In this episode of the Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast with Nick Cattles, Greg and Nick project the Patriots' opening day starting lineup, offering insights and analysis on key positions and potential starters.
0:00 - Introduction
0:59 - Analyzing the projected starters for the Patriots team
2:44 - Evaluating the running back position with Rhamondre Stevenson
6:34 - Observations on Hunter Henry's performance in the offseason
9:19 - Evaluating KJ Osborn's catching issues compared to DeVante Parker
12:00 - Positive outlook on Jaylen Waddle's potential as a rookie receiver
13:58 - Game Time app benefits and ticket purchasing process
15:59 - Analysis of the left guard spot and player comparison
17:38 - Discussion on David Andrews' role in the new offensive scheme
19:34 - Mike Onwenu projected as Right Guard for the team
22:27 - Transition from Michael Onwenu to Kaden Wallace at Right Tackle
25:45 - Concerns about players' knee durability
29:00 - Discussion on Josh Uche's contract situation
31:48 - Potential contract maintenance concerns for players
33:49 - Evaluating the impact of Jalani Tavai's return from injury
38:15 - Optimism for left cornerback position
40:19 - Uncertainty surrounding Marcus Jones
42:15 - Evaluating free safety Kyle Dugger
************************************************
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0:00 - Introduction
0:59 - Analyzing the projected starters for the Patriots team
2:44 - Evaluating the running back position with Rhamondre Stevenson
6:34 - Observations on Hunter Henry's performance in the offseason
9:19 - Evaluating KJ Osborn's catching issues compared to DeVante Parker
12:00 - Positive outlook on Jaylen Waddle's potential as a rookie receiver
13:58 - Game Time app benefits and ticket purchasing process
15:59 - Analysis of the left guard spot and player comparison
17:38 - Discussion on David Andrews' role in the new offensive scheme
19:34 - Mike Onwenu projected as Right Guard for the team
22:27 - Transition from Michael Onwenu to Kaden Wallace at Right Tackle
25:45 - Concerns about players' knee durability
29:00 - Discussion on Josh Uche's contract situation
31:48 - Potential contract maintenance concerns for players
33:49 - Evaluating the impact of Jalani Tavai's return from injury
38:15 - Optimism for left cornerback position
40:19 - Uncertainty surrounding Marcus Jones
42:15 - Evaluating free safety Kyle Dugger
************************************************
Patriots Content Brought to you by....
Prize Picks - PrizePicks.com/CLNS
Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100!
Gametime - https://gametime.co
Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Terms apply.
Merch Store - https://shop.clnsmedia.com
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SportsTranscript
00:00This is the Greg Bidard Patriots Podcast with Nick Cavins.
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00:57All right, Greg.
00:58We're going to take a look at this team right now, and the projected starters go position
01:03by position, and see how we feel.
01:07Better the same or worse about said position.
01:10Let's start at quarterback, Jacoby Brissett.
01:14So these are just to give people a background.
01:17So these are our projected starters, not, I mean, I guess maybe there are projected
01:22starters somewhere.
01:23Maybe on Patriots.com.
01:24I don't know.
01:25But these are sort of our choices for the opening day starter, and I have Jacoby Brissett.
01:32I think the odds are pretty strong that he starts at least opening week, if not a significant
01:36portion of the schedule.
01:39I feel better about where Jacoby Brissett is compared to where the Patriots finished
01:45the season.
01:46Of course, you know, Mac Jones was on the bench.
01:48Bailey Zappi was starting.
01:50We all know about the debacle.
01:51I just think that Jacoby Brissett, with his background in this offense, his ability to
02:00limit the turnovers, the ability to use his legs when needed, I think that, and it might
02:10not be the first week of the season, but I think eventually he will give them more stable
02:16quarterback play, and that's really what this team needs.
02:20I think they need to hang on to the ball, both in terms of turnovers and time of possession,
02:26and if they do that, then they should be in a lot of these games, and I think that's all
02:30we're really looking for out of these Patriots.
02:33The bar is low.
02:34Brissett's better.
02:35I mean, come on.
02:36Bailey Zappi, Mac Jones last year.
02:38Give me a break.
02:39All right, Ramondre Stevenson last year, Ramondre Stevenson this year.
02:45Yeah, I feel better about it because of, you know, he's got the contract thing out of the
02:50way.
02:51He's come back a little bit more trimmed down.
02:54I think he's upped the muscle and eliminated the fat and sort of changed his body a little
03:02bit, and I think you're going to see a little bit of a better burst out of him.
03:07I don't know if he's necessarily going to give you more in the passing game than, you
03:11know, what he normally does in terms of just, you know, checkdowns, the occasional screens
03:15and stuff like that, but I think he's going to be a little bit more explosive, so I feel
03:19better about Ramondre Stevenson going into the season.
03:23I'm at the same level.
03:24I want to see how the lighter version looks when you get the pads on and, you know, the
03:27yards after the contact.
03:29He's always been kind of great spinning out of tackles.
