In the latest episode of the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast with Nick Cattles, Greg and Nick cover several important topics. They start by discussing the Patriots' decision to retain cornerback Alex Austin ahead of free agency. The conversation then shifts to a free agency primer, including a look at in-house free agents and the free agent quarterback class. Additionally, they provide an evaluation of quarterback prospect Drake Maye.
0:00 Patriots retain cornerback Alex Austin ahead of free agency
1:35 L'Jarius Sneed an option for Patriots?
3:45 Tre'Davious White an option?
4:32 Broncos releasing star safety Justin Simmons
7:00 Bedard on Kyle Dugger, should he just sign with Patriots?
10:55 Should Patriots sign Saquon Barkley?
16:02 Download PrizePicks and Use Code CLNS for 100% Deposit Match up to $100!
17:02 Free Agency primer
17:14 In-House Free Agents
21:40 FA QB Class
27:22 What will Wolf do?
32:25 Drake Maye evaluation
Check Greg's Coverage out over at www.bostonsportsjournal.com, for $50 on BSJ's annual plan. Not only do you get top-notch analysis of all the Boston pro sports, but if you're a Patriots junkie — and if you're listening to this podcast, you are — then a membership at BSJ gives you access to a ton of video analysis Bedard does on the coaches film, and direct access to him in weekly chats.
This episode of the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast w/ Nick Cattles is brought to you by:
PrizePicks! Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy!
Football season may be over, but the action on the floor is heating up. Whether it’s Tournament Season or the fight for playoff homecourt, there’s no shortage of high stakes basketball moments this time of year. Quick withdrawals, easy gameplay and an enormous selection of players and stat types are what make PrizePicks the #1 daily fantasy sports app!
0:00 Patriots retain cornerback Alex Austin ahead of free agency
1:35 L'Jarius Sneed an option for Patriots?
3:45 Tre'Davious White an option?
4:32 Broncos releasing star safety Justin Simmons
7:00 Bedard on Kyle Dugger, should he just sign with Patriots?
10:55 Should Patriots sign Saquon Barkley?
16:02 Download PrizePicks and Use Code CLNS for 100% Deposit Match up to $100!
17:02 Free Agency primer
17:14 In-House Free Agents
21:40 FA QB Class
27:22 What will Wolf do?
32:25 Drake Maye evaluation
Check Greg's Coverage out over at www.bostonsportsjournal.com, for $50 on BSJ's annual plan. Not only do you get top-notch analysis of all the Boston pro sports, but if you're a Patriots junkie — and if you're listening to this podcast, you are — then a membership at BSJ gives you access to a ton of video analysis Bedard does on the coaches film, and direct access to him in weekly chats.
This episode of the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast w/ Nick Cattles is brought to you by:
PrizePicks! Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy!
Football season may be over, but the action on the floor is heating up. Whether it’s Tournament Season or the fight for playoff homecourt, there’s no shortage of high stakes basketball moments this time of year. Quick withdrawals, easy gameplay and an enormous selection of players and stat types are what make PrizePicks the #1 daily fantasy sports app!
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SportsTranscript
00:00 This is the Greg Bidard Patriots podcast with Nick Cavins.
00:08 He's Greg, I'm Nick.
00:09 You know the spiel.
00:10 This episode is brought to you by PrizePix, the largest daily fantasy sports platform
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00:31 Head to factormeals.com/bidard50.
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00:37 All right, Greg, some small news just happened for the Patriots, and that is one Alex Austin.
00:43 He will be back one year, minimum deal.
00:47 Just kind of your thoughts about Austin returning and what you might have seen from him late
00:50 in the season a year ago.
00:52 Yeah, so Austin was an exclusive rights-free agent, and the way that works is unless you're
00:58 a complete disaster, the team brings you back.
01:01 So it's not a surprise that he's back.
01:04 It's not an indication of anything.
01:07 You know, I will say that Austin did a nice job towards the end of the season.
01:11 He did not start off well when he got to the team.
01:16 He's at the moment, he's a good depth piece.
01:20 Perhaps he could develop into more, but I think, you know, like I said, exclusive rights-free
01:26 agent, unless you show that you are completely horrible and can't play in the league, they
01:31 bring you back at least for training camp and then go from there.
01:34 All right, speaking of corner, there was a report yesterday that the Patriots were interested
01:40 in Legereus Need, obviously number one corner for the Chiefs.
01:44 I know Mark Daniels of MassLive came out and said it was more due diligence than serious
01:50 interest, and it made it sound like it was because of draft compensation, that the draft
01:55 compensation might have been a little bit too steep.
01:57 What I've got to ask you, Greg, is if you've got somebody like Snead out there, if you're
02:00 Elliott Wolf, would you be willing to pay the pick and the money to bring a guy in if
02:06 you thought that he could be that much of a difference maker in that secondary with
02:09 Gonzalez?
02:12 My short answer is no, not both.
02:15 Now if Snead was a free agent or something like that, then okay, you're that's just money
02:21 that you're paying.
02:22 I think, and I think I heard Andrew Callahan on TV last night say a second or third round
02:28 pick.
02:29 I would find that very surprising if it's just that.
