weekly. He's kind

11:13

enough to join us here inside Patriots

11:16

Playbook on Patriots dot Com. Hobb, it's John

11:18

and Evan here in Foxboro. Thanks for a few

11:20

minutes today because it be with you

11:23

guys, all right. So you know, we're

11:25

talking about one of the more anti clomactic picks I

11:27

think of the last decade or so in the NFL.

11:30

Maybe you can give us a sense. Has

11:32

there been much of any talk in

11:35

Bears circles about

11:37

not going with Caleb Williams

11:39

and going a different direction.

11:43

No, there's basically no talk at this point. Everybody

11:45

assumes Calen Williams.

11:47

He has been the number one rated

11:49

prospect in this draft for really

11:52

over a year already, and nothing has changed.

11:55

There was some moments, you know, a

11:57

month or two ago, and some questions about

11:59

his dad, involvement in his family, is not

12:01

having an agent and all that, But on the football

12:03

side, there really are no questions and he

12:06

is going to be the first player taken a

12:08

ninety nine percent sure by the Bearers, but they

12:10

still decided to trade that pick like they did

12:12

last year. Whoever trades sports and use it to take.

12:15

Can you kind of give us a sense then of if

12:17

you know where the other needs are that the Bears

12:20

really should be looking at, maybe in addition

12:22

to quarterback.

12:24

Well, clearly their greatest need is quarterback.

12:26

Their second biggest need right

12:29

now is for another edge rusher. They did a great

12:31

job trading from montes Wet

12:33

in the middle of the last season. They've got a number one,

12:35

but you need to and that

12:37

would be need Number one after quarterback

12:39

would be edge rusher. After that, it's

12:42

just about getting better. They were

12:44

improving in the second half of the last season. If

12:47

they see an upgrade on the offensive

12:50

line, particularly at offensive tackle,

12:52

maybe left tackle, they would consider that by

12:54

in the draft. They definitely

12:57

need more depth at safety

12:59

and more depth at wide receiver. And

13:02

a lot of people think that the ninth tick,

13:04

if they use it, is going to be on a wide receiver if

13:06

one of the top three are still there.

13:07

Okay, all right, certainly all makes sense

13:09

to me. It jibes with everything

13:11

that I've read about the Chicago Bears

13:14

thus far. All right, so let's make it official

13:16

with the first pick of the

13:18

number one of the twenty twenty

13:20

four Patriots dot Com Patriots Playbook

13:23

mock Draft, the Chicago Bears

13:25

select and

13:27

I'll let you finish the sentence, Hub Caleb

13:30

Williams quarterback USC.

13:33

That was easy.

13:34

Yeah, that was okay. See, but that's how we kind

13:36

of play the game around here. And I'm nobody

13:38

shocked and surprised by that. But that's why I asked

13:41

about the the other

13:43

needs, because you know, if you're

13:45

a fan of the Bears, you're certainly looking

13:47

at those other needs. And I know the Patriots

13:49

are basically in the same boat. Yes they need a quarterback.

13:52

Yes they probably want a quarterback. Yes they

13:54

have many other needs. So that's part of the reason

13:56

why we kind of do the compare and contrast and just

13:58

to see other teams are kind of hand right.

14:02

Yeah, you know, that's what this draft is

14:04

all about. That's what these mock drafts are all about.

14:06

There's no question that the top three

14:08

teams in the draft, the Bears, the Commanders,

14:10

and then the Patriots, their single greatest

14:13

need is at quarterback. I think, and fortunately

14:15

they've got a draft where there are at least

14:18

five, maybe six quarterbacks going to go in the

14:20

first round. And once you get past Caleb

14:22

Williams, who is a clear number

14:24

one with everybody but me. By the way, I'll explain

14:27

that. Okay, you

14:29

know you go to Jayden Daniels, Obviously

14:31

you go to Drake May. But what I'm hearing

14:34

from a really good source in Washington is

14:36

that the Commanders are thinking JJ McCarthy at number

14:38

two.

14:40

Wow. I love that,

14:43

bringing some scoops on to this.

14:44

I like this, Hub, Thank you for that.

14:46

So this could be a little late sentiment

14:48

for JJ at number two.

14:50

Then, well, it's all

14:52

been coming on in the last week or two. Guys,

14:54

I have been saying for a year now, and

14:57

it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm a Michigan a lung, which

14:59

I am. I think McCarthy is

15:01

the best quarterback in this draft, or is it going to

15:03

be I should be the best NFL quarterback. He's

15:05

not necessarily the best quarterback right now.

15:08

I've studied them, I've seen every one of his games.

15:11

He reminds me more than anybody. People

15:13

keep talking about Patrick Mahomes It reminds

15:15

me of Tom Brady,

15:17

and that's who he's been

15:19

working with, by the way, for the last year and a half.

15:22

And you know, I just this

15:25

source has been really good for me in Washington

15:27

in the past, and he told me again

15:29

yesterday that he thinks they're locked in

15:31

on McCarthy. Now I'm not hearing that from anybody else,

15:33

but it would be interesting. They've also been looking

15:36

at Jaden and Daniels, and there are questions about

15:38

you know Daniels with some of the again,

15:41

you know, attitude stuff and things like that. I think

15:43

that you know Daniels is probably more

15:46

likely with everything we've heard the last week or two.

15:49

But I really like the source that's telling me,

15:51

and I really like McCarthy, and so I won't be surprised

15:53

if the Commander's sake.

15:54

What is it about McCarthy that appeals

15:57

to you personally as an observer of the.

15:59

Game, his intelligence

16:01

and his game management, not to mention the fact

16:03

that he does have you know, high first

16:05

round athletic tannels, there's no question about

16:08

that. But he sees the

16:10

game, he reads the field, he makes decisions,

16:12

he manages the game, He works with his head

16:14

coach, That's why I keep

16:16

coming back to Brady, you know, and I

16:19

just think he's that type of quarterback. But if

16:22

you look at his size, if you look at his

16:24

physical ability, if you look at everything,

16:26

he matches up top one, top two, the

16:28

one place where he doesn't design his college stats.

16:31

But that's not because he wasn't good enough.

16:33

That's because they were running a different scheme. They were running

16:35

an NFL run first offense, and

16:38

he just didn't get to throw the ball as much as the other

16:40

top quarterbacks did in college. But if

16:42

you study the tape, you're going to see

16:44

a guy who is going to remind

16:46

you when you're watching.

16:47

Him a Brady Interesting.

16:50

Interesting. I know that there are a lot of people within

16:52

the Patriots organization that also like JJ

16:54

McCarthy. In fact, there's been a strict,

16:57

a straight McCarthy lean, I think for

16:59

most to the last month until just the last

17:01

couple of days here in terms

17:04

of who the Patriots favor at quarterback

17:06

for the number three spots. So the fact that

17:08

you know, maybe somebody else is starting

17:10

to wonder, you know, what this is all about,

17:12

I guess doesn't really come as a surprise, But you

17:15

know, the way that you describe him, I'd say is the way

17:17

that most people kind of feel about him. But you

17:20

know, it's just that because he's such a late

17:22

comer, I don't know if anybody wants to jump out and take

17:24

that shot, and maybe maybe the commanders

17:26

will.

17:28

Well, what's really interesting, guys, is I'm

17:30

not sure it's as late as everybody thinks.

17:32

These mock drafts all of us who do these mock drafts

17:34

are really a waste of time. I mean they're kind

17:36

of fun.

17:38

Okay, thanks for playing our game.

17:40

Well, at the end of the day, we're not making the picks.

17:42

Of course, of course say it's

17:44

a waste of time, but you're not necessarily getting

17:46

the best information from us. But what's

17:48

happened now is all the directors

17:52

are not effect directors, but general managers are checking

17:54

in and we're talking to him now. Sure, And

17:57

you know they've been high on McCarthy

17:59

even beginning, and particularly got higher

18:01

on them at the combine, And now

18:03

that they're talking to some media and some media

18:06

are starting to hear more. That's why McCarthy has been

18:08

flying up boards the last few weeks. It's not going anything

18:10

has changed, it's just that now we're getting

18:12

information from the people who really know what they're talking

18:14

about, not us media, people who

18:17

know a little bit what we're talking about, but not as much

18:19

as we think.

18:19

All right, Hub, that's great stuff, and thank

18:21

you for playing our game anyway. It's for entertainment

18:23

purposes only, of course, as we all know. But

18:26

at the same time, it's kind of cool to get the

18:28

thought process of what people are hearing

18:31

from people that might be in position to

18:33

know. So that's why we asked you, and thank you for

18:35

taking the time to They really appreciate it.

18:37

Well, it's fun, guys. Thanks for having me.

18:39

Happy to join you anytime you got it.

18:40

Thanks for coming on.

18:41

Hub Arkish, who covers the Bears for Pro

18:43

Football Weekly, joining us here on

18:46

Patriot's Playbook. So a little bit of a scoop

18:48

there, and we'll find out a little bit more because

18:51

Washington Commanders are now on the clock

18:54

and Ben's standig from the Athletic

18:56

Nice is going to join us to make the Washington

18:59

Commanders pay at number two. We're gonna

19:01

find out I guess whether he might be hearing some

19:03

of the similar things that Hubb was hearing.

19:05

Yeah, look, I I

19:08

I think everybody that's listened to me over the last couple of months,

19:10

knows, I disagree with Hub about j. J

19:12

McCarthy.

19:13

Well, you and I are also. I should also because we haven't

19:15

had a chance to converse in a couple of months as well. Yeah,

19:17

I also agree with you about JJ. I think he's

19:19

a really good college

19:22

quarterback.

19:23

Yeah.

19:23

I think that, you know, he could develop into

19:26

a serviceable NFL quarterback. I

19:28

don't think he's worth the pick at three,

19:31

and that's that's no fault of his or anybody

19:33

else.

19:34

Yeah, And I think that the way that Hubb

19:36

described him is is

19:38

accurate in terms of, you

19:40

know, how he manages the game and all that kind

19:42

of stuff. I'm just not taking

19:44

a game manager with the second or third over I'll pick

19:47

in the draft, right. And I think

19:49

the thing that not that people

19:51

around here necessarily discredit because we all

19:53

know how great Brady is and was

19:56

kind of chock it up to that, you know, Brady's

19:59

best tra we're just you know that

20:01

those types of things, and they kind of undersell the

20:04

the arm talent and the creativity

20:06

and all the other hearings.

20:07

Evan, if you're comparing JJ McCarthy

20:10

to Tom Brady, that's your first, big damn mistake.

20:13

Okay, you can't.

20:14

Poor Hub that we're gonna disagree.

20:16

Well, yeah, and and Hub is a great writer,

20:18

but I you can't do that to the kid.

20:21

Yeah. And unless you have what I would call transcendental

20:24

talent, you know, something that you know is

20:26

worth by God, the first pick or second

20:28

pick, or even the third pick in the draft, I'm

20:30

not doing it. I would trade down and get multiple

20:32

picks. You know, teams that are at the top of the draft generally

20:35

need more than teams at.

20:36

The bottom of the draft. So that's what I would

20:38

do. It all makes sense. It's a typical, somewhat

20:41

ironic Bill Belichick draft. Yeah. I

20:43

just think with McCarthy, the

20:45

comp that I've come to a lot of the time with

20:47

him is brock Party. Yea, because

20:50

I think brock Party has all the things that

20:53

Hub was talking about. Game management,

20:55

you know it, factor winning in tangibles,

20:57

you know, leadership, all that type of stuff. I

21:00

just see a little bit more. You know, when you watch

21:02

McCarthy play, and I'm not talking about

21:04

the volume of throws that he was making, When

21:07

you watch the throws that he's actually does make

21:09

on tape. None of it

21:12

screams playmaker

21:14

to me, you know, And there's

21:16

a lot of zoning in on first

21:19

reads and kind of just making

21:21

throws it that way.

21:23

Yeah, maybe if you had more of a veteran

21:25

talented team, right you

21:27

insert JJ McCarthy if.

21:29

You're the Minnesota Vikings. And I've said this from the

21:31

beginning, the Minnesota Vikings,

21:34

I know, I've been waiting. The Minnesota

21:36

Vikings are the perfect fit for JJ

21:39

McCarthy because he's going to come in there

21:41

with Justin Jefferson

21:44

and Jordan Addison and a really

21:46

good play caller and Kevin O'Connell, and

21:48

he's going to get to be brock perty. He's going to get

21:50

to just distribute the ball out to those guys

21:53

and the hell and do all that

21:55

kind of stuff. If he's asked to be your franchise's

21:57

savior like he would have to be in Washington,

22:00

we're here, might.

