LIVE Patriots Beat: Recapping Patriots OTAs with Live Q+A

Don’t miss the latest episode of Patriots Beat, where Alex Barth from 98.5 The Sports Hub and Brian Hines of Pat’s Pulpit recap Patriots OTAs and in the second portion of the episode they take questions from LIVE viewers.

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all right everyone welcome back into another live Patriots beat podcast here on the clns media Network it is uh back down to two today just me and bar here uh the Crossovers are gone for the meantime as Patriots OTAs are now in the rearview mirror they I don’t did they practice today I don’t know if they had their last they practice today yeah they’re originally supposed to practice tomorrow we were supposed to get to be there but either they canceled completely or something happened but uh OTAs are over could be one of those like field trip days where they go and do some sort of team bonding yeah team building thing I saw they were at Top Golf yesterday so maybe they they they moved it up yeah uh but OTAs are over with so uh not too much on the agenda today we’ll turn it over to you guys in a little bit for a Q&A but uh we also had a few transactions uh earlier this week too that we didn’t hit on in the Crossovers uh the Patriots waved offensive lineman Andrew stuber um you know 20122 seventh round pick missed all his rookie year with a torn hamstra injury then last year spent the whole year on the practice squad what’s I’m sorry people see I’m on and they just text me stuff to see if I can react on the on the air look at my phone but I was trying to pull something up and yeah they got me so okay but um I thought you were laughing at our poor friend Andrew stuber no um yeah Andrew stuber waved they signed wide receiver David Wallace not from Dunder Mifflin but uh w i yes spelled a little different D3 player so that’s interesting and then they signed another wide receiver today so they have 13 wide receivers uh from Ruckers uh I just had his name pulled up jqu jqu Jackson so he was actually cut from the Falcons so they could claim Andrew stuber from the Patriots so kind of some roster shuffling between those two teams there but a non-trade trade yeah so two receivers in Andrew stuber out we have 13 wide receivers on the roster now uh they have 92 players so they have to cut one to get back to 91 they have jotham Russell still on that pathway program so he doesn’t count against the roster so they can have 91 so we’ll have a corresponding move here at some point but I mean 13 wide receivers TJ Luther was baned up he didn’t practice Tuesday when we were there so that might have something to do with it but 13 wide receivers is a lot of wide receivers moving forward here I would be um very surprised if the cut is not a wide receiver it’s just too many you’re not going to be able to get everybody reps um and by the I just pulled up the Ruckers pronunciation gu here it is jqu Jackson jqu so okay yeah uh um you’re not gonna be able to get everybody rep so if Luther’s hurt which I know our colleague Taylor Kyles has speculated maybe that’s the swap right although they they added Wallace so maybe they wanted to add a a wide receiver as well something like that um maybe it’s Terrell Jennings just thinking out loud you know last man on first man off because I think he I believe he was their last signing before Wallace right and I don’t think they would sign Wallace just to cut him two days later but I I I would think that it’s there’s going to be a wide receiver cut on the other side this is just getting the number of bodies they want to have in Camp they clearly want to have a lot of receivers they have uh is it now 12 right but if Kendrick Bourne isn’t practicing we saw Javon Baker was limited the other day you know that number Drive in terms of the number of players you need to run a practice that number evaporates real quick remember last year they had um who was it the Special Teams guy Raley Webb at wide receiver because they just needed the bodies because if you with four quarterbacks you want to run four different groups especially if you’re going to go split field you need if you want to have four wide receivers available for each quarterback or three wide receivers available for each quarterback that’s 12 that’s 12 right there so um yeah we’ll we’ll we’ll we’ll see what happens there but I my guess is look I good size and that’s definitely something they’re lacking at receiver um 6210 yeah yeah 62190 so um definitely added a different body type of potential X but I think this is you know he’s here for Camp to help them operate through camp and maybe you know I just kind of narrowed it down where where Kendrick porn isn’t Pro practicing Jayvon Baker was limited maybe they don’t want pop Douglas playing in the preseason given his injury history like you’re gonna need the bodies to fill this thing out didn’t play in the preseason last year pop so that’s right he had like what one drive right uh yeah if even did he get one drive there at some point he was like he got the Randy Moss treatment almost where they’re like we’re just going to hide you and uh not play but uh yeah lot of receivers Wallace is a bit on the smaller side I had the roster 6 feet 184 again D3 player like dominated the D3 landscape um 34 touchdowns and 42 games it’s kind of what you have to do at that level to H get a invite or make a make a roster he was actually on the rookie mini camp triy out list so they had some familiarity with him uh Jackson though was with uh udfa with Atlanta though so he’s he’s kind of an outsider but yeah a lot of wide receivers we’ll see again Javon Baker was was baned up TJ Luther appeared in Street closed at the end of Tuesday’s practice so he’s probably dealing with something so you have four quarterbacks you need someone to work with all these guys so have a lot of bodies but still 12 13 seems too many for training camp they’ll probably cut that down at some point there right yeah and that and and one might be today yeah um yeah they they have to to make that transaction but uh we can do some Q&A so if you guys want to start putting whatever in your mind in the chat from otaa is mini camp next week Tom Brady is the Tom Brady night