LIVE Patriots Daily: Talking Patriots Free Agent Options w/ Kyle Crabbs

CLNS Media Sports Network

In the latest "Patriots Daily" episode, Taylor Kyles from CLNS Media and guest Kyle Crabbs, host of Locked On Dolphins and Locked On NFL Scouting, talk about the Patriots' free agent options at top positions of need.   This episode of the Patriots Daily Podcast is brought to you by:  Get buckets with your first bet on FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Because right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your bet wins! Just, visit FanDuel.com/BOSTON and shoot your shot!  Bet on all your favorite NBA players and teams with:  ● Quick Bets ● Live Same Game Parlays ● Exclusive Props ● And more!  FanDuel, Official Sportsbook Partner of the NBA.  DISCLAIMER: Must be 21+ and present in select states. First online real money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. FanDuel is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with Kansas Star Casino, LLC. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and Vermont. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 in Arizona, 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, 1-800-9-WITH-IT in Indiana, 1-800-522-4700 or visit ksgamblinghelp.com in Kansas, 1-877-770-STOP in Louisiana, visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland, visit 1800gambler.net in West Virginia, or call 1-800-522-4700 in Wyoming. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York.  #Patriots #NFL #NewEnglandPatriots

Transcript

00:00 What's going on everyone? Taylor Kyle's here for CLNS Media coming at you with another

00:20 episode of Pat's Daily brought to you by our good friends at FanDuel Sportsbooks. More

00:24 from them later. For now, it's going to be a busy week for the Patriots. We got the franchise

00:29 tag window opening. It's right before the combine. So we're already seeing a flurry of moves

00:34 being made. The Patriots just announced their whole coaching staff. We saw the release of

00:37 Lawrence Guy and Adrian Phillips. So moves are being made. And to preview what we're

00:41 going to do with free agency, because of course we want to talk about the draft and all the

00:45 young talent, but before you know what you need in the draft, you have to understand

00:48 how your roster looks after free agency. So to preview that I've got my good buddy, host

00:53 of Locked On Dolphins and co-host of the NFL, Locked On NFL Scouting. I knew I was going

01:00 to get the order messed up. Kyle Kravs, friend of the show. Kyle, thank you so much for stopping

01:05 by again, brother. How are you doing? Taylor, I'm doing great. And I'm glad that you got

01:09 some breaking news dropped on your head right when you're getting ready to hit record on

01:12 a show. That seems to be how it always is in this. Oh, you're going to go out with some

01:15 friends on a Thursday night. Guess what? Boom. I had a, I was at a rehearsal dinner for my

01:23 wife then girlfriend at the times, best friend when the Dolphins traded Laramie Tunsil. So

01:28 like all that stuff, it's just life in the book. Right? So at least you're getting ready

01:33 to do a show. It's you're getting ready to react to all these coaching moves that the

01:37 Patriots formally announced. So excited to see what it looks like. Dude, when they announced

01:41 the Alex Van Pelt signing, I like had done no research on him. I was midway through a

01:47 show. We're about to close out and then they dropped this. I have to literally Google,

01:51 try to find the connections, all that stuff live on air. So this isn't quite as bad. And

01:55 luckily we're not going to talk about the coaching staff. This is more going to be about

01:57 the roster, but from what you've seen so far with the Patriots, where the roster standing

02:02 at some of the additions they've met made on that coaching staff, how do you feel about

02:06 the situation they're at right now before, for agency, before all this stuff in terms

02:10 of what they can do to improve the roster and where they just really stand as of this

02:15 moment? Yeah, I think probably the best parting gift that Bill left with this transition is

02:25 there's not a lot of prorated dollars. I think they came into last year, like bottom five

02:31 in the NFL of like prorated guaranteed monies from previous years that had been pushed out

02:36 into future years. Like, so there's not a lot of cap that's been allocated for money

02:40 that you've already written checks for in the past. There's some talent that is here

02:46 and exists, but largely this is a blank slate opportunity. And I think when you have new

02:51 people, even old people that are coming into new responsibilities and kind of this reinvigorated

02:58 approach on how you're going to approach football operations, obviously when it was Bill, it

03:02 was Bill is the judge during the executioner for football operations is a little different

03:07 than that. And to be able to come into an off season where you have some draft capital,

03:12 you have top three salary cap spending power at your disposal across the entirety of the

03:17 NFL. Uh, you have the opportunity to make it whatever you want to be. I know you've

03:24 done a lot of background research already in the third overall pick quarterback, not

03:28 quarterback skill player, offensive. Like you can choose what you want the identity

03:35 to be because you're not tied to what the past identity was. And I think that's the

03:39 thing that I'm most excited about for new England from a team building standpoint.

