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EPISODE 31 - PATRIOTS DRAFT PICK ANALYSIS! EVERYONE LIKES IT?
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Transcript
Introduction & Draft Overview
00:00:00
Savage Boston
Alright guys, welcome back to the Savage Boston Podcast. This is a post-draft edition, although we've been talking about the draft for like three months. We finally finally came, finally went ah here tonight with Snooty, as always, and we're just going to break down some of the picks and talk about what actually happened.
00:00:21
Savage Boston
Um, first pick obviously when, as we all thought, you know, we'll Campbell getting picked at four overall. That's what everybody thought was going happen for about the whole week leading up. That's what was leaking out again, why it was leaking out.
00:00:35
Savage Boston
you know i can't tell you why they felt like they needed that out to to everyone beforehand, but there was absolutely zero mystery. a ton of people had that pick, and it was the the world's worst kept secret.
In-depth Analysis of Will Campbell
00:00:47
Savage Boston
so um For the pick itself, you know i love the kid.
00:00:51
Savage Boston
Love the kid. His attitude is tremendous. Seems like a great kid. Love everything I'm hearing about him. He's going to be a football dude. Happy to have him on the team. I hope he's a good left tackle.
00:01:04
Savage Boston
All I'm going to say, i hope he's a good left tackle. There is still some doubt. Length is important at tackle. and We all love him. Everyone likes him now. Everyone thinks he's he's a great dude.
00:01:15
Savage Boston
But again, length is important. So if he's that athletic that he can make it work, awesome. I can't wait to watch him. I hope he works out. I really do. And I will absolutely root for that player. So Snowy, give me your breakdown of Will Campbell. How do you feel about Campbell at four overall?
00:01:31
Snooty
but I mean, I like to pick. um I was in favor of the pick before the draft. I was in favor of them not fucking around and just sticking and picking because I didn't want them to get cute like they kind of did before last year.
00:01:45
Snooty
Look, he's got heavy hands. He's got quick feet like we've talked about it before. I think he sticks a tackle, um and I think he's going to be a good tackle. I'm not saying he's going to be you know Joe Thomas, the Hall of Fame level, but he doesn't have to be to justify the pick to me.
00:02:01
Savage Boston
A
00:02:01
Snooty
because I know he went fourth and all that, but like it's in the draft that in which he's being picked. Right. um And just like, it's so easy to see why they fell in love with him.
00:02:12
Snooty
Just the more you hear him talk and the more you read about him, you're like, ah, man, I like that kid's whole life is just football. Like he's dating.
00:02:19
Savage Boston
a plus character.
00:02:21
Snooty
ah seriously. Like everything, the way he talks about everything and more than just about football, like just his level of maturity and stuff. um I mean, it's, it's It's impressive for someone who like just turned 21 a few months ago.
00:02:33
Snooty
He's dating his
Draft Strategy & Trade Discussions
00:02:34
Snooty
college quarterback sister, right? like And that was the joke. Like, oh, he takes protecting his quarterback so so seriously. He's like dating his sister, protecting her too.
00:02:42
Savage Boston
nothing Nothing speaks stronger about his character than if the you know the quarterback is like, yeah, it's cool if you date my sister.
00:02:42
Snooty
right
00:02:48
Snooty
Yeah.
00:02:49
Savage Boston
You know what I mean? like what What speaks stronger about a guy's character than that?
00:02:53
Snooty
Like I almost fainted on draft night when he said he would fight and die to protect Drake May. I was like, it's like, it's like fell down.
00:02:57
Savage Boston
aye Those clips are awesome.
00:03:01
Snooty
It's like, Oh no, I was weak at the knees. um
00:03:03
Savage Boston
I mean, I think a lot of people are holding out, though, for like a trade down. And i obviously get why people wanted the trade down, especially if you don't believe that he's going to be a left tackle. Like, I get the logic behind it. I talked about wanting a trade down for a while.
00:03:17
Savage Boston
um But then when you look at the trade down when the as the draft was playing out, we were starting to hear a little before the draft that like three offensive tackles were going to go in the top ten. People were not sitting on tackles. Campbell would have went probably at latest to the Jets at seven.
00:03:33
Snooty
I
00:03:33
Savage Boston
you know So you weren't going to be able to pick him at 10.
00:03:36
Savage Boston
You weren't going to be able to pick Membu at 10. You would have probably had Kelvin Banks, and if that's kind of who you wanted as a player. But again, this is with the caveat that someone would want to trade up with you, which frankly did not materialize.
00:03:51
Savage Boston
And nobody wanted to trade up to four, which is obviously a problem.
00:03:56
Snooty
i mean, I've been saying that for months. It's like you can't just trade down just because you want to.
00:04:02
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:04:02
Snooty
Right. Like there has to be a player. There has to be a team. There has to be like, sure. I'm sure somebody later on would have liked to get up to four to get somebody. Right. But you have, they have to have the appropriate value.
00:04:12
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:04:14
Snooty
Like, did you want to drop down to like the mid twenties, like all the way from four? No. Like that's why in the pod right before the draft, I said, drop, dropping to six would be ideal.
00:04:25
Snooty
Right. Because you could still get Campbell unless someone jumps you at five, but you still get Campbell at six and you pick up something.
00:04:32
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:04:32
Snooty
Right. But short of that, like, I'm not even, I'm not devastated that that didn't happen. Like it is what it is. Right.
00:04:38
Snooty
But I didn't want to move that far, that far down because I didn't want to get cute. Anytime there's anytime there's like a, there was a steep drop off after the first few tackles.