is coming up next week even Boston sports but uh while that happens while people start putting questions in the chat I’ll just ask you now that we’re like two days REM move from our last practice how’s kind of your overall feel on anything with with this team with maybe D may as a head coach with with Drake may just any kind of big picture takeaway thoughts now from we saw again we only saw three uh OTA practices but did you just have any you feel better about the team if if you can in a non-padded practice but just any big picture things while while some people start putting some questions in the chat there yeah I mean I I think they’re trending in the right direction I I just still I think they’re Drake May trending in the right direction I think the receivers are trending in the right direction I think the development uh the emergence of Alex Austin is big but the reason I just can’t totally go you know overboard with it is I still feel like they’re not taking the left tackle position seriously and I I get I get I get that it’s a long-term rebuild and they couldn’t do everything this year like I know that and I you know Will Campbell Calvin Banks we’re going to talk a lot about them we’re probably going to do weekly check-ins on them on this show when the college football season begins but you got to have a better Bridge you do and it just feels like they’re not giving the serious weight to the position itself and how they’ve chosen to address the position which is moving right tackles over there but you know we talked about this the other day Kaden Wallace had a chance to get a ton of reps at left tackl and just didn’t so I yeah I I just wonder where they’re at at that position because I think that has uh the potential to undo a lot of progress because I think they have made progress offensively I maybe they came up just short of weaponizing the offense but I think they have made a lot of progress on that side of the ball but you know I think Mike ree had it in his notes this week as like a to to just revisit it they had the lowest pass block win rate in the League last year they really outside of Wallace and okor for who are both going to be playing off-handed they didn’t add anybody to fix that they’re going to lose Trent they lost Trent Brown uh Conor mcder was one of their best offensive lineman last year they cut him Cole strange isn’t going to be good to go to start the season so there’s a lot of questions there and and I still just I can’t go all in with it because I’m still too worried about the offensive line yep it’s still you want to give Elliot wolf like in his team like I think we both think they did a pretty good job I want to give La wolf a lot of credit and look this isn’t new we’ve been talking about the Patriots left tackle position is a question mark since Patriots beats started four co-hosts ago so this isn’t you know and again they weren’t going to get everything done this isn’t me and for the record this isn’t me sitting here saying like they should have drafted Joe Al over Drake May that’s not what this is but it’s me saying they should have done a there’s somewhere between using the third overall pick on the left tackle and not adding a single player with NFL experience at the position there’s some happy medium there you could do as a bridge that I was hoping they were going to do that they didn’t do yeah it’s still probably the biggest regret and I get like the free agent class wasn’t overly sexy like it was Jonah Williams it was Tyron Smith who’s old Williams have to flip sides I think the big kind of Miss might have been that run of tackles in that late like back half of the second round early half of the third round the Patrick Pauls the keesley Su Matas Blake fiser went in that range maybe getting more aggressive to trade up uh for there but you know as Taylor likes to remind us Scott Peters handpick Kaden Wallace so maybe they’re confident but I think that’s just not getting that pure guy who actually has left tackle experience uh is the big kind of second guess there of this off season so uh you mentioned may just again we only saw three practices it maybe that offensive line factors into this but has anything changed on his timeline from your point of view seemed like the coaches he’s kind of been checking all the boxes we talked to the offensive coaches on Tuesday Alex Van Pelt said he’s been very impressive TC McCartney quarterback coach kind of echoed that and said right now they’re all talk all about tying the eyes to the feet that’s the focus the footwork they haven’t really tinkered with his you know that hitch or the throwing motion that’s you know focusing on the footwork but they seem to be pretty impressed with what he’s done so far he got the second reps over bayy zappy they probably wouldn’t have done that unless they felt otherwise so uh has your timeline on when he might start kind of change watching him for the first time here live in person not really I I still think you’re looking at you know between a month and six weeks I’ve used um Halloween as kind of the late end cut off of that I I I still think Jakob Brett starts the season I still think he should I talked about this on Catch 22 with Evan earlier today the the big thing for me like I think he’s got the Baseline personally where he can go in there I don’t know that it’ll be perfect but like you can only develop up to a certain point on the bench or in practice or in the preseason before you actually have to like get into games and see game action so I I think he can be at that point by the time the regular season starts but the big thing for me is I’m not putting him back there to get the crapp eat out of him and I’m not saying you have to wait until the offensive line is perfect because then he may never start but I do think you need a certain base level of protection where you know people say he’s big he’s mobile right he can take care of himself well Anthony Richardson was big and mobile and how did that go like these guys are going to get hit so remember last year like the offensive line was never great but it was really bad at the beginning and they kept like using all these different combinations until they finally figured out you know their