02:34 I'm sure they're looking for a first round pick.
02:36 They should be looking for a first round pick.
02:39 I was just trying to look back to what Jalen Ramsey got when he was traded from the Jaguars.
02:51 The Jaguars traded Jalen Ramsey to the Rams in exchange for three draft picks to win the
02:56 first round.
02:59 Now you could make the argument that Jalen Ramsey at that time was better than Snead.
03:04 You could make that argument, but this is a cornerback that's in his prime who's coming
03:10 off a great season.
03:11 He's a no doubt number one cornerback, so I would not pay that freight on both.
03:18 Like I said, if it was free agency or just money, okay, I would think about it, but both
03:24 where the Patriots are right now.
03:25 No, it's not something I would be interested in.
03:27 Totally agree with as many holes as they have to give up picks and money just too much.
03:33 You're not in the position to make that kind of move, at least not in my eyes and not in
03:38 Greg's eyes.
03:39 All right, so let's keep up with the cornerback because you said, Hey, look, picks and money,
03:44 not so much, but if a free agent, I'd look into it.
03:47 Tredavious white cut by Buffalo, you in or out on the idea of Elliot Wolf picking up
03:52 the phone and giving him a call for a lot of these guys.
03:56 I'm going to say, and we talked about this last pot as far as the Patriots quote unquote
04:00 interest.
04:01 I'm definitely doing my due diligence on Tredavious white, a lot of injury histories when he's
04:07 right.
04:08 You know, he's really good.
04:10 I will say in his time in Buffalo, he's been more of a zone cornerback, which doesn't really
04:17 appeal to me the way the Patriots are running.
04:19 Again, we don't know what kind of scheme they're going to be running, how they're going to
04:22 alter things, but I would definitely kick the tires and depending on the deal, how much
04:28 protection.
04:29 Yeah, I could be interested in that.
04:31 Let's stay in the secondary.
04:32 My man, Justin Simmons released by the Denver Broncos earlier today, Elliot Wolf, should
04:38 he get on the phone?
04:39 Wow.
04:40 Um, I missed that.
04:41 I did not hear about that.
04:44 Um, yes, I would be on the phone.
04:47 I would be in on Justin Simmons.
04:49 To me, he is the prototypical middle of the field safety that you're looking for.
04:54 Maybe not quite as Devin McCourty's high end speed, but he's a, he's a tremendous player.
05:03 Probably didn't play up to his contract the past couple of years, but I could see him
05:08 in this scheme, um, you know, getting back to that level.
05:11 So yeah, that would be somebody that I would be in on.
05:14 And he's just the last name, Greg at safety.
05:17 You know, we talked about this with the Duggar stuff.
05:19 You've got Simmons now cut McKinney, not, not getting tagged by the giants guys like
05:25 Bayard and digs.
05:29 Last check.
05:30 There's roughly 88 free agent safeties on the market right now.
05:34 If you were Kyle Duggar, are you signing the transition tag today and saying, okay, I was
05:39 wrong.
05:40 I'm going to sign that and just take the one year deal at 13.8.
05:44 Depending on where they are on contract extension negotiations.
05:47 Um, well, two things.
05:50 Number one, I would take pretty much anything that they have on the table.
05:53 If they really, and Tony Pauline reported this, if the Patriots offered Kyle Duggar,
05:59 um, an extension at $13 million per year, which is just a little, a smidge less than
06:05 this transition tag.
06:07 If I'm Kyle, I'm running to sign it because like you said, there are guys all over the
06:11 street.
06:12 I don't know if things are going to get better.
06:15 It looks like the safety position is starting to transition into something where teams look
06:20 at it and say, um, they're not worth the money.
06:24 Look at Jamal Adams in Seattle on another guy who's on the street now.
06:28 Um, how much impact do they really have?
06:31 Basically, you can make the argument that safeties are now the running backs of defense
06:35 where they're being devalued.
06:37 If I'm Duggar, I'm signing the, I'm agreeing to the contract extension and, or if that's
06:43 not an avenue, then I'm signing the transition tag because I point, I think your point is
06:48 a hundred percent correct.
06:50 Um, he is going to be undercutting his market if he, if he, if he continues on, um, sort
06:56 of holding out for top of the line money.
06:58 And what's really interesting here, Greg, is that we know Duggar changed agents recently
07:03 and you just have to wonder like, is this, you know, he's working with an agent.
07:07 From what I understand, you can correct me if I'm wrong, uh, has worked on deals with
07:11 the Patriots with prior guys, the McCourty's I believe, uh, Jonathan Jones, I believe is
07:16 another, uh, defensive secondary guy represented by the agency.
07:22 Your best guess is this Kyle Duggar possibly being a bit delusional about his own value
07:28 or could he be just getting bad advice?
07:31 Cause it seems like we were all talking about this safety market being depressed.
07:34 How does he not know that was going to be the case?
07:36 Right?
07:37 I, um, Andy Sims is the agent and I have a great deal of respect for Andy.
07:41 Um, a guy that I've known for years, he's done a lot of really good work for his clients.