00:04:38
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:04:48
Snooty
but I think five went in the first round. um But there was a steep drop off in that first group of tackles, the first three, four tackles after. And anytime there's something like that, those guys tend to get drafted pretty quickly because everybody knows that, well, shit, like.
00:04:58
Savage Boston
Mm-hmm.
00:05:03
Snooty
kind of like last year with tackles, right? Like, well, shit, like if I don't get one of the first three, like I'm fucked. So they start to, you know, you know, I to say overdraft, but you you get them earlier than you target or or make that a priority earlier just because of you're reading the marketplace. Right.
Chiefs' Risky Picks & Player Potential
00:05:20
Savage Boston
there wasn't there wasn't a lot of room There wasn't a lot of room for trade down at all for the Patriots. and And I mean, they would have maybe had to go way down and take way less.
00:05:25
Snooty
No.
00:05:29
Savage Boston
But like it took – didn't like Connerly and, in you know, Josh Simmons got taken to the Chiefs I think way late. And then Connerly went really late as well.
00:05:37
Snooty
Yeah.
00:05:37
Savage Boston
Like they went all, you know, late 20s and 30s. And so, um you know, maybe everyone felt like there was a material drop-off with those two guys. Um, and I get the concerns about Josh Simmons, you know, whether it's just the patellar tendon rupture or attitude, but you know, the chiefs, they're in a position where they can take a risk, you know, but again, for that team, their biggest downfall, they got everything except for the offensive line, which obviously showed, showed in the super bowl.
00:06:04
Snooty
I mean, that's a perfect place for him to go because, like you said, it's like the, you know, the patellar tendon, like that's not a, it's not the it's not like it's it's an ACL, right?
00:06:04
Savage Boston
Um, hell yeah.
00:06:12
Snooty
Like where you're like, no, you're going to come back. Like there's no guarantee he's going to be the same level of athlete that he was before that. He also had, I believe, the least amount of starting experience at left tackle out of, or outside Mambo, obviously played right, but like outside of the group of tackles. so
00:06:28
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:06:28
Snooty
Right. And then there was attitude questions. So it's like, you know, you put that together and that's a risk, but at least if he's with the chiefs, they can give him time to get healthy. So he he doesn't have to play right away.
00:06:37
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:06:39
Snooty
So you go, okay, fine. That's like a, you know, that's a perfect landing spot for him. The fuckers.
00:06:44
Savage Boston
And he might be, he might be a really good player. I mean, everyone's saying his tape was tremendous.
00:06:46
Snooty
He might be,
00:06:48
Savage Boston
So, yeah.
00:06:49
Snooty
Sure, he might be, but like there's there's heavy risk there.
00:06:51
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:06:53
Snooty
And Connerly was always like that second tier. right And he went he squeezed into the first round. Some people thought we we would be able to sit and get him at 38. He didn't even make it to 30.
00:07:01
Savage Boston
Yeah. Yeah, true. I thought you might have to trade out for Connerly in the like late 20s. They just couldn't risk. I mean, with it's just they couldn't risk it. They couldn't risk it. They couldn't risk taking an edge, trading down and getting an edge, and then trading back up for the tackle. like They just could not risk it. And Will Campbell was the best tackle in this draft.
00:07:22
Savage Boston
He was the best rated tackle in this draft. like Even people are saying Kelvin Banks might be a guard. Everyone thinks everyone's a fucking guard. You know what i mean? If you're like not some insane A-plus prospect that is like, yeah, you're probably a guard. Some of these guys are actually going to play tackle, and they might be pretty good tackles, like Josh Simmons.
00:07:40
Savage Boston
I don't know.
00:07:40
Snooty
Yeah, I mean...
00:07:42
Savage Boston
I'm up on Will Campbell. I think I'm rooting for him. That's all i'll say. I'm really rooting for the kid.
00:07:48
Snooty
Yeah, I think he's going good. And, I mean, look at the the contracts that left tackles were given this year. To mediocre, to, you know very average tackles received stupid money.
00:07:53
Savage Boston
Yeah. Insane.
00:07:58
Snooty
So, I mean, like...
00:08:00
Savage Boston
I can't believe i still it's the the Titans paying that kid. Was a Dan Moore?
00:08:05
Snooty
Yeah, and guess what they...
00:08:06
Savage Boston
That's when we talk about I cannot believe he got that contract.
00:08:06
Snooty
had
00:08:09
Snooty
And why did they have to do that? Because the right tackle they drafted the year before that they tried to make a left tackle didn't work.
00:08:15
Savage Boston
Yeah, JC Latham, right?
00:08:16
Snooty
Yep. So they moved him back to right tackle.
00:08:17
Savage Boston
Yeah, it didn't pan out.
00:08:18
Snooty
It's not a given.
00:08:19
Savage Boston
it's It's tough to find man. It's really tough to find. Well. All right, well, we said our piece on Will Campbell. Again, rooting for him.
Surprising Early Pick: Travion Henderson
00:08:27
Savage Boston
Moving down, obviously, you know the pick at 38, as we know, Travion Henderson from Ohio State.
00:08:33
Savage Boston
Now, when this pick first happened, my immediate reaction was, why did we pick a running back? Like that was my immediate, watched it and okay, ah that feels sudden for me. That feels too early. It felt like I really thought they were going running back later to get someone like Brashad Smith or Harvey. Like there were guys later in the draft I thought were going to really good players.
00:08:55
Savage Boston
Um, but you know, they felt apparently conviction that this guy is a game breaker and a stud and can catch the ball, can pass block. And I gotta go with him. I watch his tape. He looks excellent. He looks like a great back. So again, I'm high on him as a player. I just wasn't super high on the selection at the moment because I did feel like it was a little bit early.
