Patriots Draft CountdownPatriots Draft Countdown: Previewing the Receivers, Backs & Tight Ends, Jayden Daniels Film Breakdown, Derrik Klassen Interview
In this episode of Patriots draft countdown, we break down the latest draft news and rumors from around the NFL, preview the draft's wide receivers, tight ends and running backs, and Evan Lazar breaks down Jayden Daniels' film. Plus, we talk with Derrik Klassen from the Bleacher Report.
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Welcome to another edition of Patriots Draft Countdown, brought to you by bud Light. Easy to drink, easy to enjoy. Bud Light, the official beer sponsor of the New England Patriots, and guys were just about two weeks to go here. We're getting a little redundant on the quarterback of it all. I feel like those guys have been in for visits, so we're just gonna catch you guys up quick here in the first segment on some latest news, and I guess top of the list is Kyle Duggar signing an extension. Not sure how much that really affects the draft, pol I think we all still kind of feel like they could maybe use a free safety, but maybe a little bit.
Yeah, I'm not sure it's a huge impact on the draft either, but it is I think a good sign because and I talked about this a lot during the season last year, and clearly they thought it was important to maintain, you know, as much of that continuity as they could. But I thought Dugger in particular was one of those guys that had sort of you drafted and developed second round pick, had some success, made some plays, had a really strong twenty two season. Maybe didn't have as many flashy plays last year as he did, But I thought it was a good message to sort of send to not just maintain you know, that guy on the roster, but to say, we understand, you know how you guys think in there, and this is what we want to do. We want to reward you for being on board and being a big part of our team. It's not like an achievement ofward or anything. The guy's a good player. So I thought that was a you know, a good sign, good good all around. I thought it was good for Kyle Dugger, but also a good message to send in the locker room.
Yeah, you hear some reports out there that he was pretty unhappy about the transition tag and getting that placed on him. So just in terms of his happiness or his willingness or want to to be here, I think it's a good thing. To get this extension done sounded like it. It can't bread together pretty quickly over the last week or so with OTAs and the spring programs starting for the Patriots. But go back to the free safety thing real quick. I do think that that it continues to be in need. I just don't love him playing up top like that, like he's Devin mccordy. I just don't really think that that fits his style. I don't really think it fits your guy, Jabril Peppers's style either. So it's not necessarily that they need to bring in somebody that's gonna play eighty five ninety percent of the snaps. But can you get it de Ron Harmon type in the third or fourth round that on third down and obvious passing situations, that's the player that plays the post safety role in the man coverage schemes, and you allow Dugger and Pepper's to be closer to the ball. Last year career high in free safety snaps for Kyle Dugger, Paul mentioned maybe not as many splash plays on the ball, like A big reason why that was because he's so far away from the ball. You know, if you're all constantly thirty yards off the line, of scrimmage, you're not going to be near the ball as often as when you're playing in the box. So I think that that remains in need. Maybe not one that they can use a high pick on this year, but someone in that third or fourth round range. And there's a few guys that fit that mold in this year's draft.
Almost makes me think a little bit of Eugene Wilson, remember, I mean, he was kind of a cornerback coming out right, and then when mLOY went, he just kind of got thrust into that free safety role a little bit there.
I think we could go into a whole side story about that. It was Antoine Harris and Rodney Harrison at safety in week one, and you guys might recall they lost thirty one to nothing. In Week two, it was Eugene Wilson moving to safety and the rest was history.
As they say, all right, well, we've been talking a lot about Drake May, JJ, McCarthy, Jay and Daniels. They're all builliing together. We know reports last week that all three of those guys are coming in. I think May was here earlier late last week, Daniels I think was here today, and McCarthy's coming so guys, it continues to be kind of jockeying between those positions tease. I mean, it's kind of getting I think we're getting a little worn out, especially with the third overall pick. As Evan did his runt about mock drafts, there's just not really a lot to consider other than I mean, for me, where I'm at, take May if he's there, otherwise trade down. I'm a little bit sour on Daniels, but I'd still be open to take him. But what do you think Patriots bringing these guys in clearly have interesting.
I think you got to get a quarterback. It kind of goes back Evan said before that Christmas game might come back to bite you in the butt. But I mean, you want to take May, but then I think Daniels the second best option. I'm not as sold on McCarthy, but I hope as May or Daniels. So we'll see in April.
Yeah, I think what's interesting about the visits and really this entire pre draft process has been a three horse race for the Patriots and Michael Pennix, bow Nicks, Spencer Rattler need not apply right Like they're not even in the conversation and I think does tell you a lot about what their thought process is. That they're the number thirty overall pick and where they feel like they're going to take a quarterback in this draft. That just based off of everything that they've done. Unless this is the smoke screen of all smoke screens, I don't really understand why they would. You know, we can get into that, I guess later. But they are honing in on these three guys. These are the three guys that they've said it continues to to their pro days that they've had in for thirty visits. It just doesn't seem like they have any interest in the second tier, third tier quarterbacks in this draft. It's all about those three guys at the top. So I don't necessarily take away much about oh, they're more interested in this guy that guy quite yet, but I feel like in terms of the tiers of quarterbacks, they are honed in on those top three guys.
Yeah, what do you think, Paul, those guys, I mean, it was just kind of gotten.
Everything Evan just said. I totally agree with it, you know, And Michael Panis is the only other one of those guys that I even have a little interest in, and I just can't come up with any rational explanation as to why they've done so little in terms of personal interaction with him if they were interested in him. So I got to think it's it's down to those other three, and I think it's really you know, I think it's between McCarthy in May because I think they feel like Daniels is gonna.
Go to Washington.
So I'm kind of like tease, I'm not really sold on McCarthy. So to me, I've I've wrapped my mind around Drake Man.
You don't go for and thirteen to pick JJ McCarthy, That's what I'll say.
