Greg Bedard's initial 53: Offense | Greg Bedard Podcast
On this episode of the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast, Greg goes solo to discuss the Giants' Hard Knocks series and how it relates to the Patriots' new front office, and then dives into his initial 53-man roster projection, startting with the offense. Plus Greg includes some possible big cuts at receiver and along the offensive line. All that, and much more!
0:00 - Intro
03:01 - New Hard Knocks season
10:23 - Patriots' positive impression
13:55 - Prize Picks
15:23 - Quarterback roster projections
17:12 - Keeping Joe Milton
19:31 - Undrafted free agent analysis
22:55 - GameTime
24:20 - Wide receiver depth
32:41 - Offensive tackle depth
35:26 - Releasing Jake Andrews
37:02 - Evaluating veteran players
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Prize Picks - PrizePicks.com/CLNS
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0:00 - Intro
03:01 - New Hard Knocks season
10:23 - Patriots' positive impression
13:55 - Prize Picks
15:23 - Quarterback roster projections
17:12 - Keeping Joe Milton
19:31 - Undrafted free agent analysis
22:55 - GameTime
24:20 - Wide receiver depth
32:41 - Offensive tackle depth
35:26 - Releasing Jake Andrews
37:02 - Evaluating veteran players
************************************************
Patriots Content Brought to you by....
Prize Picks - PrizePicks.com/CLNS
Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100!
Gametime - https://gametime.co
Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Terms apply.
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SportsTranscript
00:00This is the Gregg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cavins.
00:06Everybody, welcome to the Gregg Bedard Patriot podcast.
00:11This episode is brought to you by PrizePix, the largest daily fantasy sports platform
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00:50Welcome back in everybody.
00:52I am now back home.
00:54It has been a long couple of weeks and continues to be.
00:59If you didn't listen to the last couple episodes, basically I am in softball and baseball travel
01:07ball hell every week.
01:11It's I mean, I love it.
01:12I love watching the kids.
01:14I love being out on the field, but it also makes for a very busy summer, but I really
01:22wouldn't want it any other way.
01:23And sorry, it's been a little bit of a minute.
01:25I meant to do another podcast while I was out in Denver, but the days were long.
01:31It was a tough setup and I really didn't want to do that to you guys.
01:36So I decided to wait till I got back.
01:40And so what we're going to do next couple of days, today and tomorrow, I'm going to
01:45do sort of two part episode on my initial 53 man roster projection that I did for Boston
01:55Sports Journal on Monday.
01:57So we're going to talk about the offense today, then we're going to talk about the defense
02:01tomorrow.
02:02Nick is on vacation.
02:05Hopefully he'll be back next week.
02:06I'm also hoping to get Aaron shots from FTN, formerly a football outsiders.
02:11He just came out with his must read every year.
02:15His football almanac with all the old football outsiders guys.
02:20And I want to talk to him about the Patriots.
02:22And what's interesting is that he is right in line with my prediction, which is seven
02:29wins for this team.
02:30And they're whatever their simulations came out.
02:36On average, the Patriots averaged 7.1 wins.
02:41And that's where I've been.
02:42So I want to talk to Aaron more about his reasoning behind that.
02:46I know he's high on the defense.
02:48We'll see how that goes.
02:51But for now, we'll delve into the Patriots in a second.
02:56First thing I wanted to talk about was, I just got done watching it.
03:02I've had a lot of questions in my BSJ members chat the other day about it.
03:07It's the new Hard Knocks sort of offseason Hard Knocks version with the New York Giants.
03:14And the Patriots are mentioned a couple of times.
03:18And we'll get into that and I'll give you my impressions.
03:20But in general, sort of after watching the first two episodes, I guess my main takeaway
03:28would be that I really like the content.
03:32It's different.
03:33Nothing different than the in-season or training camp version of Hard Knocks.
03:39I love this stuff.
03:40The front office, the people that really craft the team, what they do from area scouts to
03:48the GM and free agency and the whole offseason puzzle.