best five that they wanted to go with and at that point it got better it still wasn’t great but it was better and I think some of that was they found the best five and also just guys got used to playing with each other like I I want to see them find their best five before they put Drake May in and that doesn’t mean that it’s going to be like this great group but at least there’s going to be continuity because in addition to making sure you at least get it blocked decently not being the worst pass blocking team in the league the other thing is there’s a lot of communication between the offensive line in the quarterback and it would be nice Drake May’s already gonna have a ton on his plate if he doesn’t also have to worry about you know leading new offensive lineman every week like can’t you see the world we’re we’re you know we’re there in like mid late October maybe it’s in London and and Mike Reese tweets out like this is this was the starting offensive line in warm-ups it will be the fifth different starting offensive line Drake may had in five starts like I don’t want that we’ve done that a lot the last few years right so I do think that they’re gonna have to kind of Jigsaw at the beginning and we are going to get a few different combinations out of the gate because and this goes to a bigger issue with the NFL this is like a lot of Team offensive line is the last spot that usually solidifies because you can’t hit in these practices there’s fewer preseason games guys don’t play them you really some of the offensive line position battles go into September because you really can’t evaluate these guys until you get in a live game action again not just the Patriots thing it’s exacerbated because of their level of talent but it’s not just them but they they are going to have to kind of Jigsaw it and figure out all right this works this doesn’t work we want this guy out there we want this guy here things like that I hate to say like throw jacobe brette to the walles but figure that all out with jacobe brette behind the line he can also manage it as a veteran and then once you kind of feel good about all right you know CHS is going to be our left tackle we know that either Cole strange is back or maybe like Nick lever or Michael Jordan has solidified himself there and then you’re gonna have David Andrews C so mikae wenu it’s like all right we’ve got this kind of set we know it’s going to be the same guys out there they’re not going to go out and paint them own a lease of offensive line play but there’s at least going to be continuity in a baseline that to me is the biggest external factor and a real external factor in deciding when Drake May gets his chance yeah yeah I’ve been pretty even before the draft I think Drake may could start week one right like I think some of those issues I he could in a bubble yeah really overblown uh in kind of the pre-draft process like I I think he’s capable of starting week one he’s really talented he seems like mentally tough go back to some of those games late last year at Carolina but you’re right like you you don’t want it to be a complete disaster around him and I think he’s going to be able to handle a disaster a little bit better than you know Ma Jones or bayy zappy but like still he’s 21 he doesn’t have a lot of experience even at college or high school with like the co year he miss so like you don’t want it to be a complete disaster so if you want to give him a month we’ve talked a lot about Halloween being kind of like that deadline one thing I don’t want which you know Titus brings up in the chat here is you know with the receivers in in the offensive line give brassette the whole year get another low pick and then get your left tackle your Kelvin banks of the future I I want to see Drake May at some point this year personally and like I think it’s best for his development still to get some game action hopefully as you said maybe they find their best five and the offensive line kind of settles down but I think like like sitting the whole year I don’t agree with that I think some at some point you have to get him in here you hope the O Line’s not a mess but even if the o line isn’t like top Echelon in the league or even half like I I I don’t agree with situm for the whole year no you’re exactly right and let me let me be clear when I say like sit Drake May until you figure out the offensive line like that’s to an extent again I’m not there is Middle Ground between throw him to the Wolves right away and sit him until the Situation’s perfect he’s going to have to cover up some warts that you’ll fill over time but you just don’t want him too exposed and I think they can get to that point this year where he’s not too exposed it’s not gonna be great but he’s not GNA be too exposed either the reality is it should be easier on him the later you go into this because they’re gonna add hopefully a Will Campbell or a Kelvin Banks next year in the draft at some point you got to figure they’re gonna unless one of these guys for they drafted this year really pops they’re going to go out and and do like the bills did and trade for a Stefon Diggs or like the eagles did and trade for an AJ Brown something like that DK metf so it’s it’s going to get easier that doesn’t mean you can’t expose him right now and then kind it’s almost like training with ankle weights yep yep I agree with you there so uh let’s go over to the chat we will do a little bit of Q&A again anything you guys have in mind from OTAs that we’ve talked about looking ahead to mini camp even training camp Tom Brady night again uh is on Wednesday and as you type some questions there let’s quickly hear from prize pick which is America’s number one fantasy sports app with more than 5 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shine in no contact Shifty Twitchy kind of receiver Hunter Henry was good uh they moved into the low Red Zone on Tuesday I got asked in my last week it was my mailbag who leads the team in receptions yards in touchdowns I think I went pop for receptions Henry for touchdowns I think I went pulk for yards I don’t know do you have the only thing that I wonder about with pop is like is he gonna stay healthy is he gonna play yeah uh full 17 games if