But that's a fair point. That's the thing that I've always said about JJ McCarthy that's given me pause about it is I just don't see game changing talent on film. I don't see a guy that's going to come in here and be your franchise savior. And I'd hate to put that on any of these guys, but at least with Jayden Daniels, obviously at the Heisman Trophy season, you can see that on film of this guy can be an absolute game changer. Drake May with the physical tools, absolute game changer. You know MVP caliber type traits. I what are JJ McCarthy's traits in that category. I'm just not really necessarily sure. I think that he's a great quarterback for a lot of different teams. I just don't feel like the Patriots are one of those teams.
All right, Well, you heard Evan mentioned Jade and Daniels. We've got a pack show and we're going to go right now to Evan's film review of Jade and Daniels. You also talk to Derek Klassen a little bit about the quarterbacks, so it is still a quarterback jam show, and we'll finish it off though talking with the position groups. Everybody loves w receiver, tight end, running back, So jam pack show. Check it all out.
You can find him on Bleacher Report and Reception Perception with his QB chart. He's Derek class and Derek been a big fan for a long time. Excited to talk to you about these quarterbacks today. How you doing?
First of all, I appreciate that, and second of all, I'm doing great, doing good. It feels like we're kind of really getting into that like real end push of the draft season.
So it feels good.
Yeah.
Right, the hay is almost in the barn, as we say around here, with the draft, and I've been reading your charting on quarterbacks probably since I don't know, nineteen twenty something like that. So those are great resources and you guys should go check them out. So we're going to talk to Derek, of course about those quarterbacks, a big area of need for the Patriots. I don't know if you knew that, Derek, but you know the Patriots might take a quarterback. It's a little topic around here every once in a while. So let's start at the top. And I want to start with Drake May because I have an affinity for Drake May. I've fallen in love with him during this process, and it's always great to see somebody like yourself also see a lot of the same things that I do, and why I think he's such a great prospect for the Patriots in particular, you see in Drake May And do you buy into some people? You know, I'll name names, Chris Sims, you know has him as QB six. You know, he's kind of all over the place with all these rankings. But where are do you fall on Drake May.
I think he's fantastic, Like I think he's a truly unbelievable prospect. Like we've done this whole thing with Caleb being like a, you know, one of the best prospects of a generation, and I think he absolutely is. I mean, we're probably not going to talk about him a whole lot here because there's no shot the Patriots get him. But I think May is like in that same tier of player I even like, to me, May is the one a I will say, part of that is just like my personal affinity for certain traits at quarterback, like I think, I mean, May is just obviously much bigger. I think some of what he can do as a design runner I think is a little bit more valuable than Caleb. And then to me, what really really puts Drake May over the top. I mean, there's a lot of reasons, and we'll touch on all of them, but to me, it's just the way that I think he handles the pocket and is able to throw with bodies around him is like, really really special. I think it's the type of stuff you see from a lot of the best quarterbacks in the NFL already, whether it's Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, even Dak Prescott, I think has his quality when he's thrown around bodies in the pocket and stuff.
I think May has that to him.
And then when you combine that just on top of like the raw arm talent that he has, where he's just able to put.
The ball in.
Places that seem almost impossible for a quarterback. And I know people are gonna harp on him for like the consistency, and I do think he has a couple of sprays a game, but I think what you get out of him on most plays and especially on his best plays, it's what you chase when you're looking for a potential top five, top six type of quarterback, and I think Drake May has all that stuff. And I think what people need to remember too is like Drake May is still a very young player. He's the youngest quarterback I think in this class. JJ might be a little bit younger, but he's still like one of the He's a very very young player, and I think for him to be as good as he is with even some of the flaws that people have, like oh, his footwork isn't perfect. He has two sprays a game, he has like one completely dog brained play like Josh Allen every game that seems like the dumbest thing you've ever seen. But I think so much of that stuff is fixable, especially when you just look at the raw talent that he has and so much of the just gamer that he plays with. Like I just I could gush about him forever. I truly think he's a really really special prospect.
I love that, and I think that's the original thing that drew me to him is what you mentioned, and coming off the Mac Jones experience. For Patriots fans, I think the biggest thing is is that you have to have a baseline level of arm talent and being able to drive the football down the field in those muddied pockets. I think with Mac, when he had a clean pocket to step up into and really put his weight behind a throw, he had the NFL caliber arm to get the ball where it needed to go. But as things started to fall apart around him, I think what we noticed here in New England is that now all of a sudden, he's thrown off his back foot or he's thrown from muddied pockets and he's not able to step into it, and he wasn't able to generate that velocity that he needed. I remember there's one throw I watched early on where Drake May is backed up on his own end zone and he kind of pumps to the middle of the field to hold the hook defender and then hits the crossing route basically flat footed coming across the field the other way. And I was like, there's no offense to mac, but there's just no way that he can make that throw. And I think that that's what we're looking for as Pats fans now, is that raw talent and ability, that Josh Allen type of quarterback. And that's why so many of us have fallen for Drake May. One last question on Drake May. I feel like I know where you're gonna her head is gonna be at with this. But a lot of people, a credible people have said that he needs to sit, that he needs to be sat for a year, maybe maybe the Jordan Love track, or you know, even just Patrick Mahomes sit his rookie season and then play year two. Where do you fall on that line and do you think that he's so raw that he has to sit behind a veteran quarterback.
My take, honestly, with almost every prospect is that they would probably benefit from sitting like I even think Caleb like would benefit from.
A year like I that's just generally a thing.
I believe the reality is that most guys just aren't like It's teams want to go play guys and they want to see their investment on the field immediately. But I think, like within that context of thinking that most guys are just going to play anyway, I think may is totally fine being in that bucket because I think what we've seen a lot of the times is that the guys who don't sink and are able to swim as as rookies even if they're not you know, like May, like I said, his footwork is not perfect. He is probably gonna have to learn a little bit of how NFL offenses work, coming from two different styles of a raid offenses at at North Carolina, Like, there are going to be growing pains. But I just think he's so unbelievably talented. He's so athletic, he's so just like raw and brave in the pocket, and that type of stuff I think is stuff that you can see translate and get productive play out of, even if he's not perfect. I mean, I think even just last year we saw this from Anthony Richardson right, Like Anthony Richardson, Is he the most accurate quarterback right now? No, Like he could probably clean up his footwork a little bit. Is he the fastest processor in the league right now? Like?