03:52So I find it really interesting.
03:56And the kind of stuff that we don't get access to.
04:01Especially talking to people around the league.
04:04And now that we're through this draft and this offseason, it's interesting to see where
04:09the information that I got from league sources going into the draft, going into free agency,
04:13all that stuff, how it sort of marries up with what you see behind the scenes.
04:18So that's been interesting.
04:21But I got to say, my biggest takeaway from this, and let me first say that I have a great
04:29deal of respect for Brian Dayball.
04:32He's a guy I go back a ways with.
04:35I think he's really good at what he does.
04:38And I think he comes off as dapes in this.
04:44Joe Shane, the GM of the Giants, is somebody that I have a lot of respect for.
04:50I have no relationship with him.
04:51I just know from afar from watching what he did in Carolina, what he did in Buffalo.
04:57I think he was with the Dolphins for a short time.
05:01I've always been impressed with the way he came up.
05:05And they talk about that early in the first episode, how he basically has done every job.
05:08He came up the right way, didn't skip any steps, wasn't in a rush to get anywhere.
05:15And from afar, I've always been impressed with his career and what he's done.
05:23I will say that my big takeaway from watching the first two episodes is I was kind of underwhelmed
05:30by Shane and also the Giants front office.
05:37I don't know.
05:38I don't know how to explain it.
05:42You figured you'd be blown away by these guys, about how smart they are, about the things
05:47that they say, about how they analyze things.
05:50And really, at the end of the day, I don't know, a lot of the conversations they had
05:56sounded like a lot of the conversations we have, whether it's here on the podcast or
06:01on the radio or just as fans, I was sort of underwhelmed with the decision-making process.
06:10And I don't know, maybe I had a high bar.
06:13But I will say this, because I was thinking about this earlier, you know, and look, people
06:20are on television.
06:21They might not be the same.
06:24I'm sure I don't come over great on the radio, but maybe I'm a lot smarter or sound a lot
06:29smarter in person, say we're just having a conversation, something like that.
06:35But you know, what I was thinking about was comparing the Giants and sort of their setup.
06:42And I don't really know some of the particulars, some of the people below Shane.
06:47I don't know a lot of those people.
06:51Dennis Hickey, I am familiar with.
06:54He worked with the Dolphins.
06:55He worked with the Saints.
06:58Long career.
07:01But I was like, those people are really young.
07:05Maybe I'm just getting old.
07:07But outside of like Hickey and a couple other veteran guys in the front office, they came
07:11across really young.
07:13And I compare that to the Patriots.
07:16And you know, I've known Elliott Wolf for years.
07:18I've known Alonzo Highsmith for years.
07:21I've known Pat Stewart for years.
07:23I know macro a little bit, you know, and some of the other people in the Patriots scouting
07:28department.
07:29And I don't know, maybe I'm biased, but I just think the Patriots are in a lot better
07:37place as far as a personnel department than, say, the New York Giants.
07:42I think that Elliott Wolf knows exactly what he wants.
07:46I think that Alonzo Highsmith certainly has been through it.
07:48Pat Stewart has been through it.
07:52Those guys I know have a vision and are going to execute it and know how to do it.
07:59Whereas it seems like the Giants are sort of fumbling around.
08:03They're not exactly sure what direction they want to go, and they're not sure about the
08:07market.
08:08They're not sure about this.
08:09They're not sure about that.
08:11And I don't know, my impression, if I was a Patriots fan watching this, I would feel
08:17really good about where the personnel department is, you know, let alone all the things that
08:23these people, especially Pat Stewart and macro and Elliott Wolf and other people learned
08:29from Bill Belichick, who we all know has seen it all and done it all.
08:35But I don't know, I feel a lot better about where the Patriots are in terms of their front
08:41office and their rebuild than where the Giants are.
08:44I mean, they can't seem to decide, like, do they have a lot of confidence in Daniel Jones?
08:49Do they not?