03:32Does that remain the case?
03:34Can he stay healthy with a little bit less weight?
03:38So I'm pretty much same level with Ramondre.
03:40All right, we'll look at the pass receiving back.
03:43We go, I would guess, Ezekiel Elliott, we could say, third down back here, and you've
03:48got Antonio Gibson this year.
03:51Yeah, so I feel better about it, not that, you know, I think that Ezekiel Elliott was
03:58a good player for them.
04:01I thought, you know, I was a little bit surprised that he lasted as long as he did on the market,
04:06but I think most people probably figured he would go back to Dallas, which he ended up
04:10doing.
04:11I thought he was a better backup, you know, role-sharing sort of running back than he
04:19was out of the backfield, but he was pretty good out of the backfield, you know, good
04:22hands, not a whole lot of bursts, but, you know, would shake a few tackles.
04:27But from what I've seen from Antonio Gibson so far, I really like him.
04:32I think he's a little bit better, a little bit more agile than Ezekiel Elliott, you know,
04:41better hands, can catch a variety of passes, not just swing passes.
04:46You can get him on the wheel, you can match him up with a linebacker, and he might be
04:53able to do some things.
04:54Now, it's not going to be James White or something like that, but I do think it's an upgrade,
04:59so I feel better about that.
05:01I'm with you.
05:02I think Gibson brings them more explosivity than Zeke did.
05:06You mentioned all the different things he could do as a receiver.
05:08He was a receiver in college, so he's a better pass catcher.
05:11He's a more versatile pass catcher.
05:13I think he's a great fit for this system in AVP, so I feel better about that position
05:17like you do.
05:18Tight end one, Hunter Henry.
05:22So I feel a little bit worse about this, just because, you know, Hunter's getting up there
05:29in age.
05:32You know, I certainly thought he was worthy of bringing back on a contract because they
05:36didn't have anybody else at the position, but I wouldn't say he blew me away or anything
05:43this offseason.
05:45While other guys, while other tight ends on the roster were getting open for things, for
05:50receptions, red zones, things like that, you know, whether it's Austin Hooper or Jaheim
05:55Bell or even Pettway, Wilcox a little bit towards the end, you didn't see a ton from
06:05Hunter Henry.
06:06So that gives me some pause.
06:09I got a BSJ member question where somebody was saying that, you know, I wrote or said
06:16on the podcast that I thought that Hunter Henry might have lost a step.
06:22But he was basically like, and the member was like, explain.
06:26And like, I mean, I don't know what to tell you.
06:28It's not like I can produce video for you and illustrate it with offseason practices.
06:33It's just you're going to have to trust, you know, what I'm seeing.
06:37And again, it's just a sort of a off the hip observation.
06:42Obviously I'm not sitting there studying Hunter Henry, so I can't definitively tell you he's
06:47lost a step.
06:48But I thought that, you know, some of it was the offense last year.
06:54We all know what he did in his first year with Mac Jones and, you know, he was really
06:58good and his production has gone down since then.
07:01A lot of that was probably the offense and what was going on with the quarterback position,
07:06the offensive coordinators and all that.
07:08But just I thought that in this offense, which is pretty tight end friendly, I thought I'd
07:15see a little bit more out of Hunter Henry in the offseason practices and I didn't.
07:19So that's why I feel a little bit worse about it.
07:22I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt.
07:24He's a veteran.
07:25He's been a trusted and dependable guys coming off of an injury.
07:28He's working with a new offense.
07:29I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt until about August.
07:32So I'd say I feel the same subject to change.
07:35If this continues what you saw at minicamp, then I would have a problem.
07:40But for right now, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt of the veteran.
07:44All right, Pop Douglas.
07:48So just to give people background, I look back to last year, so the snap percentage
07:53in order at wide receivers went Devante Parker, Pop Douglas, Juju Smith-Schuster, Kendrick
08:00Bourne and Jalen Ragour.
08:02So I am projecting not really wide receiver one, but I think he I think Pop's going to
08:09get the most action.
08:10Yeah, maybe not in terms of snaps, but I do think I was very impressed with him where
08:17he sort of built off of what he did last year as a rookie.
08:22I thought he was he had a very impressive rookie campaign.
08:25Once he got out there, I think he's going to be even better.
08:28Hopefully these coaches know how to utilize them.
08:31Hopefully the wide receivers coach, Tyler Hughes, is good.
08:34But I feel better because of what I saw from Pop during the offseason practices, and I
08:41think, you know, he's only going to go up.
08:44I agree. I feel better.
08:45He's now seasoned, as they say, a year under his belt.
08:49I don't think he'll be looking over his shoulder as much, especially what happened early in
08:53the season last year.
08:54I mean, we forget the Miami fumble and then he was pretty much a forgotten guy for a few
08:59weeks there. So I think he's going to be given the opportunity with this coaching staff,
09:03even if he does have a misstep or two.
09:05I think he's a good football player and he's got more help around him.