No.
He came from an offense that didn't ask him to do as much as an NFL offense is going to and I think it's going to take him a little bit. It's going to take him a year or two to like really ramp up into that. But we still saw him be a very productive and like, very impressive quarterback in the few games that he was able to play, in part because it's the arm talent that that we both mentioned, where like he just has the raw ability to make certain throws even if maybe he's late, maybe his feet are off, like, he still can make certain throws.
And I think that that's really valuable.
And then he has pocket toughness, which I think he's always going to translate immediately, especially I mean it's not even just that he has pocket toughness, it's that he was very battle hardened behind a terrible.
North Carolina offensive line.
Like he's had a lot of reps where he's had to be the guy under pressure and I think that's going to actually help when he when he goes into the NFL and then he just has like that creative I'm going to be superman. I'm going to go make a play. And I think when you're just a rookie thrown in to the fire, you have to have that. You have to have that mentality and then also the ability to go capitalize on it.
I think May checks both boxes.
So yeah, he probably would benefit from getting a year to clean up his footwork and learn NFL offenses. But like he's he's going to be just fine. I think if he has to play right away.
Yeah, agreed. We could gush about Drake May for probably another thirty minutes. So let's move on to the next couple quarterbacks here. You didn't you mentioned JJ McCarthy, But I want to get to Jaden Daniels first before we get to McCarthy. Jaden Daniels, I feel like is one of those guys that when I first watched him, I was like, this guy's electric. He can do a million different things. I think he's a much better passer than you know, those prototypical guys coming out that are pure runners like he is. But where do you follow with Jaden Daniels. It does sound like the commanders might be locking in on him number two, but if he's there for the Patriots at three. Overall, what's your take on Jayden?
I think he's a fine prospect.
I think I'm a lot lower on him than most people. To your point, though, like when you first watch him, whether it's on Sundays or just your first exposure to him, or on Saturdays or just your first exposure to him on film, there is a lot of stuff to like. Like, I think he is a very accurate passer to basically.
Every level of the field. On the throws that he does.
Make, I think he throws short and outside the numbers really well.
I think he throws down the field really well.
Even though he didn't throw the middle of the field a lot, which is a concern I'll bring up in a little bit, he did throw it well when he actually triggered on it, and I think that at least the ability to do it is a nice thing in his bag. He's obviously an unbelievable athlete. I mean, he's going to step in and be one of the five best probably rushing threats in the NFL. Immediately, and that's I think gonna be a really nice boost to whatever offense he takes. You know, whatever you get out of him as a passer year one, you're gonna have that floor with him as a runner, which I think is super valuable.
He's the guy who I think he.
Progresses through concepts fairly well, and like he doesn't make glaring mistakes. It's just sometimes he won't trigger and be aggressive, which leads to like, okay, sometimes he leads yards on the field, but also he never really puts the ball at risk. So it's a little bit of like, which do you want out of your quarterback?
If that makes sense?
Yeah, me personally, why I'm a little bit lower on him is like I want the guy who's just gonna blindly rip a dig route like I just that's why I love Drake May. He'll just do it. Jaden is a little bit less willing to do that. He's a little bit more in the probably not as bad as Russell Wilson, but it's like in that Russell Wilson Jalen Hurtzish where it's like this is probably just never gonna be his area of the field. And then the other thing with Jayden that I think has turned me off from him a little bit is I don't think he manages the pocket very well, and I don't think he makes plays. I don't think he makes throws off script very consistently or very well, and he's not very willing to do it. Like he's the guy where okay, one to two to three in a clean pocket, he's gonna make a good throw for sure, there's no doubt about that. I think when he gets pressured and gets moved off his spot a little bit, he is very quick to like, Okay, the play's dead, I'm running. And that's great at the college level. I think in the NFL it's really really hard to get away with.
Being that way.
I think the best NFL quarterbacks are guys who, Okay, initial plays dead, I'm gonna get outside of the pocket and look to throw first. I think you even see this from like people who are comparing him to Lamar Jackson.
Lamar Jackson is very.
Much like outside the pocket, eyeser up, he's looking to throw, but run if he has to. But he's very much a guy who's looking to make throws outside of the pocket. But Jaden, I just don't see that as much, and I think that's a really hard thing to get a guy to do.
So that's kind of some of my concerns. Like I said, I think.
There is a lot to like, I'm just a little bit more hesitant on or a little bit more wary of what his ceiling is, I think than some other people.
Yeah, I think you brought up a lot of really good points. The thing that stood out to me is that there's this play against Florida where he's got Malik Neighbors jumping up and down in the middle of the field asking him to throw him the ball, and he passes it up wide open, dig round in the middle of the field, and he ends up running for fifty yards. On the play, he just takes off scrambling and he runs, And on the one hand, it's like, wow, that running ability is dynamic. That's difference making. But on the other hand, in the NFL, you'd probably rather him take the dig route right and let the playmakers do the work instead of having him have to do everything himself. So that was one of those plays that I felt like was the perfect encapsulation of the yin and the Yang with Jaden Daniels, where he's gonna pass up some things in the middle of the field that other quarterbacks are guys in the league will trigger on, like you said, But then he's also going to be able to have that tantalizing running ability. So it's like, you know, how do you pick on him too much for it when he just broke off a forty five yard scramble. But I think that that, coupled with the fact that he does have the smaller frame and the durability concerns, if he's always looking to run, then is he gonna last, you know, and is it gonna be able to be consistent and sustainable at the next level or our legitimate concerns. The other concern I wanted to ask you about. I know I always do this. It always sounds like I'm trashing on Jaden when I'm like, not really trying to. It's just I think that there are some concerns there with him. The other thing that I think was a little bit concerning to me as well, is that so much of his production came off those slot fade routes, throwing to neighbors and too Brian Thomas Junior, and where are his layups in an NFL offense, and where's the easy yards for him, especially if he comes to a place like New England where he might not have those outside winners. You know, he might not get step into an offense right away with the Patriots where he has two premium elite receivers on the outside to make those plays. Do you think that he can be a guy that survives without the supporting cast, I guess is the best way to look at it.