22:01

Be asking too much. Yeah, yeah, all right, So as

22:03

we said, Washington's up next. Ben

22:05

standing who covers the Commanders.

22:08

How many times have I wanted to say their other team named

22:10

today? Already? Several half a dozen at least.

22:12

Ben Standy, who covers the Commanders and

22:14

the NFL for the athletic joins us here inside

22:17

Patriots Playbook. Hey Ben, it's it's John

22:19

and Evan here in Foxborough. Thanks for a few minutes.

22:23

Well, thanks for having me. I was enjoying that conversation

22:25

about McCarthy because it's one some version

22:27

I've had of that one hundred times to sit over the last

22:30

three months.

22:31

Sure, and and sometimes it helps

22:33

and even hurts or gives you an idea maybe which

22:35

way you want to go if you're you know, confirming

22:37

your your own thoughts.

22:38

For fears.

22:39

Uh, we should mention that hub Arcish

22:41

just picked for Chicago and picked Caleb

22:43

Williams obviously is the number one pick, but for

22:47

the purposes of our mock. But he also said

22:49

that he's got sources right

22:51

now telling him in Washington that

22:53

there is some late sentiment, serious

22:57

late sentiment for selecting JJ McCarthy

22:59

at number two. So I'm wanting to know if you're buying

23:01

or selling on that theory.

23:05

Yeah, So we've

23:07

discussed here, you know, collectively,

23:09

I guess over the last few days about

23:12

McCarthy in the sense of if somehow

23:15

because of this Jayden Daniels

23:17

recent I don't know if Kerfuffle is too strong

23:19

or not strong enough, but like whatever was happened with his top

23:22

golf thing, and if there was a disagreement, should

23:24

hypothetically that situation

23:26

go awry, who would they pick? And I think McCarthy

23:29

might be the answer, And in part

23:32

for some of the reasons you just mentioned. You guys

23:34

talked about that he's got a lot of rock Party in

23:36

him, right, Well, Adam Peters just came

23:38

from the place then the Commanders GM. He just

23:40

came from brock Party Land

23:42

with the Niners did and Dan

23:45

Quinn the head coach, his offensive coordinator when

23:47

he went to the Super Bowl with the Falcons

23:49

was of course Kyle Shanahan. So how

23:51

much of that influence is on these guys?

23:53

And I agree that Minnesota would be a better

23:55

fit, But you know, if you're willing

23:58

to give him almost the red

24:00

shirt season right then,

24:03

and this team realistically is not going to

24:05

you know, probably I imagine similar to how it is viewed

24:07

there with you guys that you know they're

24:09

not being viewed realistically as a wild card

24:11

contender, that this is going to be a rebuilding

24:14

year to some degree. So therefore you can kind

24:16

of afford to let In build up

24:18

more pieces and then perhaps plug him

24:20

into a better situation. All

24:22

that said, at this point, I think

24:24

I'm barely locked

24:26

in to Jade and Daniels at

24:29

two. I mean, after the coaching search

24:32

situation. I'm not prepared to rate to

24:35

claim anything as a lock until it's done.

24:38

But there's just been.

24:40

The evidence is just piled up.

24:41

I've had Daniels as my number as the

24:43

pick going back to early March,

24:45

and I think at this

24:47

point I just don't see it being a different way. But

24:49

I do think McCarthy hypothetically,

24:52

if they did switch it up, I think

24:54

I right now would lean.

24:55

Him over May So this then could

24:57

be the first curve in

25:00

the road on the the NFL draft

25:02

for for Thursday night. If the

25:05

commanders decide to make a little bit

25:07

of a switch here, I would tend to agree,

25:09

uh, you know, with you, I think with Evan,

25:11

with a lot of the others uh that have come along

25:13

here and let their opinions be known.

25:16

Uh that you know to me if

25:18

the and I love the word you used, kerfuffle,

25:20

because I kind of think that I tend to believe that's where it is.

25:22

But again, I wasn't there, So I don't know. But

25:26

if it becomes a question of

25:28

issue or you know, of of it's

25:31

the word I'm looking for here.

25:32

Uh contention, Yeah, really,

25:34

I mean how serious is it?

25:35

Right?

25:36

Okay?

25:36

So if it's deemed not,

25:39

then yeah, you've got to go. You got you got a job to do.

25:41

You're you're trying to become uh, you know, a

25:43

good solid playoff team, a contending team

25:45

again. And to me, I'm looking

25:47

for a dynamic guy, uh with

25:49

one of the first couple of three picks of the draft, and

25:52

uh, of all of the quarterback

25:54

candidates, and and there are probably five or six

25:56

of them, they're all, you know, candidates to be taken

25:58

in the first round of the draft coming up. To

26:01

me, Daniels has

26:03

as much, if not more, I think, overall

26:05

individual talent than any of the guys.

26:08

And that includes Caleb Williams.

26:10

I saw a lot of Caleb Williams, and he played

26:12

at Oklahoma less so I think when he moved

26:14

on to USC just because of the time difference

26:16

involved. But I've always loved

26:19

Jayden Daniels' game. He can make

26:21

things happen with or without the ball,

26:23

and that's kind of what I think a

26:25

team who needs a quarterbacks should be looking in

26:27

this modern era game.

26:31

Yeah, no, there is obviously a lot to

26:33

like with Daniels. I did a story

26:35

a couple of weeks ago on the Athletic where I surveyed

26:38

seventeen different sources from GMS

26:40

and coaches and others

26:43

to give me their rank order of the

26:45

quarterbacks and then tell me what they think of him. And Caleb

26:48

Williams was the clear one, but Jadan

26:50

Daniels was the clear two, and some coaches

26:52

or some of the sources said

26:55

that they would pick Jade

26:58

Daniels over Haley

27:00

Williams. Obviously there's some general

27:02

concern about he's not the biggest guy,

27:05

as.

27:05

We know, and.

27:08

You know certain aspects. You know, he obviously

27:10

had two incredible receivers at LUs either that are both

27:12

probably gonna be picking the first round. Uh,

27:14

you know, the the offense was not

27:16

maybe the most sophisticated relatives of the NFL.

27:19

But all that says, yeah, there's it's it's

27:21

been generally pretty positive

27:24

on him from people that I spoke to. And again

27:26

to the point from before, this

27:28

is year one of the new regime for a new head

27:31

coach, a new GM basically a new owner.

27:33

Like last year was kind of not Josh

27:35

Harris's team. He just sort of he didn't buy

27:37

it until like right before the training camp started.

27:40

So they have time on their side. I

27:42

know the fans don't. It's illustrated

27:44

and ready to win, but yeah, like they

27:46

have time to wait that they don't like

27:49

they're in other words, that they might as well

27:51

go for the upside, like you're saying, And that's Daniels

27:54

more than it is McCarthy. So yeah,

27:56

I mean I think it's you know, I would,

27:58

I would pick Daniels. It's what I've been picking. And

28:01

I think it's partly for some of those reasons that

28:03

he said.

28:04

And you know, look also, this is a business, as we

28:06

know, and they need to.

28:07

Get fans back in and having the hot the Rainning

28:09

Heisman Trophy winner with the highlight reel that he had,

28:12

that's good business. So I think all these

28:14

factors go into Daniels being the

28:17

call.

28:18

So been standing from the athletic picking

28:20

for the Washington Commanders. So let's Jade and Daniels

28:22

with the number two spot quarterback from

28:24

LSU makes sense.

28:26

Yeah, Ben, I would just want to ask you one question about

28:28

Cliff Kingsbury and his role

28:30

in all this, because when they when they hired Cliff, I

28:33

feel like everybody assumed that maybe

28:35

there would be Caleb Williams right, like they might go up

28:37

to one and bring in Caleb. But I

28:40

also looked at it and said, you know what a great fit

28:42

Jaden Daniels would be in that type

28:44

of offense as well. Where

28:46

do you think, you know, Cliff's voice

28:48

comes in, because I you know, obviously the Shanahan

28:51

guys are maybe a little bit different offensively

28:53

from what Cliff has run in the past.

28:57

Yeah, so you know you mentioned

29:00

Caleb Williams. Obviously that was a thought. The

29:02

other thought was that

29:05

Drake May in college ran

29:08

a form of the air raid system that Cliff

29:10

Kingsbury is known for over his coaching

29:12

years, more college than pro but nonetheless,

29:15

so the thought was there could be some familiarity there.

29:17

But in terms of style, yeah, Daniels

29:19

clearly is a really good fit

29:21

for what we perceive of a Cliff Kingsbury

29:24

offense. I think the question that we don't know is

29:26

what exactly is this offense going to

29:28

be? That is the

29:31

question, you know, how much is it going

29:33

to be Hey, Cliff, you do what you want? How much

29:36

did it is?

29:36

Hey?

29:37

We like your mind, but you've got to tailor it to

29:39

what we specifically are looking for here,

29:41

and that's why that's been part of the why

29:44

it's done. Is a little bit hard to figure out

29:46

what's going what they would do for the most

29:48

part, because I could make cases for any of these quarterbacks.

29:52

But Daniels I think is a really good fit

29:54

for Kingsbury.

29:55

And by the way, just you.

29:56

Know, we know Kingsbury could be hired

29:58

as a head coach by somebody next here. You

30:01

can't go into like what he wants too

30:03

heavily, right, Whereas Quinn and Peters

30:05

should be here for the long haul. Therefore their voices

30:07

got to matter more than the OC who

30:10

it matters but not you know again, he could be gone

30:12

by next year if they have a good year, or even if he's society

30:15

wants to do something else.

30:16

Yeah, that's a great point.

30:17

Yeah, Hey, Ben, thank you so much for spending

30:19

a little time with the certainly appreciate it.

30:21

Thanks Ben, Yeah, thanks for having

30:23

me.

30:24

You got it, Ben standing covering

30:26

the Washington Commanders in the NFL for the

30:28

Athletic and he selects Jaden Daniels

30:31

quarterback LSU. So right now

30:33

we're going kind of by the form chart.

30:35

Yeah, I think that this is the way

30:37

that it's going to go. Also, I just when

30:40

you talk to people and you know the things that

30:43

I've actually gone back and watched some of

30:45

Jaden Daniels's film and did the same

30:47

thing with Drake May And I think what you see with

30:49

Jaden Daniels is that extra

30:51

time in college, that that six years that

30:53

he spent in college really gave him

30:55

time to develop as a passer and

30:58

from the pocket, and he is so much for they're

31:00

along mechanically. Then

31:02

let's say a Lamar Jackson was coming

31:05

out of Louisville, that that

31:07

really sets a floor that's much much higher,

31:09

which is why he could go two overall and Lamar lasted

31:12

all the way to the end of the first round. You know,

31:14

Jayden Daniels is one of those guys that

31:16

is extremely tied together mechanically.

31:19

Does Lamar Jackson's success at this point

31:21

in time, though, I mean, did

31:23

it maybe inflate Jade and Daniels

31:26

worth absolutely.

31:27

And we were talking to Elliott Wolf last week

31:29

at his pre draft press conference. He was on

31:32

in the Cleveland Browns front office when they picked

31:34

Baker Mayfield in the draft, obviously

31:36

that was Lamar's draft, and he kind

31:39

of took a shot at himself and said, well,

31:41

we could have picked Lamar Jackson, and then we didn't.

31:44

And I think at the time with Lamar, to

31:46

your point, the league wasn't ready for

31:49

Lamar Jackson. Yet I don't think that they really

31:52

They had a lot of guys, you know, thirty

31:54

two offensive coordinators that were confident

31:56

in their ability to build an offense that

31:58

Lamar Jackson could operate

32:00

and would amplify his talent. I think is more the

32:02

better way to put it. And now I

32:05

think you Lamar is sort of you

32:07

know, he's up there as the beacon,

32:10

right, like, this is what you're supposed to do, this is how

32:12

you pointed in the right direction. I think

32:14

Jaden Daniels though, like I said, one

32:16

of the things that really impresses me so much

32:18

with Jaden Daniels is how

32:21

well he reads the field in terms of

32:23

full field progression and how well his

32:25

whole mechanical mechanical

32:27

chain as we call it. Right, So you have you

32:29

know, obviously up here, right, you gotta start

32:32

with the eyes, but then you go eyes, shoulders,

32:34

hips, feet, and all of it creates

32:37

a chain of a throwing lane,

32:39

right. And his ability to go

32:41

read to read, and then carry the rest

32:44

of the chain with him as he does it

32:46

so that he's accurate to all three levels and

32:48

accurate past that first read in the progression

32:50

is probably the best at of anybody

32:52

in the draft.

