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Were the Patriots smart to push away from the table on Calvin Ridley?

Were the Patriots smart to push away from the table on Calvin Ridley?

Released Thursday, 14th March 2024
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Were the Patriots smart to push away from the table on Calvin Ridley?

Were the Patriots smart to push away from the table on Calvin Ridley?

Were the Patriots smart to push away from the table on Calvin Ridley?

Were the Patriots smart to push away from the table on Calvin Ridley?

Thursday, 14th March 2024
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Episode Transcript

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0:02

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at meta.com/Metaverse Impact. What

0:46

is up everybody? Welcome into Tom

0:48

Curran's Patriots Talk podcast free agency

0:50

in full swing around the National

0:52

Football League. Not so much here

0:54

in New England. Phil Perry alongside

0:56

Phil. The momentum built by the Patriots

0:58

in their resigns has been a bit

1:01

diminished in the ensuing days by Swings

1:03

and Mrs. Calvin Ridley and now on

1:06

Thursday, assigning by left tackle Jonah

1:08

Williams that removes

1:10

that possibility from

1:12

their grasp. What's

1:15

the Patriots grade so far in your eyes? I'm going with

1:17

a C because I think that they

1:19

get a minus on

1:21

retention and divorcing

1:24

themselves from Devontae Parker, but

1:27

it's a D plus C minus on addressing your needs

1:29

on the open market. Yeah, I think

1:31

a C is fair. They are treading

1:33

water. They are doing

1:37

the minimum, honestly,

1:39

in my opinion, and

1:42

even that might be giving them a little bit

1:44

too much credit, Tom. If the expectation is for

1:46

them to not win a championship, not even make

1:48

the playoffs, but to be competitive,

1:50

be in the mix. Make

1:52

it watchable. Be watchable. And

1:57

listen, Drod Mayo and Elliott Wolf. Have

2:00

suggested that that's the goal. Robert

2:02

Kraft for years now has been talking about how

2:04

he wants to compete ASAP contend

2:08

ASAP Have

2:11

they done the minimum even to get there?

2:13

I would say no because The

2:15

Ridley thing is a disappointment at least they were

2:17

in on him Tom Jonah Williams I'm not so

2:20

sure and they need tackles and that seemed to

2:22

be a very reasonable deal I believe it was

2:24

two years 30 million to the

2:26

Cardinals. It's not like he's going to a championship contending

2:28

team So they need to do

2:30

more to get to where they want to be

2:33

even with The expectations

2:35

set relatively low. So

2:38

a C is is where I'm at

2:40

might even be a C-minus when

2:42

you look at The

2:45

amount of cap space they have Their

2:48

own admission that they're going to be aggressive

2:51

and then to come out of the store with very little

2:55

Even though they shopped hard Is

2:58

there a point where you say man There

3:01

just wasn't anything in there You're gonna compound

3:04

your problems if you go spend 27 million

3:06

dollars a year on Calvin Ridley

3:08

So it's okay to push away from the table

3:10

on him Or was he a

3:12

by any means necessary kind of player if

3:14

Kevin really said look I'd rather stay in

3:16

the South I'd rather stay away from income

3:19

tax from the state I'd rather stay away

3:21

from your millionaires tax and I'd rather stay

3:23

away from your TBD

3:25

a quarterback, so I'm gonna stick down

3:27

here not the Tennessee has a Check

3:30

that's the thing But I mean

3:32

the other things are factors, too. I

3:35

mean they have a new coach. I

3:37

mean it shows how undesirable the

3:39

Patriots are Before I get to that question though

3:41

was Ridley a guy who you would have looked

3:43

at and said by any means necessary Unless

3:47

he tells no because I'm not coming to you

3:49

know Listen you're not gonna make

3:51

them the highest paid receiver in football. I get it

3:53

and It sounds

3:55

like what they were reportedly willing to pay

3:57

for Calvin Ridley per Albert Breer

4:00

22 million a year would have paid him solidly in

4:02

the top 10, I believe, of receivers in the NFL.

