• 5 months ago
Taylor Kyles and Mike Kadlick from CLNS Media for another LIVE episode of Patriots Daily. Get ready for an in-depth look at the Patriots' potential strategies for the upcoming season in this live session. With a focus on defensive prowess and offensive improvements, including the possibility of trading for Brandon Aiyuk, the team is aiming for a playoff berth. Key players like Demario Douglas are expected to step up, while rookies like Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker could make significant contributions. Stay tuned for insights on position battles, player development, and the team's preparations for the season ahead.

0:00 - Patriots news update
2:45 - Brandon Aiyuk
6:40 - Drafting vs acquiring Brandon Aiyuk
8:26 - Aiyuk's Impact on the Team
10:22 - Front Office Title Changes
15:21 - Training camp standout
20:33 - Kendrick Bourne's status
22:06 - Playoff predictions
25:00 - Offensive rookies' performance
27:02 - Cornerback position battle
30:24 - Safety position discussion
32:15 - Jaylen Hawkins potential
37:54 - Keion White's potential
41:28 - Keion White's versatile role

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Transcript
00:00What's going on, everyone? Mike Kadlik and Taylor Kyles here for CLNS Media, back with
00:21another episode of Pat's Daily. Myself and Taylor Kyles just got back from Foxborough
00:27in the burning heat, just recorded a ton of videos for the Patriots Press Pass YouTube
00:32channel. So make sure you head over there, rate, review, subscribe, and subscribe to
00:36the show or the podcast, rather, because we will have a ton of content coming out live
00:41from Foxborough. It's a mailbag episode today. Instead of Mailbag Monday, it's Mailbag Tuesday.
00:46And we're going to get to all your Patriots questions in a minute. But first, Taylor,
00:50we have to get to some Patriots news, because there's been a ton of Patriots news today,
00:54even though it is a dog days of summer Tuesday. Brandon Ayuk, 49ers wide receiver, Brandon
01:01Ayuk, who has been sort of in the news this whole offseason, has requested trades and
01:08then rescinded trade requests. And sometimes he wants to go, and sometimes he doesn't.
01:12We've talked about Brandon Ayuk a million times, but today, officially, NFL Network's
01:17Mike Garofalo reported that Ayuk has requested a trade. So Ayuk has requested a trade. And
01:25also, Josina Anderson has reported that the Patriots have been involved in trade requests
01:31for Brandon Ayuk. So Patriots have called. Ayuk wants to be out. Taylor, overall, 30,000
01:38foot view, what do you make of this news? And should the Patriots go after Brandon Ayuk?
01:42Yeah. So one, let me put the numbers up here, just so we have something to kind of go off
01:47of, because Brandon Ayuk, I know there's been some debate over whether he's worthy of some
01:51kind of big money deal. Some contracts you kind of think of in terms of trades, and then
01:55guys signed to big deals were like Tyreek Hill and A.J. Brown, when he was moved on
02:01from the Titans. But Brandon Ayuk is one of the best receivers in the NFL. He doesn't
02:05really have any weaknesses. If you look on Matt Harmon's perception reception, he does
02:10a great job over there. Basically, you can run literally every route in the route tree.
02:15The entire thing was green, like a damn Christmas tree. It's beautiful. He's a really good receiver.
02:20And this is considering he's on an offense with a ton of other options as well. And he's
02:24been able to be highly productive. Talking George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Debo obviously.
02:29But of that group, Brandon Ayuk is the best route runner, one of the best route runners
02:33in the NFL period. So there's plenty of arguments to be made. He's also only 26 years old. So
02:39if you want a guaranteed, you know, all pro caliber talent wide receiver, then yeah, I
02:44think you go after Brandon Ayuk, especially considering this Patriots offense is pretty
02:47young when you look at what their long term outlook is at a lot of these offensive spots,
02:52especially the skill positions. Like you got Drake May, then Jayvon Baker, Pop Douglas
02:56and Jalen Polk are really who you think some of the top receivers are going to be at this
03:00point. And then obviously Hunter Henry's in long term, but you'd hope that like Jaheim
03:04Bell can kind of rise to prominence there as well. If you get a Brandon Ayuk, it's not
03:08a whole lot of projection. Like you can speed up Drake May's development because he has
03:12that true elite number one where he can look to that guy in all those one on one matchups
03:16and know that he's going to win. And it kind of speeds up your playoff hopes as well, because
03:21now it's not just about Drake May. You kind of have somebody who takes some of the burden
03:25off him whenever he enters the lineup. Now, this is where things start to get a little
03:29more murky. One, Mike Garofalo made a very good point. The 49ers are no strangers to
03:35these situations where players want out. I know Devo Samuels in this category, Robbie
03:40Gold's been in this category as well. These guys are like, no, I want to be traded. I'm
03:44not happy. The 49ers do not budge. They are very, very tough to try to get off of their
03:50spot when it comes to that. So one, it's not even that realistic that he gets moved at
03:54all. All right. Ayuk doesn't even have any leverage. He's on a fifth year option. And
03:58then the 49ers can franchise tag him in his sixth season. They have all the control. So
04:02if you want to talk about prospective deals, you could look at again, AJ Brown, who was
04:07dealt for an 18th overall pick in the 101st overall picks. Or if the 49ers say, you know
04:13what, I want a King's ransom. Then you look at maybe Tyree Kildee before he got his mega
04:18contract. He was acquired for a first round pick, a second round pick, a fourth round
04:23pick, and then future fourth and sixth round picks. Now it's going to be different with
04:28the Patriots. This is a team that could end up picking inside like the top 10, top 15,
04:33almost guaranteed. It feels like top 15, but even top five, you really have no idea.
04:38So where my head went was okay. It's kind of that like mystery box. Do you want this
04:42thing where you know exactly what you're going to get, or do you want to go through the gamble?