08:50Do they want Saquon Barkley?
08:52Do they not?
08:53What are they going to do with Xavier McKinney?
08:54Are they going to trade a first round pick for Brian Burns, which we know they ended
08:58up doing?
08:59I don't know what the final deal was that will be revealed on the next episode.
09:06What are they going to do about the offensive line?
09:08It just seems like and they draft Malik neighbors as six.
09:13Is that what they really need?
09:14Is that the best thing for the Giants?
09:18What are they going to?
09:19What's the vision for their offense?
09:20What's their you know, I thought it was I forget the person's name.
09:25It's I want to say it's Tim McManus or something like that.
09:30He asked the essential question when they were talking about Saquon Barkley is like,
09:33OK, if we move on from Saquon Barkley, what's the vision for our offense?
09:38How how are we going to score points?
09:40He was our best player, most explosive player, scored the most touchdowns.
09:44Like what are we going to do without him if we're going to go cheaper at the position?
09:50And you know, Shane's point was, well, you know, we're not paying Daniel Jones forty
09:56million dollars to hand off to a running back.
09:59And it's I don't know, it's all just puzzling to me in terms of what the vision is.
10:08So, you know, that was my big takeaway as far as the Patriots in the episode.
10:14They came up a couple of times.
10:18I'm not sure which order they came in.
10:19They were in the same episode at the scouting combine.
10:22So Joe Shane sees the Patriots.
10:25I guess the Drake May part would have come up first because they they met with the quarterbacks.
10:30We saw Caleb Williams.
10:31We saw Jaden Daniels.
10:32We saw Drake make some of their combine interview with the Giants and with Dayball.
10:37And I will say I've seen some of the reaction on Twitter blogs from Patriots fans.
10:45And they they, of course, think that the Giants were pants off for Drake May.
10:52The reports are that they were.
10:57Whether that episode revealed it, I disagree with that.
11:01I didn't come across thinking that Brian Dayball was, you know, ready to launch across the table
11:07and hug Drake May and make sweet love to him or anything like that.
11:12That might very well be the case.
11:14But I didn't get that sense from what they showed on the episode.
11:19Now, I will say out of the three quarterbacks that we saw, we didn't,
11:25as far as I recall, we did not see them talking with J.J. McCarthy.
11:32No, no, they did.
11:33I remember him writing out the play call.
11:35Dayball said something about how long it was.
11:37I'd give you one word.
11:40You know, I will say that Drake May came across the best.
11:45Certainly very comfortable in his skin.
11:47This matches up with the reports that we heard coming out of the combine,
11:52coming out of some of the meetings.
11:55Drake was very comfortable with what Brian Dayball was putting on his plate.
12:00That would be great if the Patriots were still running that same system.
12:04They're not.
12:05I think the system will be easier for him.
12:08But yes, Drake May certainly came across well.
12:11I thought he came across the best out of all of them.
12:13I thought that McCarthy did a nice job.
12:19He would be number two on my list.
12:21Number three, I would say there's a there was a drop off from May to McCarthy.
12:26I would say there was a drop off from McCarthy to Caleb Williams,
12:30who came across as unrefined.
12:35Sort of like a sort of drawed up in the dirt, Brett Favre, kind of,
12:41you know, I don't want to get lost in the details.
12:43I'm just going to hit this guy or I'm going to do this.
12:45I'm going to do that.
12:47And then I thought Jaden Daniels did not come across great, which we've also heard.
12:54He kept messing up a play call when and when Dayball would have him
12:59do something else and then come back to it.
13:01He still couldn't get the play call.
13:02That's a worry.
13:03He came back.
13:04He came across very quiet, shy, which is part of the draft discussion with Jaden Daniels.
13:11So as a Patriots fan, I guess you you feel really good about Drake May.
13:16Certainly out of the guys that we saw.
13:20Yeah, I think they got they got the right guy in terms of being that face of the franchise,
13:27can master everything, and he's got the right guy.