00:09:18
Savage Boston
Um, how did you feel about the trivia on Henderson thing?
00:09:21
Snooty
I mean, it was a little surprising, but again, be just given the depth of the running back class, but this kid's a legit first-round talent. And he's not like a he's not a bell cow back, right?
00:09:29
Savage Boston
Yeah. Yeah.
00:09:32
Snooty
Like, he's not going to, you know, tote the rock 20, 25 times But... but He's more of that Shane Vereen, James Whitey type like type of back where he can do as much in the passing game as anything else.
00:09:47
Snooty
I mean, everybody's blowing up his you know pass pro skills, which don't get me wrong, they're they're impressive, especially for – he's not a huge guy, but his pass pro is awesome, but like you don't draft the running back for his pass pro.
00:09:58
Snooty
But his ability to play, he can split out wide, he can stay in and block, obviously, and then he can –
00:09:59
Savage Boston
yeah
00:10:04
Snooty
you know, he can run the ball. So, like, they've missed that element since James White got hurt, right?
00:10:10
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:10:10
Snooty
They haven't had that forever. I've been calling for it forever because it's so integral and it's such an important piece of the offense and just haven't had it.
Offensive Strategy & Team Culture
00:10:19
Snooty
Gibson kind of gave you a little bit of that last year, which is why he was he was as good as he was, but, like...
00:10:25
Snooty
This kid it is ah just a different level of speed. He just has a another gear that he can get to. And quite honestly, the offense is like playmakers. So yeah like everybody keeps harping on receiver, receiver, receiver. It's not necessarily receiver. They just need playmakers.
00:10:40
Snooty
They just need guys who can who can actually make things happen.
00:10:40
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:10:44
Snooty
And he can make things happen.
00:10:44
Savage Boston
yeah mean Every possession, every touchdown is like a, is a grind. And like, you, you have to work crazy hard to reach the end zone any time for the last few years. And, you know, it would be nice for you to get a player that can actually take it to the house, right. Or or give you an easy score, any a layup play or like,
00:11:02
Savage Boston
Again, it's it's Josh McDaniels back now, so he's going to have some actual creative screens and things where you get the ball in a talented player's hands and and you know try to see if he works upfield. We remember all the screens with James White and Deion Lewis and Kevin Falk and all these guys that were excellent backs, pass-catching backs, and we we have missed that position.
00:11:22
Savage Boston
and so I'm happy like he's going to be that guy. He's an impressive player, very fast, explosive, and again, he should be your third-down bat. like you know You know, see you later, Mondre.
00:11:36
Savage Boston
yeah i don't know if Mondre is going to be here much longer. i Honestly, it feels like Mike Vrabel doesn't want a single human being on this 53-man roster that was here last year. That's how it feels to me right now. He just wants to literally purge the entire team, which is not possible, but that's how it feels, especially today releasing Joe Cardona.
00:11:56
Savage Boston
um
00:11:56
Snooty
Yeah.
00:11:57
Savage Boston
she Was that, you know, well, they drafted a long snapper, you know,
00:11:57
Snooty
It feels like it came out of left field.
00:12:01
Snooty
But right. but I mean, the whole like transition. like They drafted the longstop.
00:12:04
Savage Boston
Yeah. You're like, why?
00:12:05
Snooty
Everybody's like, what?
00:12:07
Savage Boston
It's leadership. He, I think he genuinely feels like that locker room just got comfortable losing.
00:12:13
Snooty
I mean, they probably did, right?
00:12:13
Savage Boston
Like they've, they've been losing for five years.
00:12:15
Snooty
They haven't won.
00:12:17
Savage Boston
They've been losing 2020, you know, 2020 to 2025. They just been losing.
00:12:22
Snooty
Yeah. I mean, they've been
00:12:23
Savage Boston
Right. Like, so they got used to losing since Brady left and, uh, they've been really bad.
00:12:27
Snooty
mean, they and they've been bad. I mean...
00:12:30
Savage Boston
And so once you get used to that, like, I appreciate variable able wants to come in. I mean, How many guys is he going to maintain from last year? You know, and if you're Jabril Peppers right now, like, don't you have to have your head on a swivel?
00:12:38
Snooty
This year?
00:12:42
Snooty
i think everybody has to have their head on a swivel. There's no sacred cows.
00:12:45
Savage Boston
He's cutting everybody.
00:12:47
Snooty
I mean, aside from Drake May and the guys they just brought in, but, you know.
00:12:50
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:12:51
Snooty
you know And I think to get back to... like There's an overall theme with all these picks. like the The more you read about it, the more of like ah the high character, like you know hard-working, like that type of thing.
00:12:59
Savage Boston
Mm-hmm.
00:13:01
Snooty
And I know everybody rolls their eyes, and I know Vrabel said like in... I think it was his opening press conference or one of the other ones that he said, like, you know, you have you can't just win with good guys. And I i understand that. And he's right.
00:13:13
Snooty
But it's clear that they're trying to establish a culture, right?
00:13:13
Savage Boston
yeah
00:13:16
Snooty
Like, because, you know, the Pickens was a name that was floated around, right?
00:13:17
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:13:20
Snooty
Like as being a trade candidate, you can't bring someone like Pickens in right now because you don't have a culture and you don't have leadership in place to handle that.
00:13:20
Savage Boston
Yeah, it's noa
00:13:24
Savage Boston
Noah.
00:13:27
Snooty
For many years with Brady and everybody else, and like they did have that. So they could bring in people that were deemed malcontents elsewhere and they would fall in line because everybody fell in line.
00:13:38
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:13:38
Snooty
You don't have that right now. So you can't take risk.