32:53

And that's what really separates the elite quarterbacks

32:55

from good quarterbacks, because they have more

32:57

of that complete chain, as you suggest,

33:00

physically, if not mentally,

33:02

and that's what separates a first round

33:04

pick from say a fourth or fifth or sixth round pick.

33:07

Yeah, my biggest concerns with Daniels

33:09

are I do

33:11

have some concern about

33:13

the arm talent. I don't think it's I don't

33:15

think he's got elite arm talent. I think

33:17

he has above average arm strength,

33:19

but I don't think that he's elite

33:21

in the same category as Caleb certainly

33:24

not. And I think that Drake May and JJ McCarthy

33:26

might have a little bit more zip on the ball than he does

33:28

as well. Interesting, and then the other thing I would

33:30

just say is that he has a propensity

33:33

to pass up things in the middle of the fields,

33:35

Like if he's throwing, you know, a dig router

33:38

has to layer something over a linebacker

33:40

or something like that. He doesn't make those

33:42

types of throws with regularity.

33:44

Does he also have a little bit more of a propensity

33:46

to pull it down and run with it?

33:48

Yeah? I think some teams that you talk to

33:50

would prefer him to keep his eyes

33:52

down the field a little bit more and not

33:55

always immediately default

33:57

into scramble mode. It's so hard

33:59

to try that out of him, though, because when

34:01

he can scramble for fifty yards.

34:03

I mean, what it's okay,

34:06

let's go with the six yard out here, I'm gonna scramble

34:08

for fifty. Well, which one would you drink?

34:10

But there's just times on his film, certainly,

34:12

where he does pass up the six yard

34:14

out, or he does pass up the breaking route

34:17

and instead he run. He'll run for fifty,

34:19

but at the end of the run, he's gonna take a shot, and

34:22

then you know, it's just those types of things add

34:24

up all right.

34:25

Third pick of the first round of the NFL

34:27

Draft, of course, belongs to your New England Patriots,

34:29

And for our purposes here the

34:32

beat reporter of the New England Patriots

34:34

for the Boston Globe and frequent contributor.

34:36

Here inside the playbook on Patriots dot

34:38

Com Radio is Nicole C. Yang and Nicole

34:41

joins us here today. Nicole, thanks for a little

34:43

bit of time today. It's appreciated.

34:46

Oh thanks for having me, guys.

34:47

Well, so you know the drill how we play mock

34:50

drafts. Here with the third

34:52

pick of the twenty twenty four NFL

34:54

mock draft on the Patriots

34:57

dot Com, Nicole Yang making

34:59

the salt for the New England

35:01

Patriots, and the New England Patriots select

35:05

whom.

35:05

I think you gotta go with Strake May.

35:07

Okay, I don't think anybody would be

35:10

surprised by that pick at this stage of the game, especially

35:12

with Williams taking going one for our

35:14

purposes and Daniel's going too,

35:17

and the Patriots have made it known they certainly

35:19

want a quarterback. We know that they need

35:21

a quarterback. How

35:24

close, Nicole, based on your observations

35:27

and what you've heard and what you've written, how

35:29

close were the Patriots? Are the Patriots still

35:32

because obviously they won't make this pick until

35:35

a little over twenty four hours from the moment that we're speaking

35:37

right now, But how close are the Patriots to thinking

35:40

seriously about trading down and has anybody

35:42

offer them the quote unquote bag that

35:44

Gerrod Mayo has talked about.

35:47

Yeah, I mean I think.

35:48

They're definitely considering it, seriously

35:50

considering it, you can tell.

35:52

And that Elliott Wolfs Androrod

35:54

Mayo.

35:54

Both are making it very clear and their availability.

35:57

Is that they are open for business.

35:59

And to contrast that with how

36:01

Adam Peter's handled his pre draft

36:04

availability basically saying that they're

36:06

going to stick at too and sort of shutting down.

36:08

Any trade speculation.

36:10

So I think the Patriots are.

36:11

Definitely open to that possibility.

36:15

It's just a.

36:15

Matter of, like you said, if they get off

36:17

of the bag, and I just don't think

36:19

we'll know if that's happening until

36:23

closer to the draft. I think even

36:25

Bill Belichick said in his appearance

36:27

on the pat Maxbie Shure recently that

36:30

it really takes like up

36:32

until those last twelve hours to see what

36:34

really is going to materialize. So

36:37

I think they're holding out for some sort of Godfather

36:39

offers, but if

36:41

that doesn't happen, and as of right now it doesn't

36:43

seem like that's the case, I think they're also

36:46

comfortable standing pat and taking Drake's

36:48

say, where are you on.

36:49

The whole you know, Drake versus

36:51

Jaden versus JJ conundrum

36:54

that apparently has been you know, certainly most of

36:56

the I guess really the talk

36:59

back over the course of the last month. What

37:01

have been to your observations and based

37:03

on what you believe the Patriots really

37:06

need to run that position.

37:08

And obviously they've got a quarterback that they

37:10

went out and they got free agent wise to sort

37:12

of quarterback this thing and literally quarterback

37:14

this thing until they can bring the young guy along, which

37:18

one has sort of caught your eyes maybe being

37:20

the fit for the Patriots.

37:23

Yeah, so I'm definitely a little bit biased

37:26

in that I went to UNC for

37:28

Drake Mays pro day, and I didn't go

37:30

to LSU to see Jayden

37:32

Daniels or Michigan to see Jadu McCarthy.

37:34

So I've seen Drake maya close and I

37:37

understand why Rodmeo

37:39

was gussing about his feeling because he does

37:42

have really impressive arm strength,

37:44

like he can sling it. His size is impressive,

37:47

his mobility like, I can see why

37:49

they are intrigued by him.

37:51

And in terms of.

37:53

Dayden versus Drake.

37:54

Like, unfortunately for where the Patriots.

37:56

Are picking, they don't really have a choice there,

37:58

Like.

37:58

It's just going to be whichever of the two

38:01

is available. If Drake

38:05

May surprisingly goes to and

38:07

jayde and Daniels falls to the Periods,

38:10

My concern there is just with his size

38:13

and his frame and given

38:15

his play style. Anthony Richardson

38:17

has about forty pounds on Dayden

38:19

Daniels and he played four

38:21

games last year, and so obviously

38:24

it's not like a one to one comparison, But

38:26

I just think given how he plays and

38:29

given his sort of slight frame, you

38:31

could be looking at durability

38:34

as a potential weakness. So I

38:38

Drake May falling to the Patriots at three,

38:40

Like, I think that that would be a good fit. And

38:42

I think if they surround him with the

38:44

necessary tools, give him the necessary.

38:46

Support system, like he.

38:50

Sort of developed into that franchise role.

38:52

Sure, all right, it makes sense to me. Is

38:54

Drake May the kind of guy that you think could

38:57

win the job, if not right away then

39:00

at some point in time this season or do you kind

39:02

of feel like this is Jacoby Brissette's

39:04

job to you know, sort of you

39:06

know, keep until I don't know how

39:08

long do they go with this thing.

39:11

Yeah, so that's a really interesting question.

39:13

I am undecided and.

39:15

Not really sure how they're going to handle that. My guess

39:17

is that it's Jacoby Brissette's

39:20

job through at least the first half of the season.

39:23

Like do I agree with Elliott Wolf

39:25

that the roster sort of as currently

39:27

constructed is a quiped supported rookie

39:29

quarterback. Not entirely, but

39:32

I think it'll be interesting to see

39:35

how the offense looks with Jacoby,

39:37

if the offensive line can hold up, if the

39:39

receiver helps, as Elliott said,

39:41

is actually underrated, then yeah, maybe

39:43

slots Drake in if they feel he's comfortable.

39:46

But if the offense looks as

39:48

it did last year and it's still super

39:50

dysfunctional and there's

39:53

no pass protection, then it just doesn't

39:55

make sense in my opinion, to put Drake

39:58

in and just give him like a full red year

40:00

and starting year two like that. I

40:02

don't think should be an unpopular decision,

40:04

And.

40:05

You can look at quarterbacks across the league where

40:07

that worked out.

40:07

Well, what are your thoughts on that?

40:09

Yeah, Nicole, I actually wanted to ask you a

40:11

different question. If that's okay, and Hi By

40:14

the way, I wanted to just I

40:16

just wanted to ask you, you know what your

40:18

read is on the hierarchy here

40:20

in New England. And this is obviously a subject

40:23

that we we we dance around at times

40:25

on here, right, But you know Jonathan

40:27

Kraft his role in all of this, you

40:29

know, how do you read how who's

40:31

making these types of decisions, Because I think there's a lot

40:33

of Patriots have fans out there that are reading

40:36

some of the reports and thinking the Crafts are

40:38

the ones that are actually pulling the strings.

40:41

Yeah, so I'm.

40:42

Choosing to take Gerard,

40:45

Elliott and Robert at

40:47

face value, and that might be a

40:49

mistake on my part, but that's how I

40:52

am analyzing

40:54

the situation. I think, yes, the

40:57

Crafts are obviously invested and they care

40:59

about the future of the franchise and they want

41:01

to know what is.

41:02

Going on with the pick.

41:04

They want to know what the team's plans are, like

41:06

they care in that regard. Do

41:08

I think the Crafts are pouring

41:11

through the prospects and sharing their.

41:13

Opinion on them?

41:14

No?

41:15

Do I think they aren't giving

41:18

like their full trust to Elliott

41:20

and Girod to make the decisions. Also,

41:22

No, like I do think they are deferring to

41:25

the decision makers, but I it

41:27

doesn't surprise me that they are invested

41:30

and that they want this pick to pan out

41:32

and that they would prefer as the quarterback. Like

41:34

I would say that's true of a lot of.

41:36

People involved in the situation.

41:38

But just listening to how Girod

41:41

and Elliott have answered questions.

41:42

About their involvement, they are

41:45

just so firm and saying.

41:46

That they're not involved in football operations

41:49

and that they like

41:52

they're not. I think if they were involved

41:54

in football operations as

41:56

intimately as like maybe fans are concerned

41:58

about the way that Elliott and Dodd

42:00

would answer those questions would be a little bit

42:03

different.

42:03

Yeah, yeah, kind of think so too. Be

42:05

honest with you, I'm also of the opinion,

42:08

and this is not meant to disparage anybody, but sometimes

42:11

you can't believe everything you

42:13

hear or you read. You just can't, not in this day

42:15

and age anyway. So you know, I prefer

42:18

to let as much action do

42:21

the speaking for me, and you know, and that's

42:23

kind of the way that you know, we try to handle

42:26

things around here, especially since as even

42:28

suggested, every once in a while we walk a tightropeer

42:30

too, but that's just the nature of the job.

42:33

Yeah, just answered the job. Hey, Nicole, thanks

42:35

for hanging out with us for a few minutes. Appreciate

42:37

it. Good to talk with you, and I hope we'll get to get and

42:39

see you again soon.

42:40

Thanks to call guys.

42:42

You got it, Nicole Yang Boston Globe

42:45

with the selection of Drake May. So

42:47

we've had QB QB QB first

42:50

three picks no, no, And I think this is what if

42:52

anybody had to, you know, you know, plunk

42:55

down some good hard cash on that, I think most

42:57

people would probably go that route.

42:59

Yeah. You know, I with Nicole at the

43:01

North Carolina Pro Day, and you

43:03

know, it was an impressive throwing session. Did he hit

43:05

every throw perfectly?

43:07

Oh no, I don't think you'd expect him to.

43:09

But uh, you know, when you come to see the tools

43:11

with Drake May. And I've been at Drake May guy from

43:13

the from the jump, so obviously I people

43:16

know where I stand on this. But I think

43:18

the biggest thing that I had preached to Patriots

43:21

fans with Drake May is that he's not a finished

43:23

product. He's not ready to go necessarily.

43:25

Week one, I don't think do. I think that

43:27

he's as much of a project as other people do.

43:30

Know, And I think that there's a really good chance,

43:32

and this is where the Patriots are going to have to stick to

43:34

their guns a little bit. There's a really good chance

43:37

that we get out there in August and Drake

43:39

May is lighting up practice,

43:41

you know, and it is clearly the best

43:44

quarterback out of the three quarterbacks that the Patriots

43:46

have, And and the obvious

43:48

will be the talent, right Like he took

43:51

a guy three overall, you would hope that he would stand above

43:53

Jacoby Brissett and Bailey's act.

43:56

If you got a guy that's got the talent

43:59

and he's showing that talent, you

44:01

gotta play it right.