13:31Can master everything.
13:32And now he just needs to grow into it.
13:36So those are my initial impressions about Hard Knocks, the show.
13:40I definitely recommend it.
13:41I'm looking forward to the episodes.
13:43Not sure when they come out, but I will definitely be watching going forward.
13:49And we are going to take a break and then we are going to come back
13:55and start discussing the 53-man roster projection.
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15:22Okay, let's get right into it.
15:25Let's just start with the quarterback position.
15:27So, on my 53-man roster, I have three on the roster.
15:31Jacoby Brissett, Drake May, of course.
15:34We know those two are on it.
15:36Joe Milton, I have on my roster.
15:39I have cut Bailey Zappi.
15:42Here's my thinking on that.
15:43I think that Joe Milton is going to reveal himself and certainly, we've already seen it.
15:53Way too talented to be left off the roster.
15:57I think that somebody else would snatch him up.
16:00I don't know if they would put him on their 53-man roster,
16:03but they would certainly vie to sign him to their practice squad.
16:07And if I'm Joe Milton and Drake May is in my same draft class
16:14and he's the future franchise of the future quarterback of the Patriots,
16:20then why would I stick around?
16:22Why would I learn this system when he's going to be the guy?
16:25Now, certainly there's reasons to do that,
16:28but if you have designs on being a guy or being the guy somewhere,
16:33you would go to, say, like the Giants or, you know,
16:37somebody where the quarterback isn't assured going forward
16:41and you might have a chance and now you hit the ground learning the system.
16:45Or else, you know, as an athletic quarterback like Joe Milton is,
16:49maybe you go to a place that specializes in those type of quarterbacks.
16:53Maybe you go to, I don't know, a Baltimore or a Houston or Seattle,
17:01even though they got the commander's quarterback from last year,
17:05who I can picture, but I can't remember his name right now.
17:08It's offseason for everybody.
17:11So, I am keeping Joe Milton.
17:12They drafted him in the sixth round for a reason.
17:17It wasn't, I don't think it was to cut him right away.
17:19Elliott Wolfe, I'm sure, had a vision of,
17:22we're going to develop these two guys and see what happens and keep them around.
17:26I think he's going to be here.
17:27I, you know, Bailey Zappi, could he be on this roster?
17:31Could he be on the practice squad at the end of the day?
17:33Yeah, sure, I don't rule that out,
17:36but I think the odds are more likely that at the quarterback position,
17:40the Patriots release, I don't think they can get anything for Bailey Zappi.
17:45I highly doubt that.
17:47Release him at some point, could be sooner rather than later,
17:51but at some point after the 53-man cutdowns,
17:55they will claim or sign some sort of veteran
17:59who has experience in Alex Van Pelt's system
18:02to be the veteran backup, so to speak.
18:06Now, remember the NFL changed the practice squad rules,
18:11emergency third quarterback rules this year.
18:13So, any quarterback on the practice squad
18:17can be the emergency third quarterback every single week.
18:21So, you don't have to use a roster spot for that guy.
18:25And in my mind, we'll see how Drake May develops.
18:29Yes, Drake May would be the quote-unquote backup to start week one.
18:36Now, let's say Jacoby Brissett gets injured at some point early on in the season,
18:41then what would happen is...
18:47So, Drake May would come in, finish the game,
18:51then the Patriots would get into a discussion on Monday.
18:55Is Drake ready to start for us for an extended period of time?
18:58If he's not, then you sign the veteran from the practice squad
19:03to the roster and let him start,
19:04and Drake May goes being back to the backup.
19:08You know, you just keep doing that.
19:10So, that's my plan.
19:11That's what I think the Patriots are going to do.
19:13I don't know that they're going to do that,
19:15but we'll have to see.
19:17At running back, right now, I have three on the roster historically.
19:24And of course, this is from the Bill Belichick years.
19:26They usually kept around four, nearly four and a half.
19:31So, right now, I have Ramondre Stevenson, lock.