03:42 Absolutely. Then looking at, like I said, there were some moves made even just today

03:47 where we see, um, Trent Brown, he had a void contract. It was like, all right, you want

03:51 to sign an extension, turn that not into dead money. Nope. They don't do anything with it.

03:54 So he's going to be $2 million on the books. Then like you said, you got some guys who

03:59 might get tagged this week, like Mike and when you and Kyle dug her from your perspective,

04:03 do you think it's likely to see either one of those guys tag? You've seen a lot of their

04:06 football over the past few years. What do you think the case would be maybe for either

04:10 guy and how realistic do you think it is? We see one of those guys under Elliot Wolf

04:14 get tagged. Yeah. I, I personally would be surprised if either one of them does get tagged

04:18 just because there's so much financial, financial flexibility, you know, for some teams, it's

04:24 you get into the bidding market and you know, if he hits the open market, he's going to

04:27 get that 20, 25% bump just because you're bidding against multiple teams.

04:32 I think the thing that, that does kind of work against him in some regard is Duggar.

04:36 Obviously he's a safety to low value position. So how high is Duggar going to want to swing

04:41 as far as his own individual market? He's got the right to explore and try to maximize

04:46 this next contract of his and unweighing you. I know there's, there's some guard reps on

04:52 film. There's some tackle reps on film. How does that fit within the van Pelt offense

04:58 as far as his movement skills? Where do they internally feel like he is? Is that in conflict

05:03 with where he feels he is? If that's the case, then those I think are the pathways to getting

05:08 a franchise tag done if, if you're at, at odds with one another. But I would be surprised

05:15 if they couldn't find common ground just because these are young, good players and they should,

05:23 especially because so many of the coaches on the defensive side of the ball understand

05:28 what these players were because Gerard Mayo was there last year, right? There's an understanding

05:33 on how to use and maximize Kyle Duggar, right? I think if a different team were bringing

05:37 him in, you maybe run the risk of, Oh, we're bringing in a piece that is so versatile.

05:43 Maybe we don't optimize in the best way that we could. So that, that hurts the value. I,

05:47 I think New England knows what they have in both of those guys. I would expect long-term

05:51 deals to get done for both.

05:54 And the tough thing is when it was the Belichick era, they had that really weird history of

05:58 not re-signing these kinds of players where there's kind of a gap where the guys who played

06:03 well for them, especially like Joe Tooney and Jacoby Myers are kind of the poster child

06:06 children for I played well for you. I'm well respected in the locker room. You'd think

06:11 that's really easy, re-sign, pay them or more of them. And that didn't happen. But now under

06:14 this regime where Mayo is trying to foster more relationships, I think the goal is probably

06:19 to keep more of those guys in house. Elliot Wolf from that Packers system where they love

06:23 making sure they can stay within the draft and then re-sign their own guys.

06:27 Hopefully the likelihood will kind of swing in the player's favor where you do see those

06:30 guys get rewarded and come back, especially considering what they meant for the team in

06:34 terms of the big name free agents for the Patriots, like an unwanted, like a dog, then

06:38 you got guys like Hunter Henry, not as big of a name, but kind of in that same sort of

06:43 realm, which of their big name for agents, do you actually see them retaining? Like we've

06:47 already seen them get rid of Adrian Phillips and Lauren sky literally right before the

06:50 show where they're trying to get them off the books and kind of save some money, let

06:53 those guys go elsewhere. Who do you think isn't going to be in new England? Who do you

06:57 think will be retained at the end of the day? I think guys who are entering into second

07:03 contracts make a lot of sense because this is a team, new England that according to spot

07:09 track has 60 less than $70 million in total cap commitments for 2025. So 12 months from

07:18 now, less than a hundred million dollars, less than $70 million in committed dollars.