07:47 Um, I'll go back to sort of our conversation last week when we talked about Duggar and
07:52 the transition tag is that, um, you know, my fear in all of this was that Kyle Duggar
07:58 was going to shoot for the stars because he was an older rookie.
08:03 He's going to be 28 in the first year of his new deal.
08:05 That's probably the, and looking from the safety market, this is the only deal that
08:10 he's going to get in terms of big time change the course of your family sort of enrichment.
08:18 And so my fear, and this is the way it often works with players and agents, the agents
08:23 give their advice, but they have to, it's basically at the discretion of the player.
08:28 And my fear is that Kyle Duggar, who hasn't been through this before, is shooting for
08:33 the stars in terms of his contract extension, knowing this is probably his only bite at
08:37 the apple.
08:38 And to me, I think that's, that's not the right direction to go.
08:42 And I'm, and hopefully soon here, um, Andy is able to convince Kyle Duggar what's in
08:48 his best interest.
08:49 And to me, that's taking any contract extension offer that's on the table for the Patriots.
08:53 If you want to, maybe you take, uh, maybe you take a few less years, maybe it's two
08:59 years with some voids tacked on or three years to get yourself.
09:03 All right.
09:04 Maybe when I'm 30, I have another chance.
09:06 Okay.
09:07 I can see that argument, but to me, I think Kyle Duggar being 28 this year, this is it
09:12 for him.
09:13 So get, get what you're going to get and get out.
09:18 Fantastic point.
09:19 I was going to bring it up.
09:20 You know, he, he was an older rookie when he was drafted into the league.
09:23 You don't want to kick the can down the road for a year by taking the transition tag.
09:27 Like he's, it's bad.
09:28 You're just going to be a year older.
09:30 Safety is not going to be any more valuable next year than it is this year.
09:34 And he's closer to Jamal Adams than, you know, a Justin Simmons, much closer.
09:38 He's an in the box guy.
09:39 So he's got a limited role.
09:41 He's a hybrid kind of guy.
09:42 So just stick with the defense that, you know, the coaching staff that, you know, they're
09:47 there, they offered you a very fair deal, maybe a tick above what you should have been
09:51 offered.
09:52 Just take the deal, Kyle.
09:53 I just, you're not going to get the payday that you wanted, my man.
09:57 You're just not going to one, one thing that complicates it for these guys.
10:02 And especially like the guys you mentioned, Kyle Duggar, Jamal Adams, and even Jabril
10:06 peppers these in the box safeties.
10:10 What they also have to consider.
10:12 And if I was his agent, I'd be telling him this is that like, you know, look, not only
10:16 are you competing against safeties, like safeties that can play in the box, but you're, you're
10:20 competing against linebackers, lighter linebackers who can play some strong safety.
10:26 And also look at what's going on at the college game.
10:28 The college game no longer has linebackers that are six.
10:32 There's no Brandon spikes in college football anymore.
10:35 Six foot three, 260 pounds.
10:37 The role six foot six, one 220 pounds, which is what Kyle Duggar is.
10:42 So not only are you competing against the safeties, but you're competing against these
10:47 linebacker hybrids that all play the same spot when it comes to the national football
10:51 league.
10:52 We talk about market, Greg, we talk about depressed market.
10:55 There have been reports that the Patriots are at least interested in say Quan Barkley,
10:59 lot of running backs out there.
11:01 You got Barkley, you got Josh Jacobs, just a bunch of dudes, Tony Pollard.
11:06 Would you take advantage of that market?
11:08 If you were the Patriots, you've got Stevenson, but would you want to go out there and maybe
11:12 get another name that has top talent for that position and is in probably a tough spot to
11:18 make a ton of money?
11:20 Yeah, I, this would be a position that I would have to.
11:25 It would, it would have to be price correct.
11:30 You know, say Quan Barkley in a vacuum.
11:31 Yeah, I'm interested in.
11:33 Plus I think you're getting him coming back into his prime after, you know, the ACL, you
11:37 know, a couple of years out from that, like, you know, he could really pop my issue with
11:43 the Patriots and this kind of contract.
11:47 If it's, if it's too much money, you know, how does that affect Ramond Ray Stevenson?
11:53 I'm just looking at his contract.
11:56 They should be able to, yeah, they can, they can sign them to an extension.
11:59 Now to me it would be, it would have to be a case.
12:02 And this is where I think Bill Belichick was good to a certain extent about worrying about
12:07 contracts and the locker room and how it affects things.
12:12 You know, if you bring in a say Quan Barkley or even a Josh Jacobs and say you get them
12:16 at $7 million per year, you need to just about at the same time, Ramond Ray Stevenson, need
12:23 needs a contract extension at the same level or else you're going to have issues.
12:28 Here's the other thing with the Patriots and running back, and I'm not opposed to this.
12:32 And again, if the market gets depressed and you can get one of these guys, okay, I'm all
12:37 for it.
12:38 One thing you have to keep in mind as somebody pointed out to me, and this was Mike McCarthy
12:42 when I talked to him about the guys who used to work with him in green Bay, he said that
12:47 Alonzo Highsmith was the best running back evaluator he's ever been around.