44:02

So that's gonna be the question is

44:05

are they patient with him for his

44:09

what's probably the betterment of his long term

44:11

future in the league, or are

44:13

they just ready to throw him to the fire. And it

44:16

can work both ways. Sure, Josh Allen

44:18

played right away in Buffalo and

44:20

he worked out just fine. Jordan Love didn't

44:23

and he's also working out just fine, right,

44:25

So you can go either way with it. I just

44:28

think that for Patriots fans,

44:31

I would just say to let's let it play out in

44:33

terms of when he's going to play, because I

44:35

do think that we're all pretty confident.

44:37

And Nicole mentioned Belichick's appearance

44:39

on McAfee, and I thought that was a good shout

44:42

that Bill said. It's been it's really

44:44

like twelve hours before the draft that

44:46

people really start to understand what everybody's doing.

44:48

All right, So now is where we kind of I

44:51

think we're gonna line up for our first non

44:53

quarterback to be taken. We

44:56

don't know unless some kind of trade is made. So

44:58

the Arizona Cardinals selected number four,

45:00

and making the pick for the Cardinals is Darren

45:03

Urban, who joined us from Arizona Cardinals

45:05

dot Com. Hey Darren, it's John and Evan

45:07

here in Foxborough. How's it going.

45:10

I'm doing good. How are you guys?

45:11

Great? Great? So tell us where we are with

45:13

the Cardinals and pick number four, and will

45:16

that pick be a non quarterback?

45:20

You know, obviously if they stay

45:22

there, I think it's a non quarterback. I don't think there's

45:24

any question about that. They're they're happy with

45:26

Kyler Murray right now. They're the guy

45:28

that they want to ride with, and there's

45:30

plenty of other places.

45:32

That they need to look.

45:34

And but I think, well,

45:37

I mean, when you're struggling

45:40

the way they have in terms of wins the last couple

45:42

of years, that's that's where it goes. And and and

45:44

they need to get him a weapon. And I know that

45:47

ultimately there's lots of receivers

45:50

out there, and there's the

45:52

possibility of a trade down does exist.

45:55

But I also firmly believe that

45:57

it's going to take a big package to

45:59

move the Cardinals off of this fourth pick.

46:02

And if somebody wants to wow them, great,

46:05

and if not, I think they're going to

46:07

stay. And I'm gonna go

46:09

I'm gonna say it's Marvin Harrison. It makes a lot

46:11

of sense. I know there's a lot of talk

46:14

about where he falls with the

46:16

other two receivers and people want to stay. Well,

46:19

maybe Romadoonza or Malik

46:22

Neighbors ranked higher than Harrison on some

46:24

boards, and that's possible. But I'm gonna

46:26

stay chalk here and say they would take Harrison.

46:28

All right, So Marvin Harrison to pick at four,

46:31

what kind of a package do you think it would take from

46:33

Minnesota or whomever to

46:36

move up to select another quarterback? Ad

46:39

for what have the Cardinals mentioned anything? And

46:41

you're on the inside there, so you know as well as anybody.

46:43

Have they mentioned you know, Gerrod Meyo said,

46:45

hey, take a bag, you know, for the Patriots

46:47

to move at three? What kind of a bag is in

46:50

there for the Cardinals for them to move?

46:52

Well, well, obviously they haven't. They haven't said

46:55

anything specifically. It's funny you

46:57

mentioned that drive mail seat a bag.

47:00

So the other day Manti Assin fort the GM

47:03

said it like this. He goes, I love my house.

47:05

That I'm in.

47:06

My wife loves the house that I'm in. If

47:08

somebody comes to my door and makes

47:10

me an offer that I'm not expecting,

47:13

that's awesome. I'm going to turn around and tell

47:15

my wife pack the stuff. When so,

47:19

I think, does he

47:21

have something in mind? Of course he does. I

47:23

mean, if we want to take the one scenario

47:28

out there that everybody's been talking about, Okay, Minnesota's

47:30

got eleven and twenty three, and if

47:32

you look at a lot of the trade charts out there

47:34

that have floated around the internet for forever, eleven

47:37

and twenty three comes pretty

47:39

close to adding up to the fourth

47:41

overall pick.

47:42

But that's not going to do it.

47:44

And do I think it would take a

47:46

future first probably

47:50

just because you're giving

47:52

up the potential at a really great

47:54

player to move all the way down to eleven,

47:57

and it would give them, you know,

48:00

three first round picks this year, because

48:02

they already have twenty seven as well. But I

48:06

do think he's gonna have to be well because at

48:08

some point Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL

48:10

Networks said this the other day. Do

48:13

you want to collect picks, but at some point you got

48:15

to spend them on players and get difference makers.

48:17

I think they have a chance because of the

48:20

number of picks they have. They have, they have eleven

48:22

picks overall. They

48:25

can afford to stay at four and do that unless,

48:27

again, somebody really wild.

48:29

Yeah. I was just going to ask you. You know, obviously

48:32

we're kicking around probably the same

48:34

trade packages. Right if the Patriots

48:36

were to trade down with the Cardinals at

48:39

four, I have two questions. One,

48:42

do you believe that they love Marvin

48:44

Harrison Junior so much that you they'd

48:47

have to move mountains for that pick to trade

48:49

out of it? Because I agree with you that I think that Harrison

48:51

makes the most sense for them. And two,

48:54

we've been talking a lot on the program so far about

48:57

JJ McCarthy, and you know that

48:59

bidding war starts for JJ McCarthy

49:01

with the fourth overall pick between some teams

49:04

like Minnesota or whatever. You know, that's

49:06

a pretty advantageous spot for Arizona,

49:08

who doesn't need a quarterback necessarily to

49:11

answer those phone calls. So maybe it's a situation

49:13

where it's when they're on you know, kind of on the on

49:16

the on the clock. Excuse me that they

49:19

are. Now you have a bunch of teams that are

49:21

knocking down their door, if that makes sense.

49:24

Yeah, I mean I think and I've said

49:26

this for weeks.

49:27

We were talking about the other day, all of a sudden there's

49:30

been a couple of national reports out there that says,

49:32

well, it looks like the Cardinals are going to

49:34

have to be on the clock before they make

49:36

this.

49:37

Yeah.

49:37

I think I said that back

49:40

right after the combine. I'm like, nothing's going to

49:42

happen until maniofs sports

49:44

on the clock, because a he knows that that's when

49:46

the most leverage and be to me,

49:49

it would almost be Malfeastin's from other

49:52

teams trying to trade up to four when

49:54

you know quarterbacks could go one, two,

49:56

and three and not knowing who the fourth quarterback

49:59

is there for you to take. I can't imagine

50:02

every team loves.

50:03

All for these quarterbacks that need quarterbacks,

50:06

and it.

50:06

Just doesn't make any sense to

50:09

make a deal on anybody's angle

50:12

unless they know what quarterback is there for.

50:14

And that's the other issue here.

50:15

Yes, the Cardinals aren't a great place

50:17

because if a team needs a quarterback and the first

50:20

three go quarterback, then they're the next

50:22

pick. But that also means three

50:24

quarterbacks are off the board, and we

50:27

can do the mass about quarterbacks and drafts

50:30

every year. I mean, let's say there's four

50:32

or five quarterbacks to go in the first round.

50:35

The mass says one could be really good,

50:38

and probably at least two of them are gonna

50:40

bust. So you know, that's

50:43

decisions that other people have to make, and are they

50:46

willing to give up that kind of draft capital

50:48

to get up there, whether whether the

50:50

Cardinals love Harrison enough or

50:53

if it's another player. I

50:55

can't say that for sure, but

50:58

you can go by what everybody else is talking

51:00

about and all the other people that look into it, and also

51:02

the fact that the Cardinals very much

51:04

could use the number one wide receiver and kind

51:07

of put two and two together.

51:08

Yeah, yep, absolutely, all right, Darren,

51:10

thanks a lot. We really appreciate it. Not surprised

51:12

by the pick, and best of luck to you and the

51:14

Cardinals.

51:15

Thanks Darren, Thanks guys.

51:16

All right, you got it. So Darren Urban from Arizona

51:19

Cardinals dot Com, with the fourth pick of

51:21

our mock draft, selects Marvin Harrison, junior

51:23

wide receiver Ohio State University.

51:25

Yeah.

51:26

I've had Marvin Harrison Junior as the top

51:28

receiver in the class wire to wire. I know some people

51:30

really like Malik Neighbors and I do as

51:32

well. And I can see some of the arguments of you

51:35

know, Malik Neighbors is more the Tyreek Hill

51:37

and Marvin Harrison Junior is more like a Devontae Adams,

51:39

right, And it's just kind of how do you want to build

51:41

your offense and what's more attractive

51:43

to you as a team. But in terms

51:46

of you know, I do strengths and weaknesses.

51:48

I have a whole spreadsheet out that people can find on Patriots

51:50

dot Com. There is not a person that

51:53

has fewer weaknesses in his weakness

51:55

box on my spreadsheet, and Marvin

51:57

Harrison.

51:58

I advocated for him being the page could

52:00

just pick at three. Yea, even

52:02

though well before you know, the conversations

52:05

swrung around to getting a quarterback overall, and

52:07

I thought, well, you know what, maybe the quarterback.

52:09

And of course, I think with a lot of the late sentiment that kind of pushed

52:12

the quarterbacks up to the top of the lift. But you know, take

52:14

Marvin Harrison at three, and then if you really

52:16

like JJ McCarthy or maybe Michael

52:19

Pennis at Washington, one of those guys could

52:21

be around, you could make that choice with someone

52:23

like Minnesota at eleven.

52:25

Yeah. So really with Marvin Harrison, the

52:28

two weaknesses that I have written down are

52:30

he is a little slender, like he could add some

52:33

muscle, some beef to

52:35

the frame, so to speak. And he's

52:37

not overly elusive with the ball in his

52:39

hands, like he's not a big time tackle breaker

52:42

after the catch. But if those are

52:44

your two biggest concerns about a player, and

52:46

I don't think that the you know, the Yeah,

52:49

he has some nagging injuries at Ohio State,

52:51

and that contributes to maybe the slender frame,

52:54

or you know, I didn't needed to bulk up a little bit.

52:56

But I also wonder was

52:58

he just sitting out those because of his long

53:00

term future was more important than maybe

53:03

playing in the extra quarter against you know,

53:05

some Nebraska or you know whatever Big

53:07

Ten team he's playing against that week. So that's

53:10

a part of it as well. But yeah, there's

53:12

very He's one of the more well

53:15

rounded and just least

53:18

bustable players that

53:20

I have done in this process.

53:23

You know, Caleb is extremely talented,

53:26

but there are reasons to think that Caleb could bust.

53:28

You know, there are Marvin Harrison junior.

53:31

Maybe he's not a Hall of Famer, but I

53:33

can't imagine that he's not good in the NFL.

53:35

It just that I can't really see that.

53:37

Pick as perfect a draft pick, maybe as as

53:39

we got on the board this year there, Yeah, for sure, right, yep,

53:42

all right, that's Marvin Harrison for for at Arizona.

53:44

Fifth pick of the draft belongs to the Los Angeles

53:46

Chargers. Jeff Miller covers the NFL

53:49

and covers the Chargers for the Los Angeles Times.

53:51

Kind enough to join us here in the playbook for

53:54

the Chargers pick at number five. Hey,

53:56

Jeff, it's John and Evan here in Foxborough.

53:58

Thanks for the time today.

54:01

Are you guys doing You're good, dude.

54:03

We're having some fun right now. It's it's

54:06

it's staying pretty much true to form. So we're

54:08

curious if you could just bring us up to date on

54:11

where you feel like the Chargers primary needs

54:13

are. And we know they pick at five, they also

54:16

pick again in round two, I think at thirty seven

54:18

ish thirty seven. Overall, where

54:20

do you feel like their important needs are and

54:23

what you think they'll do with that pick at number five?

54:26

Well, they are actually short

54:29

bodies, wide receiver. They don't

54:31

even have enough guys right now. It's still love that

54:34

position group, so we know they have

54:36

the issues there. They could use a

54:39

literally two starting cornerback, they could

54:41

lose it. They could use it outside corner

54:43

and an inside corner play slave, and

54:46

then they need the interior defensive

54:48

line. And then

54:51

having settled that, a lot of the speculation

54:53

hasn't taken an offensive lining first. So there's

54:57

a lot of moving parts here with this roster

54:59

being re build with a new regime up top,

55:02

and I think sort

55:05

of the overriding feeling seems to be that they

55:07

are looking to trade out of it number five

55:09

spot, hoping that there's a team that wants

55:11

to move up and maybe get a quarterback, or

55:13

you guys are just talking to Marvin Harrison Junior

55:15

if he's still there. Maybe somebody

55:17

wants to move up the Jets or somebody the

55:20

Chargers might move back and feel like with the

55:23

depth of offensive line and a wide receiver they

55:25

could still get both of those two positions,

55:28

you know, later in the first round. I think ideally

55:30

would be perfect for these guys.