04:46That is the NFL draft. But let's look at some of the first round receivers from the past
04:50few years. You got classes where it's like, yeah, you got your Henry Ruggs and your Jerry
04:54Judy's, but in Brandon Ayuk's class, they also had CD Lamb and Justin Jefferson. Again,
05:00all pro talents. You look at the next year, Jamara Chase, Jalen Waddle, Devante Smith,
05:05Darius Tony obviously is what he is. Rashad Bateman hasn't really lived up to expectations,
05:10but again, these are three all pro caliber players at the very worst pro bowl caliber
05:14players. You know, 2022, a lot of guys who just went to bad situations. Unfortunately,
05:19Drake London, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olabe, all guys who have balled out very good receivers.
05:24They just haven't had very good quarterback play.
05:26Garrett Wilson, Garrett Wilson might be my favorite young player in the NFL. Like that
05:29guy's awesome. He just hasn't been able to put it together with like Aaron Rodgers is
05:33here for example. I'm sorry to cut you off going on your rant, but like that, that, that,
05:37that kid's nasty. So we shouldn't even say he's in a bad situation, but he's one of the
05:40best players in football.
05:41A hundred percent. And then like John Dotson, you're hoping that maybe he gets a more production
05:46and can really kind of steady his career out with Jaden Daniels, Trelon Burks. It feels
05:50like the Titans still don't really know how to use him. That's a weird situation. Then
05:54moving on. 2023 was kind of a weird year for the receiver position, but still Jackson
05:59Smith in the jig book, Quentin Johnston, you know, one of those misses, but Z flowers and
06:03Jordan Addison, two excellent young players. And then obviously this year you got Marvin
06:07Harrison, Jr. Malik Namers and Roma do and say, if the Patriots could get anybody of
06:11that caliber again, with one of those top 10 picks, this offense is looking a lot more
06:16loaded than it does right now.
06:17Even Brian Thomas, Jr. Xavier worthy, Xavier, like get guys to give you a lot of explosiveness.
06:23So I say all of that to say, if you want to talk about getting a guy like Brandon, you're
06:27also taking the chance on potentially missing out at a guy who's going to be cost controlled
06:32right within your range with one, probably one of maybe two picks you'd have to give
06:36up for Brandon. Are you on top of having to pay him? So, yeah, I'm, I like the idea of
06:42having a guaranteed guy who you go, sorry. Sorry. My, my dad's I'm like, but like a guaranteed
06:49baller like Brandon, I, who it's like, yes, this is a top five wide receiver in the NFL,
06:53but you already have Drake may on a rookie contract and you take on the money.
06:57But if you end up with a top 10 or 15 pick, you can get a guy that similar caliber anyway.
07:02And then you don't have to pay him all that money, which, you know, I wouldn't start pinching
07:05pennies necessarily because you do have Drake may, but I don't know. I I'd rather keep the
07:10draft capital. If you want to be this draft and develop team and you want to build through
07:13the draft and all these things that they were saying, I appreciate that they've been in
07:17pursuit of Brandon. I can try to see what the situation is, but I also wouldn't just
07:21give up whatever the 49ers want just to get them in the building, man.
07:24I continue to go back and forth on this. And, and, you know, from this show that I've been
07:28teamed, go get Brandon. I use the whole time just because I think that, you know, having
07:32Drake mays development and you know, how important it is for him to come in here and, you know,
07:37truly be the next franchise quarterback. You need to do everything you possibly can to
07:42make that happen. And that goes from not throwing them into the fire as fast as you want to
07:47and maybe trying to, you know, kind of pulling them back a little bit and making sure that
07:50he's a hundred percent ready to play. And that also includes surrounding him with top
07:55tier talent, not only at the wide receiver position, but also on the offensive line.
07:59And so a guy like Brandon Iuke is proven these guys who are in 2025 wide receiver class.
08:05Yeah, they might be cheap for four years, but they're not proven yet. Brandon Iuke is
08:09one of the best wide receivers in football. He can be that true alpha number one player.
08:14There were people in my mentions today saying he wasn't that I found that absolutely laughable.
08:18He is a stud. And so I understand, I feel like there's a lot of people watching specifically
08:23IU. They watch the 49ers, but if you watch IU, I feel like your eyes will be open. Definitely.
08:28You see, you see Iuke and Kittle and Samuel and McCaffrey, and you see all those guys
08:32and it's like, Oh, he's just a product of that whole system. It's like, no, he's just
08:36another great addition to that system. The kids is stud. And so I understand, yes, you
08:41have to trade all of this capital and then you have to put resources into actually pay
08:45them at the end of the day, I think it's going to be worth it.
08:48So yeah, players cost money, but you have to pay good players, good money. So I do understand
08:54the other side of it, where if you look at all the wide receivers, there is a good hit
08:57rate over the last five years. Wide receiver has become a very deep position. Alex Barth
09:02talks about this, about how with the, with the running back position and all the running
09:06backs are kind of the same. And that's why it gets devalued. Barth continues to wonder
09:11if that ends up, that's going to end up happening with wide receiver because there are so many,
09:15you can just wait on them. This is kind of the perfect example of that, where do you
09:18go get Iuke or do you just wait for the next, this next class because you can hit on it.
09:22And then say you hit next year on a quote unquote, true wide receiver one, and you also
09:26hit on Jalen Polk and Jayvon Baker. Then you have a really, really good wide receiver core
09:30around these guys.
09:31Yeah. Kashawn Booty too. We'll see what happens. We'll touch on him in a second when we get
09:35through our Patriots news.
09:37Another one there still is also the wide receiver market in terms of guys that might be available
09:41next off season. Like T Higgins, you know, he's probably going to play on the franchise
09:45tag and you're probably, I think they're going to franchise tag him again, try to get something
09:48in terms of trade value, but you're probably not going to get more than like a third round
09:51pick because everybody knows that you're not serious about retaining him. So T Higgins,
09:56CD lamb, I don't know what the Cowboys are doing, but it's starting to seem like he could
10:00actually hit the market, which you don't really see with guys of his caliber.
10:03But that's another guy who's in that upper echelon, like really top tier wide receivers.
10:07If you want maybe more of a short-term guy who you know is a difference maker, but it's
10:11kind of towards the end of his career. While, you know, Drake may still figuring things
10:14out Amari Cooper, Brandon cooks on digs is trying to have a career year right now so
10:19he can earn himself one final deal. So, I mean, I, I think is in a different category
10:23than all of those guys. I don't want to lump them in together, but they're all, we'll also
10:26probably be some good wide receivers available next off season on top of the draft. So, you
10:31know, it's more so kind of case against getting IUG, although again, he's such a good player.