19:35Antonio Gibson, lock.
19:37And then the third spot, I have Deshaun Fenwick.
19:41Now, I'll just be honest.
19:43He's an undrafted free agent.
19:45He's an undrafted free agent.
19:46This is a complete guess, because I don't even know
19:49if we saw him, really, in the offseason.
19:51I know he was dealing with a hamstring injury
19:53that the team knew about coming in.
19:56They were just fine.
19:57They just wanted him to get healthy.
19:59I know they're high on him.
20:01Now, you know, do I know that Fenwick's going to make it over
20:05to Michael Hastie, Kevin Harris, or Terrell Jennings,
20:08who are on the roster right now?
20:10No, I'm just giving you my sense.
20:13And, you know, could they keep four?
20:15Yeah, you know, they could.
20:17That would probably be the smart thing.
20:19If they, you know, if they find some young running back
20:22and maybe that's, you know, maybe that's Harris.
20:25Maybe that's Terrell Jennings, another undrafted free agent.
20:28I liked what I saw out of Hastie.
20:30But, you know, right now, in my mind,
20:34Ramondre Stevenson and Deshaun Fenwick
20:38are sort of the same type of backs.
20:40Now, Kevin Harris and Deshaun Fenwick
20:42would sort of be fighting for the same spot.
20:44Back up every down back or first two down back.
20:47Antonio Gibson can certainly do everything at running back.
20:53But he's primarily there to be the third down back.
20:56So ideally, you would like another young guy.
20:58Maybe that's Terrell Jennings if they keep a fourth
21:00where he's the backup to Antonio Gibson.
21:03I just know in my experience from covering the Packers,
21:05they are not afraid to go with really young green guys
21:10at running back and they make the coaches make it work.
21:13I remember the first year I covered the Packers.
21:17They had Deshaun Wynn.
21:20They had Brandon Jackson, who was an undrafted free agent.
21:23I know a lot of people, I get this question all the time, too.
21:25They're worried about the depth that's running back.
21:29I'm sure the Patriots are going to be trolling
21:30the waiver wires, releases, all that stuff,
21:33maybe making a trade because that year that I covered
21:36the my first year, 2007, covering the Packers.
21:39The Packers made a deal towards the end of training camp
21:43to the Giants for a guy named Ryan Grant,
21:46six round pick.
21:47I think they traded him for nobody knew about him.
21:49Nobody had heard of Ryan Grant came out of Notre Dame.
21:52I think if I recall, but nobody thought much
21:55when the Packers traded for him.
21:57And guess what?
21:58He ended up being a beast for that team
22:01for more than a few years,
22:03including I remember that playoff game in the snow.
22:07Can Seattle, I want to say where he basically ran for,
22:11I think, like almost like 200 yards.
22:13He was unreal.
22:14So that's sort of what I think the Patriots are going
22:17to do at running backs.
22:18Oh, no, I'm not alarmed by the lack of depth or anything.
22:22You can find answers at running back.
22:24And Ellie Wolf's really good at it.
22:27And Alonzo Highsmith is really good at finding running back.
22:29So they will have it figured out.
22:31Don't be afraid of young, unproven,
22:35undrafted free agents.
22:38If they have talent, these guys will keep them
22:40and make sure that the coaches develop them.
22:43We're going to take another break.
22:44And then we were going to be back with one
22:47of the more controversial positions, receiver.
22:51And we'll get into tight end fullback as well.
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24:19Okay, so receiver, a position everybody loves to talk about.
24:28Even when we don't know whether the Patriots can block
24:31or throw the ball, but hey, receivers are sexy.
24:35So let's go through.
24:37These are, I kept six for now.
24:43My six are Demario Douglas, Jalen Polk, KJ Osborne,
24:50Javon Baker, Jalen Ragour, Kayshaun Booty.
24:56Cut, Juju Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton,
25:01Jaquan Jackson, Kawan Baker, David Wallace.
25:05And on PUP to start the year, Kendrick Bourne.