09:08The receivers to me overall are better.
09:10It's a better situation.
09:11So I expect him to be better this year than last, as long as he stays healthy, which with
09:16head stuff we never know.
09:17All right. K.J.
09:18Osborne slash Juju is how you had this one listed.
09:22Yeah, so I guess I would put this as you're basically comparing it to Devante Parker from
09:28last year. And so I like I like a lot of what I've seen from both players.
09:36All right. Maybe not a lot, but I've liked what I've seen out of both players.
09:40I like K.J.'s a professional.
09:43He's been in the scheme.
09:44He knows what he's doing.
09:46I like his profile, like his athletic ability.
09:49I don't like the way he catches the ball.
09:51He's been struggling to catch the ball.
09:52That's always an issue is an issue.
09:55It's always an issue for a wide receiver.
09:57You know, if you can't catch the ball, that's sort of job one.
10:02Yeah, and so he had an issue with this last year in Minnesota.
10:06We all thought that was the anomaly for him because normally he's been pretty sure handed
10:11guy. But last year and now this offseason, you're starting to wonder if he's in some sort
10:19of slump. And Juju, I mean, I just don't know whether he's going to be here at the end of
10:24the day. So, you know, this is comparing basically K.J.
10:28Osborne to Devante Parker.
10:33You know, I put worse, but I would say I feel about the same.
10:38Everybody knows I wasn't the biggest Parker fan.
10:41And but, you know, he did come up with some plays at times.
10:44And of course, he dropped some big plays at times and then didn't want to take
10:50responsibility for it.
10:51So, you know, the whole catching thing, it's pretty even right now to me.
10:57So I'm going to say the same for the spot.
11:01Yeah, I mean, I probably rest somewhere around the same, but I do think there's room for
11:07growth if Osborne can figure things out and if the drops are not that big of an issue,
11:11then he would be, to me, a no doubt upgrade over what you had last year.
11:15So hopefully he irons that out.
11:17And we're not even going to talk about J.
11:19Vaughn Baker, so maybe he can show up in training camp.
11:21That's another option here.
11:23So but I would rest on the same right now.
11:25Let's get to one more receiver.
11:28I don't know how you want to split this up as far as who you're comparing him to.
11:31But Jalen Polk.
11:34Yeah, so I guess if we've done Parker and Douglas, I guess this would be the Juju
11:40slash Bourne spot from last year.
11:42And we all know that, you know, Kendrick Bourne's coming back from an ACL.
11:47We're probably he's probably going to start the season on Pup and we'll have to see what
11:51happens with him.
11:52But I feel better.
11:54I mean, anybody who's listening to this podcast or read me knows how I feel about Jalen
11:59Polk and what I've seen on the field from him.
12:03I think he's going to be really good.
12:05I think he's he's got a chance to be, at least statistically, one of the best rookie
12:13receivers for the Patriots in some time.
12:15I just think he's he's Jacoby Myers with much bigger upside and very sure handed,
12:24tough, smart, knows what he's doing.
12:27I love Jalen Polk.
12:29And so I feel a lot a lot better about the third wide receiver spot going into this
12:34year. I'm with you.
12:35More complete, more competitive.
12:37I love his makeup.
12:39He's produced on the field.
12:40He's got unbelievable hands.
12:43So I would I would feel much better about Jalen Polk than really any receiver from last
12:48year outside of maybe Pop Douglas, who doesn't love going to an MLB game during the
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14:16Let's finish up the offense up front.
14:19Greg, we'll look at the O-line.
14:21Left tackle, Okorafor versus Trent Brown.
14:26At first, I wanted to give it to Trent Brown, and I do think Trent Brown,
14:31for all his Trent Brown-ish, has been a, you know, when he was there
14:40and he wasn't in the Matt Patricia offense, he was, you know, pretty solid.
14:43Of course, you know, there's a lot of other things that come with Trent Brown,
14:46but in terms of like, you know, starting the season and playing,
14:50you know, I like Trent Brown.
14:51I think he's good.
14:51I think his size, his length causes a lot of issues for edge players in the NFL.
15:00You know, Okorafor, I liked what I've seen out of him so far.
15:04I know internally they like what they've seen out of him so far,
15:06but we haven't seen him in pads yet, and who knows?
15:09Maybe he's not tough enough at the end of the day.
15:12We don't know.
15:12We don't know that until the pads go on.
15:14Yeah.
15:14And so right now it's a bit of a mystery what they're going to get out of him.
15:19But I would say.
15:21I would say I feel about the same starting the season with Okorafor
15:26that's being a little generous
15:29because there are a lot of questions about him and Trent Brown,
15:31you kind of knew what you were going to get and you got that
15:35the whole the whole thing.
15:37So but I'm going to say I feel about the same right now at that spot.
15:42I feel worse because I don't know what Chooks is going to be.
15:45At least I knew who Trent Brown was better or worse.
15:50I knew what I was getting into, right?