he does he should lead the Le league in catches but it’s uh you know we’ve seen him get hurt he’s a smaller guy yep that’s definitely the the issue there but yeah those two guys should be if they’re both healthy you know Hunter been pretty healthy during his tenure here but he missed some games last year looks good now but uh if they’re healthy they should be up there definitely for productivity uh staying in the receiver room has Jaylen rager caught your eye at all as a as a receiver here early in the spring I’ve seen a ton from him I mean we got to see he’s going to make team as a kick returner I don’t think he’s going to you know he did catch a touchdown yesterday actually so I don’t want to say he’s been bad but he hasn’t stood out but his path to the roster I think is as much as a kick return than anything else yep or maybe if they if they keep him for kick returning and they cut taquon like maybe he’s just that package guy who can run fast because that’s really your only other like pure kind of burner in that room so uh but yeah it wouldn’t be anything more than five 10 plays a game here and there then his primary value is going to be on special teams as it was last year um yeah another receiver Jaylen pul been kind of quiet seems like it’s been kind of quiet on him from practice he kind of falls in the Kendrick Bourne bucket for me I think where it’s like he might not dominate the practice field but once we get on Sundays in the game field like it’s going to kind of take it to another level like kind of a gamer type but I don’t know what have your early thoughts been on pulk there um it’s tough to say because he’s another guy that’s got to dominate when the pads come on like he’s a bigger more physical receiver um I I think you do see talking about him as like leadership lead by example guy that he’s going first in a lot of the Reps he’s taking everything 100% so he likes seeing that um but yeah he hasn’t maybe been targeted as much but he hasn’t it feels like they’re giving the opportunities more to the veterans right now so again it’s it’s not like he hasn’t been he not it’s not like he’s been bad he just hasn’t really stood out yet yep yeah not like obviously sounding the alarm it’s been three practices that that we’ve seen but uh he should be a guy you know I think will be a gamer more on Sundays and hopefully as the pads come on we see more of that physicality and stuff kind of shine there uh another receiver a lot of interest in the dep depth receivers there Quan booty been kind of quiet for him he had the first day we were there he had kind of like a nice Deep dive and catch from May but outside of that it’s been uh pretty quiet there and again 13 12 13 guys it’s stuff uh I guess to make a big impact a lot of the times but I’ll bring up this one too nobody’s refusing to talk about him there just really hasn’t been much talk about in regard in that regard and I I’ll say this too I just it’s tough to see his path to the roster we’ve talked so they’ve got the four roster locks pop born the two KJ Osborne’s probably going to make it then you have like K uh Juju smers playing well right do tawon thoron justes Jaylen rager fit in so Cas Booty’s got to be better than those guys and then we don’t know if he’s gonna be able to play his his issue after his arrest is still pending at the league office so there’s just so many roadblocks to him making the roster he’s probably more of a practice squad guy at this point he he’d really have to to go to another level in training camp and if he does we’ll talk about but he hasn’t done that yet could you see him having like a really good preseason just because he’s gonna play a lot and he has talent right but like I don’t even want to say like I don’t know how to say it like he’s gonna have a lot of stats and maybe it looks like he’s gonna have a really good preseason and like still maybe not make the roster but I don’t know I could see I wonder if he can play well enough that they can trade him yeah that would be interesting I just think like because you have all these guys and depending how much they want to play the rookies in preseason like you’re going to have someone as always like take a load of these snaps and he’s someone who you know had that high ceiling maybe he just posts a lot of stats in the preseason it might not be like enough to make a push for the roster but the old Ralph web yeah it’s just a lot of stats and it looks good and and then maybe yeah maybe someone does kind of take a chance and sees that and trades for him that would be he drafted him in the six so maybe you get a fifth or just the six back for a guy you were going to cut anyway who knows maybe there all right I’ll go to this one um somebody asked what HB back means because they’ve heard that one talking about Jim Bell it is not the same as running back it is not short for halfback HB is so you know how like within receiver there’s different types of receivers there’s there’s wide receiver there’s slot receiver right so HB is within tight end you have the Y tight end which is the traditional that’s Hunter Henry HB back is another word for that like move tight end it’s like a like a uh Kyle Ed check type George KD plays some HB he also gets used as a y he’s kind of in between um so Jem Bell yes would be an HB but it’s it’s not the same as running back yep it’s closer to like receiving fullback but it’s not quite that either yep good fit for Jem Bell definitely could be um why does it seem the Patriots are hesitant to sign a left tackle with experience there weren’t that many just available in free agency this year that was I mean again it was Jonah Williams and Tyron Smith and Trent brown but they weren’t going to bring back Trent Brown so um yeah I don’t know anything anything there I mean maybe some of its money but it just they it’s weird I I can’t tell and it’s not just sign I mean they won’t draft one either they won’t draft a player who’s played left tackle they haven’t done that uh in a while I don’t know what it is if they think that they have some like oh well this is you know one of the most expensive positions in football if we can figure out another way to to add players here in develop players like I I guess good luck