25:08I have no idea.
25:09Kendrick could get cleared during camp.
25:11I don't know.
25:12This is just a guess.
25:16So I will tell you that after Douglas, Polk and Osborne,
25:20I don't feel great about my selections.
25:23I don't have any conviction on any of them.
25:26Would I be surprised if Javon Baker didn't make the team?
25:31I would not be surprised.
25:33Jalen Ragour, I would not be surprised.
25:35Kayshaun Booty, he has the gambling charges hanging over his head.
25:40Now I will tell you that I reached out to
25:44Louisiana law enforcement representatives
25:48and I was told that there have been no new developments in this case
25:53since the press release on his charges and his arrest and indictment.
25:59So there's been no update normally in these things.
26:03The NFL doesn't move on these types of situations until
26:10there's some sort of adjudication or plea deal or something like that.
26:14And we have, I don't think they're remotely close to that yet.
26:20So for now, I'm just going with what I've seen on the field.
26:23And I think that Baker, draft pick, certainly talented,
26:29certainly has his issues.
26:30We'll see whether they pop up with the Patriots or not.
26:33This is a blank slate now.
26:38Certainly should get development and the benefit of time.
26:47He's too talented.
26:48Now, is he going to realize that talent?
26:49I can't tell you.
26:51Jalen Ragour, putting him on here, I will say,
26:55one, it's a little bit about special teams.
26:57I think he has the ability to possibly be the kickoff returner
27:01with the new rules for this team.
27:03A little bigger, thicker, wide receiver.
27:06He's fast.
27:07I thought he did a good job as a receiver towards the end of last year.
27:12I think he's had a really strong camp to this point or off season,
27:16certainly through minicamp.
27:18I thought he did a really nice job.
27:20He was very busy.
27:22Kayshaun Booty, similar.
27:26I thought he had a very productive off season.
27:29Looks like he's gotten better.
27:31Looks like he's gotten a little bit quicker.
27:33I think he was dealing with some residual injuries last year.
27:38Certainly enough there for me to take a further look.
27:42Now, will he be there at the beginning of September?
27:46I don't know.
27:47But for now, this snapshot, this is where I have them.
27:51So, those are my six that I'm rolling with.
27:55And I do think that they are going to air on the side of youth
28:00and explosiveness more than anything.
28:03And so, I think you get that with Baker, Ragour, and Booty.
28:07I don't think you get that with Juju Smith-Schuster.
28:09I just don't understand the green scheme of things
28:14unless they do think he's a lot healthier
28:16and he's going to be a lot better this year.
28:19I don't understand how he fits in sort of this rebuild
28:23in what you're trying to do.
28:24To me, it's all about, you know, trying to develop guys
28:28or get guys under contract for three years from now.
28:32Two, three, four years from now.
28:34And Juju just doesn't fit into that.
28:36So, do you keep...
28:37And this goes for a lot of different positions on this team.
28:40Do you keep a veteran band-aid that might make you 5% better?
28:48The flip side to that is that person is taking snaps away
28:51from a younger player who might be, with more playing time,
28:56might be 25% better in a year or two.
29:01And so, to me, I don't want to waste the snaps
29:05on Juju Smith-Schuster because I don't think he's going
29:08to help them when the Patriots do become good
29:11and do become a contender in a couple years.
29:14Taequann Thornton...
29:17Look, this is just...
29:20He's not on the field enough.
29:22And, you know, when he's on the field, you know,
29:25he doesn't dominate.
29:26He doesn't pop all that much.
29:28I'm not giving up on him by any stretch,
29:30but I'm just...
29:31This is a snapshot to where they are right now.
29:33And I just don't see the reason to keep him around.
29:39I don't know if you're going to get anything in trade
29:41for either guy, but that's sort of my thinking on that.
29:46And the other three, Jackson, Baker, and Wallace,
29:49I don't really know them.
29:51We'll see.
29:51They'll get a chance to prove themselves.