10:37I'm not mad. I think if I had a way to do it by all means, but if we're talking like
10:40a first round pick again, a potential top 10, 15 pick, and then you're probably also
10:44going to have to give up like a third or a fourth. I don't know. I don't know. It's definitely
10:49steep until I'm proven otherwise, but I mean, I trust your front office and your coaching
10:54staff do what you've been saying you were going to do. Right. And so I'm going to keep
10:56an eye on though, as, as we mentioned, as Josie and Anderson reported, the Patriots
11:00were involved.
11:01So we'll keep an eye on it as the weeks continue on. You mentioned the staff Taylor. So let's
11:04get into one other piece of Patriots news where there was a little bit of a front office
11:08shuffle this morning as the Patriots announced some changes and basically some title changes
11:14to their front office where Matt grow is now the director of player personnel, Alonzo Highsmith,
11:19who came over from, I believe Green Bay or Cleveland. I think he worked in both places
11:24at one point with this Elliot Wolf front office kind of crew. He comes over, he is now listed
11:29as a senior personnel executive. And the big one is Patrick Stewart. He is now the director
11:34of pro personnel taking over for Steve Cargile who left to go to the Texans. So some important
11:41roles and titles being put in place titles, something that a drug Mayo says the new, the
11:46new era of Patriots you know, actually put some weight behind.
11:49So important to see these guys sort of get into their place because when when Elliot
11:54Wolf was sort of moved to GM, but he was keeping his director of scouting tight. Like it kind
11:59of got murky there for a second. We didn't really know who was doing what, but now before
12:03the season week before training camp, uh, these seem to get ironed out. So thoughts
12:06quickly on, uh, just the Patriots, uh, sending out this release today and giving their front
12:10office guys official titles. Yeah. Nothing really new with Alonzo Heisman. It's really
12:14just, we know what his title is, but he was one of my favorite people who was added to
12:17the fold. Uh, he and Elliot Wolf have been like thick as thieves for years that came
12:21up together. So there's a lot of trust there. He also spent a couple of seasons at Miami
12:25and they have like back to back, I think, but top 10 recruiting classes. Oh yeah, that's
12:29right. Yeah. He was like the general manager of the university of Miami football for the
12:32last few years. That's right. Yeah. Like this is a guy who's proven at multiple levels at
12:36respected organizations, obviously Miami, all the history they have in college football.
12:40And then in the NFL with the Browns, you know, didn't have as much success as you'd like
12:44to see, but still in terms of player acquisition, they weren't really hurting or anything. It's
12:48just the QB play has been so bad. And then obviously green Bay and coming up through
12:52that system, uh, you know, says a lot on its own. Then Patrick Stewart was someone who
12:56we knew was very involved in the scouting process. I feel like it was involved with
13:00the quarterbacks as well. You'd always hear the Patrick Stewart. Um, whenever it wasn't
13:03the entire contingent of like Elliot Wolfe and Gerard Mayo, I think they sent him on
13:07some individual assignments. So writing was kind of on the wall there with Steve Cargile
13:11now reuniting with Nick Casario in Houston. Uh, so yeah, just good for him. Uh, you know,
13:16none of this is really surprising, but now we actually have things official and, uh,
13:20two other notes, Troy Brown and Joe Kim were not listed in the announcement, but Mike Reese
13:25clarified that that is because they're in skills development. So I don't think they're
13:27actually listed in that capacity, but they are still going to be on the coaching staff.
13:32Yeah. Patriots again, additionally, uh, on top of the front office announcement, officially
13:36put out their list of their full coaching staff, uh, announced 29 coaches, Taylor. So
13:41a massive coaching staff compared to what bill Belichick used to hold here. Uh, and
13:45yeah, like you said, Troy Brown, Joe Kim still involved, still, uh, still heavily
13:48involved in the team, but they are again in the skills development department, not technically
13:52coaches. So, uh, one more piece of Patriots news before we get into our mailbag, Taylor
13:57is Keishon booty. Uh, we did a full video on Keishon booty. So make sure to keep your
14:01eyes on the Patriots press pass channel. And, uh, we did that live from Foxborough today.
14:04So you can check that out, but just quickly, uh, for live listeners who haven't seen, or
14:08you know, want to get our quick thoughts on it. Uh, the former LSU wide receiver had his
14:12charges dropped by the state of Louisiana today. Uh, if you remember earlier in the
14:16off season, he was charged with, uh, online gambling underage, I believe. And then also
14:21computer fraud, which was all tied together. Um, he, he was arrested down at Baton Rouge
14:25at one point this off season, but apparently those charges were now dropped today by the
14:29state of Louisiana. Uh, so he is basically all clear. Uh, Mike Reese added to this a
14:33little bit that the NFL is still sort of investigating it. But as of now, booty is allowed to participate
14:39in all team activities. So, uh, again, if the charges are dropped, it looks like steer
14:44clear and for Keishon booty. So a guy who was a, you know, at one point, a first round
14:48talent fell to the sixth round last season for a variety of reasons, Patriots bring them
14:52in, had a strong camp fell off a little bit, uh, obviously gets into some trouble this
14:57off season, but now it seems to be a clear, you know, head clear, crystal clear heading
15:02into training camp, uh, coming off of as well, a good off season program. So just quick thoughts
15:06on that Taylor, before we get into the mailbag, I just hope he capitalizes on this opportunity,
15:11man. Like he got these other young guys, clearly he's not one of the more prominent members
15:16of their plan, but as we saw that talent is still there. We saw it last summer where it
15:21was kind of around this time, particularly in training camp where it felt like every
15:24day he was making some crazy kind of play, but the consistency wasn't there. And I think
15:29that was a big reason he didn't see the field last season, despite the Patriots kind of
15:32desperately needing people to step up for that wide receiver core. Um, you know, there's
15:37not a whole lot we can add because we've discussed, he had that really strong day where he's making
15:42contested catches, especially near the sideline, which is an area where he struggled in that
15:46obviously, um, the season, uh, season premiere season. Yeah. I was thinking of TV. Uh, but
15:52we saw him, he's got to put it together and be able to adjust to the pro game and obviously
15:57adjust to a brand new offense as well. But I mean, Jacoby Berset's new Drake Mays knew
16:02everybody's got to start to earn some kind of reports and playing time. And considering
16:06that X spot, the whole reason he got his opportunity was because Taekwon Thornton was MIA Jalen
16:11right here. Wasn't really doing anything too impressive, but really it was him who stood
16:15out at that outside boundary position, taking advantage of one-on-one matchups. So I really
16:20hope he can be another young guy that you can start looking forward to watching develop
16:24on this offense, because if the young talent does pay off, then I think that the perception
16:28of this receiving core will look very different in the near future, especially with a guy
16:32like Drake May, who can access the entire field and make all these guys better.