07:24 So guys that are looking for the next big contract out of rookie deals where you're,

07:31 you're really the chief labor of the NFL workforce. So Duggar and Wayne, you Josh, who chase a

07:37 unique one just because I know he's, he's such a good pass rush specialist, but really

07:44 struggled in, in run defense. There's a couple of guys that are out that like that are out

07:49 there like that this year, like Bryce Huffwood, the jets is another player who is kind of

07:54 in the same mold. Didn't get a huge snap count because of the run defense. Andrew Van Gekel

07:58 out of Miami is another name who stands out. He's a better pass rush specialist than he

08:03 is a run defender. So maybe that brings his market down a little bit and they do have

08:08 an appetite to bring him back. But I think a guy like Hunter Henry is a great place to

08:12 look to Ezekiel Elliott, you know, they're low value positions on the offensive side of

08:18 the ball there. They've played for high dollar amounts in the past. If you're going to really

08:24 go back to square one and build this thing up, taking advantage of let's get young guys

08:29 in here. Let's get young guys, reps, let's embrace playing youth and guys that we can

08:33 continue to evaluate over the next year, two years and figure out who our next pillar players

08:38 are retaining players that block that doesn't make a lot of sense. So that for me is Zeke.

08:44 I know he was productive this year and stretches Hunter Henry. I know they paid him a big time

08:48 contract Mike is Secchi. I'd put in that same boat with those two guys. I just think they're

08:54 they're blockades to getting young bloods in here that can help potentially move this

08:58 rebuild along. In terms of the guys, you think that they may not end up retaining for one

09:03 reason or another, who are some guys that kind of pop out to you on the market that

09:06 could potentially replace them? Like we can start with Trent Brown, right? Where he, you

09:10 know, it makes sense if he comes cheap and he hasn't burned bridges in the building,

09:13 but that also feels closer to a pipe dream than reality. So for someone like a left tackle

09:18 position who on the market kind of catches your eye and you're like, all right, that's

09:21 someone who could fit in this rebuilding Patriot system. Yeah, I think that's, that's the toughest

09:26 part is cross-referencing that with what the market itself looks like. I hate the tackle

09:33 free agent market. I, I, I think it's super underwhelming. You're talking George fan,

09:39 Donovan Smith, those guys signed one year, $3 million contracts, Jonah Williams coming

09:44 off of a kind of a disastrous move to right tackle. You got McKay Beckton as a former

09:49 first round pick who just totally flamed out like Cameron Fleming, uh, wrote swing guy

09:57 from Denver. Uh, Kendall lamb with Miami was really good, played over half the snaps this

10:03 year, but it's like a 10 year vet. So I think that's another layer to the, and when you

10:08 conversation that I think is really important to be mindful of, if you don't want to totally

10:14 flush the system, if you're mindful of, we got to feel the team that, that we feel like

10:19 we can work towards being competitive with. I don't love that group. I hate the tight

10:25 end market. I think it's a horrible, I think there's like two good tight ends. Dalton Schultz

10:29 and Noah fan are the only tight ends that really knew, moved the needle for me that

10:32 are set to be expiring contracts. So that complicates Hunter Henry, Mike Kisecki. But

10:37 at the same time you can get athletic tight ends, tight ends typically don't get drafted

10:42 super high. I wouldn't be surprised if there were athletic guys that are out there on day

10:46 two of the draft. So for me, I'd probably steer clear of some of these lean spots. Now

10:52 there's spots that I think are loaded. I think the edge group has a lot of talented guys.

10:56 I think the interior offensive line is a really good class this year. I think the safety group

11:00 is absolutely loaded for free agency. Wide receiver looks good. So a quarterback, I know

11:06 we're going to get into quarterback here, but uh, I think you have some attractive options

11:10 there. There's places you spend and there's places you don't. The groups that I'm lowest

11:15 on in free agency right now are offensive tackle, tight end, and probably cornerback.

11:21 I'm expecting Snead to knock them off the board. My next best free agent cornerbacks

11:24 a nickel and Kenny Moore. So I don't really like that group a whole lot of corner either.

11:29 I like that you mentioned offensive tackle and tight end because those are two positions

11:32 where really good players are extremely rare and they rarely are actually let into the

11:37 market because you want to retain those guys. So I completely agree with tight end. The

11:41 only other guy that kind of excites me is Harrison Bryant. And that probably wouldn't

11:44 be the case if it weren't for Van Pelt. He's just someone who you know, you can line up

11:48 everywhere with that, you know, tight ends on their second contract. There's a little

11:51 more likelihood that they're going to break out because it takes so long to adjust to

11:54 that position in the NFL and then tackle. I'm there with you. Like I'm looking at it

11:58 and I say, okay, if they don't resign Trent Brown, it's probably Jonah Williams at left

12:01 tackle and right tackle. You're looking at like James Illuminor. If you want value and

12:05 somebody who's going to play pretty well for you, there's just not a lot of great options.