29:53And trust me, this group in the front office,
29:57if you're better than a sacred cow,
30:00they're going to keep you.
30:02They don't play favorites.
30:03They just want to up the personnel on the team.
30:09Tight end.
30:10I have three.
30:1253 man average is four.
30:15I have Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, Jaheim Bell.
30:20I cut Michael Petway, Jacob Warren, Mitchell Wilcox.
30:25Again, this is another position
30:27where I don't have a lot of conviction.
30:29We haven't seen a whole lot of all these guys.
30:31I will say I like the glimpses that I've seen at Jaheim Bell.
30:35And I also think he has more positional versatility.
30:42He could be an H-back.
30:43He could be a fullback.
30:45If you wanted to do that,
30:48I just think there's too much talent there
30:51to give up on too early.
30:53Now, could he be a candidate for the practice squad?
30:57And that might be a better place.
30:59I will say that the other three tight ends,
31:02Petway, Warren, Wilcox,
31:04I like what I've seen out of all of them.
31:06I'm intrigued by all of them.
31:08Could they keep a fourth guy?
31:11Maybe.
31:12But that might be at the expense of receiver.
31:14And I don't know whether I'm ready to do that right now.
31:17But that's the group that I have at tight end and fullback.
31:22And I feel pretty good about it.
31:24I like Henry and Hooper.
31:25Two good, experienced veterans.
31:29Henry's more of an inline guy.
31:30Hooper's more of a move tight end.
31:32Not that huge difference from any of them.
31:35And both of them are not going to blow you away
31:38with athletic ability at this point in their careers.
31:41But they're good, solid, productive guys.
31:45And give the Patriots a good base.
31:48Hopefully, they'll add talent, young talent.
31:51You know, I think of my Packers day,
31:54and a guy like Jermichael Finley,
31:56who was a great athlete,
31:59and turned out to be a pretty good player
32:01till injuries got the best of him.
32:04But, you know, I like the group.
32:08No headliners, but a good, solid group.
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32:36All right, let's dive in to the big boys.
32:40At offensive tackle, historically,
32:43the Patriots have kept four.
32:45Two starters, two backups.
32:48I also have four on the team as of right now.
32:52Chuck Sikora, four.
32:54Calvin Anderson, Caden Wallace, Vedarian Lowe.
32:58I have released Tyrone Wheatley, Jr.
33:01And Zuri Henry, undrafted free agent.
33:05I would like to see more out of Henry.
33:07I can't wait for the pads to go on the fourth day,
33:09fourth practice.
33:10So the Patriots, I was just looking at their training camp schedule.
33:13So they'll, the first three days,
33:14they can't be in pads.
33:16So they'll go three days, they'll take a day off,
33:18then they'll come back and they'll be in pads.
33:21Hopefully it's not as freaking hot and humid
33:23as it has been here.
33:24Oh my God, it's been freaking miserable.
33:28But as of right now,
33:29I would say that Okorafor and Wallace
33:32would start at left and right tackle.
33:34Anderson would be the swing.
33:36And Vedarian Lowe would be the guy
33:38that you would try to develop and try to get better.
33:42Now, Lowe and Wheatley will both be
33:44in their first camp, full camp,
33:46with the Patriots full off season.
33:48So maybe we might see a little bit more out of them.
33:51Of course, this is a new system.
33:53Everybody's learning a new system.
33:56But I don't think there are any huge surprises
33:59in that group.
34:01At guard center, historically,
34:03the Patriots have kept five.
34:05I have kept five.
34:09This is probably a little interesting
34:11and we'll get into it.
34:12The guys that I kept, David Andrews,
34:15your starter at center.
34:17Michael Wenu, your starter at right guard.
34:19Siddy So, your starter at left guard.
34:22Layden Robinson, the draft pick.
34:25Nick Leverett, the veteran free agent.
34:30Cole Strange is on the pup to start the season,
34:33which I think we're pretty much assured of.