16:36But you know, at the end of the day, it's just going to come down to him because we
16:38know he can be a really good player, but he's got to put the work in like a Jalen Polk.
16:43We seen like how maniacal he is, like a Jayvon Baker and just seize the opportunity. Yeah,
16:48this is a very fluid wide receiver room right now. Taylor, obviously we're talking to you
16:52trade today. We're talking booty, getting off on his charges, coming off of a solid
16:56offseason program, two rookies in Polk and Baker who were, you know, expected to make
17:00the team, obviously. And then KJ Osborne is a guy who you bring in this offseason. Then
17:04you draft two guys. And you obviously have to do in Taekwondo guys who are sort of on
17:09that roster bubble that could easily make the team and could easily get cut.
17:13So it's going to be fun. It's going to be interesting to walks over the next six weeks,
17:16seven weeks as we get through a training camp in the season. So we'll obviously have you
17:20covered there again on Patriots press pass the whole time. We're going to get to your
17:23mailbag. We put out for questions today on Twitter. You guys asked a bunch of them, ask
17:27them in the chat as well. We'll get to as many as possible. But before we do that, a
17:30quick word from our game, our friends at game time, we'll be right back.
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19:27Yeah. All right. I can actually, I'll control Taylor. I have it on my end too, so I can
19:33kick it off and we can go with this first one here. And what are the odds Kendrick Bourne
19:37starts the season on PUP? I think this can be tied in a little bit with Keisha Mbuti
19:41and what we were just talking about with the whole wide receiver as a whole. And we can
19:45sort of talk about that in general, but do you think Kendrick Bourne starts the season
19:49or do you think he ends up on the PUP list?
19:51I'd say PUP one, he didn't participate all spring. Gerard Mayo did say that he expects
19:56everyone but Cole Strange to be around and participate once the summer does come. But
20:01that said that we've seen video of Kendrick Bourne running. It didn't look great. And
20:05you know, maybe he made some progress. We have no idea. I do want to say that, but at
20:09the same time, he's already kind of behind. And with the guy who just signed to a three
20:12year deal, I don't really think you need to rush him back out there. Let him take his
20:16time. You've got KJ Osborne. Their skill sets already kind of feel like they overlap, although
20:21Kendrick Bourne is better. And you know, you got that veteran presence and KJ Osborne's
20:26also been in a similar system like this when he was in Minnesota. So yeah, I definitely
20:31think that Kendrick Bourne is someone who's going to start on an injury list. And beyond
20:34that, it gives an opportunity for guys like Keisha Mbuti, maybe Taekwon Thornton, if he
20:38starts to come on to really prove themselves and kind of distinguish whether or not they
20:42deserve a roster spot and give you a better outlook at what you might have.
20:45Yeah, I agree. I think they're better off saving the knee and putting him on PUP early
20:52because it gives you another spot to potentially look at another one of these wide receivers
20:56if you don't think these next six weeks really give you enough. Bourne obviously throughout
21:01this offseason told Andrew Callahan that he's going to be ready for week one, that he wasn't
21:05playing in the offseason program, but he was going to be ready for training camp. We'll
21:08see how that plays out next week. Again, I wouldn't rush him back because you're right,
21:13he did sign for three years. It's not like he signed a one-year deal where it's a make
21:17or break type thing, sign for some money, and then try and get yourself another contract
21:21next year. It's not like he necessarily needs the 17 games. So I think I'm with you. I think
21:26they give him those four weeks, get the knee 100% right. I say four weeks, it's at least
21:30four weeks if he goes on PUP. And so yeah, we'll see what happens. But I think that they'd
21:36be better safe than sorry to not necessarily rush him back. Plus again, it gives them extra
21:41time to kind of evaluate the room as a whole and look at what they have. So here's another
21:45question that I think is awesome because it's like clever as hell. Hit by a car too is the
21:51name of the person on Twitter. So that's interesting. But yeah, but the question's fun. They say,
21:57I'm a time traveler from January 2025 and the Pats made the playoffs. What is your guess
22:03for how they did it? Uh, Taylor, I think I'm going to go first because I can be rather
22:07quick. Um, Drake Bay plays as well as CJ Stroud did last year, if not better, they trade for
22:16Brandon Iuke. DeMario Douglas has 75 plus receptions. Jalen Polk has a thousand yards
22:24and the offense is outstanding and the defense plays just as good as they were. And somehow
22:28they backed their way into the playoffs. So I think it's going to happen. Absolutely not.
22:32But I think the offense, the offense needs a lot, but I think those tangible pieces are
22:37there. We see it with the Brandon Iuke rumor. I see it with my own eyes. What we talked
22:41about earlier today, we were down at Fox bar with a guy like Jalen Polk, who I think would
22:44be a studs and Drake may, if he can put all the pieces together, has a very high ceiling.
22:50It's just going to depend how early in his career he actually approaches that ceiling.