12:08 So I completely agree whether or not they trapped somebody. I think this is a position

12:12 they have to address in some capacity in free agency. We're going to get to some other positions,

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12:52 All right. So while we mentioned the offensive line, we talked about offensive tackle, not

13:00 looking great. What about the interior? Because that's a spot where I think, you know, some

13:05 eagle-eyed Patriots fans have been on top of this and saying, all right, we understand

13:08 that like Cole Strange is hurt and there's, you know, some, we don't know what's going

13:12 to happen with David Andrews yet, even if he does return. But I think it's easy for

13:15 it to slide under the radar because there's so many other big priorities that often interior

13:19 offensive line, because they drafted so many guys last year, seems like they've got some

13:23 depth, but considering Jake Andrews hasn't really played a ton, Antonio Maffi had a really

13:28 steep learning curve last year. I really don't think he's someone you can go into the year

13:32 saying, yes, he's our backup. We feel good about it. So who are some veterans who you

13:36 think could come in and compete for that starting spot, but are really going to look for kind

13:41 of backup contracts where they understand at this point in the rear, they're more quality

13:45 backup guys who can be spot starters.

13:47 So the way that I, I tear out my free agency, I watched about 120 players getting ready

13:53 for free agency. And the most stacked group is tier five. I have eight tiers. So it's

14:02 middle class into your offensive line. It is the fullest group. And it's got guys like

14:09 John Simpson with the Baltimore Ravens, who was a starter, but there was a progression

14:14 plan that was involved there with them letting Ben powers go in free agency to sign a $13.3

14:20 million contract per season in Denver. And John Simpson steps in at left guard plays

14:25 one year, all 17 games is a sufficient level starter, but he's coming off a rookie contract.

14:31 He wants to aim high cause he's a starter. Okay. How about Graham Glasgow with the Detroit

14:36 lions and a guy who's got center guard flexibility and don't, it wasn't supposed to be a starter.

14:41 He ends up playing a lot for Detroit. I think about Cody Whitehair as a guy that just hit,

14:47 if you want a veteran presence, I think he can still go.

14:50 I think the legs are starting to show a little bit of wear and I think that's slowing him

14:54 down a little bit. So I think it's a no brainer for Chicago, but if you need a veteran in

14:59 that room in the midst of, if you think that's going to help Jake Andrews and Antonio mafia,

15:03 I think that's a player that makes a lot of sense to Coleman Shelton center from the Rams.

15:08 I think that's a scheme specific type of starting player. And I think he fits the scheme that

15:14 van Pelt hats coming over from Cleveland. John Runyon from the Packers. He's they rotated

15:22 guards at green Bay. He was rotating with Sean Ryan for a stretch last year. So Lucas

15:28 Patrick was Chicago is another center guard flex guy. So there's just so many names. I

15:33 didn't mention guys that I think are more definitively starters like Tyler Beattis and

15:38 Kevin Dotson and Jonah Jackson, the other guard from Detroit.

15:42 This is a really, really robust group. And I think if that's the kind of, you want healthy

15:49 competition on your interior and you don't want to spend more than three, $4 million

15:53 per season for it, that's the position group in free agency in my mind, especially because

15:58 it's into your offensive lineman. So they're not paid like tackles and there's so many

16:03 of them and teams are going to want to invest those dollars at tackle and edgerusher and

16:08 corner and wider seat. Like the premium positions are going to get the dollars. So now you've

16:13 got a supply versus demand issue where you got all these names plus names that I didn't

16:17 even mention, like Robert Hunt, Connor Williams is top end free agents, potentially not getting

16:22 extensions from the dolphins. I'm head over heels for Damian Lewis out of Seattle. I think

16:26 that's a quality starter. I think he's really good. Lloyd Cushenberry at center from Dever.

16:32 This is the stack group.

16:36 That's good news. Cause I feel like the one, I mean one thing, this offensive line last

16:39 year for the Patriots was a mess, but on the interior specifically, they had bodies, but

16:43 that veteran depth was severely lacking. Like you threw James Ferentz in there. Didn't take

16:48 long for his words to get exposed. And now he just retired, like wish him all the best.