4:05

That's an overpay. That's the reality of

4:07

free agency. And I, in some ways, Tom,

4:11

I won't stand up and applaud them for that, but I will

4:13

give them a little bit of a golf clap just for being

4:15

in it in a way that they never would have been in

4:17

it over the course of the last

4:19

20 years. We talked about this on

4:21

the radio earlier today, but Bill

4:24

Belichick's idea of a high-priced free agent is

4:26

Nelson Aguilar at 11 million per year a

4:28

few years ago. This would have been— The

4:30

22 million that they were offering per year

4:33

was the total value of the two-year

4:36

contract, given to Nelson Aguilar, who

4:38

stunk. Not

4:40

only did he stink, but they paid him more than

4:42

anybody else. So,

4:46

listen, there is, I think,

4:49

some positive to that, that

4:52

there will be a philosophical shift in terms

4:54

of how they invest in this team, that

4:57

this might be a more, quote-unquote,

4:59

modern approach to team building, because you do

5:01

value a position like receiver, which has become

5:03

a premium position in the NFL. And

5:06

so that's good. It's just you

5:08

would have loved for them to come away with the

5:10

guy because they are so bereft of talent there. And

5:13

so while I say it's not a by

5:15

any means necessary sort of addition, Tom, now

5:18

I don't know where they go, because they need it

5:20

too. And there

5:22

are some guys left in pre-agency, Mike

5:24

Williams, Hollywood Brown, maybe you can get one of

5:27

them and then you add one in the draft and you

5:29

have a real receiver room, but they don't have

5:31

it yet. And so I think it's fair for fans to look at

5:33

it and say, oh my God, what is this going to look like

5:35

in 2024? I know

5:37

post-Bill we are existing right now in a

5:39

don't be mean to Bill, it's piling on

5:41

period. But

5:43

last year, they were chasing wide

5:46

receivers away. Didn't

5:48

want Jacobi Myers, brought

5:50

in Juju. Had

5:52

no use for DeAndre Hopkins, even though they brought him

5:54

in and ultimately Bill didn't want him

5:56

because he didn't practice enough. You

5:59

know, I had a conversation with Robert Kraft, he wasn't saying

6:01

Bill, sign him. He's like, no, Andre,

6:03

no, don't practice enough. Instead

6:08

of paying those two what they would be this

6:10

year, they were out there

6:12

trying to pay Calvin really 22 million a year. I don't

6:14

even know if those two combined this year would have been

6:16

at 22 million. It's

6:19

just such a monumental screw up in

6:22

2023. And

6:25

I, by the end, I was like, yeah, they should sign DeAndre

6:27

Hopkins. They could use that at this juncture. They

6:30

wanted to keep Devontae Parker happy and they

6:32

wanted to get Juju Smith-Schuster in. And they're

6:35

paying the price right now because it's an

6:37

undesirable location. Bill, for his faults in

6:39

the last five or six seasons, was

6:41

still the only draw. There were

6:43

still guys that say, I'll go up there and play for Bill. But

6:46

it is absolutely mind blowing

6:48

the amount of rubble that they have to

6:50

dig out from under with bad

6:52

decisions made. Because the reason they were even

6:54

gonna be after DeAndre Hopkins was they couldn't

6:57

find a drafted receiver, not a Nikhil Harry,

6:59

not a Type 1 Thornton, not a you

7:01

name it. It's

7:03

mind blowing to me that you will have people after

7:05

the Patriots missed on Calvin Ridley and say, no

7:08

way for that guy? That's too

7:11

crazy. When the Patriots

7:13

themselves came very close to matching

7:15

that number, they disagree with the

7:17

people who say Calvin Ridley was

7:19

a drastic overpay. Or maybe they

7:21

would agree with it and they would say, I don't care. Because

7:25

our need is that great. And this is

7:27

what free agency is. So we

7:29

didn't push away from the table. I don't know

7:31

this Tom, but I wonder if they would

7:34

look at it and say we didn't push away from the table because we

7:37

thought he was worth essentially what he got. Here

7:41

are three questions that I have when it comes to this Ridley

7:43

deal that I would love to know the details on. And

7:46

we will try to figure these out in the near future

7:48

here. What was the guaranteed

7:50

money that the Patriots were offering? Because

7:52

if they were at 30 and the Titans are at

7:54

50, then it's not close and you get it. And

7:56

we can criticize them for that. That's a whole different

7:58

story now. that's the case. Were

8:01

they ever even given the opportunity to

8:03

match or exceed Tennessee's final offer? Meaning

8:08

did they have their strong offer

8:10

on the table to agent David

8:13

Moolagetta and then third team

8:15

comes swooping in Tennessee Titans they say to

8:17

Moolagetta, hey what's the best offer you've

8:19

got right now for Ridley? And he says 22 from

8:21

New England and they say if we make it 23

8:23

will he sign with us? Moolagetta

8:25

says, hell yeah let's go done deal.

8:28

And there's not even a call made to the Patriots

8:31

about re-upping it or maybe there is a call made

8:33

to the Patriots and the Patriots say I don't know

8:35

we might be negotiating against ourselves right now David. So

8:37

we like our deal we're not putting more

8:39

on the table just because you say there's a mystery third

8:41

team involved here that's willing to pay more. I would

8:44

love to know the details of that negotiation and how

8:46

that went because this is the first time general manager

8:48

and Elliot Wolf sort of

8:51

a fresh-faced front office. These are experienced

8:53

guys and smart guys but

8:55

nobody who was sat in

8:57

that GM chair before and so I just wonder

9:00

what that back-and-forth would have been like against an

9:03

agent or with an agent like Moolagetta who

9:05

is he's aggressive and he's been

9:07

very open and he's gone very public in terms of securing

9:09

the bag for his guys.

9:12

He sort of strikes me Tom is almost a football version

9:14

of Scott Boris right now because

9:16

he's got some really high profile clients making a lot of money.

9:18

Last question I have as

9:21

it pertains to Ridley is, was he ever coming to

9:23

New England period or were the Patriots

9:25

just being used this entire time to ratchet up the

9:27

number and then a team that he's actually willing to

9:29

go to came along and met it? And

9:32

that's the

9:35

undesirable nature of the Patriots franchise right

9:37

now is like fivefold.

9:40

First of all just on a financial standpoint

9:43

to live in Massachusetts and pay the state tax

9:45

and pay the millionaires tax and

9:48

comparing that to Jacksonville where he was where

9:51

Tennessee where he's going when neither of those

9:53

two things exist the

9:55

50 million dollars guaranteed that he's going to get in

9:57

Tennessee is not going to be taxed the same way.

10:00

So how much would the Patriots have had to offer

10:02

him so that it was Tennessee money? I

10:06

mean, like, there's an exchange rate that

10:08

exists within the United States from state

10:10

to state because of taxes. So

10:13

the Patriots would have had to go even higher. And

10:16

then again, Bill Belichick was a draw. Despite

10:22

the recent record, the Patriots themselves let him

10:24

go as long as they did because they

10:26

figured he'd fix it, I would

10:29

imagine sitting across from a six-time Super Bowl

10:31

champion who's an icon and a legend of

10:33

the game, if he's on the phone with

10:35

you, he might make you think twice. Even

10:38

if he doesn't have a quarterback. Yeah,

10:42

we've never done this for any wide receiver,

10:44

but Calvin, you're a guy. Or

10:47

would they even have been in on Calvin Ridley? I

10:50

mean, those are questions that I have. But

10:53

the disinterest, perhaps,

10:55

that we imagine that

10:58

Calvin Ridley would have in coming to the Patriots should

11:02

be a chilling realization for

11:04

Patriots fans. And as

11:06

a result, I

11:09

say, should they just be in the business now

11:11

of saying, we're not going to

11:13

attract anybody until

11:15

we get to be a better team? So

11:18

own it, live with it. As

11:21

I said the other day, eat your vegetables, take

11:23

your medicine and make your team better.

11:27

So if that means trading down because

11:30

you don't have a wide out for

11:33

your new quarterback to throw to and

11:35

you got torn ACLs

11:37

all over the joint coming in, Mike

11:40

Williams gets signed. Kendrick Warren,

11:42

Hunter Henry, Mike Williams, guys

11:44

all being rehabbed next to each other. Do

11:47

you just trade down and go and get Justin

11:50

Fields? I mean, Justin Fields for

11:52

a third, the Patriots

11:54

spent thirds on Dalton Keene

11:56

and Devin Asiasi in the same draft.

12:00

Swedish. So. I.

12:04

Love Thirds but Day with their we. They.

12:06

Have been use well here anyway. What?

12:08

Do you think all vessel. Is dropped

12:10

it on join. You

12:13

know it's interesting as you talk it out.

12:15

You know make your team better in and

12:17

therefore make your team a more palatable option

12:19

for free agents. You. Know

12:21

it might be the fastest way to do that. Actually,

12:24

sit at three in draft a quarterback. As

12:27

long as a quarterback and have been pretty good. You.

12:29

Know their guys. Now we're willing to go to Cincinnati

12:31

who never. Would. Have even considered looking

12:33

at Cincinnati? never mind living there are no

12:36

doubt. Just because you're borrows there.

12:38

So. If you get that caliber, Player three Overall:

12:41

And guys look at G. Daniels as a rookie say I

12:43

know they last won against. The teams are very good but

12:45

my goodness is that me an electric. And.

12:47

Is he gonna win a ton games at some point in his career?

12:49

Or. Same with Drake may. Boy. That's

12:51

the prototype, right? There's like twenty two years old.

12:55

Guy could throw threw a brick wall is pretty good

12:57

athlete to the suggestions two point oh his rookie. I

12:59

know they just one Five games twenty twenty four but

13:01

damn I might like to go play with that guy.

13:04

That. That might see your best bet.

13:07

That might be your most attractive. Selling.

13:10

Point. In the near future is a for

13:12

the quarterback and you get it right. What?

13:16

About the notion of just loading loading up the

13:18

room you got to coby reset. That

13:20

doesn't preclude you from going again. Just and

13:22

fields. Just

13:24

the Vikings are going to go get just and fields.

13:27

Bears are going to given to the Vikings within the division.

13:32

That will be to supplant same donald. Patriot.

13:35

Should just start opening a dialogue.

13:39

Many. Bringing Jimmy. You

13:41

know you bring him to be mid September. So

13:44

you have reset. This

13:46

is rob below. Feals. Zapped.