55:32

Okay, so what's your inclination

55:34

then, based on what are we we're not

55:37

We're all over twenty four hours away from the pick

55:39

being made, almost thirty hours away from probably the

55:41

pick being made. Do the Chargers

55:43

keep the number five pick? Or do they

55:46

trade it?

55:48

If I had to guess right now that I am, it would

55:50

just be a guest. I think they'll trade it just

55:52

because they want to accumulate

55:55

picks. Because I just

55:57

rattled off all the needs they have in there. They're

56:00

really interested. Je Ortis

56:03

in each GM and of course

56:05

the head coach of building up

56:07

the depth with this team, which we have not

56:09

seen here for years. I mean, they've always

56:11

been a top heavy roster without a lot of depth. They're

56:14

determined to get away from that, so they

56:16

want to try and accumulate more picks and get

56:18

more shots at some quality players

56:21

in this draft and even next year. So

56:24

my guess is, if I was

56:26

pushed to make a decision, I think

56:29

they'll trade it, but they very well could

56:31

keep to think if they don't get something they like.

56:34

Okay, who does the trade then with? Do you

56:36

think is it with Minnesota at eleven? What have

56:38

you heard along those lines?

56:41

Yeah, Minnesota is the most popular trade

56:44

partner for them, So I think that

56:47

that would be an ideal situation in the Chargers

56:49

that anyone who's followed this team knows that the

56:52

ideal usually doesn't happen for the Tractors.

56:54

Yeah, well, we've had

56:56

sometimes those feelings around here ourselves.

56:58

All right.

56:59

So if they trade, let's let's play it out then.

57:01

So if they trade with Minnesota at eleven, they

57:03

end up swapping picks. So then

57:05

at that pig down at eleven, who

57:08

do you think would be available for potentially

57:10

for h for the Chargers

57:12

to take or who would they like to take in a perfect

57:14

world?

57:16

I think you know Ja c Lathan, the offensive

57:19

lineman, would be a guy they definitely

57:21

would target there if

57:23

they stay at five. You

57:26

know, a lot of the Mincrats that I've been a part of, I have

57:29

them taking Joe Old because

57:31

he's you know, a big time you

57:34

know tackle obviously at Notre Dame. No he played in the

57:36

left side of Notre Dame. That these

57:38

guys will be looking for someone to play right tackle, and

57:42

I think all could probably do that. So but

57:44

I think whatever they do, the

57:47

feeling I've gotten pretty strong so far

57:49

as is that they're going to probably

57:51

take an offensive lineman with the first pick, whoever

57:54

it is. That's assuming that they weren't

57:56

sitting at five and Marvin Harrison was still

57:58

there.

57:58

Okay, Jeff, I have a

58:01

tinfoil hat theory for you that I want to ask

58:03

you about, and that is that I

58:05

think that this JJ McCarthy buzz, which

58:07

I obviously I'm sure you can imagine we've been discussing

58:09

at nauseum here in New England with

58:12

JJ McCarthy, I have felt

58:14

for a while that the one that is

58:17

putting the buzz out in the ether is

58:19

his old college coach, Jim Harbaugh, with

58:22

the intention of maybe having the best non

58:24

quarterback in the draft fall to him at five.

58:27

Overall, right, if you followed me. Four quarterbacks

58:29

go in the top four. The Chargers are on

58:31

the clock at five, and now all of a sudden, Marvin Harrison

58:33

Junior is available for them at fifth. Overall,

58:36

Joe Walt's available. Something along those lines.

58:38

How much do you think Harbaugh's

58:41

influence on JJ has

58:43

the league, you know, eating it all up

58:45

right and so to speak. And then also there's

58:48

absolutely no chance that he loves JJ

58:50

so much, said he's taken JJ and trading

58:53

Herbert right.

58:56

I think I think you're onto something there.

58:58

I love that the owners meeting, and Harbaugh

59:02

repeated, somebody, some often is that

59:04

McCarty's the best quarterback in this draft,

59:06

and he said he's the best quarterback that at

59:09

playing quarterback, which

59:11

is perfect harbys him. I don't even know what that

59:13

means, but from

59:16

what I understand, the one thing to be

59:18

stare to Harby's. Apparently at the

59:20

Big Ten Media Day back in August, he compared

59:23

McCarthy to Andrew

59:25

Love, who he coached at Stanford.

59:28

So he's been on the scene

59:30

for a while. But I hear you.

59:32

I'm with you.

59:32

I think you know, back in the.

59:33

Owners meetings, I know I wrote about

59:35

it, and I think a couple other people too. Is we

59:38

pointed out the irony of you know,

59:41

him touting is former college quarterback.

59:44

It helps the former college quarterback

59:46

and it helps him talking about

59:48

Harbat. So there's definitely something to that.

59:52

But like I said, he has been really putting

59:55

McCarthy, you know, apparently since

59:57

back in August, so he's

1:00:00

just kind of continuing the company line through him.

1:00:02

I think, yeah, makes sense.

1:00:03

Yeah, it does make sense. Hey, Jeff, thank you for

1:00:06

the time and thank you for the Thank you for the

1:00:08

little change up we got here. We've been getting nothing but fastballs

1:00:10

to start this draft off, so we kind of figured

1:00:12

a change up was needed here.

1:00:15

Well, I just chin my part to keep it

1:00:17

interesting.

1:00:18

We thank

1:00:21

you.

1:00:22

That's funny.

1:00:23

We're just laughing about that. It's like, can't we please do this

1:00:25

now? Thank you, appreciate you, Jeff, thank

1:00:27

you so much.

1:00:29

You got it.

1:00:29

That's Jeff Miller, who covers the Los

1:00:31

Angeles Chargers for the Los Angeles Times,

1:00:34

and his selection is a trade

1:00:37

with Minnesota at eleven, and

1:00:40

uh, that means then that would put Minnesota

1:00:43

up choosing number five. They would anticipate

1:00:45

that potentially a quarterback might get taken there,

1:00:47

although we don't know, But then at eleven,

1:00:50

that would mean that the Chargers would probably

1:00:53

opt for JC Latham out of Alabama.

1:00:55

Yeah, if they keep the pick

1:00:58

and they don't trade with Minnesota, probably

1:01:00

take Joe Walt from Notre Dame.

1:01:01

Yeah that makes sense. I mean I put all there

1:01:04

for a while now because it's Jim

1:01:06

harbough Man. He's gonna want to run the ball and he's

1:01:08

gonna want to build the trenches. And as awesome

1:01:11

as Marvin Harrison Junior is, it's it's

1:01:13

hard to really go through

1:01:15

his whole coaching history

1:01:17

Stanford forty nine

1:01:20

Ers, obviously Michigan and

1:01:22

where did he have the stud

1:01:26

outside receiver? Like, where did he ever

1:01:28

have you know, prioritize

1:01:30

that. I don't really think he has, And I think

1:01:32

a line is what he's always prioritized. And I

1:01:35

love the pick of j. C. Latham for them. I think that's

1:01:37

a that makes a lot of sense, a physical

1:01:40

run blocking right tackle. When

1:01:42

you watch him on film the play strength

1:01:44

pops off. You know just how much he

1:01:46

can move the line of scrimmage and run

1:01:48

the football off that right side will be a

1:01:51

big time difference making type of thing for the

1:01:53

Chargers with him. But if do

1:01:55

we have somebody from Minnesota calling and I

1:01:57

don't, we actually don't, so shall

1:02:00

we make the pick for the Vikings. I think we're gonna end up making

1:02:02

the pick for the Vikings because someone's got to make it

1:02:04

right for the We're.

1:02:05

Gonna we're gonna run out of show time unless you want to stay

1:02:07

here though six o'clock dinner.

1:02:08

So let's if you don't.

1:02:10

We're not paying Evan overtime, are we anymore?

1:02:14

If you have any objections, I

1:02:16

would say, J. J. McCarthy

1:02:19

here to the Vikings at five over five?

1:02:21

Yeah, yeah, okay, So all right, So if

1:02:23

the Vikings are taking it at five, then

1:02:26

I'm gonna plug that in because we want to compare

1:02:28

how we're going here. So Evan,

1:02:31

we'll take the selection for Minnesota.

1:02:34

I made the bike, I made

1:02:36

the pick, and you're taking McCarthy.

1:02:37

Yep. So have Cayleb Jaden

1:02:40

Drake, Marvin Harrison Junior,

1:02:42

and JJ McCarthy four out of five

1:02:45

five.

1:02:45

And we bumped the Chargers down to eleven in Minnesota's

1:02:48

old spot. Well, they'll take JC Latham from Alabama.

1:02:50

There you go. Yeah, yeah, I like lath them a lot for

1:02:52

them, because, like he said, as much

1:02:54

as Joe All would flip sides and be

1:02:56

perfectly fine, they need to right

1:02:58

tackle. They have Slater on the left side that's

1:03:01

a stud. So this makes a whole lot of sense

1:03:04

to draft a right tackle

1:03:06

to play a right tackle right, not to try to flip

1:03:08

a left tackle.

1:03:08

All right, So that brings us not to pick six with

1:03:11

the trade Minnesota Select moving up

1:03:13

to take jj McCarthy at five. Jordan

1:03:16

ran On from ESPN ESPN

1:03:18

dot com, who covers the New York Giants, joined

1:03:21

us here inside the playbook. Hey Jordan, it's

1:03:23

John and Evan here in Foxborough. Thanks

1:03:25

for the time today, Man.

1:03:28

You got guys, what's going on?

1:03:29

Hey, we're just you know, we're in

1:03:32

a hurry to get this thing over with, I think. But you know,

1:03:34

the second thing is is that we realize

1:03:36

that, you know, there wasn't a whole lot of intrigue

1:03:39

really going in, which is kind of making everybody itchy to

1:03:41

get this thing going with. But at the same time, we

1:03:43

know that the Giants have some specific needs.

1:03:45

We're hoping that you can shed a little bit of light on

1:03:47

that and then ultimately make the

1:03:50

pick for the Giants at number six based on what

1:03:52

we have had transpire, and I'll read it to you again

1:03:55

quickly, was Williams Daniels,

1:03:57

May Harrison, and

1:03:59

then the Chargers traded out of five

1:04:02

to Minnesota, and Minnesota

1:04:04

selected McCarthy a quarterback at five.

1:04:06

So in that scenario, what

1:04:09

do you think the Giants might do at six?

1:04:11

Not loving that board for the Giants, right, because

1:04:14

now you're taking them out of that quarterback picture,

1:04:16

right, the top four quarterbacks are now gone

1:04:18

already. They clearly did

1:04:20

a lot of work on that position. You don't do that

1:04:23

if you're not thinking seriously about making

1:04:25

a move there. Daniel Jones has two

1:04:27

neck injuries in the past three years, and then

1:04:29

in addition to that, he tours dayc

1:04:32

Hell and played pretty poorly last year. So

1:04:35

I think they would like to, if the ideal

1:04:38

scenario presents itself, namely

1:04:40

for Drake Bay, make a move there. But

1:04:42

he took that off the board. So sitting

1:04:45

here, sitting back, I think they could still feel pretty

1:04:47

good. They'd feel another need because they

1:04:49

need wide receiver really really, you know, their

1:04:51

last thousand yard receiver was

1:04:54

Odell Beckham junior in twenty eighteen, so

1:04:56

why not run it back with another LSU guy.

1:04:59

Sure they might be a little bit of

1:05:01

a headache at times, you know, but certainly

1:05:05

talented and elite neighbors would

1:05:07

fit a huge need for them their

1:05:10

first number

1:05:12

one wide receivers. And so as a matter

1:05:14

of fact, if you go back and look at the

1:05:16

help that the Daniel Jones has had or at

1:05:19

his career, I'd say the best receiver

1:05:21

he's probably ever thrown too, because he can't

1:05:23

count Darren Waller last year because

1:05:25

he was beat up and he really didn't play that much. Yeah,

1:05:27

healthy was probably Sterling

1:05:29

Shepherd.