16:52 But it was pretty clear that at that point in his career, he was more of a coach and

16:55 like a voice in the locker room and in the classroom. And now they really don't have

16:59 that kind of guy. So good to hear that from your perspective. And I know you do a great

17:02 job looking at these guys, that it is a robust market where they can get some bodies.

17:06 Now for the guys that the offensive linemen are protecting the quarterback, it seems like

17:11 the Patriots can either have an overhaul or at the very least, they're probably going

17:14 into 2024 with Bailey's happy, or at least going into free agency with Bailey's happy

17:18 as the guy. Reports have indicated that Mack Jones is likely to be elsewhere in 2024, most

17:23 likely as a trade candidate. So who are some veteran options? Cause I think it's a foregone

17:27 conclusion that Patriots are going to get a quarterback, whether it's somebody they need

17:30 to develop long-term or somebody maybe just sit them for a year, work out all the bad

17:33 habits and try to give them a fresh start at the NFL level.

17:36 Who are some options you think the Patriots could bring in? Whether it's somebody like

17:39 a Kirk Cousins, you know, they say, Hey, we actually want to make a real push in the playoffs,

17:43 even though I don't think that seems likely considering what Cousins might want. And then

17:47 maybe some other guys who are somewhere in between, or could at least be some veteran

17:50 stop gaps. Yeah. I think maybe you look for guys that are looking to reignite their, their

17:56 careers or, or, or wanting to compete for a starting job. I think about drew lock, a

18:01 former second round pick Denver gets traded to Seattle, came in and balled out against

18:06 the Eagles down late in December and helped them win a game that, that helps Dave off

18:11 a losing streak in the midst of them trying to make a postseason run.

18:14 So he played limited snaps this past year, but was pretty good in them. Gardner Minshew,

18:22 obviously the Patriots fans saw him up close and personal in that barn burner of a Germany

18:25 game that was played, but, scares the Dickens out of me. I'll tell you after that game,

18:29 I got a little bit of PTSD. I'm like, you do some cool stuff, but also, Oh my gosh,

18:33 what was going on for half that game? That's the perfect veteran bridge, right? Because

18:39 you know, there's a process versus results thing with Gardner and the process allows

18:47 some stuff to happen because he's so creative and the results sometimes outperform that.

18:52 But, but that's never going to be a guy who's in your quarterback room that if there's a

18:56 young guy there, people are going to be like, no, we need to start Gardner Minshew ahead

19:01 of Jane Daniels or Drake may or Kaylee, whoever the quarterback ends up being, nobody's going

19:06 to be less likely to create a void or split than Gardner Minshew.

19:13 Baker Mayfield. I mean, what, what's the situation with Baker Liam Cohen's now the OC in Tampa

19:21 Bay Dave Canales leaves to go be the head coach in Carolina. I thought Canales did an

19:26 outstanding job with Baker is Liam Cohen. Like, is, is that for sure going to get him

19:32 back in the boat where Mike Evans is potentially leaving him for agency. Baker came out, I

19:37 think it was super bowl week and said, we have to know who the OC is before we talk

19:41 contract. I came straight out and said it. So maybe that's another starting name on the

19:46 market. I think that's probably a little bit more attractive than Kirk cousins, just because

19:50 Kirk even off the Achilles is a 36 year old quarterback is probably still going to be

19:54 40 plus million dollars per season.

19:56 That's kind of my expectation for his market. Jameis. So like there, there's guys out there

20:01 that Baker's the one who's already created the spike because Baker this time last year

20:05 signed a one year, $4 million contract in Tampa Bay. And now he's looking at signing

20:09 high twenties, mid thirties and getting starter money somewhere. So if you ask me who those

20:15 guys are that maybe could do that in new England, Winston drew lock, I think are the two that

20:21 give you the best chance. If you're looking to potentially find a starter in free agency,

20:26 it feels especially interesting because of the Mike Evans situation where Adam Schefter

20:30 dropped some tweets yesterday where it made it sound like Mike Evans and Calvin Ridley,

20:33 two guys who was pretty much, or not as much Ridley, but really Mike Evans.

20:37 It was like, Oh yeah, he's going to be back at Tampa. Most likely now, not so sure. Right.