13:49

Is on the practice squad. Where's.

13:53

Nathan Rourke. Nathan. Rourke,

13:55

Cfl. Isn't Cfl

13:57

but get him speed dial. No.

14:02

Literal you're going to go up and say this

14:04

guy's frigid good. Oh

14:07

I mean I know it. It might end up

14:09

being the best thing for them to do, but.

14:13

Can. You imagine. How. Training camp

14:15

is going to feel for us. We're

14:17

watching and that's the guy that we're all

14:19

watching his left tackle. oh you seem hit

14:21

their bag. Pay him he looks

14:23

strong Jacoby, how does your outlook over

14:26

there? Bailey.

14:29

How does your outlook? I

14:31

don't always go through my progression. Tom. Mason

14:34

how does your work at best of it Was

14:36

a member of but nobody hit me in practice

14:38

which is usually good size. For

14:40

not supposed to hit you in practice. Oh

14:43

they're not l. O the

14:45

never mind of god now I have absolutely no

14:47

idea whether the guys get her nuts. do it

14:49

he a be a second tier y dos interest

14:51

you. Yes

14:53

Hollywood. Yet

14:55

to a degree Mike Williams to a degree say

14:57

I was just starting with this out in the

14:59

newsroom with our producer just kept asta are we

15:01

know the receiver and looks bad right now especially

15:03

after missing out on really what if by tomorrow

15:05

they have signed both Mike Williams in Hollywood route.

15:08

And. I you've got Mike Williams, Hollywood

15:11

Brown, Pop Douglas. Maybe. A

15:13

rookie in the sec around. I like that's a receiver

15:15

room them. Are are they blow

15:17

you away with talent? Know. But. That's

15:19

a professional receiver him. As

15:21

better than anything that had last year's

15:23

yeah. It's funny because. I

15:26

traditionally have been. Of

15:29

we people stop. It's just the beginning of

15:31

free agency kind of guy. Including

15:33

with Bill through up with Bill. I

15:35

mean with the Patriots spent in twenty Twenty one.

15:38

As they did which was drunken

15:40

sailor status. And. They did

15:42

spend. City. Irresponsibly.

15:45

On guys who hadn't done much. Charlie.

15:48

Smith had flashes Nelson Ag Works was

15:50

coming off a good deal with the

15:52

Raiders. Patriots spent top the market on

15:54

both of those guys. Hunter, Henry, Be.

15:56

Paid him like a really good player. Albeit

15:58

a tight end. So those

16:00

were. Really? Aggressive. spends.

16:04

But even in the years the patriots didn't do

16:06

much, Twenty Twenty two Armor B Y y them

16:08

then the direct so they did a very last

16:10

year we bomb. Figure. Out what's

16:12

going on. And last year I

16:14

was willing to sit. There is a huge you might

16:16

be better after the catch. I

16:18

mean it. It makes sense to me to move on

16:20

from a homegrown player. In

16:23

a vacuum. Specially when I guess I

16:25

didn't Mccorvey, etc say this is not

16:27

a great idea. Why? Would you

16:29

move the one guy who knows I do business Audio

16:31

Wide Receiver Room. As again, you never

16:34

know. Maybe devout they parker catches. At

16:37

least fifty percent of a fifty fifty balls that he

16:39

said it would get eighty percent of any was only

16:41

getting twenty percent. It

16:45

is too early to proclaim massive

16:47

failure. For. The Patriots

16:50

off season. And

16:53

are what to do? Not a song. Is.

16:56

What We Watch: Tower Bridge or the other night on early

16:58

Edition. And it was

17:00

our eyes working on deal. He's trying to get

17:02

his get Somebody on the line here. I

17:04

was over his play candy crush. And

17:07

Seth it's natural he was minutes I know

17:09

what I'm doing is I'm getting our guest

17:11

or into our into our zoom chat room

17:13

here. oh that a guest for the blood

17:15

yeah he just sex mean says any the

17:17

lanky semi the like some hello I put

17:19

we could look. At I'm helping the pod

17:21

right now. Ah, I

17:24

thought I did a twitter dm them. To.

17:26

Make meant to. Make. Tried to.

17:29

Call That means you did. Pick.

17:32

And you realize that link? I. Don't

17:34

see it. Affects kids

17:37

I didn't post I linked.

17:40

To fifteen and like. To.

17:42

Touch a day and so rather curious and I

17:44

never. Put. The Lincoln know

17:47

like absolute donkey. Complete

17:49

fifty six year old behavior. This.

17:52

Is for Nystrom and to a

17:54

nice from is a fantastic college

17:56

football. Expert.

17:58

He is expert on one. quarterbacks, there he

18:00

is right now. I'm just bringing in. Why

18:03

don't you give the skinny on your bio for

18:06

while I'm halfway through it? Oh, fantasy

18:09

pros betting pros at Thor KU

18:11

on Twitter. I think

18:14

I think that covers it. Well, we were first

18:16

introduced to Thor when he was working with us

18:19

at NBC, and he came on a few years

18:21

ago. And this is what he had to say

18:23

when he was actually on early edition talking about

18:25

the quarterback class in 2021

18:27

and what he thought of Mac Jones

18:29

at the time. Check this out.

18:31

It may even be four quarterbacks in the top four.

18:33

The Patriots are in a tough spot because you've got

18:35

to get up a ways there. Unless

18:38

you're cool with Mac Jones. I truly do

18:40

not believe the Mac Jones will be the

18:42

third pick. If you like him enough, I

18:44

mean, you're going to have to decide what

18:46

when the juices were to squeeze there. For

18:48

me, I'm not moving up, not for Mac

18:51

Jones. If it's for Trey Lance or Justin

18:53

Fields, yeah, I'm going to buck up some

18:55

future first round packs or pony up whatever

18:57

I need to move up. Now, Mac Jones

18:59

is good against pressure and his accuracy in

19:01

the short to intermediate range is very, very

19:03

good. He is going to run a system

19:05

effectively. I do believe that. But

19:08

there's a difference for me between a guy

19:10

who's ceiling is a very good game manager

19:12

and a guy who's ceiling is a guy

19:14

that changes the game. So the

19:16

reason we wanted to have our guy Thor in here wasn't

19:18

just his expertise in 2021 on Mac

19:21

Jones, which was excellent, by the way. Never

19:23

saying on Mac that

19:25

he wasn't good, but just perceiving

19:27

very correctly what he was. And you can hear

19:30

in there, he said Trey Lance, whatever. Everybody

19:32

liked Trey Lance as a player in

19:34

terms of what he could do injuries, whatever.

19:38

The upshot of all this. Kyle Shanahan is the best offensive

19:40

mind on the planet. He liked him a lot. So he

19:43

also liked that. But the

19:45

reason I wanted to bring Thor in is because Patriots sit here

19:47

at three now and

19:50

there's three quarterbacks viewed to be his

19:52

top three quarterbacks to draft. But Thor

19:54

is coming off the top rope again

19:56

and again And again. With.

20:00

Jeffrey. Jamison.

20:03

Mccarthy. Tj. Mccarthy.