1:05:30

Yeah, wow, Okay, kind

1:05:33

of makes sense to me though, Right, Yeah, Jordan,

1:05:35

you know you just mentioned it about quarterback,

1:05:38

and I think one of the biggest mysteries

1:05:40

of the draft are are the Giants a quarterback

1:05:42

team or not? And I just wanted to get

1:05:44

your take on whether or not you think that they're

1:05:47

in the quarterback market.

1:05:49

Well, the zero doubt, Like I have a zero

1:05:51

doubt there in the quarterback market. They brought

1:05:53

in all the top quarterbacks, they did all the

1:05:56

visits, they did private workouts with all of them,

1:05:58

and there is concern within the Giants building

1:06:01

about Daniel Jones' injury history, he

1:06:03

has two I can't I can't reiterate this more

1:06:05

or say it any more clearly to people. He has

1:06:07

two neck injuries in the past three

1:06:10

years. Right, that is

1:06:12

not something you just glanced over.

1:06:14

And then we can sit here and go back and forth.

1:06:16

About the quarterback evaluation part of it with

1:06:18

him, like is he good enough in the first

1:06:20

place?

1:06:20

Right?

1:06:21

Do you really want to build your team around him? Are

1:06:23

you gonna win a championship with him? That quarterback

1:06:26

like Kenny play in the league. Absolutely? Can

1:06:28

Daniel Jones be a quality quarterback? Absolutely?

1:06:31

But is he one of those guys that you

1:06:34

are going to be competing and winning super

1:06:36

Bowls with every year? You probably need

1:06:38

an ideal situation around to even be and

1:06:40

have that conversation.

1:06:42

Okay, so we've got maliite neighbors. Then, as

1:06:44

your pick for the Giants at six,

1:06:47

based on the way that our draft was kind of unfolded

1:06:49

here, yeah, we

1:06:51

k.

1:06:51

Can I interest you guys and trade

1:06:54

package get a nice package

1:06:56

for number three? Like it would it interest you if

1:06:59

number six came with, you

1:07:01

know, a first round pick next year? Maybe?

1:07:03

Has the Giants been It's a pretty enticing

1:07:06

thing if you all for number six, right,

1:07:09

it is if they would

1:07:11

be McCarthy.

1:07:13

Yeah, you know that That's something that I've floated around,

1:07:15

is you know, if there's a chance that the Patriots

1:07:18

might see this whole thing a little bit differently than

1:07:20

other teams do and they actually have JJ

1:07:22

McCarthy aheaded Drake May. You know,

1:07:24

by going from three to six, you probably still

1:07:26

are in a pretty good spot to get JJ McCarthy.

1:07:29

And you know, I don't know if you're a basketball fan,

1:07:31

Jordan, but I compared it to the Celtics

1:07:33

trading down and taking Jason Tatum in twenty

1:07:36

seventeen when everybody else thought Markel Foltz

1:07:38

was the best player in the draft and Danny Ainge

1:07:40

got it right lived at the time, regret

1:07:43

forever. Yeah, right, So you know, a

1:07:46

big Celtics fan, as you can imagine the

1:07:48

U so that that trade, you know, the

1:07:50

sure Celtics look great, right, history

1:07:53

looks great on the Celtics, and maybe

1:07:55

there's a chance that that the Patriots still from

1:07:57

there. But you mentioned Drake May for the Giants.

1:08:00

He has a relationship with Eli, right, And

1:08:03

I was wondering, you know, I'm

1:08:05

pretty sure that the Mannings had something to do with Daniel

1:08:07

Jones too, right, Like, so that's that's a connection

1:08:10

there that shouldn't be overlooked. If

1:08:12

Eli is going in there and vouching for Drake

1:08:14

May.

1:08:16

Yeah, that stamp of approval never hurts. But Daniel

1:08:18

Jones was even more than that because his college coach,

1:08:20

David Cutt cleft down at too was

1:08:22

you know that was Peyton

1:08:25

and Eli's coaches coach in college, right,

1:08:27

So, I mean he was super super connected

1:08:30

to the family, David Cutt. That's h Drake

1:08:32

May's connection isn't quite as good.

1:08:34

But look, getting the stamp of approval from Eli

1:08:36

Manning, just like getting the stamp of approval

1:08:38

from Tom Brady, you know, chirping

1:08:40

in the year of Robert Kraft for potentially

1:08:43

for JJ McCarthy probably doesn't hurt

1:08:45

him either, right.

1:08:46

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's very true. Hey,

1:08:48

Jordan, thanks, let's spend it some time with us today. Man is

1:08:51

appreciated.

1:08:51

Thanks Jordan.

1:08:52

You got it, guys, anytime, have a good show.

1:08:54

You got it.

1:08:55

Jordan ran on covering the Giants for ESPN

1:08:57

dot com. You know, speaking of that, you

1:09:00

know, Eli Manning a little plug there, and you

1:09:02

know the Manning family overall. Yeah,

1:09:05

you could if you thought that, you you know, might

1:09:07

be able to cover the position for Oh, I don't

1:09:09

know, a year, probably two could

1:09:12

wait for Eli and Peyton's

1:09:15

nephew at the University of Texas.

1:09:17

That's pretty good throwing the bond.

1:09:18

Did you see him in the spring game?

1:09:19

It was the spring game.

1:09:21

Did you watch any of it? Did you see any of it?

1:09:22

I saw the highlight. I saw someone posted odd

1:09:25

lasers. Somebody posted every

1:09:28

arch Manning throw from the senior from

1:09:30

the from the spring practice. Yeah, and

1:09:33

I watched those, like a twelve minute cut up of

1:09:35

every single throw. So I watched it really

1:09:37

quickly. And there's

1:09:39

no doubt about it that he's got arm talent, Like there's

1:09:41

no doubt about that. We'll see if he's got it between

1:09:43

the ears and if he can play the position.

1:09:46

I know you must be excited about that.

1:09:48

I think they're they're actually in pretty good shape

1:09:50

at ut quarterback Quinn

1:09:52

yours this year, and you know, yours name

1:09:54

is likely to be thrown

1:09:57

about, you know, as high as some of the drafts

1:09:59

next year, as is these quarterbacks are

1:10:01

this year. He'll certainly be one of those who'd probably would

1:10:03

be a Heisman contender. He definitely has

1:10:06

ability. I worry a little

1:10:08

about his accuracy right now, because

1:10:11

you know he's had some elite receivers at Texas

1:10:13

as you know, you love you know two.

1:10:15

Three of them that are j Davian Sanders

1:10:18

too, You love them all, Sanders. Bring

1:10:20

Jonathan Brooks with you too, and bring them all. Yeah,

1:10:22

take him as a running back. You know he's coming off an a

1:10:24

cl but you know Jonathan Brooks. The

1:10:27

one that we think is a real sleeper is Jordan

1:10:29

Whittington.

1:10:30

Uh, they had some offensive talent, which

1:10:33

also tells you that if they were actually

1:10:35

able to beat Texas, which they did, or at least

1:10:37

a lose to Washington, I should say, as

1:10:39

they did in the national semifinal, what kind of team does

1:10:41

Washington really have. I've been a Michael Penix

1:10:44

proponent, and I know people are looking

1:10:46

away from his age, be his injury history.

1:10:48

But you know, if you really want

1:10:51

to try to win now and you don't have the

1:10:53

luxury of one of those top two or three

1:10:56

picks in there, I think

1:10:58

I think I think Penix is a great choice,

1:11:00

and I think he'd be even a great choice of the Patriots traded

1:11:02

down if McCarthy's not there to take him at

1:11:04

eleven.

1:11:05

Yeah. No, I agree with you that.

1:11:07

I always joked that Texas

1:11:09

and Washington, if you just drafted

1:11:11

their offenses, you're a great shire

1:11:13

in pretty good shape going forward. And both

1:11:16

those teams are absolutely loaded. But I love

1:11:18

the pick of Melik Neighbors. I think

1:11:20

that Melik Neighbors for the Giants is so

1:11:22

much like Stefan Diggs was in Buffalo for

1:11:25

Brian Dable, and he can use him in a lot

1:11:27

of similar ways. And you know, I was

1:11:29

at LSU's pro day mainly for Jaden Daniels,

1:11:31

but watching the field work for Melik

1:11:34

Neighbors and watching how smooth he was in

1:11:36

the rout tree was just incredible.

1:11:38

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details and state specific responsible

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gambling resource. I always want

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to be one of those guys at the end who has to talk like this and

1:12:36

you'd understand what the hell is saying at the end of it. I've

1:12:38

always wanted to do that, So thank you Marine for that

1:12:40

opportunity today. Appreciate that. And I should

1:12:43

have put two times speed on it for you. I could have could

1:12:45

have, but I screwed it up anyway, So you know that's

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the way it rolls. Anyway. We do have sponsors

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to thank here, all right, So we have taken for

1:12:52

our Patriots playbook mock to bring you

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up to date. Caleb Williams, Jaden

1:12:56

Daniels, Drake May, Marvin

1:12:59

Harrison, at five.

1:13:01

The Chargers traded with Minnesota

1:13:04

and they selected J. C. Latham

1:13:07

of Alabama at that stage because

1:13:09

they anticipate picking

1:13:12

at eleven at number five

1:13:14

with the trade, Minnesota then would probably

1:13:17

looks like the trade up and take JJ McCarthy. So that's

1:13:19

what we had there. So it

1:13:21

was actually Minnesota making the pick of the Chargers

1:13:23

at five, Let's be clear about that. Giants

1:13:26

then select a Maliite Neighbors

1:13:29

wide receiver from LSU at six, which brings

1:13:31

us to seven and the Tennessee Titans.

1:13:34

Making the selection for the Titans in our

1:13:36

mock draft is Teresa Walker, who covers

1:13:38

the Titans in the NFL four the Associated

1:13:40

Press. Hey, Teresa, it's John and Evan here

1:13:42

in Foxborough. How's it going going?

1:13:45

Well, John and Evan, And I'll say this,

1:13:47

I can make an incredible argument for

1:13:50

two positions for the Titans at this spot

1:13:52

go considering that they

1:13:54

were one of the worst teams protecting

1:13:56

their quarterback last year. Left tackle

1:13:59

still all sitting there. I grab

1:14:01

him, I run to.

1:14:02

The to the commissioner to hand in that card.

1:14:06

On the other hand, they have a new coach and Brian Callahan,

1:14:08

who's made it clear He really

1:14:11

likes to have guys who can get in then zone. And

1:14:14

while they have Cavilin Ridley and DeAndre

1:14:16

Hopsons, they can use

1:14:18

more. We haven't seen enough out of Trailing Burg.

1:14:21

Roma Donza is the person

1:14:24

that I would be picking because

1:14:26

they have Bill Callahan coaching up what's

1:14:29

on that offensive line in a tackle

1:14:31

rich draft.

1:14:32

Okay, so then you will with the

1:14:34

seven pick based on the way our draft is run

1:14:36

down. Now you take Roma Duncie. Yes,

1:14:39

okay, fair enough. That's good, which

1:14:41

means Joe Al slides down a little bit further.

1:14:44

He's falling.

1:14:45

I know, we always have one in the first round,

1:14:47

control alt Elite.

1:14:48

He's falling down the board waiting

1:14:50

to use that. No someone well, yeah, but an

1:14:52

emailer, one of our listeners emailed and

1:14:55

we were doing nicknames. Control

1:14:57

all Elite was his.

1:14:59

That's so unfair.

1:15:01

It's good one. I like it.

1:15:02

I do like it though. All right, So tell

1:15:04

us a little bit about the the dynamic nature

1:15:07

of the Tennessee offense, Teresa, and why

1:15:09

you feel like a Dounzee is the best pick

1:15:11

for them at seven.

1:15:13

Well, we have not seen much

1:15:16

at all out of Trailing Burk. So it was the eighteenth

1:15:18

pick a couple of years ago in that trade

1:15:20

with Philadelphia for AJ Brown. He

1:15:23

has one touchdown catch in two

1:15:25

years. He's had injuries, and

1:15:28

yes, they just brought in Calvin Ridley. They

1:15:30

really like him. But he's twenty nine.

1:15:32

I know, it's a kind of a you know, he's

1:15:35

got a lot of tread on those tires kind of twenty

1:15:37

nine. But DeAndre Hopkins he

1:15:39

is a year older, even though he did have a thousand

1:15:42

yard receiving season last year. And

1:15:44

you've got Brian Callahan. You

1:15:46

know, he's he's made it clear he's calling in

1:15:48

the offense and he wants to attack

1:15:51

and having seen what he's learned

1:15:54

under Zat Taylor with the Bengals, you

1:15:56

know, more offensive weapons

1:15:59

absolutely messed. This is a team that has

1:16:01

had the lean on guys like Nick Westbrook a Kina

1:16:03

way too much in the last couple of years. So

1:16:06

you can never have enough death when

1:16:09

it comes to pass catching threats.