00:13:40
Savage Boston
but last year was was Last year was the worst example. I mean, you couldn't – the amount of whiplash they got from going from you know going from Belichick in 2023, right, and then Mayo in 2024, and like that whiplash of like extreme strict and you suck to absolutely no rules and you suck.
00:14:03
Savage Boston
And I believe Tom Curran put it, they had like a substitute teacher vibe, you know, because it did. It's like, oh yeah, we got the sub in, let's just watch movies and ride bikes in the locker room. And, you know, it just, ah it was a crazy turnaround, which which obviously didn't work for anybody.
00:14:18
Savage Boston
Um, so yeah, so I'm, I'm happy Vrabel is going to come in and and and have his own culture or something new. And people, people online just hate the word culture. Cause it's a, it's a buzzword and everyone's Oh, culture established. Like, but you need some sort of culture. You need a legit locker room that, uh, knows how to win that respects the coach that wants to try hard and play hard day in, day out, wants to practice hard.
00:14:45
Savage Boston
And last year was not that, especially in the wide receiver room. You know, which was brutal.
00:14:50
Snooty
Oh, yeah.
00:14:52
Snooty
Well, I mean, it all even all last year they were like, okay, there are leaders on defense. But once Andrews went down, they were like, you know, there's no leaders on offense.
00:15:02
Savage Boston
Nobody.
00:15:02
Snooty
There's nothing. and And again, that's why I keep going to like every, you know, the Campbell piece part of the pick is like, that's the type of guy he is, right? And that can, if you're at least good,
00:15:15
Snooty
and you're that type of leader, that can go a very long way to helping the O-line get, you know, get settled and get in place and all that. I mean, so it's it's night and day right now, at least on paper, the roster year over year.
00:15:29
Savage Boston
Yeah. um yeah so i guess i would give i'll give the the henderson pick to loop it back in to me that's i'd like the player a
Wide Receivers & Offensive Scheme
00:15:38
Savage Boston
lot was a little questionable on the selection timing due to the the nature of the position which again maybe people listening disagree and you don't care about drafting running backs early that's fine everyone's got their opinion everyone can be right no one's no one's wrong Uh, but you know, the running back position is a tough one because it's in such a bad place and it has such low, uh, they don't pay people.
00:16:02
Savage Boston
And, um, and you draft a new one every five years and they're just as good as the old one. And I feel bad for guys that are in that position. You have a few very noticeable, uh, uh, noticeable, uh, oh my God.
00:16:15
Savage Boston
Um, exceptions, my God.
00:16:15
Snooty
Exceptions?
00:16:17
Savage Boston
Um, like Saquon Barkley and, and, and, you know, Derek Henry and, Christian McCaffrey when he's healthy. Like, is there just a few noticeable ones to the rest of them though? Like you can bring in young kids like, like with the chiefs, you know the chiefs got new backs every year, you know, like, but positions like left tackle, you, you actually need, but you need that. You have to have that. You can't. And that's why those guys it's reflected in their paychecks. So regardless, that's just how the position value goes right now.
00:16:47
Savage Boston
um I think the third pick in the draft is probably my favorite pick. um I wanted this kid. He was in a bunch of my mocks beforehand. it's Kyle Williams, a wide receiver.
00:16:58
Savage Boston
Now, I didn't know people were pretty high on Jalen Noel. Our guy, Scout d was pretty high on Jalen Noel. um I like Kyle Williams. I'm not going to say I had him way ahead Jalen or something like that. I think the Patriots wanted Jaden Higgins, just my opinion. I think they wanted Higgins, and then he went.
00:17:17
Savage Boston
And they had to pivot. But Kyle Williams to me, I really like he's explosive. ah He looks like a really good route runner, gets yak. um I like and and he's a good character kid. So a ton I like about him. So how do you feel about the the Kyle Williams selection?
00:17:32
Snooty
um I mean, obviously the position's great. Obviously he's, he can play outside. He's, he's more of an X than you'd think for someone who's not huge um deep threat, you know, all that, but similar to Henderson, he's the type of guy that can, can turn, you know, average plays into big plays.
00:17:51
Snooty
Right. And, and they've, again, they've lacked, ah yeah they've lacked yak for, for a few years now.
00:17:57
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:17:57
Snooty
um
00:17:57
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:17:58
Snooty
And again, so like, that's the type of thing, like, you know, If you make you you make the short completion, May makes the right read, they hold up long enough, he gets the ball, and then all of a sudden he makes one guy miss, and now you know the seven-yard out becomes a 26-yard play. like Now you don't have to grind as much on offense. right
00:18:16
Savage Boston
yeah
00:18:16
Snooty
um He's a good route runner, better than Higgins as a route runner. He's obviously not as big. Higgins is much bigger. you know He's 6'4", whatever. This guy's, i think, 5'10"-ish,
00:18:25
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:18:25
Snooty
um
00:18:26
Savage Boston
He's not tiny. He's just...
00:18:27
Snooty
No, he's he's not small, but he's, you know, he's compared to Higgins, he's he's smaller, but he's he plays faster. I think they timed a similar, in a similar range, but he plays faster, then um way faster than Higgins does.
00:18:35
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:18:41
Snooty
So, and he to be honest with you, at least traditionally, that fits the mold of a Josh McDaniel's offense much better then um than Higgins does.
00:18:42
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:18:50
Snooty
So, in that respect, I think he's a better fit. I'm eager to see what he can do. um They've lacked something like that at at receiver for especially outside receiver for a very long time.
00:19:00
Savage Boston
Yeah. I mean, I think Kyle Williams can play 190. Yeah. um he's five ten one ninety um Again, I don't know if he's going to be strictly you know lining up at X. Everyone's getting really, ah really focused on positions.