with that I don’t think that’s a viable strategy it’s a nice thought in theory that it’s really hard to get good left tackles so what if we get right tackles and turn them into left tackles is a great Theory we have to actually be able to do it and that’s incredibly incredibly incredibly difficult to do so I would think by now we’ve seen to know that that strategy doesn’t work but maybe they’re giving it one more hopefully this is the last try for that yep hopefully as someone says hope next year’s left tackle class is amazing hopefully the top of it is it’s this and then either Will Campbell Kelvin Banks right uh who’s the other LSU has another one too but he would be the right side he’s a right tackle so let’s not do that um Alabama had Alabama’s left tackles in there I think there’s right now like three or four projected first round tackles uh Tyler Booker from Alabama em Jones from from LSU so Jones the right tackle um but those guys are we’re talking about will Campell and Kelvin Banks those are the guys those are that’s who we’re talking about that’s the top tier maybe somebody else emerges during the season we’ll see uh but that’s kind of the group you’re looking at right now yep and I I’ll say along those lines too where’d that though go any chance Kaden Wallace is their best option at Right Guard yeah very real chance very real chance he is especially if they’re going to play City I don’t think he’ll outplay City but if they move City to left because Cole strange is out then yeah that would I think Ken Wallace has his good a shot as you know Li Nick lever Michael Jordan Antonio Mafi any of them uh to win that that Right Guard job but then yet CHS has to be the guy left tackle yeah or I guess Calvin Anderson because like you’re running really thin there and it would be a shame if they took two guards in the top 100 four picks this year yep yeah you’d hope it’s just Wallace can play one of the tackles and maybe Laden Robinson takes one of those guard spots but right if it’s your best five it’s it’s your best five and that that’s what you want out there and maybe that means chuks is playing really good at left tackle and that’s a that’s a bonus in itself there so right uh we’ll see we have your your jets fan back in the chat no one cares about the Pats except himself who is watching the Patriots podcast second straight episode um welcome back yeah Juan wants to know week one starting wide receiver group so let’s say Alex velt sends in 11 personnel who who are your three out there to start week one assuming let’s say Kendrick Bourne is healthy do both Kendrick Bourne’s healthy and then Kendrick Bourne is on pup or IR if Kendrick Bourne’s out there it’s it’s Bourne pul and Douglas if Kendrick Bourne’s out then it’s Baker play the kids y let him get ready yeah those those are my three with you there uh how has ra Andre Stevenson looked I mean no pad so it’s tough to tell a running back standpoint I’ll say he looks kind of thinner I thought looks good shape he’s had like he he missed the last month and he that was probably an injury where he could have came back at the end of last year if he you know if they were competing for the playoffs or something so he’s had you know all offseason to to get in shape he looks he looks pretty good uh from a physical standpoint so we’ll kind of see more how that looks on the field you know again when the pads come on in training camp but um let’s see what else we got in here heard about guju think he’ll stick or is he just playing to boost any potential trade value he had his best practice Tuesday that we saw uh but it’s still such an uphill battle especially when you know the skill set is pretty redundant to Kendrick Bourne and Jaylen pulk and we’ prefer both of those guys to see the field over him so I think the best case scenario still he looks better in the preseason looks healthy looks a little more explosive uh maybe you know Drake may can make him look good and then you get a six seventh round pick for him and can just kind of trade him there at the end of the preseason yeah I I I mean he could stick there’s definitely a path to it especially if borne’s not ready to start the season but I I still think he’s on the outside looking in for now yep um all right how about this one any idea what they want to do with Marte mapu I don’t think they do I think Marte and this this is very common when you have a coaching change and a GM change that that the previous regime brings in a player with a plan for that player the new regime comes in they don’t have the same vision and the player kind of gets left in in limbo I think Marte mopu was drafted to be Kyle dugger’s replacement I don’t think they ever planned on resigning Kyle Dugger yep Bill didn’t bill now dugger’s back Peppers is here Jaylen Hawkins is playing well mopu is going to have a role on kick return and kickoff because he’s got an ideal skill set for that new setup but but I don’t think that he’s going to be he’s on the same path that he was but their plan was turn him into a box safety like a like a tight end covering box safety they have plenty of those guys right now they should play him in linebacker but it doesn’t seem like they’re gonna do that either so he’s just kind of stuck in no man’s land and that usually means special teams yeah I mean you you weren’t on it but a lot of us last year when he got drafted was like they got their linebacker with speed and then no and I was telling you it’d be great if they did that they weren’t gonna do it they weren’t going to do it and they didn’t do it and Bill I I agree with you I think Bill just kind of looked at him as Kyle dugger’s replacement so maybe there’s a role like I’d rather have him like cover tight ends than jabil Peppers or Kyle Dugger but then you have to get all these guys on the field at the same time and now you’re playing Dugger or Peppers as like a deep free safety which we don’t love that either so it’s a weird kind of mixture it’s a weird role for for Mau at the moment so uh I think he has been a like he had a he’s had a few pass breakups throughout Camp I feel like he’s been a little more noticeable most of those have come against like Jem Bell in the tight end so uh maybe something he works