1:16:11

And to help this offense, which after

1:16:14

last year, I didn't think it'd get much

1:16:16

worse from twenty two, they found a way

1:16:18

to get worse than twenty three. So they need

1:16:21

help because you just can't

1:16:23

depend It's the NFL guys get

1:16:25

hurt. They need geft at wide receiver.

1:16:27

No, you could also come to New England and then

1:16:29

you might see it at

1:16:31

that level or worse as well, because the Patriots have

1:16:34

had some similar issues.

1:16:35

Right.

1:16:35

Yeah, it's funny because the Titans

1:16:38

stole our two receivers, DeAndre Hopkins

1:16:40

and Calvin Ridley, and then we're still

1:16:42

talking about how the Titans have receiving issues.

1:16:45

You know, it's funny, but you don't

1:16:47

think there's any chance that this is

1:16:49

The Titans take a quarterback in this draft,

1:16:51

and Will Levis is your guy down there in Tennessee.

1:16:55

Oh no, remember

1:16:57

the GM bran Carthon is

1:17:00

in his second year. He's the guy who's

1:17:02

traded up to get Will Levis at

1:17:05

thirty three a year ago. So no,

1:17:07

I don't see them going going you know. No,

1:17:09

they added Mason Rudolph as a free agent.

1:17:12

They still have milink Willis from the last GM

1:17:14

on this roster. No, they

1:17:17

have got enough areas to fill. They

1:17:19

like Will Levis at this point.

1:17:21

Okay, yeah, thanks, good stuff. All

1:17:23

right, So Tennessee takes room a Dunzee

1:17:25

wide receiver. Washington. Hey,

1:17:28

Teresa, thanks for taking partner the little game here.

1:17:30

Appreciate it, my pleasure.

1:17:32

Thank you, John and Evan.

1:17:33

You got it all right. So there you go. They've got a

1:17:35

Dunee from Washington.

1:17:37

And you know a lot of receivers.

1:17:39

That's a lot. I mean you've got right now three

1:17:41

qbs, four

1:17:44

qbs in the in the first five picks,

1:17:47

then Harrison, then Neighbors, then

1:17:49

a Dunzee. So you've got seven

1:17:52

offensive players taken and the first seven picks

1:17:54

of Armock draft.

1:17:55

Yeah. Look, it makes sense with

1:17:58

Bill Callahan, Brian Callahan, Bill

1:18:00

Kleenson's dad, Brian Callahan,

1:18:02

coming from the Bengals where they have Chase

1:18:04

Higgins and then Tyler Boyd for a long time

1:18:06

in the slot, it makes sense that he

1:18:09

would want to build a three headed monster down

1:18:11

in Tennessee. That looks a little bit similar. And I

1:18:14

can see where Teresa's going with that.

1:18:17

I Teresa's more plugged in with the Titans than

1:18:19

I am, so I'm not taking her for her worried about the

1:18:21

quarterback. I'm just shocked that

1:18:24

the Titans are so like in on

1:18:26

will Levis. Maybe they are

1:18:28

in on him for a year and see what happens,

1:18:30

and then they're a quarterback team in twenty twenty five.

1:18:33

I just there's some moxie there. There's

1:18:35

no doubt about that. He's got some some physical

1:18:38

talent and some moxie. But I think

1:18:40

that they I wouldn't be shocked

1:18:42

and I.

1:18:42

Haven't think kind of had that though as well in Tennessee.

1:18:45

I mean I always, you know, it kind of saw,

1:18:47

you know, their quarterbacks over the last couple of years

1:18:50

really kind of display

1:18:52

that more than anything else out on the field.

1:18:54

Yeah. I mean, look, I just from the just

1:18:56

from their overall style of place. Yeah. I just

1:18:58

you look at you know, Bill Callahan and again I

1:19:01

keep doing that, Brian Callahan. Yeah, he

1:19:05

just had Joe Burrow with the Chargers,

1:19:07

and you know how good you know, you know, or

1:19:09

with the Bengals, and you know how good that you

1:19:12

have it when you have a guy like that. I'm

1:19:14

not saying they're a quarterback team in this draft, but

1:19:16

would any of us be surprised if they're a quarterback team

1:19:18

in twenty twenty five and Will Levis doesn't play well

1:19:20

and.

1:19:20

No levis Is is a you know,

1:19:23

it's a gamble. I mean, let's face it, it's a gamble. I just

1:19:25

I'm thinking you know, just based on the personalities

1:19:28

that they've had, and they're they're looking for guys that can, you

1:19:30

know, sort of you know, make those plays, and they want somebody

1:19:33

as you said with Moxie, and I think you know, we

1:19:35

all think of you know, if you know anything about

1:19:37

Will Levis, you know, the guys got

1:19:40

that kind of swag about him, and that's

1:19:42

the kind of guy that fits what I would look at as

1:19:44

a Tennessee mold, you know, based

1:19:46

on what they've done in the past few years.

1:19:47

Absolutely Southern kid too, right, you know, Kentucky,

1:19:50

Like I get it. I just I

1:19:53

look at that team and

1:19:55

I think the right pick is probably would

1:19:57

be an offensive lineman. I think wide

1:20:00

receiver like a Denze is it a

1:20:03

little bit of a cherry on top

1:20:05

before he've built the foundation of

1:20:07

what they need. But that

1:20:10

Ridley Hopkins and a Donza would

1:20:12

be tough to stop, no doubt

1:20:14

about that, all right.

1:20:15

So if you joined in a little bit late today,

1:20:18

you know, with our mock draft for twenty

1:20:20

twenty four, here we said at the very

1:20:22

beginning of the show that we had the first nine teams

1:20:26

covered in the draft and then we'll

1:20:28

make picks all the way down to eleven, which is the

1:20:30

conceivable trade spot as well for New

1:20:33

England if that happened to the opening round. But

1:20:35

we didn't have anybody to select

1:20:37

for Atlanta, just because the two three

1:20:40

people that we had tried to select were unavailable

1:20:42

at this time to make that pick for the

1:20:45

Falcons. So we opened up the phone lines and

1:20:47

we asked for someone who had an interest in the Falcons

1:20:49

or any knowledge of that, or maybe just I don't

1:20:51

know, but Rodrigo in

1:20:53

Florida heard our call, called

1:20:56

Marine Matt Rodrigo and Florida

1:20:59

is going to join us to make the pick for the Falcons

1:21:01

at number eight. Rodrigo, Thanks for

1:21:03

doing this, buddy?

1:21:05

What going on?

1:21:07

So?

1:21:07

Are you normally also a Falcons fan? Do

1:21:09

you follow them at all?

1:21:11

No?

1:21:12

I did. I do a little bit of gambling, and I

1:21:15

did like to gamble on them last

1:21:18

last two seasons.

1:21:19

Okay, I like that.

1:21:20

No, I'm at fan.

1:21:21

Okay, all right, Well, why else would you be listening

1:21:23

to patriots like.

1:21:25

Get gambling on the Falcons? Who Kevin

1:21:27

Ridley, you

1:21:30

get some value, but.

1:21:34

I'll give him that one. We don't

1:21:37

have to wait for the actual drum riff on that one.

1:21:39

Yeah, I know it's exactly all right. So Rodrigo,

1:21:41

tell us what you think. Based on Williams

1:21:44

Daniels, May Harrison, followed

1:21:47

by McCarthy, neighbors,

1:21:50

and a Dunzie being taken in our mock

1:21:52

draft at number eight, who do you think

1:21:54

that the Atlanta Falcons might pick.

1:21:59

I was really born coming up

1:22:01

to the pick. I was really looking at defense.

1:22:05

Obviously, a guy like Dallas Turner, maybe

1:22:08

Jared Burst I know Evan doesn't really like

1:22:10

Jared Verse. Then

1:22:13

there's uh, there's a guy that's been really

1:22:15

rumored to be one of the first defensive players

1:22:17

taking. His name is Byron Murphy. You

1:22:23

know that I was kind of

1:22:25

expecting because McCarthy went five,

1:22:27

it kind of dropped some of the wide receivers. I

1:22:30

was thinking, maybe the Titans

1:22:33

go out, and then I ended up with Dunes,

1:22:36

which would be awesome, you know, the pair up with London

1:22:38

and Pitt's and and b John Robinson

1:22:41

and help out Kirk Cousins that

1:22:43

has only really ever had like one or two

1:22:46

really high end wide receivers in his whole

1:22:48

time in Minnesota. But

1:22:51

I mean, I got I got a gift here,

1:22:53

and Joe All you know, you got Jake

1:22:56

Matthews, Who's I picked thirty thirty

1:22:58

one.

1:22:59

He's getting old, and you.

1:23:00

Know, you get your next tackle for the next

1:23:02

ten fifteen years. I

1:23:05

mean, it's kind of kind of a no brainer

1:23:08

here. You take Joe All

1:23:10

or if maybe you know of a team

1:23:12

that is willing to trade

1:23:15

up for Joe All and maybe

1:23:17

make a trade. But I think I think the pick

1:23:19

at this point, with how the way the

1:23:22

way the board is falling, you gotta take Joe

1:23:24

Alt here.

1:23:25

What do you think of Yeah, I would have normally,

1:23:28

you know, when we did this exercise, I probably

1:23:30

would have agreed with you, Rodrigo, and I would have taken

1:23:32

Dallas Turner with this pick, assuming Joe Alt

1:23:35

wasn't on the board. But I loved your I

1:23:37

loved your point about Jake Matthews.

1:23:40

I can't believe Jake Maddie is still playing like he was played.

1:23:42

He played in Super Forever, he played in Super Bowl

1:23:44

fifty one, like in twenty eight to three. And I was

1:23:47

like, Jake Matty is still playing. Geez, so

1:23:49

he's thirty two years old. I just looked it up and

1:23:51

uh, he's getting up there, and you know, all,

1:23:53

it's not the type of guy that you necessarily want to sit

1:23:56

for a year. You know, he's too talented for that. So

1:23:58

that's a little bit of a thing. But Caleb

1:24:00

McGarry's their right tackle. He's a pretty good right

1:24:03

tackle. He'll stay over there. Maybe Jake

1:24:05

Matthews becomes somebody they trade or

1:24:07

you know, dangle out there in the trade for

1:24:09

another pick on Day two or something like that, or

1:24:12

early Day three, whatever the case may

1:24:14

be. I think you have to take the talent here,

1:24:16

right like, you just have to run up with the talent

1:24:18

overall. And taking a guy like all who's

1:24:21

a franchise tackle, top you

1:24:23

know, ten talent in this draft,

1:24:25

no doubt, I think is the right move.

1:24:28

Yeah. Then if this, if

1:24:30

this breaks out like that, then that would keep him a top ten

1:24:32

talent. Yeah, yep, what

1:24:34

do you think, Rodrigo.

1:24:37

It's like what Frick Kirsha always says. I listened

1:24:39

to lots of Patriots of filter. He's like, you know,

1:24:41

you got one of these top ten picks. You

1:24:44

if a blue chip player like this fall to

1:24:46

you, yep, you know you gotta

1:24:49

say, I think this may be the last blue

1:24:51

chip player in this Monk draft.

1:24:53

If we really think about it. It's just like you're

1:24:56

the Falcons, you get against. I mean, as a Patriots

1:24:58

fan, I really

1:25:00

had a pick for the Falcons, and they just randomly called

1:25:02

me and say, hey, who do you think. I'll just give him a punter.

1:25:04

But you.

1:25:08

Know, the funny thing about it is that last year

1:25:10

when Gonzo fell all the way to the Patriots,

1:25:13

you know, that was also sort of a hey,

1:25:15

you got to take the talent kind of pick, wasn't it.

1:25:20

No.

1:25:20

I think it was more or

1:25:22

less like it was a need.

1:25:25

Well, it was definitely in need, definitely need, but

1:25:27

we've already identified that alt would certainly be

1:25:30

still fulfilling need, I think for Atlanta in.

1:25:32

This case, right, I

1:25:34

think Washington kind of screwed up and the

1:25:36

Patriots will probably would have pivoted and maybe

1:25:39

taken a guy like there

1:25:42

was there was somebody else available, it doesn't

1:25:44

come to mind, But they took at Manual Forbes,

1:25:46

and it was just kind of like it's like, in this case,

1:25:48

it's like a no brainer. But at the same

1:25:50

time, I highly

1:25:53

doubt that they He wasn't

1:25:56

their top player on the board, and

1:25:59

I think they just got him.