15:52The good and the bad of him.
15:53So I would go worse just because the jury is still out on Okorafor,
15:59also still out as we record on Karen Reid.
16:02Anyway, let's go to the left guard spot.
16:05City, so against you would say,
16:07are you going to look at this as position or as the player?
16:13I'm going to look at this as the position,
16:14so it would be Cole Strange that we are comparing him to.
16:19You know, I liked a lot of what I saw out of City.
16:22So last year, I wouldn't say that he's come in
16:27and shown like a different level.
16:29I wouldn't say he's especially bigger or quicker or anything like that.
16:34We all know Cole's sort of limitations.
16:37And, you know, the more he played, the better Cole was. Yeah.
16:41I have the same worry, though, with both guys,
16:44especially in this division, with a lot of big, strong defensive tackles.
16:49Cole Strange had a lot of issues with those guys.
16:51I could see City, so because he's also sort of lightened the tuchus,
16:56as you would like to say,
16:59the same as Cole.
17:00So I'm worried that they're going to have the same limitations there.
17:04So I'm going to go with the left guard spot.
17:06I'm going to say I feel the same about where the Patriots were last year.
17:10I feel better because of Cole Strange's injury history
17:14and the fact that he went down at the end of last year.
17:16So I feel better about the left guard spot.
17:19So played left guard in college.
17:21So he gets back to his collegiate position.
17:23He's got the same thing like Pop Douglas, a little bit more seasoning.
17:26And I would hope and expect better coaching from Scott Peters
17:30than what we got from Adrian Clem last year.
17:32So I'm going to say I feel a little bit better about so than Strange.
17:36David Andrews.
17:39So this is going to hurt a little bit,
17:41and I don't want people to take this out of context
17:43because everybody knows how I feel about the captain, David Andrews,
17:47and about the type of player he's been.
17:49And I'm so glad that he's back and hasn't decided to retire
17:53because I do think he's a really good player.
17:55I think he's completely underrated.
17:57I think he's underappreciated even around here.
18:01However,
18:03I feel slightly worse about this,
18:06and I'll just the only reason is I haven't seen him in the scheme.
18:10And this scheme puts a lot more on the center.
18:13The old Patriots scheme was a lot more on the quarterback
18:16in terms of protections and changing plays and all that stuff.
18:19And the center was basically a sidecar.
18:21The center runs the deal up front in this scheme.
18:25So that's a change.
18:26Not that I don't think David Andrews can do that.
18:27I totally think he can do it.
18:29I just haven't seen it yet.
18:30And the other thing is this is a zone blocking scheme.
18:34And I wrote about this earlier this week
18:37talking about the offensive line and talking to people around the league.
18:41And there are a lot of concerns that they don't
18:44that they don't have the right types of offensive linemen
18:48to run this zone blocking scheme, which is more predicated on athletic
18:52linemen, smaller, athletic, get out, get angles, things like that.
18:57And that's I don't say that it's not a weakness for David Andrews.
19:03It's just, you know, we haven't seen him do it yet.
19:05But I do have a lot of confidence in David Andrews.
19:08I always have.
19:09But until I see it, I feel a little bit worse about this spot this year.
19:16I'm rolling with the same.
19:17That might be boring, but I'm going same with David Andrews
19:20just because I think he's got a high football IQ.
19:23I think this is going to kind of rejuvenate him a little bit this year.
19:27And he's just solid.
19:28So I'm going to say the same for for David Andrews.
19:32All right. Right guard. We've got
19:35right now, as of 28th, 2024, as we record this,
19:39it is Michael Wenu last we saw at right guard.
19:42So I guess we'll we'll just kind of project him to be right guard for now.
19:47So you're going a Wenu versus City South.
19:50Yeah, I think that
19:53I think that a Wenu.
19:55I think that he's going to start at right guard.
19:57I think they want to get Caden Wallace on the on the field.
20:01There's the whole yin and yang with that.
20:03I mean, from what I understand from talking to people,
20:06his move from left tackle to right tackle is not about him
20:09like busting at left tackle.
20:11It's actually they like what they've seen out of him.
20:14But it's just, you know, what do you do? You see this a lot.
20:16I mean, even the Patriots with, you know, Matt Light, Matt Light
20:19started at right tackle and then moved over to left tackle.
20:25Nate Solder started at right tackle.
20:27He was drafted to be a future left tackle to succeed
20:30Matt Light.
20:31And so a lot of teams do this where they put their
20:35you know, their they would rather get the tackle on the field
20:39and sort of, in their mind, upgrade the talent, the best five,
20:42get them on the field.
20:44So right now I have a Wenu at right guard.
20:48If you're comparing it to City, so obviously this is better.
20:52Just in general, I'm more comparing and I'm obviously changing the criteria
20:57for different positions to suit my own agenda rules halfway through.
21:02Exactly. So I'm comparing a Wenu to himself
21:06and I feel slightly worse about it.
21:09I don't I don't think he reported in the greatest of shape.