22:54Um, but if it can all happen that early, yeah, I guess they can make the playoffs by excuse
22:59me. I think I made the playoffs by season's end. Yeah, I think one, it's going to start
23:03with great defense. Like this has to be a top team unit who is great, especially like
23:07they have a better pass rush. I think they generate more turnovers. They give the offense
23:11more opportunities, something that was lacking for a lot of last season. So the defense has
23:15to lead the charge. I think at least you have decent special teams. I don't know how much
23:19we can expect from Jeremy Springer as a first year special teams coordinator. Tom Quinn
23:24does have experience. I'm sure he'll be a lot of help, but we also mentioned our special
23:28teams breakdown. There's going to be a lot of change on that unit, but if the third phase
23:31of the game can be something that can help, you know, potentially swing the momentum,
23:35like we saw with Marte Mapu, you know, when he's forcing fumbles and you get those impact
23:39plays again, it's all about helping your offense and putting them in positions where, you know,
23:44they don't have to take on too much and they're not having to come back from, you know,
23:48two, three score deficits in the fourth quarter and everyone in the stadium knows what's coming.
23:52And then for the offense, I would say at least three of your rookies emerge as consistent
23:58contributors. Now, whether that's Jalen Polk, I feel like is the lock. I will be stunned if he's
24:03not a starter by week one, but then after that, it's like, okay, maybe Jayvon Baker is that
24:07ex-receiver, that one-on-one guy who, yeah, you know, he's not perfect every week, but he gives
24:11you something where the coaches are like, he's better than Taekwon. He's better than Jalen.
24:16He's better than Kishon. Like we have to put him out there. Even if he makes mistakes, there's
24:19two, like kind of like with Demario Douglas, like he wasn't perfect, but he was too good. You
24:23couldn't keep him out of the game, you know, maybe the staff disagreed at times, but I think we all
24:28saw on the outside, like, I don't care if he's going to run the wrong route. He's the only one
24:31who's giving you explosiveness. I didn't think Demario Douglas taking that next step will help.
24:35But I, again, I think in this offense, having that guy who can win a one-on-one match-ups
24:38based on what we saw from Van Pelskine last year will be huge. And then, you know, if it's Caden
24:43Wallace and he is a right tackle and he's good for you and he's not a liability out there, he's at
24:47least solid. That's huge because it probably means the offensive line can run the ball well and
24:51they're not, you know, horrible in pass protection. Maybe one glaring weak spot at left tackle
24:56potentially, but at least one of your edges is secure and it keeps him winning inside. And
25:00obviously we hope that Drake make plays. I think that's like the easiest part, but I also think
25:04Jacoby Bursette with, you know, Jalen Polk and Jayvon Baker actually giving you good production.
25:09I think that could also be enough to at least put you in position to capitalize on the good defense,
25:14solid at least special teams and, you know, just be able to pull out some games late.
25:18I mean, you think about it that way too. I mean, look, Jacoby Bursette had had a, I guess, career
25:24high at some points, you know, honestly, off the top of my head, I can't remember when he was at
25:28his best, but like, you know, he, he played some pretty good football when he was in Indy. I don't
25:32think he's that anymore, but he can still win football games in this league. So like if they
25:37get off to an okay start again, I'm just, I'm, you know, kind of brainstorming a path to the playoffs
25:43here, but if they get off to an okay start, Drake may continues to shine in, you know, in practice
25:50and things like that. And then maybe they lose one or two, like they could still have a couple
25:55wins under their belt. May comes in and shines and then sneak into the back end of the playoff
25:59spending. Like it all depends on how the rest of the AFC lines up too, because I mean, you can get
26:03in at nine and eight, you can get in at eight and nine if you really had to. So like, it's not
26:07necessarily look, I don't think they're going to be a post, excuse me. I don't think they're going
26:11to be a playoff team. I know you, you think they, they at least might, and that's probably their
26:15ceiling. But there is definitely a path there. I'm not going to say that they can't make it
26:20because I absolutely think they can. And if Drake may is on the field, I think that he's going to
26:25be one of at least top 20. And I think that's based on like talent alone, but also intelligence.
26:31Like if he's on the field, I think maybe you'll deal with the, some inaccuracy, you know, maybe
26:35that's all over the place. He's probably going to make some bad decisions, but you're expecting
26:39that. And also you talk about the trade-off where he's going to make mistakes, but he's going to
26:43make some mistakes that veteran quarterbacks still make. And he's going to give you way more positive
26:47plays that there are some people on the planet that they simply can't do. So, yeah, I think if
26:52we see Drake may out there at all, I think that significantly helps their chances, but of course,
26:56he's going to need the support from the supporting casting coachings.
26:59Definitely. Yeah. All right. So the defensive side of the football,
27:02a question I feel like we probably get every week, but we can answer it again because
27:07cornerback's important and Christian Gonzalez is really, I guess he's not even really a lock
27:11because again, he played great for those three games, but obviously got hurt for the rest of the
27:15season. But what are your expectations for Alex Austin Taylor? Is he cornerback two? Is he
27:19cornerback three behind Jonathan Jones? How do you see that position playing out as we inch closer
27:23to the start of the season? Yeah, I think that Jon Jones is locked in as that second cornerback
27:29on top of the experience and the reliability. I mean, he really is our second best cornerback.
27:33Obviously we didn't see him in the spring. He seemed like he had some kind of all season
27:37surgery should be okay. I think by the start of the season, obviously we will see. But Jonathan
27:43Jones is your CB two at that point. And this is part of the series that we're doing where we kind
27:47of talk about the cornerback battle, but there it's okay. Is it Marcus Jones who emerges? And
27:53then maybe Jonathan Jones does stay outside. Is it Alex Austin? And then you bump Jonathan
27:57Jones back inside. I think it's truly wide open. Now there are some guys I think like
28:02Marco Wilson, you probably don't have as much of a leg up Isaiah Bolden. Honestly, it's significant
28:07that he's been getting opportunities. Like you look at Alex Austin and Marco Wilson, they've
28:11kind of been rotating with that top defense and sometimes with the second team. But Isaiah
28:15Bolden's consistently been the starting slot corner. Part of that, as Rod Mayo said, is just
28:21because they haven't had Marcus Jones or Jonathan Jones. He didn't explicitly say their names, but
28:25he said our slot corners haven't really been available and those guys weren't available.
28:28So the math starts to math. But I do think that Alex Austin is probably the guy who emerges.