I would be a little bit concerned.
And I think that's a great point because even in my charting that I did for him, a lot of his production, like you said, is either those slot fads that they ran or just standard goballs, or he threw a lot of like hitches and curls outside the numbers.
And to your point, it was a lot of like, Okay, I've just.
Got to top fifteen picks on the outside. I'm going to go give him a shot. And like I said, he's great at doing that. But when you no matter what team he goes to, he's going to have like a on a relative level, less talent outside than he had at LSU. And so you're gonna have to calibrate for that. And so when you couple that with some of the concerns I have with him throwing the middle of the field, It's like, ah, this gets a little bit sticky. And then with me, the other concern with Daniels is I think he's actually even more so than receiver. I think a guy who absolutely needs a rock solid offensive line just because of some of the you know, pocket management and like quick to run type of tendencies.
That I see from him.
I think, I mean, obviously nobody is going to replicate the Eagles offensive line, but like he needs to be in a Jalen Hurts esque like incubator where that you can kind of almost nullify that part, like that issue of his game. And I think, especially if he goes to Washington, that's going to be a problem because their offensive line is to arriable. And then I think even in New England it would probably be an issue because their offensive line is a little bit better than Washington's, but I think also still still very much an issue.
Yeah. Yeah, it's a good point, And you know that's why I've gravitated towards Drake May throughout this processes. I just feel like for the Patriots it's just makes more sense it fits together a little bit better. But I'm glad you brought up the things about Jayden Daniels as a processor, because I do think he is much better getting through progressions than some people would think at that type of quarterback. And I also think that, you know, even though he doesn't have the biggest of arms, the throwing motion and the mechanics of his throwing are really really clean, maybe even cleaner than Lamar coming out in some ways, and just in terms of the footwork and the mechanics of his release and things like that. But let's wrap this up with two quick questions on JJ McCarthy. We could probably go along on this one as well, so feel free to go as long as you want. But JJ McCarthy, I think this has been the most frustrating aspect. I'm not gonna lie to you, Derek about this. This process, this draft process, is that he's just without playing a football game, has all of a sudden come out of nowhere in his you know, a top five quarterback prospect that we have to take seriously at three. Overall, with that being said, I am taking it seriously. Do you take it seriously? Because at this point there's too much smoke for me to just completely dismiss that JJ McCarthy's in this conversation.
Yeah, I do take it seriously, and I personally am not that high on him as a prospect, but I would be stunned if he falls any further than like the Giants at six. Like, I think there's almost no world where he gets past that, because I do think all of the you know, smoke about him going that high isn't smoke, Like that's I think it's very very real. I think teams really do like him in that mold, and I think a big part of the reason is, I mean, you get a lot of like, okay, you know, Big School won a lot.
That's that's always going to help.
But I think a lot of it too is his very young player who was in a general sense like kind of untested just between the competition that he was playing on relative or against, relative to how good his team was, and then just some of the things that the offense asked him to do, Like they run a pro style offense in the sense that they like go under center and they'll run play action and he gets to check plays.
Every now and then.
But in terms of the throws that they're actually asking him to make, and the stuff they're actually asking him to do in terms of posting that processing is not that much more impressive than like what Jaden Daniels was asked to do or Klub or Drake may like, it really isn't that different, even though the presentation looks a little bit more NFL like they did a lot of they would just do that like return motion where xtra receiver comes back into the formation, goes back out and they throw the fly out and it's like the easiest read in the world and he probably got a thousand yards just throwing that route. So I think because of all that relative untestedness, and then you look at the arm strength that he has, the athleticism again some of the.
Winning you can just be like he's a mystery box.
You can see whatever you want because there's such a relatively small sample of things, and then you just get to project tools into being whatever you want. I've been a little bit more cautious with it in terms of like how I project it, but I do understand why some teams are like, you know, you could project these tools with you know, three years of development into being you know what Jordan Love has become or something of that of that nature.
Yeah, that's a good cop. But I think the biggest things with me with JJ's first of all, there's still some of those WTF plays on his film where he's just throwing the ball in the team meetings and stuff like. I can't get the Maryland game out of my head either where you know, he's back to back turnover worthy plays in the red zone, or the very very first play from scrimmage against Alabama and the playoff where he just throws a terrible and I don't think it counted. I think the guy was out of bounds or something, but it still counts in my book, right, you know, in PFF's turnover worthy plays, they'll still count. So you look at those types of plays those are are concerning. The other thing is that he has that wide, elongated base that he throws from to really drive the ball down the field. And I wonder, you know, going back to the mac Jones thing that we were talking about with Drake May, when those pockets are more condensed and there's more bodies around him, there's more people flying around, is the arm strength going to be as impressive as what it seems to be from those Michigan pockets, Like I feel like we had to adjust with Mac to Alabama pockets, like these are Michigan pockets that he's throwing from last year. So where do you kind of grade his physical tools because I feel like I'm a little bit lower on like his arm, talent and even his mobility at times than other people. Where other people talk about him on the same plane as Drake May. And when it comes to those types of traits.
As it pertains to Drake May, Yeah, I don't think he's close to us talented as Drake May. And that is not even really to take away from JJ. That again is just like how much I think Drake May is super talented. My comparison for McCarthy's arm has actually been Baker. Yeah, where Baker can like he can put RPMs on the ball, Doue like he can spin it, especially over the middle of the field. It's just that Baker and j are very much throwers where it kind of takes everything in their body to get all of that velocity.