20:06

Is. He really. He. Knew how

20:09

good is. he's. the were in your mind relative to

20:11

the other Qbs. I think

20:13

she's really really got he. He's the

20:15

Qb three on my board. I really

20:17

really good athlete he's gonna run into

20:19

high for for his love for fives

20:21

if he runs out. It's Pro Day!

20:23

We are very credible reports on that.

20:25

He waited to the Nfl Combine seventy

20:27

pounds heavier than you is listed on

20:29

his Michigan By off and proceeded to

20:32

run the fifth fastest three can't at

20:34

the entire Nfl Combine. Regardless of position

20:36

or the arm strength, he has an

20:38

absolute ten and the fastest. Our past

20:40

that they've ever track The Max Velocity

20:42

Nfl Combine sixty. Two Miles per Hour

20:44

Josh Allen did it are several years

20:46

ago John Milton match it year by

20:48

Judy Mccarthy at a sixty one mile

20:50

per hour drama. I his deep throwing

20:52

on a per pass basis was very

20:54

good last year at Michigan. Pressure numbers

20:57

very good. But what I love most

20:59

about his game and the translation to

21:01

the Nfl? it's throwing on the run

21:03

t especially Dad I. He's a guy

21:05

who keeps his eyes up, He keeps

21:07

up a body talk to throw the

21:09

entire time with his legs under him.

21:11

He always has his senses. About him

21:13

knows where the past the pass rushers

21:15

are and everything like that. Does a

21:17

good job manipulating the pockets before he

21:19

starts moving, but once he starts moving

21:22

he gets even more dangerous and doesn't

21:24

lose any accuracy whatsoever on the move.

21:26

because of this because he takes his

21:28

mechanics with them. Like. Like I said

21:30

he is. he's always talk to throw

21:32

with those eyes up. I think last

21:34

year his it's completion percentage was it

21:36

was seventy two point something in an

21:38

aggregate to completion percentage was scrambling with

21:40

seventy us any percentage off off off

21:42

his efficiency numbers while he was on

21:44

the moon. Smart kid, tough kid. Everyone

21:46

has been around him fonz over him.

21:48

Jim Harbaugh the Chargers code. I believe

21:50

he should be the number one overall

21:53

pick in this draft. There's a lot

21:55

of things to like about Jj Mccarthy.

21:57

The. atomic i were talking just yesterday about

22:00

Jay McCarthy Thorin and I said to him

22:02

some of the throws that he makes on the move.

22:04

He looks like a shortstop He's just very fluid.

22:07

The mechanics are there. It looks like I'm not

22:09

a quarterback Guru, but

22:11

some of the numbers are incredible to you mentioned

22:13

the plus 70% terms of completion percentage One

22:16

number that I've seen that blows me away is it's

22:19

even higher than that in terms of his on

22:21

target is quote-unquote on target Rate it's almost 80%

22:25

so, you know completion percentage is one thing. Maybe some

22:27

of those are droughts Maybe you know, they're right there

22:29

at the catchpoint to the fenders there and gets knocked

22:31

away But he is really accurate

22:33

on the move and in a league where

22:35

you have to make the first guy miss generally speaking

22:38

and you Have to be able to play out of

22:40

structure to succeed especially on third down That's

22:42

a great skill to have what do you say to the people though

22:44

Thor who say? Sorry The

22:48

breadth of work isn't there for me

22:50

because he played in an offense that just did not

22:52

rely on him enough You've got games where he's you

22:54

know, barely cracking 12 attempts, you

22:56

know That's that's not what I'm looking for in

22:58

my next franchise quarterback. Yeah, I don't

23:00

I don't think that's a fair criticism This

23:02

is a kid who is a prodigy

23:05

of an out of structure prospect who

23:07

fit his game into an NFL Pro-style

23:09

system under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan. He

23:12

stole the job from a veteran guy

23:14

Kate McNamara who had just stolen a

23:16

job from a top 10 quarterback prospect

23:18

in this class Jill Milton The

23:21

second year third year he wins the national title

23:23

game as a 20 year old And

23:26

he proved in so doing that

23:28

he can also win with in structure. So

23:30

that's what you got to see at Michigan

23:32

I talked about the out of structure machinations

23:34

there. I think the narrative with

23:37

JJ McCarthy it gets inverted certainly

23:39

unfairly Instead of talking about

23:41

that and these alterations that he made to his

23:43

game and the things that he proved and then

23:46

how you can Project these other things that we

23:48

didn't get to see quite as much. We got

23:50

to see the flashes of it We know we

23:52

can do it. What will that look like in

23:55

an NFL offense when he's throwing more when his

23:57

team isn't just Logging opponents in the second half

24:00

he gets to play in the fourth quarter, I think

24:02

it was 11 games last year. Michigan had a

24:05

21 plus point lead. Seven of the

24:07

15 games that Michigan played last year.

24:09

JJ McCarthy did not take one fourth

24:11

quarter snap. That's why the volume stats

24:13

got away from him. But to your

24:15

point about the constitution of the Michigan

24:17

offense, you look at Blake quorum stats.

24:20

I find it so funny when people

24:22

are like, Oh, you know, they poo

24:24

poo JJ McCarthy and then try to

24:26

pretend that Blake quorum is this Colossus

24:28

in this force. And the only reason

24:30

that Michigan won the national title, it's because

24:32

of Blake quorum. The only reason that he

24:34

was being just the,

24:37

the, the, the, the, the Michigan running back.

24:39

Yeah. So last year, Blake quorum coming off

24:42

of an injury, had a 27.4 elusive

24:44

rating for people out there.

24:47

A hundred is considered solid.

24:50

I Blake quorum 2.42 yards

24:52

after contact per attempt decidedly

24:55

well below average in this class. Blake

24:57

quorum was not great last year and

24:59

Blake quorum also is not a receiving

25:02

back. Michigan's receiving back Donovan Edwards was

25:04

on a milk carton all last fall

25:06

until the very last game. And then

25:09

to your point fell about the discrepancy

25:11

between the accuracy percentage and the on

25:13

target rate that speaks to

25:16

the receivers. That he was working

25:18

with the receiving court, Roman

25:20

Wilson's okay. You know, he's probably going to be

25:22

an early third round pick. Cornelius

25:24

Johnson is a seventh round guy. And then

25:26

they had two tight ends out there. He

25:28

didn't get to work with Michael Pinnix is

25:31

receiving court, JJ McCarthy didn't, he didn't get

25:33

to work with bone Nick says receiving court.

25:35

He didn't get to work with the, you

25:37

know, the, the weapons that those other guys

25:39

did or in the systems that those guys

25:41

did piling up empty calorie stats like bone

25:43

Nick's did against the aggregate 80th defensive rank

25:46

last year where bone X would just take

25:48

the ball in shotgun, immediately turn to the

25:50

left of the right and then throw a

25:52

funnel screen. He didn't, and

25:54

then he pile up all these yak yardage

25:57

Jj McCarthy didn't get to do that when

25:59

he threw the the bar it was after

26:02

Michigan and run on first or second down

26:04

are resorting to line of scrimmage Blake format

26:06

for yards before contact every attempt to. That's

26:08

where that that came into place. Michigan at

26:10

the number two. Rents are P of our

26:13

offensive line. grades for run blocking last year

26:15

think they were in the twenties for pass

26:17

blocking rates are a little bit. We're still

26:19

good but but not quite as good but

26:21

wins. Eugene Mccarthy went back to past invariably

26:23

was in third and long situations where the

26:26

defence knew what was coming in humans throw

26:28

into a receiving corps. the with. Not as

26:30

good as some of these other top. Five. Top

26:32

six quarterbacks in the class and the difference

26:34

is still couldn't stop on. That.