21:12Again, that's my opinion.
21:14I don't have any definitive proof for you.
21:18Just, you know, what I've seen.
21:20And there are I can tell you there are internal concerns
21:24about whether Michael Wenu, now that he's gotten a big contract,
21:27whether he's going to be the same player.
21:29There's a there is a feeling
21:33from people, you know, around the team
21:36that they think he's the type of guy who doesn't 100 percent love football.
21:41And now that he's sort of arrived with the paycheck,
21:45you know, maybe it's not as good.
21:46I'm not saying that's going to happen.
21:48Just saying that's a concern and something we're going to have to look out for
21:52going into this year.
21:53But I do.
21:54So for those reasons, I feel slightly worse about Michael Wenu this year
21:59compared to last year.
22:00Sticking with the initial criteria, I'm going to say a Wenu is better than City.
22:05So rookie right guard versus one of the best guards in football.
22:08I'm going to go with the Wenu and feel better about him as far as the weight.
22:12We'll see. Maybe we'll get Bedard out there.
22:15First day of of training camp with a scale and see if he can get a Wenu
22:19to stand on it.
22:20See how that conversation goes.
22:22All right. Yeah.
22:24Look at right tackle.
22:25Well, we we ended the year last year with Michael Wenu at right tackle.
22:30Now we're projecting Caden Wallace to be the guy.
22:33How's that comp work for you?
22:36Yeah. So obviously, Wallace compared to Michael Wenu, I feel a lot worse.
22:41And Michael Wenu looking for a big contract and extension or free agency
22:45or what have you.
22:47I feel worse about that.
22:49I'm more comparing
22:51Caden Wallace to Vidarian Lowe, who got a lot of snaps there
22:56last year.
22:59That was a bit of a train wreck, but I think that you would like to think
23:03that Caden Wallace can't do any worse than that.
23:05I'm not so sure. I need to see this.
23:07I need to see this kid in pads.
23:10There's there are toughness questions about him.
23:13We'll have to see whether that's true or not.
23:16But, you know, for for right now, I'm saying I feel about the same at right tackle.
23:21For right now, I'm feeling worse because I don't know what Wallace is going to be.
23:25I hope he can figure it out.
23:26And obviously played a ton of right tackle at Penn State.
23:30Maybe he'll end up being good, hopefully.
23:32But I don't know until I see him out there in training camp.
23:35So I've got an unknown rookie in Wallace versus a winner
23:38and a winner was at least average at right tackle.
23:40So I'd say I feel worse.
23:41All right. Let's jump to the other side of the football defense.
23:43DeMarcus Covington, new defensive coordinator,
23:47running that side of the ball.
23:49We start on the edge.
23:51Matthew Judon, Keon White.
23:55Yeah, so I have them as a platoon and a platoon on the other side.
23:59Matthew Judon, we'll have to see what ultimately happens with him.
24:04If it's just Keon White, I don't know if I feel as good,
24:08even though I think he had an awesome offseason.
24:11And I think he's going to be a beast this year.
24:14But I'll just say that the tandem of Matthew Judon and Keon White
24:19and if they keep them all on the same roster,
24:21which I think the odds are probably pretty good.
24:24I think they they want to beef up the defense.
24:27It's Mayo's baby.
24:28You know, keep them in games, all that stuff.
24:30So I don't I the chances of Judon getting dealt,
24:33I don't think are great.
24:34But I don't think you can totally,
24:38you know, look past that possibility.
24:40But if they stay the same with, I would say, Keon White's sort of the starter.
24:45If you remember last year before Matthew Judon's injury,
24:49at least in the first half of games or most of games,
24:53they took some of his early down load off to keep him more fresh.
24:58I could see that again where Keon White is on the edge
25:02for first and second down or something like that.
25:06And then on third down, Matthew Judon comes in with a lot of
25:10White kicks inside.
25:11Devon Godchow comes off the field.
25:15So for that sort of platoon situation,
25:18I feel better because Matthew Judon is going to be back healthy.
25:22Hopefully he's motivated.
25:24And Keon White has definitely improved
25:26and I think is in a better spot to utilize his athletic talents.
25:29I feel better.
25:30I'm expecting a step forward for White.
25:33I can't wait to watch him play with pads on.
25:35I can't wait to see him get going.
25:37All right.
25:38Christian Barmore.
25:40Got the big contract.
25:42Love Barmore.
25:43Thought he was great last year.
25:45From what I hear, there are a lot of concerns about his knees,
25:48about his knee that has given him issues.
25:52I just don't know.
25:55He certainly has the potential to improve on what he did last year.
25:59I just don't know if that can be the expectation.
26:02I don't have any concerns about him and his contract.
26:05I think that he will be as hungry as ever.
26:09Again, that's just a gut instinct of mine.
26:11I don't have any ready facts to present on that.
26:15But just from what I've observed of him in his time as a Patriot,
26:20I feel really good about him continuing to work hard and all that stuff.