00:19:17
Savage Boston
like you know never I don't ever remember 20 years ago us being like, oh my God, we only have two slots. We don't have a true X. Like when Tom Brady was um you know winning and finding. We didn't have Amendola, Hogan, and Edelman. like Who is your true X? Hogan?
00:19:35
Savage Boston
Only line out outside, you know, but like they didn't, they would line them up inside. Sometimes they'd line them up at flanker. Like everyone gets really interested in, in specific with, um with positions now a wide receiver. It's like when we used to, when, after we had Randy Moss, the phrase always was like, we need someone to take off the top of the de defense.
00:19:54
Savage Boston
And they used to say this all the time. We got to take off the top of the defense. And then Brady wins like three more Superbowls with no burner. You know, no Randy Moss. So sometimes you don't have to have every perfect player at every perfect position.
Quarterback Development: Drake May
00:20:10
Savage Boston
You have to have a good scheme and a good quarterback. And like if Drake May develops, all these guys are going to look better. Everybody's going to do better. So I don't know. How do you feel about all this kind of like
00:20:20
Snooty
for For sure. But like, and I think the consistency there is like, they didn't have Moss, but shortly after Moss left was when Gronk got here.
00:20:32
Savage Boston
Well, he was elite, but obviously had a different role.
00:20:33
Snooty
Right. Correct. So it's, but it's the, it's a different position. Right.
00:20:39
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:20:39
Snooty
But it's a similar role in the, in the sense that like, they're the, like they're an an elite playmaker. Right. You know mean? Like, you don't have to have, like, an elite ex, you know, quote-unquote outside wide receiver.
00:20:47
Savage Boston
know
00:20:52
Snooty
Like, but you need – look at the Chiefs.
00:20:53
Savage Boston
You need some talent.
00:20:55
Snooty
The Chiefs turn over receivers a lot. I mean, I know they had Hill at the beginning of Mahomes' career or whatever. But, like, they've turned over their receivers quite a bit. And a lot of them are pretty mediocre. But the one guy who's been there constantly, he's the the straw that stirs the drink, is Kelsey.
00:21:04
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:21:10
Snooty
Right. And a similar type of thing where like, he's the one who makes a lot of the big plays like the same way Gronk did.
00:21:11
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:21:16
Snooty
Gronk's better. Let me, let me just put that out there. But like, um but like, that's the concept. Like it doesn't have to be a true receiver. It can, you just need weapons. You just need guys who can play.
00:21:27
Snooty
You know what I mean?
00:21:27
Savage Boston
yeah
00:21:27
Snooty
Like it's, and it, that sounds like a, you know, a cop-out, like it's, it's overly simplistic, but like it kind of is like, you just if you can get an elite talent at any position, you look at Kittle in, uh, I don't know they're loaded, but like, or were loaded, but like, look at Kittle in, um, San Francisco, right?
00:21:45
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:21:45
Snooty
Same type of concept, same concept.
00:21:48
Savage Boston
Yeah. I mean, i just, when people get really, again, they getting really caught up, getting really caught up on specific wide receiver positions and like Drake may, if he develops well, develops properly,
00:22:01
Savage Boston
he's going to be able to use these guys and lining up in a lot of different positions. Like I don't think Josh McDaniels is going to line up your standard three wide with like an X, Y, Z every single, you know every single play.
00:22:13
Savage Boston
Like they're going to different formations.
00:22:13
Snooty
Uh-huh.
00:22:15
Savage Boston
They're going to move guys. So like, yeah, it'd be great if Kyle Williams can line up on the true outside. That's awesome. Great. Like you need someone to line up in that position, but it really, everything is going to boil down to Drake Mays.
Building a Strong Offensive Line
00:22:26
Savage Boston
Drake May develop? Does Josh McDaniels get the most out of Drake May? Like if Drake May has a trajectory like Josh Allen somehow, like the dream trajectory, right? That's our that's our that's our our highest possible trajectory right now is Josh Allen, league MVP, right?
00:22:42
Snooty
hu
00:22:42
Savage Boston
So if that's your trajectory, I think he should have an improvement next year. hope he keeps getting better at reading defenses, maybe taking less risks with his body. I'm definitely concerned about his injuries.
00:22:53
Savage Boston
um But like... he should be able to find the open man, right? That was Brady's best thing is finding the open guy, not, not making guys get open, right? You find who's open.
00:23:05
Savage Boston
So hoping Drake may develops kind of in that, in that sense. um
00:23:08
Snooty
No, for sure. And I think part of that, looking at the guy they took in took ah took after that in the third round, is is having, you know, part of having the right guys around him is is having an O-line.
00:23:21
Snooty
And I love what they've done with the O-line this year.
00:23:23
Savage Boston
I love the center pick.
00:23:24
Snooty
I loved the Jared Wilson pick. This was probably my favorite pick that they made.
00:23:26
Savage Boston
yeah it's a great a great It was a great third round.
00:23:29
Snooty
Yeah. Uber athletic O-lineman. I know they said he could play some guard. He doesn't have a ton of experience, um but I mean,
00:23:41
Snooty
Christ, he practiced against the the Georgia guys every day, right? I mean, that's got count for something.
00:23:46
Savage Boston
yeah
00:23:48
Snooty
One-year starter at center, but I don't see any reason he shouldn't at least push for that job this year. Maybe he plays some guard while Bradbury's here, and then maybe next year he takes over. Maybe, because I know the center bears a lot of responsibility in terms of calling you know protections and things like that. Maybe maybe he's not quite ready for that.