26:36

Is what Nfl coaches terrible invite. By the

26:39

way of the top six quarterbacks in the

26:41

aggregate did you? Mccarthy played by far the

26:43

best defensive strength that when you're talking about

26:45

that and then having the joy in the

26:47

office assistant dean given the empty calories stop

26:50

he didn't have the the receivers had some

26:52

of these other guys that. But. He

26:54

still was. By far the with this

26:56

class is best. Quarterbacks in third and

26:58

longs in a recent thirds down situations

27:00

periods. I that's why you start to

27:02

see Judy Mccarthy shining. It's of these.

27:04

That's when you look at the correct

27:06

stats. When. You say he's a third

27:08

quarterback who are the two guys ahead. Of

27:10

him. I. Have Caleb one and I obtain

27:13

Daniels to. Wise. Ghz band of

27:15

the Drake May is a close in your mind

27:17

and is there anything the Drake May does? Superior.

27:20

Not just physically in terms of stature

27:22

that he does superior to. I'm

27:25

shooting. For. Sure yeah I

27:27

mean I have dragged me my top ten overall.

27:29

So I for me this is always been a

27:31

big for a quarterback class. I think it was

27:34

unfairly labeled as a big three heading into the

27:36

process. I think the Nfl are. We saw it

27:38

as it to as a big for and now

27:40

we're going around a reality on on. That's what

27:42

it is far as drink made The The reason

27:45

that I put him beneath Mccarthy is. First.

27:47

Of all you know he likes you when see

27:49

and rushing and twenty twenty two of the you

27:52

guys know Sam how of ran for a bunch

27:54

of yards in the fill on go off and

27:56

his last season as well. last season I'd drink

27:58

made in run for nearly as. The Yard

28:00

There's been this idea that drag me is

28:02

the rushing Utilities can be like Herbert's can

28:04

be like or Josh Al and or whatever.

28:07

No doubt is not going to translate to

28:09

the Nfl. He is not that caliber of

28:11

athletes. He is going to be more or

28:13

less a pocket passing quarterback in the Nfl

28:15

up. The thing that is superior to Mccarthy

28:18

I drink May has a Howitzer for an

28:20

arm. He has one of the butter arms

28:22

that you're going to see coming out. I

28:24

love that. I love his are deep touched.

28:26

Very very good I attacking downfield. he's awesome

28:28

at that kind of stuff. And

28:31

in the pocket started like manipulating a

28:33

pocket sensing the rice. I like different

28:35

stuff I.on but one thing I don't

28:37

like is when the pass rush starts

28:39

to get there like it's it's not

28:41

completely there but it it's starting to

28:43

get inside of it's kitchen. One thing

28:45

I noticed about Drag Me over the

28:47

last couple years is you know to

28:49

city begins to speed up his process

28:51

really quick that. The. It like

28:53

it's a he doesn't panic until sort of

28:55

it is. it's starting to com and know

28:57

that are I got to get up all

29:00

us suggests he just speedster everything. That's when

29:02

the accuracy outskirts to get a little bit

29:04

aaron on him and he doesn't have that

29:06

athleticism to extend the play like a Mccarthy

29:09

are like a Tale of Williams are like

29:11

I Daniels to escape containment and and and

29:13

get up the or whatever I've certainly projecting

29:15

to the another level. so it's it's also

29:18

in and set. Some spotty decision making is

29:20

why it's funny and to spill into your

29:22

more. Than draft guru than I but he

29:24

was interesting and watching Drake May taught ups

29:26

and I was smart enough to watch every

29:29

sack was a sack and ups I watched

29:31

every sack of trip back. He is not.

29:34

He doesn't have great lateral quickness or acceleration

29:36

to get to the edge. He. Got

29:38

caught a lot by defensive lineman. Who.

29:41

Would shoestring him and bring him down. I was the

29:43

as surprise attack is also it's. It's. Added

29:45

things you saw: Gg Mccarthy, for

29:47

instance, uplifted to put up last

29:49

night, was parkinsonian in his ability

29:51

to. Scoot. Scoot Scoot

29:54

Reset School. And I didn't

29:56

see that from Drag May you don't always want that.

29:58

From. A quarterback either. What? Do

30:00

I was surprised that. He

30:03

was is not lumbering. Any

30:05

faster. The mack. But

30:07

he's not a gazelle. Now

30:10

and so are you gonna necessarily

30:12

incorporate him into your. Offenses

30:14

you know, run game and and design

30:16

runs for him. Probably not. I guess

30:19

you could. He

30:21

is. Twenty. One years old, maybe get

30:23

stronger, maybe becomes a better runner at some point

30:25

time over the next few years, but. Ah,

30:28

I'm. I'm. Okay with it.

30:31

The. Fact that he's not that kind of athlete

30:33

because. I. Think Unless

30:35

you're Josh Allen and you're sort of built

30:37

like a tight end, you're kind of asking

30:39

for trouble. Ah, and it can elevate your

30:42

floor. Is a quarterback having that run game

30:44

available to you. Can.

30:46

Do a world a good for guy who's get

30:48

his feet wet in the Nfl and trying to

30:50

be productive. That's part of a resume I really

30:52

like a day I. Especially in a bad

30:54

situation would you might be here in New England. Thought

30:56

he could take off and run for sixty yards. At

30:59

any point in time, And you know,

31:02

maybe that's worth the risk and always

31:04

two hundred pounds. If. That com

31:06

I know is a little bit older.

31:08

maybe? the ceiling is. I'd. Eat

31:11

Arty kind of their as opposed to May

31:13

or Jj Mccarthy who are poor much younger

31:15

players. And

31:18

so I find that I find that a ha

31:20

ha you way all of those things together really

31:22

interesting and for me, Just to get

31:24

back to Jj Mccarthy it in. I talked to

31:26

one executive at the Combine born. Talk.

31:29

About quarterbacks and. Sort.

31:31

Of looks like it's gonna be quarterbacks through

31:33

the first three picks, right? and

31:36

when I was told was. Might. Be the first for.

31:40

I said really because I had heard the Jd.

31:42

Mccarthy was that good in the room. Had interviewed

31:44

really well Mccarthy people. People look at him that

31:46

way. Her. They. Do at And

31:48

so. I wouldn't be stunned.