his way onto the field but it it is tough to see what the safeties they have like you’re not taking Peppers you’re not taking Kyle Dugger off the field so he seems just kind of caught in a tough spot at the moment there in that safety room yeah uh speaking of Stevenson do you think a contract before the regular season is best for him again he’ll be a free agent at the end of the year so extend him now or kind of wait finish that when the year when the year ends um I it’s so tough with running back I think you wait on running back especially I was doing some like preliminary uh research for next year’s draft class we’ll see what happens how guys look this year who who comes out who who stays in school this next year’s running back class could be freaking loaded man Quin Sean Judkins yeah so this is just the top of the board quinan Judkins olly Gordon trayon Henderson amarian Hampton Donovan Edwards Trevor etn Raheem Sanders Jay not those are all top 100 picks I think Judkins Gordon Henderson Edwards Hampton all the chance to be first- round picks I don’t think there’ll be five running backs in the first round they won’t all be but I think there could be multiple first round running backs this year not that the Patriots should do that they shouldn’t but when guys start getting you know push down the board if Antonio Gibson shows you a lot this year and then you can add a guy like amarian Hampton who Val the way you’d be reuniting the Drake May or rocket Sanders or Jade not suddenly not giving a running back 12 million dollars a year looks pretty good so I i’ I’d wait I like ra Andre I would but it’s just the it’s the business side of it you don’t pay running backs until you absolutely have to yep I don’t know what was the Ron wolf way with running backs did they pay them do you know Green that was but but that the game was so different yeah the game I would hope they adj because they’ve had good running backs they had like aad green I just remember Aman green I loved aan green as a kid he was great but um who was before Aaron Jones oh they had like James Starks I remember random James Starks yeah he was like their James White I don’t think right they had here we go here’s their leading Eddie la High yeah and they didn’t pay him or they might have paid him but not a lot Ryan Grant they basically have a new leading rusher every four years so they had Aman green as their leading rusher from 2000 to 2006 but since then Ryan Grant three years then they had kind of a little back and forth a bunch of different guys Eddie Lacy for three years Tai Montgomery in 2016 shout out to Ty Montgomery shamal Williams and they did keep Aaron Jones around but that’s post um yeah it’s tough to say but I I I I wouldn’t pay running back till I absolutely have to yeah especially with this class I mean the fact that Quin Shan Judkins and trayon Henderson are on the SC those are probably those are two of the three best running backs in college football some people might have them one too I really like Oly Gordon although he’s a little less proven um quinot Jud because of trayon Henderson might be the two best running backs in football and they’re on the same team which means probably neither one is going to amass tremendous production so those guys are going to dip down a little bit that’s going to push other guys down the board draft wise it looks like it’s going to be a good year to need a running back yep yeah I wonder if that’s I don’t know who else is a free agent for running backs next year with Stephenson but maybe that’s like you let them test the market and this year the market was really good for running backs a lot of them got paid but the draft was weak so maybe with a stronger draft class like the market in free agency isn’t there as much so you get them kind of Cheaper more for what you’re looking at an extension early list here raand randrecous let say mandre is one unless Aaron Jones has like a monster year or Nick chub I’ll tell you if Nick chub like isn’t fully healthy and like was out of Cleveland he’s gonna be Patriot yeah back because van right van pel will bring him in and like all right let’s see what not as the answer to replace from Andre but um yeah not a good year for free agent running backs great year for running backs in the draft that usually means you don’t resign the guy yep but it’s it’s draft and develop new philosophy so we’ll see yep omario Hampton Omari and Hampton would be fun reite with Drake May or different position but uh Bryson NE that’s the thing could get you could probably draft both both of them yeah you could probably draft both Nesbit third round second third round would you say uh I mean it’s it’s so early day two yeah they’re both probably day two guys so if Hampton gets you know pushed down the board a little bit maybe he could get him early in the I don’t think it’ll end up being the case but also I some of those guys might not come out some of those guys might stay in school so we’re we’re really projecting um tremendously far ahead here but yep it there there’s a lot of running back talent in college football right now yep that’s still crazy that the two guys are on Ohio State together that’s it’s insane like I I was doing a Q&A on Twitter last week and somebody’s like can Ohio State like if Ohio State wins the title how will they do it and I’m like run ball I’m well I’m going through it and I’m like because they had an unreal offseason they got a real play caller to take the responsibilities away from their fraud head coach they got a real quarterback and will Howard like that’s a legitimate upgrade over K Chip Kelly they did get CH Kelly yeah so they have Chip Kelly calling the plays so the fraud head coach doesn’t have to they added will Howard who’s a real quarterback unlike Kyle McCord who sucks their top two Edge rushers who were both supposed to be top 100 picks in the NFL draft went back to school they have the number one corner in the draft whose name is escaping me or not no I guess Travis Hunter is number one I keep forgetting Travis Hunter is a corner I just think a Travis Hunter is Travis Hunter but they have um Denzel Burke one of the top corners in the draft I’ll phrase that way I know will Johnson’s up there