28:36Also just looking at reliability, like Marcus Jones coming off a pretty significant injury,
28:40hasn't been a guy who's been consistently available or just consistent on the field,
28:44frankly. Like last summer, we did see he was pretty up and down. And Alex Austin, he gave
28:49up some plays, a lot of red zone work where the margin for error is really small, but he's been
28:53competitive. I think more competitive than other bodies there. So I think Alex Austin probably
28:59ends up being your starter. Now, if they don't like the position, I could see them inquiring
29:03with Stefan Gilmore, who I know has been saying that he still wants to sign and thinks he's a
29:07starter. I would tend to agree. I think he'd be a great mentor along with Jonathan Jones in that
29:11room. But I'd say Alex Austin probably does have the leg up if we're talking about that third
29:15cornerback spot with Marcus Jones and Isaiah Bolden also probably giving him a run for his money once
29:21everybody's healthy and active. I think that's an interesting way to look at it, and it's the
29:26correct way to look at it where Jonathan Jones is your number two, second best corner, but where
29:31he plays is going to depend on your third and fourth best corner and kind of how they fit into
29:35the system because you can trust him to play outside, to play inside, to kind of do both and
29:40play all across the back end of the defense. So it'll be interesting. And again, I think
29:47I would agree that right now, Alex Austin probably has the leg up. I really liked what we saw from
29:51him in the offseason program, but I love the idea of Isaiah Bolden. I'm really starting to
29:56fall in love with him as a player and also what he can bring in the return game potentially as well.
29:59So I'm excited. There's a lot of young talent in that back end that, you know, there's a bunch
30:06of good building blocks. Like Jonathan Jones is sort of your, you know, I guess he's the old man
30:11in the room now, but he's sort of the leader of the bunch. Christian Gonzalez, though, super young.
30:15Austin, Bolden, Wilson. You talk about Marcus Jones as well. Marte Mapu as a safety like that
30:21whole, you know, back end of the secondary, it'll be super fun and interesting to watch and kind of
30:26see how they play out. So I mentioned safety, so I want to get your thoughts on this too,
30:31because I think this is someone you mentioned, Steph Gilmore's talking. He mentioned
30:34Justin Simmons the other day as well as someone who could potentially be signed who hasn't yet.
30:40So should, would the Patriots consider a real veteran free safety a la Justin Simmons? Do you
30:46think he's waiting for a contender? Do you think he could sign with the Patriots? And do you think
30:51that Jalen Hawkins' emergence from what we saw in the offseason program could have anything to do
30:57with why they haven't signed a free safety and free agency? Yeah, one, Jabril Peppers is a real
31:03veteran free safety. Like I know that we still want him close to the line of scrimmage and doing
31:07all that stuff where he can affect the ground game. But like he's still very good in the role
31:11and a lot of his biggest plays last season came when he was at safety. So I kind of want to dispel
31:15that like they don't have one on the roster. You just like somebody who when, you know, Jabril
31:20Peppers does bounce down, you can have somebody to kind of take that centerfield role. I do think
31:24that's probably going to be Jalen Hawkins. That's what it looked like during the spring practices.
31:29I also went back and watched, I know we touched on this in the safeties preview as well, but with
31:33Jalen Hawkins, he played actually under Dean Pease, who was Gerard Mayo's first defensive
31:37coordinator in the NFL, actually took over for Gerard Harmon as the Falcons free safety back in
31:43was 2022. So he can play the role. He's got good range. He's been inconsistent as a tackler. I
31:49think he's a solid last line of defense, but you know, we've also seen the Patriots take guys like
31:53Jalen Mills, who were pretty big liabilities at times with their other teams, but he still had a
31:58pretty solid skillset. You saw him become more consistent once he got to New England. So if we
32:03can see that kind of thing with Jalen Hawkins, who again showed he could be a starter, just wasn't
32:07with the Chargers because I think they needed depth because of Derwin James, but they didn't
32:10need him to be the top guy. I think then you're probably pretty well stocked and you're hoping
32:16Marte Mapu, another guy that I think is in for potentially a big season. You're hoping that
32:20maybe he can give you some level of play in center field, kind of take over for the snaps you're
32:25losing from, you know, Jalen Mills and, and Adrian Phillips. He didn't play a ton, but still.
32:32Yeah. Look, I look at a guy in Jabril Peppers who sort of took over in that
32:37free safety role last year and played fine. And I've mentioned it a lot here, but it's like,
32:42you see that clip that he reshared a couple months ago with the Browns and how, you know,
32:45he didn't want to play off the ball that far. They had him like 50 yards back at one point in the,
32:50in the, in the formation. And like, he can, he can play back there though. Like he,
32:54he played well last year. I was fine with it. So I don't really necessarily think you have
32:58to go get adjusted Simmons. I like where this, you know, I like where the entire defensive
33:02backfield is at. I don't think they, you know, got burned last year as much as some people think
33:07they might have. Like, I think they're going to do just fine. Duggars in, in the system,
33:10another year peppers, obviously in the system, another year playing healthier. And then you're
33:14right. That emergence of Martin Mopu is really going to be huge for them. So I would just kind
33:19of starter. Like, I feel like people think he's some rotational guy. He's not, no, I'm Justin
33:25Simmons. Oh yeah. Yeah. Right. Third safety. And I think if he signs somewhere, he's going to be
33:31one of the top two starting guys. So I want to throw that in there as well. Like this is,
33:34this team is not a good fit for him. No, I I'm with you. I think they just let it ride. I mean,
33:39I think there'll be fine in that part of their secondary. I don't really see a need to go pay
33:44a guy like Justin Simmons who, you know, would probably come at a decently steep price, I guess,
33:48depending on, you know, where his camp's at and things like that. If he's going to want to go
33:52sign for a super bowl contender, maybe he's just ring chasing anyway. But yeah, I don't see the
33:56fit. I think I think they're going to be just fine. I'll go to the chat for this one. Do you
34:02see Marcellus dial having a chance to play on the field this year? Or do you think he might just be
34:06a potential redshirt kind of guy outside of injury? I'd be pretty stunned. I think he could
34:11contribute on special teams cause he's a good tackler. He's physical. And he's got that like
34:15kind of diverse skillset that works really well on special teams. But unless you get, you know,
34:20one of your top safeties or corners, I think they do want him to play corner, maybe add more to his
34:24plate as things go on. Or if, you know, the situation arises, but yeah, I just don't see
34:28with all the bodies. We just talked about a cornerback and then safety again, you're probably
34:32talking about four guys who are going to be in that rotation. I just don't see where he fits in.