12:52 And that was the position he played in college in the NFL until injuries got the best of
12:55 them.
12:56 When I covered the Packers, they seem to always find these guys in later rounds, second rounds,
13:04 they all hit Ryan Grant, who they, they picked off like he came from the giants.
13:10 Ryan Grant was a great running back for them.
13:14 I see the Patriots as more of a team.
13:16 Hey, let Alonzo pick some guy in the draft.
13:19 Let Alonzo find some guy who's withering away on somebody's bench and do it that way rather
13:25 than spending big money on a veteran running back.
13:30 Jamal Williams, Aaron Jones, other running backs that were mid to late round picks in
13:36 green Bay when high school is there.
13:38 Brandon Jackson, guys that I covered when they were winning super bowls, like they found
13:43 Vernon Morrency, who was a really good back for them on somebody's bench.
13:47 The Packers, when I covered the team in the mid 2000s, it was just, they had a factory
13:55 of these guys that didn't spend a lot of money.
13:57 And once they did, they let them go and just draft and develop or pick up off other teams.
14:01 That's sort of the Packer way.
14:04 Mention the running back market, how it would affect from Andre Stevenson reminds me of
14:08 the conversation we had earlier this week on the pod about Christian Wilkins and Christian
14:13 Barmore, and if you're going to go out there and sign somebody, even like a Chris Jones,
14:18 it sounds great to pay, you know, Chris Jones, 27 million a year if he hits the market.
14:24 But now Christian Barmore is going to be in the corner of the locker room going, Hey,
14:27 Hey, how did you see me the last two months of the season for a four win team time to
14:31 pay daddy.
14:33 And I want to ask you this.
14:36 Do you think Gerard Mayo appreciates that part of it and understands that part of it
14:40 because a, he's a former player and he was a, he's a very good player.
14:45 So he knows how players think and B because he did sit and watch Belichick handle those
14:50 kinds of things over his five year tenure as an assistant.
14:53 Yeah.
14:54 What's interesting is that Gerard Mayo, when he was here, he was always a Belichick's contract
15:00 boy.
15:01 Like they were every year, like they were doing stuff with his contract because he would
15:04 play ball with the team and they would do right by him and he would help their cap situation.
15:10 So that's definitely one aspect of the Gerard Mayo situation.
15:13 I have to think given how smart Gerard is, um, not to sound like the crafts, um, or other
15:20 people bringing up Optum, he's been in the business world.
15:23 Um, I, I do think that Gerard Mayo sees it similar to Bill Belichick.
15:28 I think he would be one who, you know, if Elliot Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith and macro
15:33 said let's go sign this guy.
15:35 I think I'm hopeful that Gerard Mayo would be the first guy to be like, yeah, well, what's
15:40 that going to do to Stevenson?
15:42 What's that going to do to Barmore?
15:43 Like are you guys, are you guys ready to pay the piper for those guys?
15:48 Like I could see the Patriots would look really good and really proactive if they're signing
15:53 these guys and then they're announcing contracts extensions for all these other guys.
15:57 To me, that would be the best of both worlds where you're like, all right, these guys got
16:02 their stuff together.
16:03 I like what they're doing here.
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16:58 Let's have a little bit of a free agency primer for the people, Greg.
17:05 As we get ready, legal tampering begins on Monday.
17:07 I'm excited.
17:08 You're excited.
17:09 Everybody is excited.
17:11 Let's start with their own.
17:13 The guys that are on the roster from last year, they walk into free agency.
17:17 Who do you think could quickly return?
17:20 Who could quickly be retained here on this team?
17:23 If I'm Elliott Wolfe, if I'm running the Patriots front office, I'm the GM, I am locking up
17:30 immediately.
17:31 It would be my priority on day one while other people like Alonzo Highsmith and Pat Stewart
17:38 and other people are working on outside free agents.
17:42 I am announcing Micah Winnu returns on a big contract.
17:46 Hunter Henry's back on a couple year deal.
17:48 Pharoah Brown is back, Anthony Jennings, Mack Wilson, and Miles Bryant.
17:54 To me, those are all good football players of varying degrees, players that can help
18:01 you and add to the core, be part of the core in this transition that are really good professionals
18:09 that do their job, that have done things the right way since they've been with the Patriots.
18:14 To me, that sets a tone for your program going forward.
18:18 Those guys are my priority very quickly.
18:21 I'm not dicking around and waiting for other offers and things like that.
18:25 I'm saying, "Here you go.
18:27 We want you back.
18:28 Let's do this."
18:29 I'm mostly on the same page with you with those names.
18:33 The Winnu thing, though, gets a little tricky.
18:35 I talked about this on my podcast today.
18:37 I have an evolving opinion with Winnu.
18:40 After I heard Mike Giardi say on NBC Sports Boston the other night that he wants to play
18:44 guard and Mike knows Giardi, knows that a Winnu wants to play guard, if Big Mike thinks
18:52 he's going to get $18-19 million playing guard, I'm out.
18:55 I love you, Big Mike, but I'm out.
18:57 I'm not going to give you that kind of cash.
19:00 If we're talking $14-15 million, I don't have a problem paying him near the top of the market
19:04 for a guard, but that's the one thing we've got to know.