20:42 Because of the changing on the coaching staff, we don't know what's going to happen with

20:44 Baker. So you mentioned, you think this wide receiver class is actually pretty good. I

20:48 feel like it's, it looks really enticing. And then you look and say, okay, how many

20:53 of these guys are actually even going to hit the market? But even if they get tagged, they're

20:56 trade possibilities. So what's your outlook on this wide receiver market? Who the Patriots

21:00 could realistically be going after? Yeah, I think there's a big four that are expiring

21:04 contracts with T Higgins, Michael Pittman, Jr, Calvin Ridley, and Mike Evans. I think

21:08 those are the four needle moving quality starter plus. And two of those guys are young and

21:14 Pittman and Higgins that could potentially be cornerstones for your offense. I expect

21:18 Cincinnati to use the tag on Higgins just because they're going to do a Jamar chase

21:23 contract extension. That's probably going to be the number one wide receiver contract

21:27 out there. And that's going to be over $30 million. And they got Joe Burrow getting 55

21:31 per on average. So are you really going to pay T 2025 and pay over a hundred million

21:38 dollars in capital on an annual basis? Cause they're not a team that likes to restructure

21:42 at a super high rate, a hundred million dollars in cap space for two wide receivers and a

21:46 quarterback. Probably not, not long-term at least, but you can put them on the franchise

21:50 tag and keep them in for another year and try to make another run or Pittman. The, the,

21:55 the thing that's going to be the blockade for Pittman is the Colts have a ton of cap

21:58 space as well. And I expect that they'll probably have a pretty honest crack of getting a contract

22:04 done, but Ridley that's a, there's a stipulated pick that's attached to Calvin Ridley. If

22:09 the Jaguars re-sign them, it's a two and that's the top 50 pick. If they don't re-sign them,

22:13 it's a mid three. I think it's like 78 or 79 in the draft order. So I think he's got

22:17 a decent chance to hit the market. He's everything that everyone not named pop Douglas is in

22:24 the Patriots wide receiver room this past year, right? Like big time route runner separator,

22:28 super dynamic, athletic, quick Twitch versus all these like non-separation guys. So I think

22:33 he'd be a good infusion of somebody new. And I think he's probably going to be in the team.

22:39 So it's not like you're giving out a big time wide receiver contract for Calvin Ridley.

22:43 So that's the one, if you want to go cheaper, I like Curtis Samuel. He kind of had a little

22:47 bit of emergence this year. There's been some durability stuff. I like Darnell Mooney. I

22:51 think Darnell Mooney got open a lot more than what he was able to showcase. Maybe a little

22:58 bit of rawness at the top of the route where I think he and Justin Fields weren't on the

23:01 same page, but dude got open a ton. So those are two other guys that I think are from that

23:08 same body type as Calvin Ridley that again are so different than what the majority of

23:12 the Patriots wide receivers were this past year.

23:16 - Out of curiosity, what are your thoughts on Gabe Davis? Because we watch a lot of them,

23:21 see him twice a year at least. And the X market I feel like is very shallow. I feel like honestly

23:28 it's Mike Evans, it's T Higgins. You could put Calvin Ridley there. I don't think that's

23:32 where he's best. I feel like he's really more of a C at this point in his career, if you

23:35 really want to like maximize his value. So if the Pat's are saying, "Hey, we really don't

23:40 have anybody to Devante Parker going into the draft who we feel like can really play

23:44 that kind of spot." Do you think he'll be worth whatever value he tries to get on the

23:50 open market? Or is that just like, "Hey, let Buffalo probably or some other team just pay

23:54 him whatever they want."

23:55 - I don't get the sense that Buffalo is going to bring him back. And I don't get the sense

24:01 that I felt for two years that Buffalo had an upgrade opportunity with Gabe Davis because

24:07 he's kind of one dimensional with his route running ability. Felt like he and Josh Allen

24:12 had a lot of miscommunications on routes down the field based on coverage leverage. Some

24:16 misthrows and big moments targeting Gabe Davis that felt, you know, I think the Philadelphia

24:22 game comes to mind. The throw at the end of the Kansas City game comes to mind. So there's

24:28 just these glimpses in my mind of Gabe Davis that I can't quite shake. And then he's not

24:36 a very diverse route runner. I think he's somebody who will probably look to try to

24:41 cash in because he's had production courtesy of being in that Bill's offense and being

24:44 the second wide receiver. He's probably looking, what did Nelson Aguilar get from the Patriots

24:49 when he signed? 11? Was it 11 per?

24:50 - Something like that. Yeah, they did like 11.5 or something like that.