34:36And he's such a late round pick that I think he's someone you could kind of, you know, either the
34:40Fox broke blue or maybe sneak him onto the practice squad. I don't love that, but I think they find a
34:46way to probably redshirt him unless he is like some kind of core special team. You think a team
34:50would claim him if he got cut? Maybe just cause he's got the kind of like skillset where if a
34:56team wants another developmental kind of guy, I think he'd be, you know, at least an intriguing
35:01prospect, not a guarantee. I feel like we always have our darlings where you really like them.
35:05You don't want to expose them to waivers and then no one's actually interested, but the opposite
35:09we thought about Malik Cunningham last year. Exactly. And then it's like, Nope, the NFL is
35:13a lot of good players. You know, there's a reason that teams are willing to risk these guys, but you
35:17never know. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world that they lost him because they do have
35:21pretty good depth, but yeah, I'm not sure I see a path to the field on defense at least this season.
35:26Yeah. All right. Here's another quick one from the chat before we wrap it up with our two,
35:30two ones that were submitted beforehand. This one just quickly, and it's on top of the IU thing.
35:35I don't think this would do it, but would you trade Jude on a third and a fourth for IU and
35:40then have to pay him that, you know, 27 to $30 million a year tax? Yeah. Yeah. I think so too.
35:48What if it was, no, I'm just spitballing here because I think that one's pretty obvious because
35:52again, the, the Jude on thing, I'm totally fine using him as a trade piece. Like he he's older.
36:00He's obviously coming off the injury. And if he's not in your plans for the future,
36:05you should get some of the form instead of letting them walk. So absolutely.
36:08So you use that. I still think it would be like a second and a third. And I, again, I would probably
36:13do that Jude on a second and a third as well. I, the only one that I think, and I don't want to
36:17call it untouchable because I would probably still end up doing the IU trade at the end of the day,
36:21but like, I don't want to give up a first round pick for him if I don't have to next year, because
36:25you mentioned it probably top 10, top 15 pick, you know, the Patriots finish as a, like a lot
36:31of analysts think they're going to. But yeah, paper waves. I think this one is a way too light.
36:37And I don't, I think, I don't think a San Francisco would accept this at all.
36:41You can do it on in a second. I think about it because if you're trading Jude on, then it probably
36:46means you couldn't find a middle ground. So if the reports are true from Greg Vidal, that he's
36:51not going to play, you're not really losing anything. Right. In the second round pick,
36:55like, yeah, I'll give up a second. That's okay. It's going to be high. It's one of those Patriots
36:59as probably where it's going to almost end up being a first round pick because it's going to
37:03be so early, but at the same time, you're talking about Brandon. Are you a proven elite receiver?
37:08Who's still in the prime of his career is going to probably be for another few years.
37:11So Jude on in anything, but a first, I would absolutely strongly consider because again,
37:17I don't, if you're trading Jude on, it's probably because you couldn't figure anything out.
37:20Exactly. You're not going to be missing much. I'm with you. All right. Let's wrap it up with
37:23these two, uh, from Bader THFC on Twitter. What do you expect from Keon white this year?
37:29The Patriots 2023 second round pick. Um, so I'm not going to do like stats or anything.
37:34Cause especially with defensive linemen stats can be so fickle. It's really hard.
37:39I would say like towards the end of the season, you started to see, he really was a full fledged
37:43starter. Like he started to play more than Dietrich wise. Um, I think he'll be in the mix
37:48and outside linebacker a little bit, but if we're talking expectations, if he really is maturing the
37:53way that Rod Mayo said he was and can be the kind of every down player that I think he has a skill
37:59set to be, I think he's someone who rarely leaves the field. Really? I mean, you got Dietrich wise
38:04and you got Anthony Jennings, Joshua Uche, possibly Matthew Jude on like, there are bodies
38:09there for sure. And, but still Keon white has the skill set to be a true difference maker.
38:13Like as an interior rusher, external or outside rusher, he's good in run defense where like you
38:18seen him inside the offensive line, taking on double teams and standing his ground and holding
38:23the edge against like pullers. Like he can do pretty much anything he wants. I think it's going
38:27to be a matter of playing under control, diagnosing plays quickly and understanding where his strengths
38:32and weaknesses lie. Um, I would say this is probably going to be a breakout year for him.
38:36He'll have the opportunities. Again, Jude on is a really big piece here because I think he'll
38:40probably have to take on some of the load that they would lose from a Jude on. And then the
38:44teachers wise, you know, still a good player, but he's played so much in his career at a tough
38:51position. Workload's been pretty big. I think we may see a step back from him. He kind of saw one
38:56last season. He wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good or as productive. And like the quality wasn't quite
39:01what it was in other seasons. So especially if he takes a step back, I think you look at Keon white
39:06as kind of a Christian Barmore type where you're like, yeah, if he can play, we want to keep him
39:10on the field, obviously keep him fresh as well with all the rotation that you've got. But I think this
39:15is going to be a big year for him where he really puts it all together and just starts wrecking
39:19games. Yeah. I'm excited for Keon, like a guy who, you know, he's, I think of them a lot too.
39:24Sometimes when I think about this stuff, like off the field too, like it was a guy who was kind of
39:28quiet last year, didn't really say too much. And then like, you see him at the Georgia tech game,
39:33like in like a pretty sick fit. And I'm like, oh, this guy does have a personality. Maybe he's just
39:37kind of shy. It doesn't want to talk or kind of, I don't want to say scared of bill Belichick,
39:41but it's just kind of, you know, leaning in as a rookie and trying to find his footing.