19:09 What's Big Mike thinking?
19:10 Is he thinking, "You're going to pay me $18-19 million to play right guard where I want to
19:13 play?"
19:14 I think he might have a little bit of an issue.
19:16 Let's look at who you would wait on, the guys that were on your team last year that you
19:20 don't really feel that same kind of urgency, Greg.
19:24 Kendrick Bourne.
19:25 I love Kendrick.
19:26 He's coming off the ACL.
19:30 Let's see what kind of money he wants, but really, hopefully I'm being active in free
19:35 agency.
19:36 I have Pop Douglas.
19:39 I'm hoping to get rid of Devontae Parker and/or Juju Smith-Schuster.
19:42 I don't know if Juju's going to be on the out, but outside of that, I'm swinging big
19:49 in free agency for wide receivers, somebody that's young, like a Calvin Ridley that can
19:56 be here for a while and be part of the buildup.
19:58 Then I'm peppering the draft with wide receivers.
20:02 Like Elliott Wolfe said, playing young players is going to be something that they do.
20:07 Kendrick Bourne is in his 30, 31 at this point, coming off an ACL.
20:13 Love Kendrick.
20:14 Would love to have him back, but I'm waiting on him.
20:16 Jalen Ragour, gone.
20:19 Trent Brown, gone.
20:20 No thank you.
20:21 Riley Reif, happy retirement.
20:23 Mike Gacicchi, no way.
20:26 Ezekiel Elliott, really good player here.
20:30 If I'm him, I'm going to a team that's a little bit closer to winning, maybe even back to
20:34 Dallas.
20:35 Josh Uche.
20:36 I'm hoping to work the compensatory pick formula where somebody signs him big and I get back
20:42 a future fourth round pick in a year or so.
20:46 Cody Davis on special teams, sorry.
20:48 We're de-emphasizing that.
20:50 Jalen Mills, we'll see.
20:53 Maybe I'm not opposed.
20:55 He covers you at cornerback and safety if you have issues, but again, my focus is on
21:01 the future and getting this team younger and playing younger guys.
21:04 Jalen Mills right now doesn't fit that bill.
21:07 If Josh Uche walks, my tuchus is going to be very chafed because you had the opportunity
21:12 to trade him at the trading deadline and you didn't.
21:16 You're going to sign guys.
21:18 You're going to spend money, so the compensatory formula is very unlikely going to cash in
21:22 a pick for you for Uche walking.
21:25 That was my main beef during that trading deadline during the season last year.
21:29 I don't know how you hold on to Uche.
21:31 Even if it's a fifth round pick, that's more than you're getting if he walks.
21:35 I will be chafed.
21:37 Quarterback position, what do you do?
21:41 This is very interesting, Nick, and I'll be interested to get your opinion.
21:46 We're going to talk a little bit more about the draft evaluations.
21:48 I've watched a lot more film on these guys in a little bit.
21:53 I have a lot of concerns about the draft quarterbacks and when they're going to be ready.
21:59 If I am the Patriots, I'm developing on a dual track.
22:04 I am swinging big at quarterback.
22:10 Probably Kirk Cousins probably knows where he's going to go.
22:13 It's probably going to be Atlanta or back to Minnesota or something like that.
22:17 I'm swinging big on Baker Mayfield.
22:18 I'm trying to get him as a two, three year starter.
22:25 Then I'm letting the draft process play out after that.
22:30 If I want Drake May at three, okay, but he might have to sit for a year or two.
22:34 I have Baker.
22:36 I'm reticent just to go the Jacoby Bursette route.
22:39 I would rather go my ideal, Nick, Baker, Jacoby, draft the quarterback somewhere.
22:46 Whether that's Drake May or JJ McCarthy or Michael Penix or whoever, that's what I'm
22:51 doing and then I'm letting it play out.
22:53 We'll see how the situation goes.
22:54 Hopefully you can construct the Mayfield contract that doesn't make it too punitive to move
23:00 on from him.
23:01 I would probably do something like basically a two year deal with voidable years to see
23:09 how things go.
23:10 If I got to pay a premium on that, that's okay.
23:12 You spread the cap hit out over five years, you can deal with it.
23:18 With the cap growing every year, you can deal with the dead cap hit down the line as we've
23:23 seen with the Broncos and Russell Wilson.
23:28 I think I am looking to swing big.
23:31 I think you lock up Jacoby Bursette immediately just to make sure that you have a guy that
23:35 you trust, but I'm going for Baker just to see what happens.
23:42 I am not going after Baker if I'm drafting somebody at three.
23:46 I'm just not going to do it.
23:48 If I love May and Daniels enough, I'm not going to spend the chunk of money it's going
23:53 to take me to bring in Baker if I'm looking at one of those guys as my future of the franchise,
23:59 even if it takes me a year.
24:00 If I got to sit a guy a year, I don't have a problem sitting a guy a year.
24:03 I know some people do and they say, "Oh, if you draft a guy at three, you got to play
24:07 him right away."
24:08 I'm not of that thought.
24:10 If you think he's the answer for the next 15 to 17 years, what's one year?