31:50

and I had this in our most recent mock

31:53

draft on Nbc Sports bottom of our com: Quarterbacks

31:55

one, two, three, And. Four with the

31:57

Cardinals trading out. Who's. the safest

31:59

pick Between May Daniels

32:01

and JJ Between

32:05

May Daniels and the safest one would

32:07

be Daniels I think of those guys

32:09

No, that's safe for the GM but

32:11

safe in terms of because Daniels would

32:13

be the safest pick for the GM

32:16

You can say look he was Heisman Trophy winner He just you

32:18

know, he would compile 600 yards

32:20

of offense single-handedly in a game How

32:23

could I do anything JJ McCarthy would

32:25

probably be a bigger dice roll for

32:27

a GM So for

32:29

a GM, Jayden Daniels is safe, but is he also the

32:31

safest on the field? Well, I

32:34

think the thing that gives Jayden Daniels the

32:36

floor is to me he comes into the

32:38

NFL with two superpowers It's

32:40

the howitzer downfield with the touch

32:43

He's so good throwing down the field and

32:45

then it's that the ability

32:47

as a runner to wreak havoc So

32:49

you and then everything of his game

32:52

it plays off those two different things

32:54

But those two things alone heading into

32:56

the NFL that sets your floor and

32:58

it's a pretty high one Right

33:01

like because you know, you have the scrambling

33:03

ability then, you know You have the deep

33:05

throwing stuff which is gonna open up spacing

33:08

and to me he's like, you know We

33:10

think about this like with basketball usually but

33:12

a player that steps onto the court and

33:14

every time he does he changed Changed the

33:17

spacing of the floor that he's on. Yeah,

33:19

because of the way that Jayden

33:21

Daniels plays every single play He

33:24

becomes like this our puzzle for

33:26

the defensive coordinator of do we

33:28

keep back to deep safeties to take away

33:30

the deep ball? But if we do that,

33:32

then you can't spy Daniels You might not

33:34

be able to blitz them Do you keep

33:36

a spy on them to try to keep

33:38

them penned in and contain but then you

33:40

can't have the deep help Do you try

33:42

to blitz him to try to speed things

33:45

up? But Daniels was the best PFF graded

33:47

quarterback under the blitz last year So

33:49

he's very good at that as well It

33:51

just becomes a problem both with numbers and

33:53

then the spacing do you keep the resources

33:55

deep? Do you move them up? How

33:58

do you do that to me? My

34:00

fear with Jaden Daniels is you're going to look back

34:02

at the pro football reference bio

34:05

page in four years and see nine

34:08

games, 11 games, four games, 16

34:10

games. When

34:21

you consider these four quarterbacks in the 2024 draft

34:24

relative to the five taken in the

34:26

first round in 2021, it's a

34:29

little bit of an exercise here. How

34:31

would you stack them? It's

34:35

nine guys, but you got

34:37

Lawrence, Williams, Lance,

34:40

Fields, Zach, and

34:44

then Mac, and then these

34:46

three others that we've been talking about. So Tom,

34:48

would this be like my rankings of them like

34:50

heading into the draft? If they were all in

34:52

this draft together. Okay. Not knowing

34:54

what we know now. Right.

34:57

So what my grades were on the 2021

34:59

guys heading into that class, right? Yeah. Yeah.

35:03

So you got the numbers. Yeah. So

35:05

in terms of that, I

35:07

would have Lawrence one, Caleb

35:09

two, three would have Daniels

35:14

four fields.

35:24

Then I would have McCarthy

35:26

five, six,

35:31

six probably made then

35:34

Lance. Then I

35:36

had, I think was a Mac Mac

35:39

and Wilson. Did you hate Wilson? I

35:41

hated Wilson. Yeah. I spent

35:43

that whole, that whole spring just fighting the

35:45

Zach Wilson hive. I

35:48

didn't even feel good about taking a victory

35:50

lap on that because Zach Wilson became the

35:52

number two overall pick in the draft because

35:54

of a historical anomaly that was

35:57

a worldwide pandemic that forced. first BYU

35:59

and independent team to modify their schedule

36:01

because all the big conferences, they just

36:03

wanted to play in conference that year.

36:06

So BYU had the most atrocious strength

36:08

in schedule that you'll ever see, Zach

36:10

Wilton's last year. That's how we became

36:13

a high pick. And I screamed

36:15

it from the mountaintops, but the Jets were not

36:17

listening, that process. The Jets did not get around

36:19

to that. It was a pandemic they didn't hear.

36:22

Yeah, exactly. So you

36:24

had Jones ahead of Zach? Yeah,

36:26

I think so. So that would be like 8-9. Yeah.

36:29

That's interesting. Phil, what do you take a... It

36:32

kind of tells you that this is a better quarterback class than

36:35

the one from two years ago that yielded

36:37

five guys. Yeah, but it might make

36:39

you scared of Drake May, if you hear that

36:41

ranking right there. And I think there are... Listen,

36:43

I think the consensus is on Drake May that

36:46

there is no consensus. It just feels like

36:48

he is a boom or

36:50

bust kind of player. And if he

36:53

continues to have... And I know Thor still has him in

36:55

his top 10. It's not like he's down on Drake May

36:58

as a prospect. But is

37:00

that what you're looking for if you're picking third overall

37:02

if you're the Patriots and you have so many other

37:04

needs? Do you start to work

37:06

your way back toward if Caleb Williams

37:08

is off at one, which we expect to happen,

37:11

and Jayden Daniels is off at two, and

37:13

you're looking at your receiver room and it doesn't look

37:16

much better than it does right now, and you don't

37:18

have many sure things outside of Pop Douglas, and you

37:20

have a hole or two and big

37:22

ones on your offensive line, does

37:25

it make sense to take Drake May at three there? Or

37:28

are you asking to put a quarterback in a bad

37:30

situation? Or maybe you don't care, Thor.

37:33

I would ask you, are you

37:35

comfortable going the Joe Burrow route and

37:37

taking a good quarterback, dropping him into a

37:39

bad situation and saying, go

37:41

get him, buddy. And hopefully this works

37:43

in a couple years. Or would you rather punt on

37:46

the opportunity to take a quarterback, do what the Chiefs

37:48

did back in 2013, go

37:50

with a veteran, take a tackle in the top part

37:52

of the draft, and then really

37:54

wait for the right opportunity to

37:56

get the right quarterback. Yeah, in

37:58

the Patriot situation... I think it's definitely worth

38:01

considering all alternatives, you know, whether it's it's

38:03

the quarterback or whether it's trading down I

38:05

would want to know what the offers are

38:07

Obviously in my neck of the woods the

38:09

Vikings are actively working the phone lines They're

38:11

gonna want to be trying to move up

38:13

the Broncos are gonna be trying to move

38:15

up So the Patriots are gonna and those

38:17

are not the only teams that are gonna

38:19

be trying to move up The Patriots will

38:21

have options to move down But I think

38:23

your points well taken of you have to

38:25

consider it of if we take Drake May

38:27

here We don't love our offensive line. We

38:30

have bad receivers. You can't just do the

38:32

thing of like Oh, even if you love

38:34

Drake May more than I do like

38:37

to be like, oh, we'll just drop him into a bad

38:39

situation He's gonna overcome the circumstances

38:41

what evidence you have no one ever

38:43

got last no one ever does Well

38:45

burrow did borrow did Peyton Manning

38:47

did you know like those guys overcome it?