00:24:07
Snooty
Maybe he plays a little guard because left guard is still unsettled.
00:24:09
Savage Boston
yeah
00:24:10
Snooty
Um, maybe he takes a year.
00:24:11
Savage Boston
That's true. Like they said, he can play guard, right? Like if he can, if you can have Bradbury's experienced enough where he can be your starting center and then you can have Wilson at, at guard.
00:24:18
Snooty
Right. And then maybe Wilson takes over next year. Right. But like, I love, this is my, one of my favorite picks.
00:24:23
Savage Boston
and
00:24:25
Snooty
If you pair a quarterback with a center and a left tackle, like done like that, you're all set.
00:24:28
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:24:31
Savage Boston
I love it. I think they're really, really smart in that third round.
00:24:33
Snooty
This is,
00:24:35
Savage Boston
Um, The other, you know, the the next pick after Wilson was the only one that was like, people were like, huh? Like, was the Woodson pick at safety?
00:24:44
Snooty
Yeah.
00:24:45
Savage Boston
Which, you know, I did. What's weird is i heard I heard his name and I was trying to remember where I heard this kid's name. Because believe me, I'm not down in the crazy, you know, 300s in the draft scouting. Like, I'm not doing that.
00:24:56
Savage Boston
I'm reading people's material, you know, like Scout or like Daniel Jeremiah or, you know, those guys. And like Jeremiah, I heard on a podcast right before the draft.
00:25:07
Savage Boston
And I don't remember how I got turned on this podcast, but he was like, oh, you know, I don't know what I'm missing with Craig Woodson is what he said. He goes, this kid runs fast, gets the ball, smart kid. And I was like, oh, okay. And I put it out of my head completely. And then the Patriots draft him.
00:25:22
Savage Boston
So I had no, obviously no clue they were looking at this kid, but like clearly they have something in mind where maybe he can play the free safety role again, maybe be that true or free safety. That would be great.
00:25:34
Savage Boston
And he's a smart kid. So um I don't know. Were you like confused about that pick or you felt like it was fine?
Defensive Picks & Strategy Shift
00:25:41
Snooty
Not to position. um I didn't know that he would be my the first safety I'd look at, but again, i mean, look, I watch a lot of college football, but I don't watch a ton of, I guess they're the ACC, um you know, West Coast ACC team. um But you know, the more you read about him that, you know, he's a smart kid, he's fast, he can play that center field type.
00:26:05
Snooty
They, they also have missed that for many years. Um, once McCourty retired, but if you can have an effective communicator back there who can make sure everybody's lined up and, and I'm not saying, look, who knows if any of these guys can play, right?
00:26:08
Savage Boston
Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
00:26:17
Snooty
Like the, just, just the caveat with that is like, who knows? Um, but like, that's what you need is you need someone who can get back there and keep people in line and keep everything in front of them.
00:26:28
Snooty
Right. um And I know they have peppers doing that a little bit in the last year and the year before, and your Duggar at points, but like those guys are better. Their strengths are when they're more, either you know covering tight ends or or down near the box. right um And that's why Hawkins they signed last year, because he, again, fits more of a center field role type.
00:26:48
Snooty
um So in that sense, I'm happy because they addressed a position that I thought was of of dire need, sneaky need, um was that you know free safety, true traditional free safety.
00:26:58
Savage Boston
know how they they clearly like did a much better job than last year. and like lastly It's funny, both knee both years like they still were drafting for need in some way.
00:27:08
Savage Boston
right It's not like they didn't draft for need this year. They just tried to get the right pick at the right player. you know the right player, at the right pick, right the right round. Versus last year, kind of they forced it. They're like no, we need a tackle now.
00:27:21
Savage Boston
Oh no, we're going get this receiver now. And they forced it and obviously had a it's kind of Other than Drake May, seems like not a good draft last year. I mean, hopefully we can look back in a few years and say it's better than we thought, but it doesn't look that way.
00:27:34
Savage Boston
um Versus this year, it's kind of like they got some crazy value in the you know in the fifth round, fourth and fifth round, which like I love. These next two picks were like, again... I thought A-plus picks. And again, you know, we could take the Felger and Mazru and just say, oh, the draft's an F. How does anyone know?
00:27:51
Savage Boston
Like, I don't get why that's the take they went with this week. You could actually, like, look at the picks and talk about the picks. But, hey, they're the radio guys. They know what they're doing, obviously, for ratings, and we're just on ah on a podcast, right?
00:28:02
Savage Boston
um But Josh Farmer and Braden Swinson love both those picks. Love Farmer as, like, de-tackle depth, big kid with a lot of potential. Love that pick.
00:28:13
Savage Boston
Then Braden Swinson is a legit edge rusher that fell wicked far because of probably attitude concerns. Like, love it. how do you I mean, those are great selections in the fourth and fifth round that I think could genuinely contribute.
00:28:26
Savage Boston
Like, Swinson might be a starting edge rusher on third down. Like,
00:28:30
Snooty
Yeah. It's Winston's probably going to play that Uche role, right?
00:28:33
Savage Boston
yeah absolutely.
00:28:34
Snooty
We're like, at least to start, like, Hey, look, i don't know.
00:28:34
Savage Boston
Absolutely.
00:28:36
Snooty
It's third down. Just come in and and rush. You know, you kick white inside and you got Landry and you got Barmore and Williams or whatever. And like, you're like, just, you know, fucking rush. Like it's, it's tremendous value, especially like learn, right? Like just be a, be a situational pass rusher this year and learn unless someone gets hurt whatever farmer.
00:28:57
Snooty
Um, I mean, this kid's a beast, right? Like he was, you know, I think Jeremiah was saying, um, he had him at one point as like in the top, in his top 50 when he was going over prospects, this for this, uh, draft.