And it's like, Okay, that's cool.
That gets them to where they need to be for the NFL threshold and all that stuff.
It gets them over it.
But because they're sacrificing, like you know, putting all of this effort into the velocity, they kind of lose a little bit of control. And I think you especially see that with McCarthy when he's either throwing outside the numbers where you need like a little bit of air under the ball, get some arc on it, when he's throwing like corner routes, some of the deep outs, all that sort of stuff. And then every now and then you can see it on like the crossing routes, like the deep overs they would throw in the offense where maybe it's trailman coverage and you can't.
Just pin it on a guy.
You've got to like put a little air under it, let your guy, you know, put the ball over the defender.
I think sometimes he can struggle to do that.
So I do agree in the sense of like physical talent, he's more of like a B B plus than like in the A plus range like Drake and Caleb and all that stuff. And then athletically probably not ever going to really be a guy that is a serious run threat for you. It could be like you know, where one or two times a game you run his own rate on you know, fourth and one or whatever. I think he could probably do that, But generally, I think he's more just a guy who gives you enough enough athletic ability to get outside the pocket and make plays. But he's not gonna be one of those guys who is like a serious, serious rushing threat every week, the way that you know Jaden or Drake or Caleb are going to be.
Yeah, I agree, all right, last one for you. In terms of the rest of the quarterback class, I feel like that's the best way to put it. Who is your favorite out of the next tier of Pennix, Knicks, maybe even Spencer Rattler. Do you have a favorite out of that group?
I go back and forth between Nix and Rattler because they're just two completely different flavors. Like I grade them. I have the same exact grade on them for Bleacher Report. It's just that one Nicks. Nix is more of like, I know what I'm getting here. I know I'm getting a guy who pretty accurate to almost all levels of the field, has enough arm strength, even though it doesn't really I think he's a good enough athlete to actually be more of a designed runner than even like JJ, who we just mentioned. I think he can be in the Daniel Jones, you know, get five hundred yards out of this type of runner.
I think he's a guy.
Who generally doesn't make mistakes, gets the ball out of his hands cleanly. He can do all the RPO, you know, quick game stuff. To me, he's more like in the I think if bo Nix becomes like Andy Dalton, that would not really be a surprise to me, and I'd really have a hard time seeing him be like terrible. So I think in the if you just want a guy who you know what you're gonna get, Nix is totally fine. I think if you want the flash, Rattler is the guy. Rattler is just like I think I said something like this on Twitter, but like, to me, the two guiding principles for like a really really good quarterback prospect are arm talent and pocket management. Rattler's got it man Like arm talent. I mean, I don't even need to really talk about that. I think we've all seen Spencer ratleyh throw football. But the pocket management stuff really impressed me when I went back and charged him, because that South Carolina offensive line. If you guys haven't seen it very bad, Like it's terrible.
I don't know what was going on there.
I think someone tweeted a thing where like I think in like ten of twelve games they had a different starting five up front, which is just that's not how you want to operate in the SEC.
Especially in college.
You don't see that very often.
Yeah, right, And so I think for him to have to deal with that was just really tough, and it obviously led to some just terrible plays because when you're behind on the scoreboard and you're under that kind of pressure, you're just naturally going to make bad plays. But I think you also saw a lot of really really good ability for him to move around the pocket, keep his eyes up, keep a firm base, throw from some really weird and tight platforms like we were just talking about with like you know, JJ and Jayden, that might be an issue, but with Rattler, I don't think that's a problem at all. I think he can make any throw from any platform, no matter how crowded it is. So I think there's definitely some consistency issues you're gonna have with Rattler in terms of accuracy, in terms of maybe some of his scattered decision making, but man, if you can get him into I think a little bit more stable situation than he had. The raw talent is just I think leaps and bounds better than any of the non top four guys.
I love it.
I love it.
He's Derek Klassen from Bleacher Report and Reception Perception. Go give him a look on Twitter as well at QB class and Derek, I really appreciate you doing this. It was a lot of fun.
Yeah, thank you so much for having me on. This is great.
All right, folks, it's maybe the episode you've been waiting for. We still got quarterbacks to do, but today we're going to rifle through running backs, tight ends, and yes, wide receivers, all positions to need for the Patriots. Maybe tight ends a little bit less so after signing Austin Hooper and Hendra Henry there at that position. But let's start off with running back guys in this position. Start with you, Evan that you know it's kind of been devalued a little bit, and I don't think there's really a high end, you know, number one kind of guy, But there are a number of later round guys. Why don't you give us those some of the top round guys that maybe maybe maybe a little bit too soon for the Patriots.
Yeah, so this is not a particularly strong running back class at the top. Like you said, there's no Christian McCaffrey, there's no Saquon Barkley. There's not even a Jamier Gibbs in this class. This is or Bijon or one of those guys. This is a Day two and three running back class. I think the number one running back consensus for the most part is Blake Korum from Michigan. I also hear a lot of Benson from Florida State as well. He's up there too. But those two guys that are really the start, I would say probably in the third round. May maybe one of those guys sneaks into the back of the second round just because somebody wants to jump ahead and pick one earlier than everybody else will. But at some point in this draft there'll be a run of a run of running backs that will all come off the board, and those guys can all be a part of a committee and be you know, useful players at the NFL level. They're not again, they're not going to be bell cows. They're not going to be that stud running back. But if you're talking about getting a tag partner for Ramandre Stevenson, you know those exist in this draft in droves. Like there's a lot of those guys, but none of them really are looked at as like difference makers or game changers.
What do you got, PAULI? And any of these guys strike your fans out?