38:49

They come out the other side and they're

38:52

okay Got some toys in Manning got some

38:54

toys in you know, Edger and James and

38:56

Marvin Harrison at all And

38:58

I think borrow got his Jamar Chase within a

39:00

year Specific to Drake

39:03

May in 2022 when he went ballistic That

39:06

was in one of the most quarterback friendly systems that we

39:08

have in college football the Phil Longo system He worked with

39:10

Sam Howell before that he worked with Matt Corral before that

39:13

those guys, you know When maybe he pioneered the draft and

39:15

they should have because of that Well, I howled I guess

39:17

drop down a little bit because that last year he was

39:19

just scrambling around But you know, you

39:21

got to throw down field you got the advantageous

39:23

looks you're spreading the field different stuff like that

39:26

You're out It's a lot of pre snap reads

39:28

of where's my number advantage and different stuff like

39:30

that and then flinging it with that When you

39:32

have the best of it one on one deep

39:35

That's the thing that Drake May is the best

39:37

at the circumstances change this year and then you

39:39

you you modify the offense a bit The

39:42

Josh Downs goes to the NFL all

39:44

of a sudden Drake May's play is

39:46

not quite as good So I think

39:48

there is something like and again, I'm

39:50

not trying to nitpick Drake May too

39:53

much But you can't just be like

39:55

the circumstances around Drake May don't matter

39:57

because he's so dang good based on

39:59

even and what we've just seen the last two

40:01

calendar years with him. Boy,

40:04

this was great. Way smarter than we

40:06

were before. It's fascinating

40:08

to hear the intel relative

40:11

to this year's class, last year's class,

40:13

what the Patriots are looking at. It's

40:15

funny you being in Minnesota, because I

40:17

think that's one of the

40:19

teams the Patriots should absolutely answer every call

40:21

from the Raiders. Falcons

40:23

have addressed their need. But

40:26

all these teams are

40:28

ones that the Patriots should be talking to and

40:30

seeing who they can absolutely rake

40:32

over the coals to get whatever they

40:34

want. And even if they have to move down to Arizona

40:38

is at four, right? Yeah, Arizona is at

40:40

four. Thor, what would the

40:42

Vikings be willing to give up for three, you think?

40:45

Well, so for five, because that's

40:47

been the more popular one, the trade

40:49

chart it drives at 11 and

40:52

the Vikings first round pick next year. Chargers

40:54

will probably make them toss in maybe a late

40:56

round pick this year out the door in the

40:58

negotiation to get that thing done. The

41:01

three pick, you're obviously it's going to be

41:03

more than that. This

41:05

is where it gets interesting of if the

41:07

Patriots demand the next two first round picks,

41:09

which, but that's what I would do if

41:11

I was them, that might

41:13

be the moment where it becomes cost prohibitive for

41:16

the Vikings. But that's closer to the Kelly

41:18

Bluebuck. And when you look at the precedent

41:20

of these trades going from 11 to three,

41:22

that's closer to the value of

41:25

that third pick. Could the Vikings, could

41:27

they jive it with, will give you 11,

41:29

will give you 42, the Vikings picking

41:32

the second round and the first rounder

41:34

next year so that we can save

41:36

the other first round pick. Maybe you

41:39

could haggle a little bit, but I think that's

41:41

around where you're at with that. And that to

41:44

me is how teams build, is

41:46

they start creating a little

41:48

nest of picks that gives them mobility in the

41:50

next year's draft, gives them mobility in this draft.

41:52

If you can get a 2024 first,

41:54

you drop down to

41:57

11, another one in 2025. And

42:00

even a 2026, chill? Or

42:04

the second round, or it's, or is right on

42:06

that front. Usually, usually the way the league values

42:09

these picks is you dock it

42:11

around. For every year. If

42:13

it's a future pick, right? So if you get

42:15

a, if you get a future first, that's the

42:17

equivalent to a current day second. Um,

42:19

so either way,

42:22

it's something that the Patriots, I think have

42:24

to consider, especially if they're not fully, fully

42:27

sold on whichever quarterback's going to drop to them

42:29

at three overall. I'm not letting you go yet.

42:31

Cause I want to ask you about the logic

42:33

of doing that and then going

42:35

and getting Justin fields. For

42:38

the Patriots. Yeah. What the hell? Just keep

42:40

throwing quarterbacks into that room. You got to be

42:42

set, but go ahead. I think that'd

42:44

be brilliant. You know, if you trade down with the

42:46

Vikings and get their first round pick next year, the,

42:48

the Vikings aren't going to be good next year because

42:50

they have to take all the, they have their leave

42:52

the league by far and then dead cap hit, you

42:54

know, for this year, they had the three guys at

42:56

the dead cap. So the Vikings, they're not going to

42:58

be contending next year. That picks going to be in

43:00

the top half of the first round. The Patriots then

43:03

would be indicating that they're not, you know, you guys

43:05

aren't going to be contending next year either. Neither of

43:07

us are. So you're going to have two picks in

43:09

the top half of the first round. Then the Justin

43:11

fields thing, his trademark it is such where I think

43:13

a third round pick gets that done right now.

43:16

That's perfectly reasonable. You trade them a

43:18

third round pick. You let field start

43:20

for one year on a cheap contract.

43:22

When he leaves as a free agent,

43:24

probably he's going to sign for a contract where you recoup

43:26

a third round comp pick. If not, it's going to be

43:29

a fourth. So you're getting the

43:31

pick back on the opposite this year. They had the

43:33

three guys at the dead cap. So the Vikings, they're

43:35

not going to be contending next year. That picks going

43:37

to be in the top half of the first round.

43:39

The Patriots then would be indicating that they're not, you

43:42

know, you guys aren't going to be contending next year

43:44

either. Neither of us are. So you're going to have

43:46

two picks in the top half of the first round.

43:48

Then the Justin fields thing, his trademark it is such

43:50

where I think a third round pick gets that done

43:53

right now. That's perfectly reasonable.

43:55

You trade them a third round pick. You

43:57

let field start for one year on a

43:59

cheap contract. contract, when he leaves as a

44:01

free agent, probably he's going to sign for

44:03

a contract where you recoup a third round comp pick. If

44:06

not, it's going to be a fourth. So

44:08

you're getting the pick back on the opposite

44:10

end when you got one year of a

44:12

starting quarterback and acceptable starting quarterback in the

44:14

NFL at a very acceptable market rate. I

44:17

don't understand why a couple of these quarterback

44:19

desperate teams are not jumping on this. If

44:21

I was Sean Payton, I would have already

44:23

tried to consummate that trade. If I was

44:25

the Giants, I would have offered that instead

44:27

of signing Drew Lock. Let

44:30

me slow this down. The Patriots have the

44:32

potential then, for instance, just to spit all this

44:34

out. Say they traded and

44:39

brought in fields and then sent to the Vikings, hey, you want

44:41

to come up? You want to come up to three? We're

44:44

going to take your 11th overall pick, and

44:47

we're going to take a second

44:50

round this year as well. So

44:52

then, Phil, you got the fields. You

44:54

can take the field. And the 2025 first. And

44:57

you get your Roma Dunsay. And

45:00

the second this year, and the 2025 first,

45:04

they are in an unbelievable position to make

45:06

this a rapid rebuild. You can rebuild faster

45:08

by trading down than you can if you

45:10

take a quarterback, Phil. That I

45:12

believe. Yeah, I think the – listen,

45:15

I like that idea. And I am a fan

45:17

of Justin Fields, especially now. It sounds as though

45:19

the price tag for him, Thor, is low

45:22

to low. Yes. But

45:25

I think you're still looking for your quarterback. And

45:27

you're always going to be looking for your quarterback. You could have

45:29

the best roster in football. You could be the

45:31

San Francisco 49ers. And, Phil,

45:33

as though you don't have the quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo and