24:51 - He's going to be in that ballpark, I think. And for that price, I'd say no thanks. You

24:57 could give me DJ Chark for half that dollar amount for another like big body vertical

25:01 plane wide receiver if you wanted it. Or you could draft somebody, you know, maybe you

25:07 can get Cedric Wilson for three, $4 million a year as a big body guy too, who could play

25:11 on the outside and block. His contract just voided for Miami. So I would not be in play

25:18 for Gabe Davis at his price point.

25:20 - I agree. I agree. Just curious. Cause I know you watch a lot of them. All right, moving

25:24 on to the defensive side of the ball. So I've mentioned it a couple of times, lower and

25:27 skies been released and defensive line was another one of those. Like there's a lot of

25:30 other needs for the Patriots. You know, they could probably survive this year, but that's

25:34 one where you start thinking, okay, they really are guaranteed to add some kind of bodies,

25:38 whether it's through the draft or whether it's through free agency. And then I know

25:41 I want to get your thoughts also on Matthew Judon because he's in the last year of his

25:45 deal is coming off an injury, probably either an extension candidate or he's somebody they're

25:48 going to trade.

25:50 So who do you think on this free agent market is someone they could plug in, whether it's

25:54 interior or on the edge. I feel like they can't really be too picky who you think could

25:58 come in and add some value really is more of an every down presence most likely. Cause

26:02 I feel like if Judon is someone they do want to get rid of, or even if they don't with

26:06 him kind of getting up there in age, I feel like they want somebody who can contribute

26:09 as a run defender and a pass rusher, as opposed to like a Jennings or an Uche where they're

26:13 really on the field to do one thing and you got to take them off in certain situations.

26:17 I think your best value opportunities are probably going to be the top of the interior

26:21 defensive lineman market. Like you're going to pay for Chris Jones, but you know what

26:25 you're going to get for Chris Jones. You're going to pay for Christian Wilkins. I think

26:29 there's a pretty good chance he hits the market. They just sound like they're far apart on

26:33 dollars. Wilkins made a huge leap this year, had nine sacks. I think he was always capable

26:40 of doing that. You guys know it full well, that Belichick style defense is very gap control

26:45 oriented. We're going to not be overaggressive to get backfield penetration. Our scheme rushes,

26:52 our pass rushes are going to be schemed a lot of the time to attack protection and attack

26:56 an individual matchup or create miscommunication and picks. He did all that dirty work at a

27:00 really high level. Then this past year, it was kind of, "No, you get to go rush the passer."

27:05 He had nine sacks this year. He's probably going to be a $23, $24 million a year player.

27:10 That's probably the market that he's looking for. If you want to get more economic than

27:17 that, I think Daquan Jones from the Bills is a really good name. I think he played for

27:21 $7 million this past year. He was another guy who got out of a gap control style scheme into

27:28 more of an attack oriented front. He was unblockable for the first month of the season. He has an

27:33 injury, comes back and plays well for him again. He's a little bit of an older player,

27:37 so I think that maybe works against you. I think if you want to get plug-in high volume

27:41 snap takers on the defensive line, I think your interior defensive line group really

27:46 showcases itself well. Just because at the edge group, it's Brian Burns. Are we over the moon

27:52 with Brian Burns as a run defender? You're going to try to take a lot of the same ideals

27:57 from what you've been doing defensively. I just don't know that that's a great fit.

28:01 What's the age blockade for guys like Zedaria Smith and Jadavion Clowney? Is that too old of

28:07 a player to bring in and pay $10+ million for? Both of those guys could make an argument for

28:13 $15. Smith played for just short of $12 this past year and Clowney signed for $5-6, but he'll

28:21 probably look to double that with how good of a year he had in Baltimore. I think the value and

28:26 getting your money's worth is going to come on the interior if you're going to sign a guy in

28:29 free agency. Do you think it still makes sense to throw money at an interior lineman if they end up

28:35 extending far more? Because it feels like he's their guy in-house. If you're going to be paying

28:39 someone on that defensive line anytime soon, you've got to prioritize him. But at the same time,

28:43 you've still got a year away. So if you're saying, "Okay, maybe you go cheaper on the edges or young

28:49 guys where it's really more of that control and make sure nobody gets outside of you and just

28:52 harass guys up the middle." How do you feel about investing at the same position with that kind of

28:56 money? I think there's room for multiple guys. Just because if you're going to go odd front,

29:03 you can have two B-gap guys that can be real studs and can really dictate terms and then just