24:14 Let him get seasoned.
24:15 If it's Drake May, for example, and the footwork is all over the place, work with them for
24:19 a year, put them under the tree of Alex Van Pelt, and then in 2025, let's see all of that
24:26 come to fruition.
24:27 Now, if you're not drafting a guy at three, then that's when I would look at Baker.
24:32 I'd say, and people might fight back, "Oh, what's it going to get you, nine, 10 wins?"
24:37 You have no idea who your next quarterback is and how long that's going to take you to
24:41 get that guy.
24:42 You might have to wait three years until you get another swing at a quarterback that is
24:46 a legitimate starting NFL quarterback.
24:49 Playing 10 games for the next two or three years while you continue to hammer the draft
24:54 and develop that talent, so then maybe if you got to wave goodbye to Baker in two or
24:59 three years, and then you supplant him with that dude who's the young franchise quarterback,
25:05 at that point, you have the rest of your team starting to develop, which allows you to move
25:10 picks in that given year or in future years.
25:14 So if it's a 2026 draft, now you don't feel like you're screwing yourself over by dealing
25:20 the first round picks, swapping picks in that first year, and then maybe you have to give
25:24 up an additional first round pick in the future.
25:26 Well, now you've had a couple of years to build up the cupboard and fill it up with
25:31 young talent.
25:32 So I don't have an issue with it, but if you're drafting somebody at three, I'm not touching
25:35 Baker.
25:36 I'm not spending $35 million on Baker and spending the third pick on a quarterback.
25:41 I would not do that.
25:42 Yeah, I just think that for me, I just think there's so much uncertainty about the draft
25:49 and what you might get for number three if your intention is to trade down and you say
25:53 you're fine, you have questions about Drake May, which I do, which we'll get into, that
26:01 maybe we get one of the secondary guys, but we want to keep our options open.
26:05 Here's my other idea, and I'm curious what you think about it.
26:08 First of all, I'm not in on Russell Wilson.
26:10 I think he's fine.
26:14 Too much of an ego at this point.
26:16 When I saw him on film, he was cashed.
26:19 He might be able to be a bridge guy and it's cheap and whatnot.
26:24 I don't know.
26:25 I just don't want to do that.
26:27 Sort of a different path for me would be, look, Washington's probably going to get a
26:31 quarterback.
26:32 They could hang on to Sam Howell and that's probably what they're going to do.
26:36 But I liked what I saw out of Howell last year on sort of a lesser team, some coaching
26:41 issues.
26:43 To me, when I see Sam Howell, I see Baker Mayfield.
26:46 Now, different evaluations.
26:48 Baker Mayfield went number one.
26:49 Howell went, I think, in the fifth round.
26:55 If you have designs on Drake May, Howell and May know each other.
26:59 May backed up Howell his first year at UNC.
27:03 I really like the athletic work.
27:06 I think that Howell's a type of leader.
27:08 I think he's a guy that could be coached up by Van Pelt and McAdoo and these guys.
27:14 It would be at a much lesser price tag.
27:16 You would have a chance to approach what Baker does at a much less cost.
27:21 That would be something that I would explore.
27:24 If the commanders are going with Jaden Daniels at two, maybe I flip them a pick for Sam Howell,
27:30 get Jacoby Brissett, get Drake May, and then I sort of go on from there.
27:35 Yeah, I'm not willing to give up draft compensation for Sam Howell.
27:39 He kind of fell off last year, turned the football over a bunch.
27:44 He could work and develop and be a good quarterback, good backup quarterback, but I don't want
27:51 to give up the asset.
27:52 I'd rather sign Jacoby Brissett for just the money.
27:54 You've got plenty of money.
27:55 Bring in a veteran guy, someone who's been there before, who can help guide May.
27:59 I would rather lean towards that.
28:01 But look, beggars can't be choosers.
28:03 If you don't get Brissett and you need a body and you need to bring somebody in and you
28:06 can flip a late pick for Howell, then I think you have worse options out there.
28:11 All right, before we move on to Drake May, because I know you've got some thoughts on
28:14 Drake May, Greg.
28:18 As far as positional urgency, what do you think Elliott Wolfe does right off the bat
28:24 to start this free agency period?
28:26 What positions is he kind of honing in on?
28:30 Yeah, one of my first priorities is locking up at least a tackle.
28:35 Hopefully it's a when you and another tackle.
28:37 If I get a when you and you know, like you said, guard or tackle, at least your options
28:42 are open.
28:43 I mean, if you sign him to a big money contract, he's got to play where he wants to, where
28:47 you want him to play.
28:48 And he will.
28:49 I mean, if you pay him $18 million a year, he's probably being a tackle.
28:54 But I think they I think they will show a lot of interest in Tyron Smith.
28:59 Jonah Williams is another guy.
29:00 Smith actually might make a lot more sense, given his injury history and his age, where
29:06 I don't think it'll take a multi-year contract.
29:08 It could be one or two years.
29:10 It's sort of lesser money.
29:12 And that guy, when he's right, there are a few still better in the game at left tackle.
29:16 So I am moving hard on that.