26:24But I just don't know with his durability concerns
26:29whether he can definitely improve on last year.
26:33It would be huge for the Patriots if he does,
26:35but we'll have to see.
26:36So I'm going the same for Christian Barmore.
26:38I can't predict injury, so I'm going to say better.
26:40I feel slightly better about Barmore because I do think he has that other level.
26:44I think he's got another step.
26:47Right now, pro football focus has him between like 10 and 15
26:51ranked on interior defensive linemen across the league.
26:53I think he could absolutely get into the top five to 10.
26:56I think he's got that next step in him.
26:59So I'm going to say slightly better about Barmore.
27:02Devon Gotchow.
27:06So, you know, I think that at this point in time,
27:09I think we know who Devon Gotchow is and what you get out of him.
27:13You'll get a couple of special games every year.
27:16You'll get some dog games out of him.
27:19You get pretty consistent play, I would say, outside of that.
27:23But to me, I'm going to put it slightly worse because of his contract situation.
27:29And, you know, I think this is this is real.
27:32He's already been on Twitter, like talking about it, about how he wants something fair.
27:38Is that going to happen?
27:40What's that going to look like?
27:41What kind of precedent does that set?
27:43I think it's a very tenuous time, and I don't know.
27:47I can't tell you when he's going to be on the practice field.
27:49I could definitely see a hold in situation.
27:52How's that going to affect him?
27:53It didn't work out for Judon last year.
27:55So I'm slightly worried about this whole.
27:59All right.
27:59I'm more than slightly worried.
28:01I'm worried about this situation.
28:03And so for that reason, I feel worse about nose tackle going into this year.
28:07It's interesting because it could go either way, right?
28:10The contract year can kind of bog him down.
28:13He can be miserable and have a down season.
28:16Or it could be a contract year.
28:18He could be pissed, be motivated, ship on the shoulder,
28:20say, screw you to the Patriots.
28:22I'm going to go out there and ball and then leave you in free agency.
28:25I'm going to be optimistic.
28:27I don't know why, but I'm going to go slightly better.
28:30Maybe because I believe that Mayo will get the best out of him,
28:34and they'll be able to talk him down a little bit and get him focused.
28:38It really does depend on the contract, though.
28:40So I don't know how he's going to approach this.
28:43If he's going to be the curmudgeon and just be peeved all year, not in a good way,
28:48then it could end up being a disaster.
28:50Hopefully it motivates him and he wants to prove to the football world
28:53he's worth one last big payday.
28:55All right, let's get to the opposite edge.
28:58We've got Anthony Jennings and Joshua Uche.
29:01Yeah.
29:02So, Nick, one thing I wanted to ask you, because
29:05as people know from my last podcast, I've been in travel ball hell this summer.
29:10So I haven't exactly kept up on everything.
29:14I did get a BSA member question this week about
29:18they basically said that Josh Uche is complaining about his contract
29:23after he just signed the short one-year deal with the Patriots.
29:27I don't know if you know anything more about it.
29:29It was the first I had heard of it.
29:30I texted Giardi today about it, and he pointed to Mike Reese mentioning Josh Uche
29:36on Sunday as part of the contract squabbles going on.
29:42Do you know anything more on this?
29:43The only thing I've seen is the same thing as Giardi said, which was
29:47Mike Reese on Sunday writing, kind of hinting towards,
29:50oh, he handled mandatory minicamp differently than a guy who just signed
29:55an extension, kind of an extension if you want to call it that, I don't know, a one-year deal,
30:00and looking at how he was handled that camp and hinting towards the idea that he might have some
30:06issue.
30:06But it's actually something I've been trying to figure out, and maybe you can help me out on
30:10this.
30:11If a guy signs in March, he can't redo his deal right away, can he?
30:15Isn't there some kind of rule that stops him, prohibits him from circling back?
30:19Because I would imagine that that would be a huge loophole.
30:23Why would teams not sign guys to one-year deals and then circle back three months later and be
30:27like, oh, surprise, the guy that we gave a one-year deal three months ago, we're going to
30:31give a five-year deal at $100 million.
30:33There's got to be some kind of rule, right?
30:35Yeah, I think that's correct.
30:38I think there's some sort of time period where you can't do anything to somebody's contract.
30:44But I also don't want to say definitively, because I do think there are certain types
30:48of contracts, depending on the language, that you could do something.
30:54But my reaction to this is, dude, tough noogies.
30:59You had every opportunity.
31:03There were reports that he turned down a lot more money to stay here, and I think he only
31:07came back for one year, like $4 million or something like that.
31:11It was the biggest shock to me of the whole off-season for the Patriots.
31:14I was like, what?
31:17We've seen guys, whether it's like Mark Anderson 10 years ago, one year he comes in, he's an
31:23edge rusher and all, he's a situational guy, and Buffalo paid him through the nose.
31:27And of course, that was a terrible contract.
31:29We all knew it was going to be.
31:32But he had his chance to fly the coop.