I mean, obviously I like Korum a lot, but I agree with Evan in terms of, you know, where does it make sense for the Patriots. I also like Jonathan Brooks a little bit, although kind of one year of production, so maybe some question marks there. There are guys that were lead backs. There were guys that you know that certainly carried the load. But I think, you know, like Korum is a guy that you look at him, you're like, oh, he must be a passing back because he's not very big, but he is that kind of a league guy. And I like the way evn't talked about it. A tag team guy for Remandre Stevenson. I just don't think you can afford to do it. I think you're going to be looking at Day three guys and I'm not even sure that you have enough room for that. I think that that's it's a spot like you can't fill everything in one draft, and I'm not sure running back meets the threshold here. There's some guys that can play. And I would add, you know Benson as well with Florida State that Evan mentioned. I do like some of these players. I think there's some skill, not enough really for the Patriots to think about him in day two.
Yeah, so as we get into day two, day three, tis any of those guys.
I think Korum is a day two, day three guy. He kind of reminds me of Philip Lindsay, just very downhill. Also catch the ball. That's one of the comps over there, Philip Lindsay. They you know, yeah, no made a Pro Bowl. Yeah no, fifty eight rushing touchdown or touchdowns at Michigan. You can't ignore that. Can do a bit of everything. So that's kind of the sweet spot where i'd take a running back. Other than that, if you're the Patriots, you're looking six seventh round hopefully and maybe undrafted free agents.
Were we were into Bucky Irving, we were at the combine. We were talking Bucky Irving and then he kind of had a terrible combine. But historically like his You know, he looked explosive in the games, but we got there in the testing numbers not so much.
Yeah, So Bucky Irving's an interesting guy. And you know some some of these other guys too, like Tyrone Tracy Junior from Purdue or Dylan Lobby, the local kid from You and h those guys are all interesting. I just feel like when they sign Antonio Gibson, those guys are more of those sub package pass catching backs. Probably not what they're looking for now. They're probably looking for somebody in that early down roll Ramandre Damien Harris, like that sort of running back, which there are some options to. My My favorite running back of this entire class is Marshaon Lloyd from USC. I just think that he's got the ability to run between the tackles and catch the ball out of the backfield great Senior Bowl week. But he's also like a vertical threat in the passing game too. Seems you know, run the run the wheel route, you know that sort of thing. Yeah. Yeah, just definitely one of those backs that can do a bit of everything. And the way that he runs does remind me a little bit of Vermondre where he's a bigger back, but he has that ability to move laterally and make guys miss and find the right holes and things like that. So he's probably an early day three guy. I would say maybe end of round three, early round four, but you know that's probably where I started even thinking. Is that fourth round pick. I've kind of pegged it as a tight end spot, but maybe they think of it as more of a running back spot.
Yeah. Braylen Allen from Wisconsin was once the other one. Giant dude. I mean, he's like fun to watch. Maybe not not Derek Henry, but like kind of similar size.
I got a late round guy. I love the NFL bloodlines, Paul. We talked about this in the last episode. But Frank Gord Junior, all right, guy, I love Frank Gord Junior can handle the workload and that's like, you know, potential sixth seventh round guy. Maybe u DFA.
So yeah. So Will Shipley is a guy that I've always kind of watched at Clemson. Pretty productive. I get a little worried about guys that have that much wear and tear before they even get into the league, but pretty productive guy. I agree again with both Tis and Evan. I don't think there's that star power in this group. So it's gonna be your flavor, your particular liking. You're gonna take someone in round five or something, and you're gonna hope that maybe he's better than Kevin Harris and maybe he can earn a roster spot. Will Shipley's a guy I thought that had some versatility, you know, a lot of production in the ACC. I know people don't think of that as as strong as his other conferences, but I think he has some ability to in Irving your guy, because you guys had me on Bucky Irving too, so I watched him man, you know, and Evans again right about Gibson probably mitigates that need, but he struggles in pass protection. I don't think that's.
Uh, he's smaller. That that was not a.
Third down back that you necessarily clamor.
To, Yeah, he's a smaller guy. I think the hope was was that he does show a lot of explosiveness on tape and that that did not translate to the combine. Now, historically speaking, running backs, it's not a big combine position because so much of it is how you carry the ball in pads and how you break tackles and stuff like that, so it's not really a big combine position. But Bucky Irving is one of those guys. I think his r S was like one point nine out of ten or.
Like it was.
It was a bomb, you know, it was a very very bad combine. Sorry, I like you a.
Lot, So let's let's then, uh, let's move on to tight ends. And I mean i'd say it's kind of a similar class maybe. I mean you have Jatavian Sanders probably at the top, but otherwise you're really looking at like day two day.
Sorry, I I just you guys, do you know what?
You know what the problem with brought Howers is? I just I You're limited because I'm like, I'm like, I can't even think about him. Don't even get excited about him, because there's plenty of reasons obviously to get excited about brock Bowers.
So wanted you give us a little brock Bowers. I mean, he's been doing it for a while. Is he a senior junior senior junior junior? He did in the in the one of the finals he went off. So I wasn't really focusing too much on the top guys because as a fan. I'm a low worried if they pick a tight end above the fourth so I'll go down to some of the lower round guys. We talked with Tonat and at the combine, but also I said it in the intro episode, Dallon Hulker from Colorado State just one of those receiving tight ends. He can break loose, good hands, has some speed for being a big guy. So that's one of the guys I'd like to see the pass maybe snag.
Later in the drafts. Sonat's all over the place right like everybody's got its Phil Perry. I mean, he just seems like he's kind of that sweet spot of like a fourth round kind of guy. Really athletic, you know, maybe needs to you know, work on blocking and who doesn't really at this level. But he's a favorite through I got a red flag on him.
He's a tight end out of Iowa who went to Kansas State and Iowa what was wrong? And he played he played hockey with the tight end factory. Why didn't we go there?
Well, there's a guy named Eric all who's also in this class, who plays at Iowa. But I'm just gonna come out and say this tight end class stinks. It's awful. Okay, I'm just gonna be honest with you, especially coming off of the tight end class last year and how stacked that group was. This group is brock BAERs gap, Jitavian Sanders gap. People that might make an NFL roster. That's this class.