00:29:10
Snooty
I mean, that's crazy to get him at one 37, big, strong, like um big strong like like he's good ah he's going to be a good player and they they need that, right?
00:29:17
Savage Boston
yeah be a good player.
00:29:21
Snooty
Like this D-line, if it pans out, could be kind of scary, which is awesome.
00:29:24
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:29:25
Snooty
um
00:29:26
Savage Boston
Defense is going to be pretty good, in my opinion.
00:29:26
Snooty
They might... If Barmore's healthy, they may they're going to fuck people up.
00:29:32
Savage Boston
Oh, yeah.
00:29:33
Snooty
If Barmore's healthy, they're going to...
00:29:33
Savage Boston
I mean, Milton Williams people are sleeping on, too. like no or Or really, they're not sleeping on. I mean, he's the highest played player on the team. like he's you you know I just like that expression. Milton Williams is going a great player.
00:29:43
Snooty
but like But if this kid pans out and you got a little depth, like one of the concerns with Williams is that like he hasn't played like a full-time role.
00:29:43
Savage Boston
You know,
00:29:51
Snooty
But if he doesn't have to and if you can rotate guys through, then know what I mean?
00:29:55
Savage Boston
Yeah. And that farmer is kind of that aggressive. He's not a giant guy who just sits, you know, like not like a a massive load type.
00:30:06
Savage Boston
um Like he's 6'3", like 305, I think. And is like, can get up field and gash a little bit. And again, it's the exact... Vrabel type, like they're going to run a four man front and try to get penetration, which is again, stylistically different than two gapping and being passive.
00:30:21
Savage Boston
And so, you know, they're trying to affect the quarterback, which is, again, i agree with Vrabel. This is how the league is now. know, Belichick's defense worked when it worked. Right. And Belichick would always obviously always pivot when he needed to, because he was a genius, not going to spend all this time going into his girlfriend and all this absolute insanity that's been happening.
00:30:40
Savage Boston
that everyone's all up in arms about Belichick somehow remains the third rail topic where you, if you criticize him, you get all these, these crazy homers in your mentions yelling at you. um But, but I think stylistically, it's a great, it's a good shift. Like you have to affect the quarterback.
00:30:58
Savage Boston
That's, that's how the league is now. That's how the rules have gone. That's how the league has changed. They make it easier and easier every year to throw the football. And if you can't affect the quarterback, you're not going to win many games. So that's how it goes yeah yeah
00:31:10
Snooty
Well, I mean, like the, you know, odd man front, you know, two gapping, big thumper inside linebackers. Like that's from an age when people ran the ball a lot. Right. Like, and that's the Patriots ran the ball a lot at the beginning of their, you know, dynasty, ah you know, the early two thousands and stuff.
00:31:26
Snooty
So that defense played well, right? Like that's when you add Seymour and you add Ty Warren and Will Fork and Jarvis Green would come in and like, you know, that D line was disgusting, but, you
00:31:37
Savage Boston
yeah
00:31:39
Snooty
You know that's a bygone era. I mean, not to say those players couldn't play now. They could. Yeah.
00:31:43
Savage Boston
mean, but Seymour and Ty Warren and, like, McGinnis and Brewski and where else they had, you know, that was a ridiculous defense. You go that whole depth chart, like, and this is how, like, you know, I remember going through when we were, you know, 2001, 2003, you know, like, how did you play? How did anyone play against that team and Belichick?
00:32:03
Savage Boston
I mean, like, that's how, you know, they won how many games in a row? Like, 20, 21 games in a row or something.
00:32:08
Snooty
Nope.
00:32:09
Savage Boston
I mean... Insane, just talent-wise, up and down the
Historical Reflections & Team Dynamics
00:32:13
Savage Boston
whole roster. yeah and We've got to realize now, and I threw this out on Twitter the other day, lot of guys that listen or read stuff on Twitter, they are not the same age as we are.
00:32:24
Snooty
nope
00:32:24
Savage Boston
They are not in their late 30s. A lot of guys are in there on Twitter even, are teens. like They've never watched. like a lot of guys have never seen Teddy Bruschi play. It's just some, some old guy we talk about who's on ESPN, yeah you know, and then you try to be like, no, you don't get it. You don't get it. And it's it's like people talk about Larry bird.
00:32:44
Savage Boston
You know, it's hard to, we're those guys now. We're the Larry bird guys.
00:32:49
Snooty
Yeah. I mean, that makes me feel old, but...
00:32:51
Savage Boston
Oh yeah. Yeah. That's us now. We're Larry bird. All right.
00:32:54
Snooty
But hey.
00:32:54
Savage Boston
Well, I'm going to end it there.
00:32:54
Snooty
You know what? I mean, I also remember Ben Coates, so...
00:32:58
Savage Boston
Well, Ben Coates was a beast though. I mean, he was a monster.
00:33:01
Snooty
He was Gronk before Gronk.
00:33:03
Savage Boston
He was. He was a tremendous player. I mean, Bledsoe was excellent too, but even back in the day in the 90s, we used to say, why won't he throw the football?
00:33:04
Snooty
He was...
00:33:10
Savage Boston
You just sit in the pocket and get destroyed. He was 280 pounds, whatever he weighed, sitting back there with this rocket cannon arm, and he'd just sit there and get pummeled.
00:33:17
Snooty
He did not weigh 280 pounds.
00:33:23
Snooty
Well, that's because... I mean, I could still take you through that old line. um um Yeah, I mean, I don't know. Because that's just that's what they did. Because Reggie wright reggie White in that Super Bowl just...