29:09 have a space eater inside on the nose tackle over top of the center. And then when you go even front,

29:14 so when you play nickel or your sub package or your big dime or whatever it is, those two guys

29:19 can still continue to rush the passer. And I think when you think about the division that the

29:24 Patriots are in, interior pressure is the most consistent way to disrupt, I think, two of the

29:31 quarterbacks in the division, both Miami and Buffalo, where you got to be really mindful of

29:35 your rush lanes against Josh Allen. You can't rush off the outside stem and dip into the B-gap

29:41 because he's going to find his way outside of it. So being able to cage rush him and maintain pocket

29:47 integrity and then get disruption on the inside, I think is the best way to disrupt Josh. And then

29:52 just because of Tua Tungvalo's stature, how they like to throw over the middle of the field.

29:56 I think that's the argument to be made to if you were going to pay two guys on the defensive

30:00 interior, you build your team largely to have success against your division. And I think those

30:05 two quarterbacks, that's a really good way for them to go about trying to do that.

30:09 I hope they do. Honestly, I would love, you want to build a good spine. And right now,

30:14 if you start with two high level defensive tackles, that's a pretty damn good start.

30:19 All right, we're going to close up with the back end. We touched briefly on the safety market.

30:23 Kyle Duggar, probably going to come back even if it isn't on the tag, but in a reality or in a

30:27 world where maybe he doesn't come back. Like obviously Adrian Phillips didn't really play

30:31 a ton of defense last year. Like even when they were kind of getting hurt by injury,

30:35 he still didn't play very much. So his departure doesn't really do a lot for me in terms of that.

30:39 But if Kyle Duggar isn't around, or even if they're saying, hey, Marte Mapu was solid,

30:44 but we may need some better insurance for those three safety packages where we know we got some

30:48 impact players. Who are some guys that you think should jump out for you?

30:51 This is another middle class position that I think has a lot of depth

30:55 in for expiring contracts. And there's more at the top of this free agent group than there is

31:02 it on the interior offensive line to when you talk about Duggar, Xavier McKinney with the Giants,

31:08 Antoine Winfield potentially being an aspiring contract. Like you got those guys. OK, now we

31:13 got a couple of guys that might get the Jesse Bates 15, $60 million a year. That trickle down

31:18 effect is going to impact these middle class guys like Chauncey Garner Johnson and J. Ron

31:23 Kirst with the Cowboys and Tashaun Gibson, who I think has been really good the past couple

31:27 of years in San Francisco and the two Ram safeties, Jordan Fuller and John Johnson and

31:33 the Colts, Julian Blackman and Jordan Whitehead, who's a big time striker with the New York Jets,

31:38 or Elohi Gilman, who had a really good season stepping in as a starter this year.

31:42 Tashaun Elliott was a reliable player for the Dolphins on the back end. So Gino Stone had

31:48 seven picks this year on a one year, $1.7 million contract. So like that, that's a ton of names.

31:55 And then from the same draft class as Kyle Duggar, you have a guy who wore out his welcome

31:59 and kind of fell out of grace with the coaching staff in Carolina and Jeremy Chin, who has a lot

32:04 of the same physical attributes. I remember that draft class and that whole debate about those two

32:08 like supersized safeties with these superhero physical abilities and athletic profiles. So

32:15 there's probably double digit options for like middle class adequate level starter safeties that

32:22 are probably going to be out there. And because there's a few guys at the top that might milk

32:25 some of the big money that can go to that position, I think that trickle down is going

32:29 to have these guys signing for good deals. - Kyle, this was a blast. Always appreciate

32:35 you coming on, brother. Always learn so much. Before I let you out of here, please let the

32:39 people know where they can find you and what great work you got coming down the pipeline.

32:42 - Yeah, we are over at Locked On NFL Scouting with Joe Marino, who's sadly Bill's fans. The

32:48 only bad thing about him, I won't hold it against him. You guys shouldn't either, but come on over,

32:52 check us out. And then I am over at Locked On Dolphins. All the Locked On shows are available

32:57 on YouTube or wherever you guys listen to your podcasts. - Seriously, if you want to get updated

33:01 on this free agency class, I've been using you guys as a cheat sheet. So love your work. Highly

33:06 recommend. Thank you for being on again, buddy. Thank you all as always for watching. We're going

33:11 We're going to get out of here, but first, take care of yourselves.

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