too um but to me the most exciting thing is they have these two running backs they’re just going to run rough shot over everybody they should run for 300 350 yards a game they should just be Michigan from last year just they really should like and that’s the thing it would be to I don’t think it was just ified when Michigan did it last year I think they did it because Harbaugh’s a lunatic it would be totally just although Chip Kelly that’s not exactly Chip Kelly’s offense but yeah I if I I don’t need to see Ohio State throw the ball this year I’ll still be in and I’m not an Ohio State fan I don’t like Ohio State I don’t root for them I’m not a Michigan fan either I don’t like like the higher the more Prestige you have in the Big 10 the less I like you give me and the Northwestern the exception give me Iowa’s fun I like it when Iowa’s good I like it when Wisconsin’s good I like when Mig State’s good Penn State I can take her leave Michigan Ohio State bug me I don’t know why can’t tell you why they just do but I will be watching a ton of Ohio State football this year because I want to see those two running backs Pound The Rock I will be entertained watching them yeah and even if they I mean they lost Marvin Harrison but Oka came back and then they have that other guy who you were texting us about who’s like yeah uh Jemiah smiith was it yeah let me find they have the number one curtain country he got a uh 101 uh out of 100 score on 247 and I mean so I’m not it’s Jeremiah Smith I haven’t exactly combed over his high school tape it’s tough to look at because you have to really know in terms of looking at high school tape like the other high schools and their caliber of play and figure out who the other players are but everything I read about him he’s just faster Marvin Harrison Jr so that’s scary yeah exactly so there’s college football minute for you yeah uh let’s wrap up here speaking of splitting running backs uh anyone emerging in at rb2 I don’t want Stephenson to get overworked agree with that feel like Gibson third down back at best I don’t want to pigeon hole Antonio Gibson to this third down back rle and I feel like that’s kind of the easy thing to do because he has a wide receiver background right he he can catch the ball I think we talked a lot about like rotating drive to keep these guys fresh I think he’s going to be a really good fit with his speed as like in this out outside Zone this wide Zone run scheme and then as a receiver either out wide which we’ve seen a few times and then out of the back field too so I think he’s not just going to be like a James White third down back I think he’s going to be maybe this rb2 that you’re looking for to pair with Stevenson uh to kind of keep ra Andre fresh yeah so Gibson is more than a third down back he’s a very well-rounded player and I think they’re going to use him as such I think they are going to split situationally by fatigue whatever or Sorry by Drive fatigue whatever I don’t think they’re in a split situation like I think you’re going to see Gibson in every situation I think you’re going to see Stevenson in every situation that being said yeah I’d like to see Gibson do more because they have run Stevenson into the ground each of the last two years and I don’t want to be yelling about that again in October and then be right in December when he’s either just out of gas or hurt yep agree with that last one Diego is looking for tickets what game would you project to see Drake May if you had to buy tickets to a game I’m saying if he doesn’t start the season I like that what is it week five and six I think they’re back to back at home I was trying to pull up the schedule or yeah week five five six dolphins and Texans backto back at home maybe one of those I I would say start in November I’d say start looking in November if you really want to be sure like he could but if you really want to be sure start in November if you really want to be sure we’ll see you week 17 and 18 against the Chargers and the bills but well depending on how the defensive line Looks that may not work either um true yeah it’s tough to say yep but Diego if you’re looking for tickets you better be using game time which is also the authorized ticket Marketplace of the NBA which makes getting playoff tickets even faster and easier because prices on the game time app actually go down the closer it gets to tip off and with killer last minute deals all in prices view from your seat in the lowest price guarantee game time takes the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets they have Flash Deals to save even more with exclusive inapp deals on select seats ahead of the game or event and Zone deals to save if you’re looking to sit in a specific section and if you’re in Boston debating whether or not to go to the game maybe you guys 985 is at hurricanes right before the game tonight uh yeah yeah maybe you’re you know watching listening to 985 at hurricanes and last minute you decide to go into the garden to catch game one you can save up to 60% off buying last minute for sports and even they have comedy theater concerts tickets as well Zack Brian coming to Gillette soon that should be a good one so take the guess work out of buying all your tickets and NBA tickets with Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code clns for $20 off your first purchase term Supply again create an account and redeem code clns for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest prices guaranteed so game one of the finals tonight the lawn we is finally over it’s been a while of no Sports so glad that’s finally over but christops porzingis is healthy he’s in feels like a lot of people are picking against the Celtics which I love but don’t really understand but uh where you where you at heading into game one tonight I’m saying Celtics and six I Mavericks are the best team they’ve faced uh and I I think luuk and Kyrie can give him a game but at the end of the day the Celtics just have too much offensive depth they’re too deep uh Derek Lively like those guys they’re decent players that that secondary Mavs unit but they’re no match for porzingis white holiday I think Al Horford going back to the bench is huge gives the the second unit another