39:45Yeah. Right. And yeah, seriously. And then this off season, you know, he kind of spoke
39:49out a little bit and was like, yeah, it's different, you know, without Belichick. And I
39:52love Belichick, but you know, there's a bit of a looser vibe. I think he said something along those
39:56lines. And then Gerard Mayo mentioned during OTAs that he's kind of emerged as a leader off the
40:01field. So I'm, I'm excited to see again, a second round pick. I think he was the 37th overall pick
40:06last year. So like Patriots put in some legit and maybe it was, maybe it wasn't 37, 37 was Jalen
40:13Polk this year, but he was, he was getting first round buzz. Like he was actually. Yeah. Yeah.
40:18Right. He was at the draft, a high second round pick. So a guy who they, they, you know, put a
40:23lot of trust in, you know, two years ago to, uh, to bring him in here. So I think he can contribute
40:27and you're right. I think depending on what happens with Matthew Judon, uh, that'll be
40:31massive for his stock because he'll just be able to see the field that much more. But I think he
40:35has all the tools to succeed at this level. Um, and it's just a matter of putting it together.
40:39And I think he can do that this year. Yeah. And I've also seen talk about like what his role is
40:43going to be exactly. And after studying it more, it's pretty much like, you know, Jelani Tobias,
40:48the adjuster where he goes on or off the line scrimmage, what Keon White and Dietrich Wise
40:52basically are, are the ones who adjust to that adjustment. So Jelani Tobias goes down to the
40:57line of scrimmage, then Wise or White will kick inside is more of like those, you know, odd
41:02defensive end or more interior defensive lineman type. Whenever Jelani Tobias pops out, those guys
41:07will be more like the outside kind of four, three type defensive ends. And then I also think that
41:12White's going to get some opportunities at linebacker where he's kind of stands up and
41:15rushes that way. So I've seen some confusion. How does he fit? Um, again, he can pretty much
41:21sign up wherever he wants, but I would expect him to be in that more of a just a role and then
41:24maybe move around more in past. Yeah. Well, I'm with you. Um, all right. Last one. This one,
41:32kind of an interesting one, kind of a fun one, but they don't want to pay God.
41:35John doesn't seem like they're obviously at a stalemate for the contract situation.
41:39Antonio Mafi, uh, doesn't have a place in the offensive line right now. And should they,
41:43could they switch him back to those tackle where he played at some point in college Taylor?
41:49Um, I will push back on them not having a true nose tackle. I really do like Jeremiah farms.
41:54Um, and he pretty much did take over for a God child a lot when he kind of got dinged
41:58up late last season. Daniel equality is also kind of been a rotational guy thought it was
42:02just a pass rusher and he is undersized. Like he and farms are on the smaller side,
42:06but I think that this version of the Patriots may be willing to concede some of that size,
42:10um, for guys who are more technically sound and give you pass rush upside.
42:14So I'll push back on that. I do like farms and equality kind of as a tandem. I don't love it
42:19because God shot does give you like a true 320 plus, but what is it? Three 50 or something like
42:23that. He put on me. Um, so in terms of that, yeah, they don't have that true space eater
42:29necessarily right now outside of him. Mafi. I don't know that you want to put them back on
42:35the defensive side of the ball. That feels more like a Jake Beckett kind of thing where you are
42:39so desperate and you're just like, ah, this guy can't play this position. I don't think that would
42:43even happen this year. And actually Jeremiah farms was one of those guys. They switched them
42:46back and forth like two or three times. He was on offense and he was on defense. Um, I don't
42:51think mafia is there quite yet. I would give him at least one more season of seeing if he can
42:55take on more center responsibilities or if he can just be solid as a guard and give you, you know,
43:00at least a really quality depth piece before I would start talking about trying to switch him
43:04and move his position again. Interesting, but I think it's too soon for that.
43:07Definitely interesting. I like the thought, um, because they've done this with guys to
43:11Bill Murray was a guy too, who kind of went back and forth a lot for the Patriots last off season.
43:14And I think even the off season before, um, so it's not unprecedented for them to try something
43:19like that, but I'm also not sold that mafia doesn't have a place on the offensive line either. I, I
43:23kind of, I don't know if I was, um, you know, too, too quick to kind of think this was a thing,
43:30but I feel like they kind of have a place for mafia center and I think they like what they've
43:34done with him there. Um, he played there a lot. Again, I mentioned a lot while we did our
43:38off season program shows, but he was playing a lot of center there too. I know Nick Leverett played
43:41there as well. Um, but they're going to need a backup for David Andrews. They're going to need
43:44a plan for what David Andrews ultimately retires in the next couple of seasons when, uh, when DA
43:50finally gives it up. I don't think he's going to just yet. He seems like he's having too much fun
43:54playing football here. Um, but they do need a backup planet center. Uh, and I think he could
43:58be involved in that. So we'll see what happens. But I, again, I don't want to give up on, uh,
44:02on Antonio mafia just yet on the offensive line. I think he had, he had a rough go of it last year,
44:06but I think he can, uh, look, it was his first year. He can improve. I liked what he did in
44:10college. So we'll see what happens there. That's going to do it for our mailbag. Uh, today on this
44:16Tuesday, me and Taylor will be back all week. We recorded a bunch of videos down in Foxborough,
44:21uh, two days. So those will be coming out on the channel as the week goes on leading up to
44:24training camp, which opens next Wednesday, July 24th, Patriots rookies report on Friday.
44:30So we are, uh, getting to getting into the countdown, counting down these dog days of
44:35summer and getting into Patriot training camp. So, uh, Taylor, what do you have coming down the
44:40pipe? Uh, anything else as far as what we can sort of, uh, think about and plug before we get out of
44:44here and get ready for training camp. We've got a whole lot of videos coming down the pipe on
44:47some recent stuff and then the position battles and everything like that. Um, as news keeps
44:51breaking, you know, maybe we'll try to whip something up. Uh, but yeah, we're kind of still
44:55in the phase of, you know, wait and react, but next week I will have a couple of things dropping.
45:00So look out for that, but until then just keep your eyes peeled. If anything breaks,
45:04you know where to look. Love it. Subscribe to Patriots press pass. Check out all of our work
45:08on CLNSmedia.com. And as Taylor Kyle's always says, take care of yourselves. Take care of each
45:13other. See you next time. Y'all peace.

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