29:18 Like I like we said in the last pod, I would kick the tires on McKay Becton just to keep
29:24 my options open.
29:26 And at the Vikings, like I mentioned, Oli Uda, a name to keep in mind as sort of a similar
29:34 to Calvin Anderson type guy that could be a starter for you at right tackle if if push
29:41 comes to shove.
29:43 But I know some teams like him as sort of a lower level prospect at tackle.
29:47 And then edge edge and free safety of the other two spots where I'm moving hard wide
29:52 receiver.
29:53 I'd be in on Calvin Ridley, but at edge, Daniel Hunter, Bryce Huff that we talked about last
29:59 time, Zedaria Smith, who the Packer people have some familiarity with.
30:04 And, you know, Van Ginkle out of Miami is sort of one of those guys who could cover
30:09 you in a bunch of different spots.
30:10 I'm not saying you bring them in to be a no doubt starter on the edge, but a good guy
30:15 to have good locker room guy at free safety.
30:19 Xavier McKinney, I would be on Jordan Fuller, Jordan Whitehead, CJ Gardner.
30:25 Johnson is a guy I would aggressively pursue at free safety's had some injury issues, maybe
30:30 sort of lessens his price tag.
30:34 One thing I wanted to mention, looking through the list, like Kevin Byard's out there, he's
30:37 a little bit older, but it's amazing what has happened to Jeremy Chin with the Panthers,
30:42 who was a similar draft pick to Kyle Duggar.
30:45 I think he might've been taken after Duggar and Chin hit first.
30:48 He was like a pro bowler mentioned with all pro, then they suddenly changed schemes and
30:53 he's fallen off the map.
30:54 And I see him on the free agency list is like one year and $3 million.
30:58 Like, sorry, I'd rather have Jeremy Chin at one year, $3 million than Kyle Duggar at one
31:02 year 13, but a similar players.
31:06 Yeah.
31:07 Wide receiver one.
31:08 If you can lock down Calvin Ridley, I think it's a great first step of your free agency
31:13 period tackle.
31:14 I'm with you on that.
31:15 Interestingly enough, I think a lot of people believe, you know, Tyron Smith might cost
31:19 you a lot of money.
31:20 No, I don't think so at all.
31:22 When you look at the contractual projections out there, I saw one year, 10 million for
31:27 Smith.
31:28 I saw one year, seven and a half million for Smith.
31:30 A to Z sports did something.
31:32 They had two years at 25 million.
31:34 I think that's the very, very high end.
31:36 I don't think it's outrageous to believe that you could sign Smith to like a one year, $10
31:40 million deal or a two year, you know, $22 million deal with incentives in that second
31:46 year.
31:47 So I don't think he's going to cost you a ton and he's a second team all pro who played
31:50 14 games last year.
31:51 I get the injury history, but if it wasn't for the injury history, you'd have to pay
31:55 a bunch of money.
31:56 That's how this works.
31:57 A tight end.
31:58 You know, if, if, if Hunter Henry is far apart in negotiations, you got to figure out tight
32:02 end and I'm with you on free safety.
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33:15 All right, so there's your free agency primer.
33:23 But Greg, you said something earlier in the pod that caught my attention.
33:26 You've dug in a little bit more into the film.
33:28 Watch these guys as you get ready for the draft.
33:31 And Drake May has you asking some questions.
33:35 Yeah, I, to know what the Patriots might be doing in the draft or in free agency, you
33:42 have to know what they might be thinking in terms of the draft.
33:45 Now I don't know what they're thinking.
33:47 Nobody does.
33:49 But I at least wanted to get a feel for the top three quarterbacks.
33:52 And Caleb Williams, in my mind, he's clearly number one.
33:56 And is in a tier by himself.
33:58 Clearly the best guy, a franchise guy, no matter what you think about him off the field,
34:03 stuff like that.
34:04 That'll have to be checked out.
34:05 But in terms of his play, he's unbelievable.
34:07 He really is.
34:09 To me, Jaden Daniels is clearly by himself in tier two.
34:14 Certainly things that you have to look at with his size, whether he wants to play outdoors
34:19 in the Northeast, like all that stuff, you have to take that stuff into consideration.
34:22 But in terms of his ability from the pocket to deliver the football, it's elite down the
34:28 field.
34:29 I wouldn't say he's an elite passer or anything like that.
34:31 To me, he's more talented than Lamar Jackson was coming out.
34:36 His running ability is unbelievable.
34:38 So he's elite throwing the ball down the field.
34:41 He needs some development as far as a quarterback playing within the scheme and throwing in
34:45 the ball in the middle of the field, intermediate, all that stuff.
34:48 In terms of his ability in the pocket to deliver the ball down the field and his running ability,
34:54 it's elite.
34:55 To me, it would be a guy that I would take in the top three picks.
34:59 Now, after that is the big question.
35:02 Up until this moment, the most I really saw of Drake May was highlight film stuff.
35:07 If you watch the highlight films, you're like, "Holy crap.
35:09 This guy is possibly Josh Allen."
35:15 That type of talent.
35:18 But I watched three games of him.
35:20 The coaches film, man, there are a lot of concerns.