31:35And my read on it was, he didn't love the offers.
31:39And so he figured, hey, I'll stay one more year in this role.
31:43I know what I'm getting.
31:44I know what I'm getting with the coaches.
31:45And maybe I try to hit it big again.
31:48But there could be a little maintenance at play here, where he's just like, all right,
31:54I signed, but I'm not going to kill myself for $4 million this year.
31:58I'm going to make some business decisions along the line.
32:02So that should be interesting.
32:03But in general, at this spot with Jennings as the run defender, Uche as the pass rushing
32:10platoon, I feel about the same because I thought both of those guys were really good last year.
32:15And maybe Uche's stats weren't quite as good as they have been.
32:19It's still pretty damn good.
32:20So I feel really good about that platoon on that side.
32:23I agree with you.
32:24I feel the same.
32:25How about John Bentley?
32:29So Bentley, my only concern with Bentley.
32:32So I feel better to start the season because I think he wears down as the season goes along.
32:40And maybe Taki Taki being here can help take some reps from him.
32:45Raekwon McMillan's back.
32:47He can help.
32:48But John Bentley's been really good for about a half, two thirds of the season.
32:55And then he sort of trails off because just too many reps, too many injuries.
32:59It's a tough position.
33:01A lot of knicks.
33:02But, you know, I like Bentley.
33:05I've always, you know, I want better at the position and faster.
33:09But, you know, I feel generally about the same.
33:13I think he's underrated as far as what he does for this football team.
33:18You could argue that he's been one of their better players the last couple of years.
33:22I like the speed element, though, that I think they do have because they have at least options
33:26there, Greg, this year.
33:27At least I feel that way going in with Taki Taki and with hopefully Mapu.
33:32I know they have him in the safety room.
33:35But even if he can give you a couple of snaps and bring that athleticism, so they at least
33:39have options to improve their speed at the second level if they want to do that, given
33:44the matchup.
33:45But I feel the same about Bentley.
33:46How about Jelani Tavai?
33:50So I feel slightly worse just because he's missed a whole offseason coming back from
33:57a surgery.
33:57And also, I don't think and it's not a knock on him or anything like that.
34:02I just don't think he can be any better than he's been.
34:05I mean, he's been really good.
34:06He's been really good the past two years in his role.
34:09I wish they would play him less snaps.
34:11I wish they would get more speed on the field.
34:13Maybe we see that with, you know, Taki Taki and Raekwon McMillan and, you know, some of
34:23the, you know, other options that they have at the position.
34:27But I just to me, it's just I think he's maximized who he is.
34:32And so, you know, and coming back from injury, I feel slightly worse.
34:39I want to see how he looks as long as he's healthy.
34:41I feel the same.
34:42So I'll put down same right now.
34:44I know that Gerard Mayo said that he was itching to get back onto the field.
34:48So it doesn't sound like it's too serious of an issue.
34:50We'll keep an eye on it.
34:51But I just feel the same about these linebackers.
34:53We know who they are.
34:54We know what to expect.
34:55And as long as they're healthy, they're going to give you what you expect from them.
34:59A sub linebacker.
35:00I just brought him up a moment ago.
35:02Marte Mapu.
35:04So I guess I would I would compare this to Mac Wilson, possibly.
35:11You know, it's not certainly not apples to apples, but, you know,
35:14Mac Wilson was very productive last year as a pass rusher.
35:20You know, played his best ball.
35:23Mapu, I'm just going off of what I've seen on the practice field.
35:28And I just I worry about that.
35:30He's too small for that position.
35:32Certainly, he's smart as hell.
35:34He's fast, but I really worry about his size of the position and whether,
35:41you know, he can he can, you know, be out there for 16, 17 games.
35:47You know, he's already had injury problems in his time here.
35:50So I feel slightly worse about it.
35:54But, you know, I'd really like to see the kid get some run,
35:58a lot of running camp so we can figure out exactly what he is.
36:01It's really early, so it's tough.
36:02You usually wait at least two years, if not three, on rookies right after their class.
36:07So I still think we have time with Mapu to see if he if he really shows out at some point.
36:14But right now, I got to say, I feel worse.
36:16Mack Wilson was good last year.
36:17He was impactful.
36:18He helped the team.
36:20And Mapu to me is still an idea more than a reality.
36:24I want to see the idea play out.
36:26But until I actually see it, it's just an idea.
36:30He could be this.
36:31He could be that.
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37:55Let's continue with the defense.
37:57Let's go to the secondary now, Greg.
38:00Christian Gonzalez.
38:03Yeah, only four games out of the kid last year,
38:06but from what we saw, he got better with every single game.
38:10It looks like he's going to be a legit shut down cornerback.
38:14Hard not to feel a lot better about that position.
38:16Hopefully, they get a full year out of him
38:19because it looks like he could be a special talent.
38:24Big fan.
38:24Feel better.
38:25Stay healthy.
38:26Only going to improve.
38:28Left cornerback.