45:35

move heaven and earth to make sure you get the guy

45:38

and still not have the guy. And then

45:40

luck into the guy in the seventh round. You know what

45:42

I mean? Like, so if you think the quarterback's there, and

45:45

you have conviction in that evaluation, you

45:47

can't pass on him. If you

45:49

don't, what we're talking about is the smart thing

45:51

to do. For sure. Yeah, we

45:53

just don't know how the top of that Patriots

45:55

board looks. You know, like, there has been –

45:57

you know, there's been reports of – these are

45:59

the two quarterbacks. for sitting dead right on, but

46:01

other people report different stuff. You

46:03

guys know quite a bit. Yeah. Be kidding. I don't know

46:05

yet to be on that. They

46:07

don't, they don't know yet. My

46:10

feeling is Thor, their default

46:12

is quarterback. They're going to have to

46:14

be moved off that spot by somebody

46:16

disqualifying themselves. Whether

46:18

that be Drake may and you just say,

46:20

we just can't, I can't look at this anymore and get him out.

46:22

We're not doing that. Or JJ

46:24

McCarthy isn't good enough for them or

46:27

whatever. I think they have to be

46:29

moved off that spot. Phil from the conversations you've had.

46:32

Same thing, right? Yeah. That's my understanding is they're

46:34

still going through this process. And if

46:36

they love the guy

46:39

that's there at three and the

46:41

door is open for them to love more than one guy,

46:44

then they're going to sit there and they're going to take

46:46

whoever gets to them, but if they don't, I

46:49

see them trading back and I see them trading back and

46:52

probably for alignment, I

46:55

don't see them staying at three and taking a

46:57

Marvin Harrison Jr. Um,

46:59

or any of those other players. I don't think that's

47:01

what they would do. I think they'd move back. This

47:05

is a guest by me. My guess is they

47:07

would feel as though they'd like to be in

47:09

a range to still get Joe Alt, wherever

47:12

they think he might go off. So maybe that's six,

47:14

maybe the giants are willing to trade up. You

47:16

know, I don't know if you're, if you're able to get alt by going

47:18

all the way back to 11. But

47:22

that to me is the, is the move. You either

47:24

love the guy at three or you

47:26

don't. And if you don't, then you trade back, you

47:28

get a tackle, you build through the trenches, you do

47:30

that Packer thing. That's what they, you know, the premium

47:32

positions of the first round, it's quarterback, it's tackle, it's

47:35

pass rusher, it's corner, um,

47:37

it's usually not receiver. That second round is, you

47:39

know, your Greg Jennings and your Devontae Adams and

47:41

your Randall Cobb and your Jordy Nelson. That's what

47:43

those guys like to do. And that's what I

47:45

think Elliott Wolf will probably like to do. Give

47:48

it a background. It'll be very similar to what

47:50

the Cardinals do administration did last process where they,

47:52

they, when they first, they traded way down, then

47:54

they traded back up so they could get Paris

47:57

Johnson, but that was their target all along. You

48:00

know, obviously they had the quarterback in place, but

48:02

Phil, I agree with the way that you're setting

48:04

this up and the way that you're thinking about

48:06

it. If you have a conviction on a quarterback

48:08

that gets to three, yeah, you got to pop

48:10

them. I mean, how many shots do you get

48:12

to pop a quarterback? Do you have a conviction?

48:14

This guy is going to be a star in

48:17

the NFL, but if one

48:19

of those guys is not there, maybe for you,

48:21

it's only two deep on your board, those guys

48:23

go one, two. I think you have to consider

48:25

all the offers that you're getting for that. And

48:27

I think the alternate road for the Patriots, there's

48:30

a lot to say for that as well. That

48:33

is an attractive path as well, building out

48:35

the draft equity and everything like that. And

48:37

then at that point, you would have the

48:39

infrastructure around the quarterback for whenever you inevitably

48:41

did draft that quarterback, say it was in

48:43

next year's draft. And

48:46

all those big ticket items around

48:48

rookie contracts for a period

48:50

of time. Yeah. Your left tackle,

48:53

your wide out. And you just

48:55

took a corner who's the top tier corner and

48:57

then your quarterback. Boy, this was, we went

48:59

longer than I anticipated and I enjoyed the

49:01

hell out of every second. I really did.

49:04

Sam, always good talking to you guys. You're

49:07

the best Thor, appreciate you buddy. Appreciate it boys.

49:09

You know what I'm really happy about, Phil? The fact that

49:12

I'm so entrenched in my

49:14

beliefs that I've now switched again

49:16

back to trade

49:18

down. Trade

49:21

down, JJ McCarthy or trade down. Whatever

49:24

I see or hear last is what I want to do. Hey,

49:28

I'll say this. I'm not there yet

49:30

with you. But I

49:32

will say if the Patriots losing

49:35

out on Calvin Ridley moves

49:38

any of our audience closer

49:40

to your direction, I kind of get it.

49:43

Because for me, it's just harder to envision

49:45

a good receiver room. And if

49:48

you draft a quarterback at three, I've always been,

49:50

I'd like to see that guy

49:52

play. I think the owner would like to see that guy play. I

49:54

think the fans would like to see that guy play. But

49:56

if the receiver room ain't good, and

49:59

if the offensive line... not solidified? I don't

50:04

think that's a attractive option

50:06

is taking a young quarterback and

50:08

putting them in a really bad situation even if you

50:10

think he's got the medal, the

50:13

Joe Burrow medal to come out

50:15

the other side of that situation and be a

50:17

great player. I just think you're rolling the dice.

50:19

It's just so few of them. He's needling a

50:22

haystack. Him, maybe

50:24

Andrew Luck to a degree, never

50:27

got to a Super Bowl. But, and

50:30

Peyton Manning. I mean Trevor Lawrence

50:32

wasn't able to overcome his situation, still isn't. Hey,

50:37

talk about bad situations still. I'm a guy

50:39

who when he buys a car he's gonna

50:41

buy a used car because I don't like

50:43

buying new and I bought a tremendous vehicle

50:45

recently from Born Auto. This is not a paid

50:47

plug but I love them. I go

50:50

there all the time and I

50:52

just wanted to shout out my guy Mark

50:54

Afiro because he was in the service department,

50:56

had one little glitch on my new car,

50:58

new used car, new to me and

51:01

Mark made sure I got the thing back in a

51:03

jiffy and you know they

51:05

do good work there but Mark

51:07

in the service department there he deserves a special

51:09

shout out in my mind and you people know

51:11

I rarely do shout outs because you can't get

51:13

into that all the time but we appreciate the

51:15

folks at Born Auto. We appreciate Mark. So I

51:17

appreciate you. Right now I appreciate

51:19

Thor even more. Any

51:22

shout outs still? Barbara, Joe the barber you want

51:24

to send a shout out to Joe? I

51:27

give Joe all kinds of shout outs all the time

51:30

all day every day. That's my guy, my wife.

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