34:35We'll see if we see any of Cole Strange this year.
34:39I have released Jake Andrews, Antonio Moffey,
34:44Charles Turner, Michael Jordan,
34:46and Liam Fornadel.
34:50Okay, so I don't think any huge surprises
34:54on the guys that I kept.
34:57I think Layden Robinson as a draft pick
34:59certainly stays.
35:01Do I think he's going to start?
35:03I highly doubt it, but they need to develop,
35:07start to develop some interior guys.
35:10Nick Leverett is a veteran positional versatility.
35:14I think he can play center a little bit
35:16and as of right now, he's my backup.
35:19Hopefully I get all of those guys
35:21or most of them on the practice squad.
35:24Now, I was asked the question about Jake Andrews.
35:31My reasoning for releasing him,
35:33no great insight.
35:34I have no insight on this.
35:37It's just a snapshot where he is.
35:38He wasn't on the field very much in the spring.
35:42I was not blown away by his film last season
35:46as a rookie.
35:47Now, we all know the coaching situation last year.
35:51It was not good, especially on the offensive line.
35:56Certainly, I think Jake Andrews is more of a center.
36:00When he did play at guard, I didn't like what I saw.
36:03He's very undersized.
36:05That's gonna be an issue for him,
36:07but maybe in the zone blocking scheme,
36:09maybe he does fit a little bit better
36:11at all three interior spots.
36:13We'll have to see how that goes.
36:15I'm not giving up on him.
36:17Came out with a good profile, smart, tough.
36:22Need to have a backup for David Andrews.
36:24So maybe it's Jake Andrews.
36:26Again, Antonio Maffi.
36:31Again, I would say I would go back to,
36:33I was not impressed with his offseason.
36:35Maybe I was too swayed by what I saw out of him
36:39having to go to center when Jake Andrews wasn't out there
36:42and his snapping wasn't good.
36:43I haven't been impressed with his conditioning.
36:47He was a project.
36:48I still think, even at this point,
36:50I think he's more of a practice squad guy
36:51that I'd like to develop,
36:54perhaps get into better shape, that sort of thing.
36:59But again, I'm not totally down on him either.
37:04I wanna see how he comes back.
37:05I wanna see him in pads and we'll go from there.
37:07He certainly has his pluses.
37:09He's powerful, he's strong, he's built low to the ground.
37:14He profiles well, but we need to see it in action.
37:19And his game film last year was not overly impressive.
37:22Charles Turner and Michael Jordan are two veterans.
37:24I don't have a great frame of reference.
37:27I could see my decision changing
37:30once they get into pads and one-on-ones and all that stuff,
37:34but they certainly have a shot to stick.
37:40Depending on what they do at backup center,
37:43I could see it coming down to Nick Leverett,
37:45Charles Turner, and Michael Jordan
37:46sort of as a veteran spot.
37:48Can those guys play center?
37:50We shall see.
37:51Will they take a look at different guys at backup center?
37:53Just in case, we'll also have to see about that.
37:59So that is my snapshot as far as the offense for the 53.
38:06So just to give you a recap,
38:08I kept three quarterbacks, three running backs,
38:10six wide receivers, three tight ends,
38:13four tackles, five guard center for 24 on the offense.
38:20I kept 25 on defense, four on special teams.
38:25That's how I got to 53.
38:29The next episode, we will delve into the defense.
38:33I don't think there are going to be a whole lot of surprises there from anybody,
38:37but look forward to see how this changes over the course of time.
38:41Can't wait for camp to start.
38:42I'm sure you guys are getting fired up.
38:44I'm almost there.
38:47I can't wait to be out there.
38:48Not looking forward to those 11 a.m. practices.
38:51It's going to be rough on those guys,
38:52but we'll see how it goes for Gerard Mayo and his people.
38:57So thanks for tuning in.
38:59Sorry for the long layoff.
39:00I'm back now.
39:01Back in the swing of things.
39:03Until next time, I'm Greg Medard.