Let's have it like some of the best NFL tight ends are drafted in the mid round, So who knows, it's crap teas.
With that being said, Kate Stover So, Kate Stover is a converted defensive end, which I like, right because he's got he's got some some nastiness to him, you know, because he does come from that defensive background. So if you want a guy that can put his hand in the dirt and block some people, Cad Stover can do it. He's just not a dynamic receiver.
Right, and he'll take some time. And the fact that you have Henry and Hooper, two veterans in front of him, would give you some time. But again, this is the day three guy. This is Yeah, you're just not in a position. It's not a luxury. That'd be a luxury pick to take a guy and not expect anything else.
Yeah, I think the one guy that I would probably put in that category of let's take this guy as a flyers, THEO Johnson from Penn State, because of how good he was at the combine six six two fifty five. He is the second most athletic combine tester at the tight end position. Ever, in thirty years of the combine, nobody has tested better than him, I think except one guy. Think it was Vernon Davis who tested ridiculous. So he's that ball of clay of just pure athleticism. Didn't have a ton of production at Penn State in the receiving game, passing game. But if you're looking for the untapped potential high upside, that sort of guy, I would say THEO Johnson. I've liked Benson it throughout the entire process, so I'm in on him as well. But in terms of this tight end class, there's just it's just not exciting. There's just not much there. And I think for a team like the Patriots that you really have so many holes to burn a pick in the top one hundred or the top one twenty five, even on one of these tight ends, it's gonna have to be the right guy, like it's gonna have to be a guy that you really like.
I just throw Jared Wiley in there from TCU two just says, if you want like a third tight end, like a big blog, I mean, he's like a six six two seventy. I mean he's maybe that third guy, which I mean could be a role. But again, do you really need to draft that. They have so many other needs. So without further ado, though, we're gonna get right to the wide receivers now, and I'm not sure how much how long this segment's gonna go. We're gonna try to keep it right. Ivan, go easy on these guys, know, but we've been Look, we've we've been talking and we were saying before, like we've talked Marvin Harrison, Leak, Neighbors, Roma Dune Day, those kind of top Yes, yes, yes, them all. There's plenty of analysis out there. I mean, we can touch briefly upon those guys, but really it's more about more realistic options for the Patriots. Of course, like they could go sideways and take Harrison or Neighbors at the top. We don't really think that's gonna happen, but you know, I'll tee you up first.
Evan.
Though, as we get down, you know, into that like late first round, early second round. That's where the Patriots maybe are gonna be picking or they could trade up. Who do you see those guys in there? I know Adie Mitchell is probably the top.
Yeah, Adie Mitchell, and both Texas guys Adie Mitchell, Xavier Worthy, both guys I think are really good, gonna be good pros. I have my tiers are published on on Patriots dot com for these receivers. I have twenty guys that I that I think are gonna be top one hundred picks in this class. Maybe at some point towards the end here, I'll just rattle all of them off so we can say, well, you didn't talk about this guy wedcad to go to a minute six second four, So I'll t tease up for this because we were just talking about this off the air. The one guy that rowse up for me more than any other player in this class from when I started doing this in January to now is Xavier Lagete from South Carolina. When I watched him initially, I got a lot of le viscashonal vibes down at the Senior Bowl. Also just stiff, you know, big you know, two hundred and twenty one pound guy, some vertical speeds, some scheme touchability, but not really a great route runner. But the more that you watch him, you see some other guys that he could develop into that are a much better comp than Leaviska. But I know you have.
I had.
I don't know if I get killed for this. I had a faster and Kwon Bolden. All right, he okay, No, I'm serious. He's built, he's got hands, he can he can play deep, play across the middle, a very dangerous can run after the catch. That's kind of like the guy the Patriots need. And this could be a second round steal. And that's like that sweet spot of where you want to get a guy. You hope he's a day one starter or at least gets a lot of playing time in his first year. So that's who I have.
So the only thing I'd say about that is that an Kwon Bolden was an awesome route runner. Yeah, really quick feet, really good.
Was also much faster when he came out of school than what people remember. Yeah, like the Arizona and Kwon Bolden was electric. I think he had two hundred and fifty yards in his first ever game. Yeah, and then he sort of became kind of plotting, the crafty guy.
Yeah, yeah, can take the hits, good hands, reliable.
Yeah, that's what So my comp this whole time for the get Spindibo. I just think that he's one of those guys that probably isn't going to have a traditional NFL route tree, But if you just find different ways to get him the ball in his hands and let him run with it, whether it's quick hitters, over the middle, scheme touches, vertical routes, whatever, he'll be able to do those types of things. But I don't think that he's going to be one of those guys that's gonna have a ton of branches.
So I would applaud that because I think there's a similarity between the two different guys that you chose. Obviously Deebo too with the South Carolina connection that might be part of I like him, I like Lagette, and I'm gonna trust Evan here. I'm gonna put my trust in Evan about the route running because I kind of saw a guy that kind of looked like he was rounding things off a little bit. But I'll trust that you watched a lot more than I did, Yeah, be an interesting guy, interesting prospect, and I alway did well, you know, testing and all that.
You know.
I don't like his route running just okay, yeah.
I thought he was kind of rounded some stuff.
Yeah, no, no, he's not a route runner.
To feel better about it now.
That's why I compared him to Debo, because I think he if he's in the right role and he's used correctly, he's such a game breaker before and after the catch with his speed, and there's only so many guys that at two hundred and twenty one pounds run a four to three nine like that doesn't just grow on trees. So I really like him, but I love I also really like the technicians in this class. I think all of them are really really good options. On day two, Lad McConkie, Lad mccaucky, Roman Wilson, Ricky piersall the two Washington kids, Polk McMillan, all those guys run routes. They all have PhDs in route running. They're all awesome at the top of the route. They all you have all that technical savvy that you want. I really like McMillan. A little bit later, if you're looking for like sixty eight, you know down the line here, I comped him to like a more explosive Jacobe Myers, you know, Jacobey Myers, but with a four four seven, like that type of player.