35:24 Now, I don't know what went on at UNC last year.
35:27 And apparently, word on the street is his 2022 film is really good.
35:30 I haven't gotten there yet.
35:32 The draft is in April.
35:33 I'll get to it in April.
35:34 I'll do more of a deep dive in April.
35:36 But when I came away from it, and I have heard some of the chatter from Chris Sims, Dan Orlovsky,
35:42 Greg Cosell, league sources about how there's a lot that this guy has to work on and he
35:48 might have to sit.
35:50 After watching his film, there's no doubt in my mind that he has to sit at least one
35:55 year if not multiple years.
35:58 His footwork's terrible.
35:59 His motion needs work.
36:02 He drifts in the pocket.
36:03 He's not elevated in terms of anticipation, recognizing coverages, recognizing how to
36:11 attack defenses.
36:12 Again, he's very young.
36:13 He's 21 years old.
36:15 So that'll come in time.
36:16 To me, and I'm not saying these guys are the same players.
36:20 They're not.
36:21 But to me, and I went back and I looked at my evaluation when I was at Sports Illustrated,
36:26 he reminds me a lot of Blake Bortles coming out.
36:31 Very talented.
36:32 Physically, Blake Bortles was bigger, thicker, but similar type of guys, but very unrefined.
36:40 And basically my draft evaluation of Blake Bortles was he has to sit.
36:46 And now, so what do you do with that guy?
36:48 Where do you draft that guy?
36:50 And that's the question I think the Patriots have to be asking.
36:53 If you think he's going to be a guy in a year, do you still draft him at three?
36:58 Could it take two years?
37:00 You know, Orlovsky says the Jordan Love plan, or even you could say the Aaron Rodgers plan,
37:05 which is akin to Elliot Wolfe and what he has seen with the Packers.
37:09 Yeah, the difference is those guys were late round, first round picks.
37:12 So you could sort of do anything you want.
37:15 Remember, Blake Bortles, the Jaguars drafted Blake Bortles at three and people were stunned
37:21 that that happened.
37:22 But also remember, Dave Caldwell and Gus Bradley, the GM and the head coach at the time of the
37:29 Jaguars, both of them came out and said, Blake Bortles is sitting for his first year, at
37:33 least.
37:34 That is the plan.
37:35 That's what we're going to do.
37:36 We have Chad Henney as the bridge guy.
37:38 That's what we're going to do.
37:39 Guess what happened?
37:40 They start off 0-3.
37:42 They put Blake Bortles in.
37:45 He doesn't have a great year.
37:46 They're 3-11.
37:47 Now he does go to a point in a run-based offense, a defensive-based team, where they got to
37:53 the AFC Championship game against the Patriots in a game they probably should have won.
37:58 However, because Blake Bortles never got those things figured out, those things corrected
38:03 with his footwork, with his vision, understanding of the game, they rushed him into it, he never
38:08 got to that possibly elite level that he could get to.
38:12 He was out of the league after six years.
38:17 To me, I see Drake May very similar.
38:20 It all depends on what your philosophy is.
38:21 Are you okay drafting a guy at three and absolutely putting him in a straight jacket and not playing
38:27 him for a year?
38:28 Are you okay with that?
38:29 Okay, fine.
38:31 You might think about doing that.
38:32 If you're not, I don't know how you can draft Drake May at three.
38:37 You have to avoid the Bortles thing.
38:39 I see them very similar where they were.
38:41 It'll be very interesting to see how teams, including the Patriots, decide on what to
38:45 do with them.
38:46 He is so polarizing.
38:49 You hear people that are saying the same things that you're saying, Greg.
38:53 Players love the projection, love the talent, believe he's going to be a top eight quarterback
39:00 in the league.
39:01 If you can figure that footwork out and the drifting out and all those things that you
39:05 brought up, the elongated motion from time to time when he throws the football, very
39:09 polarizing guy.
39:10 I said earlier, I'm okay with sitting him for a year if that's what you've got to do.
39:13 If you think that he can beat that guy, I couldn't care less.
39:18 2024, how many games are you going to win anyway?
39:23 If you're telling me in 2025 he's going to be ready after some work, then I'm in on that.
39:27 I will say this in closing, all the reports about May during the combine week smelled
39:35 a little fishy to me.
39:37 It was almost too much.
39:39 The Patriots talking about him, especially the Patriots stuff.
39:43 I just wonder if the Patriots are trying to sell people on Drake May because they really
39:48 want Jaden Daniels or they're trying to pump Drake May's tires because they want to trade
39:53 that third pick if May is the one that falls to them at three.
39:56 It just felt like there was a little bit too much about, oh man, Drake May, he won the
40:00 room.
40:01 He was incredibly impressive.
40:03 I don't know how you can't draft him at three.
40:05 It felt like it was a little bit too much pomp and circumstance behind him.
40:09 We'll see.
40:10 You got a lot of the process left to get through, of course, as we always say.
40:13 All right.
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40:29 All right.
40:30 We've got a free agency coming up.
40:31 We'll be back early next week to recap what the Patriots did during the legal tampering
40:36 period.
40:37 Until then, be well.
40:37 [Music]