38:30For now, you have Jonathan Jones.
38:31I think there's still a chance that this changes.
38:34I don't know if you feel the same.
38:36If Alex Austin continues to play and look the way he did in minicamp and training camp,
38:40Alex Austin could be your left cornerback,
38:43but let's go with Jonathan Jones right now and your thoughts on him.
38:47Right.
38:47Well, I mean, you're not wrong with that.
38:50I will say that even if Alex Austin is the left cornerback,
38:56depending on how many wide receivers they have on the field,
38:58I mean, normally it's two starting cornerbacks.
39:00So Jonathan Jones would be the starting cornerback.
39:03And then once they go to three wide,
39:06Jones would slide inside and Austin would come in as the third cornerback,
39:12the other boundary guy.
39:13But you're absolutely right to say that it could end up being
39:17slightly changed a little bit here.
39:21I really like Jonathan Jones.
39:24I feel better about him coming back.
39:27Hopefully, he's healthy.
39:28We haven't seen a whole lot of them.
39:30So it might be tough to say they're going to be better there.
39:34But I'm just a JJ fan.
39:38And so I feel better about the position.
39:41I feel the same about Jonathan.
39:43And if Alex Austin continues to play,
39:45I'll feel better about the cornerback position overall.
39:49Let's look at the slot though.
39:50You've got Marcus Jones.
39:52Yep.
39:53And again, moving pieces,
39:54this could end up being Jonathan Jones with Austin in the mix or even
40:00the big guy.
40:01What's Isaiah Bolden?
40:03Who knows?
40:04Maybe he pops and he's in the mix for boundary cornerback.
40:07They could bring in a veteran boundary cornerback if they feel like they're lacking
40:12a little bit there.
40:13But Marcus Jones, I feel the same because we just don't know what he is.
40:19I mean, he really hasn't shown the ability to
40:24be a starting caliber high rep cornerback in this league.
40:29There were a lot of high hopes for him coming in,
40:32being sort of like a honey badger type guy that hasn't happened yet.
40:35But who knows?
40:36Maybe it's just takes him some time.
40:38He's had the injury issues.
40:40I just think the makeup, the athletic ability,
40:45all that could translate really well.
40:48So I'm going to say about the same,
40:50but I really hope we get a definitive answer on Marcus Jones this year.
40:54I want him to succeed so badly.
40:58I want him to show the talent that I think he has.
41:01But I feel worse because he hasn't been able to stay healthy.
41:04And one of the concerns was his size.
41:06And so can he get on the field and stay on the field?
41:09Until he does that, I'm not going to feel better about him.
41:13And I'm certainly not going to feel the same
41:14because he went down with another injury last year.
41:17So I really want him to work.
41:19I think he's got talent, but can't really do much.
41:24If you continue to be all sorts of banged up,
41:27can't make the club in the tub, as they say.
41:29Before we get to the safety position,
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42:14All right, free safety, Kyle Duggar.
42:18Yeah, we don't know exactly how they're going to slot at free safety.
42:22But, you know, I just think Kyle Duggar is what he is.
42:26He's a really good player.
42:27He'll provide some splash plays.
42:29He'll get burned a few times on touchdowns.
42:32I mean, he is what he is.
42:34So I feel about the same at the spot.
42:36I actually feel better because I think he will play closer to the line of scrimmage
42:41more often this year, which is.
42:44You know, as we know, more of his comfort spot is comfort zone,
42:48and he produces better in that in that area of the field.
42:52Jalen Hawkins is another guy we keep an eye on once we get the training camp
42:56because he got decent snaps during many camps.
43:00So I wonder how much he'll play and be involved there.
43:03But I feel I feel a little bit better about Duggar.
43:06He's got his money, and I think they'll play him more at the level of comfort.
43:11Jabril Peppers.
43:15The same.
43:16I mean, well, no, I feel better because I just think he's.
43:22I just think he's I think he's great.
43:24I think he gets better every time he plays for the Patriots every year.
43:28So I have high expectations for him, and I think he's going to be
43:34one of the big leaders for this defense.
43:36And I think it's a it's a really good thing for them.
43:39And I think a lot of people are going to follow Jabril Peppers lead.
43:42And I think that's that's a good thing for the Patriots.
43:45Love Peppers feel better about him this year than last year,
43:48just because he was so good last year.
43:50He was one of my favorite players on that team.
43:52He's got the right personality, the right approach,
43:55and he follows it up on the field.
43:56Love Jabril Peppers, one of my favorite guys in the league.
43:59Honestly, after watching him last year, he's just he's good.
44:02Good football player.
44:03And he gets it.
44:04All right, that'll do it.
44:06Everybody enjoy your weekend.
44:07We'll be back early next week.
44:09Of course, Fourth of July week.
44:11Greg is going to be traveling.
44:12We'll we will catch up with him somewhere in Denver at a location to be named.
44:20And I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about.
44:22But have a great weekend and be well.
44:42you