So you didn't mention Troy Franklin. What are your thoughts on him?
So, Troy Franklin, I liked initially his combine was rough and he ran a four to four to one, which was good speed, but it's not elite elite speed. My com for him has been Jerry Judy. I just think that he he's got much better route running skill than people give him credit for, but play strength and being able to finish through contact is going to be a concern. I think that there's a chance that he's got Jerry Judy like drop issues at the next level because of that. So that's why I think he's going to be able to separate. I don't think that's going to be an issue for him. It's going to be finishing the catches that's going to be more of the problem.
Who else you Well, I just want to know if Evan could give us the summation to Keon Coleman his favorite.
So here's the thing about Keon Colemanuh, Keon Coleman has a lot of red flags, and then there's also a very very high ceiling if he does reach the potential, he doesn't separate, he doesn't run well. His contested catchability is supposed to be his calling card. He only caught thirty three percent of his contested car charge targets last year. For comparison, Romadu's day caught seventy five percent of his contested targets. That's a mouthful. I can't say that. So you're telling me that this is like a jump ball artist who doesn't even really catch jump balls all that well, So what's the upside to Keyon Coleman is that he plays a lot faster than what he timed in the forty yard dash. So this is a guy that if you like the in game tracking data, you know, the GPS stuff, he's gonna run twenty plus miles an hour at six three two twenty five and that's gonna attract people to him. So I think at best, he's like maybe like an Alan Robinson type, you know that wins with that size and that ability to pick up yards after the catch and you know, can test the grabs things like that. At worst, I see a lot of nik Kill Harry. I do like I see a lot of the same type of vibes as nik Kill Harry, where he's you know, just a plotter, like he's just not particularly.
I saw him, you know, a couple of times watching Florida State games, and I was not overly impressed with anything but his size, his sheer size. So I kind of agree a couple of late guys, and I'm surprised, you know, mister bloodlines, right, I have just have other guys. I just think in terms of the whole double dip, right, we talk about the Patriots going to try to get somebody maybe in the second round, you know, or the third round, and then maybe you double dips. So I think, you know, Jermaine Burton had him pretty inconsistent. You know, the production's not I don't think where you would think for a program like Alabama, but you know these I think the second of two I wouldn't be too upset about, you know, maybe rolling the dice, you know, Brendan Rice being.
Love Jermaine Burton. I think Jermaine Burton, if good job, Paul, if Jamaine Burton wasn't a head case, there's something there's something going on, then he might be a top fifty pick in this draft, just simply based off of talent. He's a very good vertical threat. I comped him to Darius Slayton with the Giants, like he has that explosive down the field ability. But he's got a thicker frame, so he's not like Troy Franklin who's like a little bit frailer. So he's got a lot going for him physically and just in terms of the profile, but he he has some offfields.
I had Ricky Purse all we talked about earlier. Love him on real hands, which is key. I just don't know if he's the receiver the Patriots need right now. He's more of a slot guy. Yeah, But then also had tes Walker. We mentioned him in a couple episodes. I just don't think there's any downside bringing him in with a potential quarterback he's familiar with.
So yeah, I was kind of him. Yeah. I didn't really like him a first either, And I think the only reason I've kind of like opened up to him is just preally his speed and his connection with Drake May. If Drake May were to be here, But two other names I feel like we got to mention Malchi, Corley Good and Jevon Baker, two guys that Baker have kind of come on to lately, but not the fastest guy, but inside outside And you know you said it tisays like someone like Brendan Rice, like has some outside potential. And I think when you're getting down Patriots have a lot of interior receivers right now and as you get later into these picks like who can play on the outside, who can get off press, who's got speed enough to draw some coverage with him. So I don't know if those two guys are And Baker has some inside outside flexibility, but you know, Corley is again kind of a poor man's These are the guys I'm kind of drawn to. Laviiscus Chanal. You know, you're got those debo vibes a little bit because.
You know, you know, you and I were the only two fans.
Viscus is my comp for Coraley because Coraley his average air yards per target was five point five yards.
This is this is that guy that.
Caught like a million screens, a million slants, a million crossing routes, you know, over the middle of the field, and he's running back you know, with the football in his hands, so just let him run with it. I like the Baker shout a good, good player. I think you know, Alabama transfer goes to UCF for more opportunities. He's a good player. There's one other guy, oh, Johnny Wilson from Florida State is the is the last guy that in my top twenty that I don't think that we mentioned by name other than you know, BTJ and some of the other guys that are going to go at the top of the draft. But Johnny Wilson is an interesting player. Six six, two thirty monster, but runs routes, you know, can run routes pretty well. He's not he's not stiff, He's not you know. Kelvin Benjamin, you know, is a guy that can get in and out of a break and run some routes and do some different things. So this is a that this is one of the best receiver classes we're ever gonna say. It's it's honestly that good. It's top heavy, it's it's deep. Like there's gonna be a Puka Nakua in this class. I'm sure that's gonna get taken in the fourth or fifth round. That ends up being a stud to it's an impressive class.
We can just tell by how much we're talking about anybody there, anybody else, Paul. We didn't mention tease anybody, we did. I mean, I feel like we covered so much and that you know, speaks to your point, Evan, how deep of a class this is. It's a huge need for the Patriots. Paul and I've been going crazy for about five years now that they haven't hit on one of these guys. It's time they need to at least take one of them, maybe do the double dip, as Paul said, so plenty there to digest there at the weapons positions, all big needs. All right, that's gonna do it for this edition of Patriots Draft Countdown. Only two more shows left. We're gonna wrap things up with a live show there on April twenty, fourth, full hour long edition. I don't know what, Maybe we'll have some more news by then, but certainly a lot of build up here to the twenty twenty fourth draft.
It's a hugely important.
One for the Patriots. So just two more weeks, two more episodes to go. We'll see you next time.