1:26:00

Okay, all right, well you did

1:26:02

a good job with your homework, So I thank you for

1:26:04

that.

1:26:05

You know, so the last ten minutes I'll

1:26:07

be looking because you guys, the whole draft is falling

1:26:09

weird. So I was like, oh, man, I think those

1:26:11

dunes are also gonna fall to me.

1:26:14

Yeah, And it turns out all did fault

1:26:16

to you that that's exactly right, and thank

1:26:18

you for yeah, and thank you right, thank you

1:26:21

for calling us weird.

1:26:22

I appreciate that. That's good because we didn't want.

1:26:24

A boring mock draft.

1:26:25

Yeah, it's true.

1:26:27

No, nobody wants to be boring. Nobody wants to be

1:26:29

mundane. And the better part of this is is that if

1:26:31

this, you know, first round, first ten picks of the draft turn

1:26:33

out like this, I'm gonna be bragging, like, hell, you

1:26:35

know that, right?

1:26:37

Well, I honestly like, I

1:26:39

don't think it's I don't think it's that much of a boring juice.

1:26:42

Because we got a trade for the Chargers,

1:26:44

they moved, they moved down,

1:26:46

you know what I'm saying. Aj McCarthy got picked.

1:26:49

So now now you've got teams kind of sort

1:26:51

of scrambling thinking like the Giants

1:26:53

maybe they were like, hey, McCarty could fallow us.

1:26:55

And he did it.

1:26:56

Yep.

1:26:56

But now you kind of have to pivot a little bit

1:26:59

if you're any of the is in the top ten, I

1:27:02

mean, and you look at the you know, like

1:27:04

me, I'm the Falcons. I'm ecstatic because

1:27:07

now I got my pick of the litter of one

1:27:09

of those dunes are all So I

1:27:11

think this this this mon Gut's been pretty exciting.

1:27:13

I was excited.

1:27:15

I was hoping I'll have to pick a defensive

1:27:17

player because I'm like, man, this

1:27:19

this draft is not the draft to take

1:27:21

a defensive player.

1:27:22

Doesn't sound like it, does it. No,

1:27:25

Nope, doesn't look like it right now. That's for darn

1:27:28

shure. Hey Rodrigo, thank you for thank

1:27:30

you for doing this and and smart picking.

1:27:32

Way to go.

1:27:33

Thanks Rodrigo.

1:27:34

Of course you got it, So

1:27:36

there you go. Rodrigo in Florida.

1:27:39

Should ask him where he was in Florida. And

1:27:41

then making the pick for the Atlanta Falcons

1:27:44

at number eight, took Joe

1:27:46

Alt sevensive tackle Notre Dame.

1:27:48

So if I'm the Patriots in Atlanta

1:27:51

takes Joe Alt at eight, and I'm Elliott

1:27:53

Wolf, I'm getting on the horn and I'm

1:27:55

saying, what do you want for Jake Matthews, because

1:27:57

we'll send you a pick for a ready

1:28:00

made a left tackle for a year or two.

1:28:02

I was just gonna ask you if Jake

1:28:04

Matthews becomes expendable all the Patriots by.

1:28:06

One hund Yeah, that's exactly the type

1:28:09

of player I think. You know, if you're not you're taking

1:28:11

the quarterback at three. Uh, you

1:28:13

know, maybe you want to take that receiver at the top of

1:28:15

the second round pick that you have, and now you

1:28:17

can take that developmental

1:28:20

tackle in the third round that might need a

1:28:22

year or two to sit behind a guy like Jake Matthews,

1:28:25

and you have Chuck Sikora far that now he's

1:28:27

more like the swing tackle instead of a starter.

1:28:29

And yeah, you know, that's sort of the move I've

1:28:31

been hoping the Patriots would would be able to

1:28:33

make, not too dissimilar from

1:28:36

when they had Trent Brownen here in twenty eighteen,

1:28:38

right when they got him. Gave Isaiah

1:28:40

Win sometime. Obviously Win didn't work out anyways,

1:28:43

but at least it was the right idea in practice

1:28:45

to handicap Isaiah

1:28:48

Win a little bit. So yeah, I like

1:28:50

the pick though for Atlanta. I think

1:28:52

the biggest thing you know he's mentioning Roma Dunza

1:28:54

and I'm such a talented player and he's

1:28:56

going to be a great pro. But if you're the Falcons,

1:29:00

you've picked Drake London, you've

1:29:02

picked Bijon Robinson, you've picked

1:29:04

Kyle Pitts. At some point you got to

1:29:06

pick some defensive players, like you can't,

1:29:09

Well, I can't.

1:29:09

I was that was where I was going next, because

1:29:11

you know, in all honesty, right now we've had the first

1:29:14

eight picks of our mock, all offensive

1:29:16

players.

1:29:17

No doubt.

1:29:17

Who is most likely to be

1:29:19

the first defensive player selected in new

1:29:21

reestimation? And where does he get taken?

1:29:24

Yeah? I like the Byron Murphy shout because

1:29:26

I think that he's starting

1:29:28

to get some buzz, certainly as

1:29:30

that interior penetrator, and we see

1:29:33

across the league now how valuable

1:29:35

that is, just based off the contracts that some of these

1:29:37

guys have gotten at that defensive tackle position.

1:29:40

And I'm sure Christian Barmore is going

1:29:42

to be not too far behind. So

1:29:44

I understand why you went Murphy. I still think Dallas

1:29:46

Turner is the best defensive player in the draft. I

1:29:49

just think the upside there is pretty high.

1:29:51

He's not Will Anderson. He's not as ready and as

1:29:53

polished, and he's not as good against

1:29:55

the run as Will Anderson as the comp that I've used

1:29:57

for him as like a Brian Burns type, more of

1:29:59

that screamer off the edge and a great athlete

1:30:02

and change a direction skill and things

1:30:04

like that. So I would say that Dallas Turner

1:30:06

is probably the best player defensively

1:30:09

in the draft. And the one thing I would just

1:30:12

disagree a little bit with Rodrigo on blue

1:30:15

chip players. I still think there's one blue chip

1:30:17

player left in this draft and

1:30:19

he plays offense.

1:30:20

Still, okay, So no defensive

1:30:22

bluechippers.

1:30:23

I don't think so. I think Dallas Turner is

1:30:26

a very very good player, and I

1:30:28

don't hate Jared Verse. I just think

1:30:30

that that skill set of your

1:30:32

foundational rush move is

1:30:35

your power, is your bull rush.

1:30:37

I think what you see a lot of the time in the NFL,

1:30:40

the play strength of these tackles is so much

1:30:42

better than it is in the ACC. That

1:30:45

that is your that's your number one

1:30:47

move. Is the power, speed, the power, bowl

1:30:50

rush, long arm, whatever. It's

1:30:52

tough to that

1:30:55

doesn't always necessarily translate right away, and you

1:30:57

need to you need to have more in your bag. You

1:30:59

know, you need to have more moves. I'll give you an

1:31:01

example, Tyree Wilson with

1:31:03

the Vegas Raiders when you turned his film

1:31:05

on in college for Tyree

1:31:08

Wilson, he was a man amongst boys. He was

1:31:10

throwing guys off of him. And you

1:31:12

know, just like a hulk playing football

1:31:14

in college. He gets to the pros. Now,

1:31:16

all of a sudden, you're not the strongest guy on

1:31:18

the field. Or maybe you are, but it's the gap isn't

1:31:20

as wide between you and the blockers

1:31:23

in front of you, and you have to learn how to

1:31:25

play with a little bit more of your off speed

1:31:28

pitch. And that's what I would worry about a

1:31:30

little bit. With Jared first doing a little spring

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of the New England Patriots. All right, we roll along

1:31:54

here, getting down to our last couple of picks

1:31:56

of our top ten and our twenty twenty four

1:31:59

mock draft, number nine comes up

1:32:01

the New York Jets. Rich Simini

1:32:03

from ESPN dot com. Who's nine is the

1:32:06

is the Bears? Again?

1:32:07

Yeah?

1:32:08

Who we're on nine? Or at the

1:32:10

Bears or at the Bears? We are?

1:32:12

Did we mess that up? They downed?

1:32:15

Oh, that's right, they're ten, they're ten. So the

1:32:17

Bears written nine.

1:32:18

Yeah, we did have to pick for the Bears.

1:32:19

We know we had to pick for the Bears. And then yeah,

1:32:22

and then that's right. No, No, it's right here in front of

1:32:24

me. I got a round ten or I mean the first

1:32:26

round one pick for the Jets at

1:32:28

tenth overall, I'm like, okay, ninth was

1:32:30

the Bears, and I'm like, okay, left that out,

1:32:33

So you want to make the pick for the Bears number nine.

1:32:35

I think that the other blue chip player

1:32:37

that I was mentioning I still think is in this

1:32:39

draft is Brock Bowers, yea, who I think is just

1:32:41

outstanding. So I would

1:32:44

you know, just looking at the Bears right now, they've picked

1:32:46

Darnell right last year at left

1:32:48

tackle. They have Braxton Jones at

1:32:51

left tackle. Still younger

1:32:53

player. I think there's a chance that Olufshanu

1:32:56

is the pick here for the Bears. The way this board

1:32:59

broke down and you get that left tackle,

1:33:01

but you did just take Caleb Williams the

1:33:03

receiving core outside of Dj Moore Keenan

1:33:06

Allen, you have two good receivers there. I

1:33:08

think Brock Bowers. I know they have Cole Comet, but

1:33:10

it's a different type of tight end.

1:33:11

You know.

1:33:11

Cocome Mette's a big body, you know, inline guy.

1:33:14

So I'm gonna go. I'm

1:33:17

gonna go Forshanu. I love Bowers.

1:33:20

I do love Bowers, but I think

1:33:22

that they have enough of

1:33:25

an arsenal there with that Keenan Allen

1:33:27

trade that I don't necessarily think

1:33:29

they need to go offensive skill player here in

1:33:31

Chicago. So I'll give them Olo fa Shano

1:33:33

and now they got a both a left

1:33:36

and a right tackle to build around moving forward.

1:33:38

Okay. Olofashano is the selection

1:33:41

by mister Evan

1:33:43

Lazar for the Chicago Bears

1:33:45

at number nine overall in the first

1:33:47

round, which now brings us to the tenth overall pick

1:33:49

in the first round and the New York Jetch and Rich Demeni,

1:33:52

who's been a contributor inside the

1:33:54

Patriots playbook during the regular season, kind

1:33:56

enough to spend a couple of minutes with us here today for

1:33:58

the Jets pick at number ten. Hey,

1:34:00

Rich, it's John and Evan here in Foxborough. How's

1:34:03

it going?

1:34:04

And good?

1:34:04

How you guys doing today?

1:34:05

Goods almost moved you guys up to the ninth

1:34:07

spot. But you know, nevertheless, uh

1:34:10

at.

1:34:10

Number yeah, they will end up in the ninth spot.

1:34:12

You never know, well, you know, these

1:34:14

things do happen as we're aware. What do you

1:34:16

think is most likely going

1:34:18

to happen for the Jets if they stay at

1:34:20

ten? Or let me add a little

1:34:23

castle here if the draft breaks

1:34:25

out like we have discussed it here

1:34:27

for our purposes, and I'll briefly

1:34:29

recabage Williams Daniels, May

1:34:32

Harrison McCarthy

1:34:35

in a trade with Minnesota there at five and

1:34:38

then neighbors a Dunzie

1:34:41

alt for New Shanu,

1:34:44

I mean, not for.

1:34:46

It is.

1:34:48

So what do you think?

1:34:49

So?

1:34:50

I do think the Jets would love to get one

1:34:52

of those top three receivers, so obviously

1:34:55

those guys are gone there, you

1:34:57

know, I think they would love to get

1:35:00

an offensive tackle, But I think two

1:35:03

of their top guys are gone there with Joe

1:35:05

Alt and Oluthershan.

1:35:08

Who's so I think they would probably go Bowers

1:35:10

in this spot here. It's

1:35:12

I know, that's a very popular pick

1:35:14

for them and mock drafts across the country.

1:35:17

And to me, it's

1:35:19

an Aaron Rodgers related decision, like what

1:35:21

does he need? More a playmaker

1:35:24

or more protection

1:35:26

on the offensive line, And

1:35:28

so this is a really close call. I do

1:35:30

think it could be easily an

1:35:32

offensive tackle here either, you

1:35:35

know, Tally Fuaga,

1:35:37

who I know, Joe Douglas likes a