scoring option um so I’m I do you remember how so like the Celtics series against the Warriors um it was a six game series but it felt over like halfway through game three it was a six-game series but it felt like a blowout six I think it’s going to be that where I think the Celtics winning six but I I I don’t think it’s ever going to really feel that close and I also think they’ll win in six because I would love to cover a title clinching game and game six is on the road so they’ll probably do that to me yeah I I I like him in six too that that was my prediction I think it it’s I was drafted with the friend the other day because he was arguing like Kyrie is above jayen Brown draft series that’s kind of a wash and I I would say Luca is the best player in the series even though I think it’s close but I would probably I take Tatum I think Luca is the best score Tatum’s the best all-around player allaround player that’s that’s fair but if I were to draft this I would go the point is the top four are really close but then four or five Celtics next until you take Derek Lively or DJ Washington DJ Washington in the corner like that so that that was my kind of thing like with white porzingis holiday arrested and now Off the Bench Al Horford like that should be enough to to to Really Elevate you unless PJ Washington is like fire from three and well you know some random bench guys’s gonna heat up and they beat you but like this should be the Celtics series to lose so here’s so the Celtics have one two three four one two three four they have Five Guys averaging in double figures and it’s a super rudimentary way to do this but the Celtics have Five Guys averaging double figures in the playoffs and Al Horford’s at 9.9 points per game so we’ll call it six Celtics have have six players averaging call it 9.9 or better Dallas has Luke and Kyrie obviously in the 20s PJ Washington’s averaging 13.6 a game Derek Jones at 9.8 he’d be the seventh leading scorer on the Celtics you only have only have six guys averaging over eight a game and then it or over five a game Sorry and then it drops off hard so they just don’t I don’t think they have the depth even if T they they are better equipped for Tatum m brown to have an off night than the Mavericks are for Luca or Kyrie to have an off night and that that can that can mean a lot yep Luca is gonna be so annoying though in this series I can already I can already tell he’s he’s GNA I mean he winds a lot in general but then like he’s going to hit clutch shots down the Str and he’s going to probably steal them a game or maybe two but he he’s going to be annoying to to root against but he he is so good so yeah it’ll be a fun series but yeah I’m with you I’m I’m going SE season six are you worried Russ tonight with porzingis at all like it’s been not really I don’t think he’s gonna play a ton I think he’s probably G to play 20 25 minutes he’s him back in so even if he is Rusty I don’t think he’ll be um exposed a ton all right so you like him tonight uh yeah yep all right so we’ll obviously keep talking about that uh throughout as the series goes any socks Bruins I don’t think much news Red Sox I don’t know what their record R so are if they’re not 500 they’re a game off 500 they’ll be 500 again soon enough they 31 and 31 yeah2 and 32 four game series against the worst team in baseball the Chicago White Socks and then they play they’re at home against the Phillies and the Yankees who are like the two best teams in baseball so yeah sweep the white socks and then they’ll probably drop six straight to the Phillies and the Yankees or somehow manage to go five and five maybe in that stretch and just stay perfectly mid but they be right around 500 I I don’t doubt that yep where’s allmar getting traded I hope it’s New Jersey for the 10th overall pick I don’t think I don’t know if he’s worth that though but Don Sweeney referenced the Corey Schneider trade in 2013 from a goenda and that was for I think the 10th or 11th overall pick now the Market’s a little different nowadays obviously but I I would love if they were able to get a high draft pick and then get like tiag ginla would be Jerome Sun would be like the dream there at 10 finally get a skilled Center in the pipeline but uh I have a feeling it’s not going to be that high of a pick but hopefully they find something to make that either the cap space worthwhile or who who knows but uh I I would like I would like New Jersey there I think they have the best asset to give but yeah um yeah anything else is that all we can wrap this up you got to get to the Garden cover game one so make sure you follow Alex on Twitter real alexb uh you’ll have the introduction video for us player introduction that’s the plan that’s the plan I they they should go back to AO technology they won’t I don’t know why they don’t I’m sure there’s like a reason but oh boy do I want to hear AO technology tonight yeah and they don’t have the trophy on the court which I’m annoyed at supposedly it was slippery and that’s why but like they did the stupid you did the in season right exactly Brian figure out how to put a you know project it on there like you project the freaking ads on there yeah it won’t be the same I guess because it won’t show up in photos can’t even put the finals decal on the court anymore they have to project that so they can rotate ads in it’s just annoying but uh follow Alex on Twitter real alexb he’ll have Patriots Celtics coverage on 985 the sports hub.com as well you can follow me on Twitter at I am Brian Hines patspulpit.com for coverage over there we’ll be back Monday and Tuesday are mini camp so we’ll have Patriots beat episodes and then Wednesday we’ll wrap up mini camp and the Tom Brady night so then we’ll be back we’ll be at chette all day so we can’t do a show Wednesday we’ll be back Thursday then we’ll do a crossover to kind of uh with Taylor and Mike to finish mini camp talk about the Tom Brady uh night as well so that’s our schedule for next week so make sure you’re locked on to the channel subscribe to the channel turn on your notifications so you do know when we go live but ghost Celtics hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and we will see you at mini camp next week right