00:33:34
Savage Boston
Well, here's little theory.
00:33:35
Snooty
I mean, i can't blame I can't blame Max Lane for that.
00:33:36
Savage Boston
Reggie White's Reggie White.
00:33:38
Snooty
I can't blame Max Lane for that. Because he just...
00:33:39
Savage Boston
Dude, he had no shot.
00:33:41
Snooty
rich Reggie White. You want to talk about arm length and shit. That guy, he like and for all the young people, anyone who's still listening to he literally just took Max Lane, who I met and in in in person, who's a ginormous human, he literally just like shot put him.
00:33:56
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:33:59
Savage Boston
Hold on. So Reggie White was like prototypical.
00:33:59
Snooty
like Repeatedly.
00:34:01
Savage Boston
And this is, I don't know the truth to these measurements or I have, if I have all the measurements, let me see if I can find, if I can find true ones. And it's a different Reggie White. This is, this is all it says so far.
00:34:12
Savage Boston
I'll try to find more accurate ones, but he was six, five, 300 pounds and ran a four, six.
00:34:17
Snooty
used and and his more I mean, I don't know about the 4-6, but his play strength was unworldly.
00:34:17
Savage Boston
but I don't know if that's true. I don't know that's true.
00:34:25
Snooty
Otherworldly. It was just insane. That guy could just fuck people up.
00:34:30
Savage Boston
He was, I don't think I've ever seen such a good player. Like, I'm just trying to remember remember truly, like, how how dominant he was as a player. um And, yeah, he was, you know, he was six foot five like 300 or so pounds. And, you're like, i him versus, like, Bruce Smith.
00:34:48
Savage Boston
you know, and like how good they were at the time.
00:34:48
Snooty
yeah
00:34:50
Savage Boston
And, you know, we could just reminisce, but like these guys, i mean, we were kids watching these guys, but we're watching Reggie White destroy us in the Superbowl.
00:34:50
Snooty
Yeah.
00:34:58
Savage Boston
He was, he was inhuman. His like wrong arm, like forearm shiver, like he just destroyed everyone. I mean, that was an unbelievable player.
00:35:09
Snooty
Yeah.
00:35:09
Savage Boston
It's like that Julius Peppers, but better, better Julius Peppers. I don't know.
00:35:13
Snooty
Welch was on that team. Keith Byers was on that team. 96 team.
00:35:16
Savage Boston
Which team? chamber 1916 for the Patriots? Oh, yeah.
00:35:19
Snooty
Yeah, Terry Glenn, Sean Jefferson.
00:35:21
Savage Boston
Terry Glenn and Sam Gash and Curtis Martin.
00:35:22
Snooty
Yep, Sean Jefferson.
00:35:24
Savage Boston
Sean Jefferson was great. And, you know, Ben Coates. The line was okay. I mean, I think the the weapons with Jefferson and Glenn were good. And then the defense had, you know, Brewski and Ty Law and don't know if Laurie Miller was there, Chris Slade, Willie McGinnis.
00:35:34
Snooty
Yeah.
00:35:38
Snooty
Chris Slade.
00:35:42
Snooty
Lawyer Maloy, believe, was there.
00:35:43
Savage Boston
His lawyer there. They were good. It was a good team. Parcells was such a good freaking coach.
00:35:49
Snooty
Yeah, Ted Johnson was there.
00:35:50
Savage Boston
He just changed that whole – that's why he's in the hall. And, again, we don't have to get into this whole thing. But, like, he did change the team. And everyone everyone's like, oh, he was only here a few years. But, like, he changed it he changed a franchise.
00:36:01
Snooty
He did, and then he booked it for your arch rival, and then poison-pilled your star running back's contract.
00:36:04
Savage Boston
Yep.
00:36:08
Savage Boston
Yeah, I think if this was 20 years later on Twitter, I think we would have been going berserk.
00:36:10
Snooty
Or offered a poison-pill contract. Yeah, well, I mean, he completely fucked him over, so i don't I don't blame either side in that argument.
00:36:13
Savage Boston
We were pretty angry.
00:36:19
Snooty
Because like he legitimately fucked the franchise over.
00:36:19
Savage Boston
No.
00:36:23
Snooty
He was looking for a new job in the midst of a Super Bowl run.
00:36:23
Savage Boston
For like five years.
00:36:26
Savage Boston
Yeah, it's insane.
00:36:26
Snooty
Their second, and this is their second Super Bowl trip ever, right? Completely like fucked him over a little bit in that whole search and all that. Then bounced to your arch rival.
00:36:36
Savage Boston
Yeah. Yeah.
00:36:38
Snooty
Well, what really became your arch rival at that point. That's really where they became the arch rival. And then the next year offered, because you can't do this anymore, but the poison pill contract offer to Curtis Martin, Hall of Famer, right?
00:36:54
Snooty
Third round pick.
00:36:54
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:36:55
Snooty
And then um took him away and took a whole slew of you know coaches and players and things like that, including obviously Bill Belichick.
00:36:55
Savage Boston
Yeah.
00:37:03
Snooty
And then you got Pete fucking Carroll for three years. Fucker.
00:37:07
Savage Boston
Yeah. Carol's a good coach. He just didn't work here, but all right. want to end it now. Cause I don't, we don't go too long. All right. We'll be back, uh, back next week. And, uh, I'm sure there'll be more stuff to
Podcast Wrap-up & Next Episode Announcement
00:37:18
Savage Boston
chat about.
00:37:18
Savage Boston
So we'll see you guys then.
00:37:19
Snooty
Yep.
00:37:19
Savage Boston
Peace.
00:37:20
Snooty
yeah