Thursday Patriots Notebook 4/11: News and Notes
(PHOTO: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 6 minutes
Posted Under: Patriots News
(PHOTO: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 6 minutes
New England Patriots > Patriots Blog
(PHOTO: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports) Some Patriots news and notes on this Thursday:
The Patriots have obviously spent the last couple of months exploring their options leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, with the club clearly in need of adding offensive talent to their roster.
It’s well known that in addition to their need at quarterback, the club also could use additional weapons at wide receiver, with Georgia’s Ladd McConkey among players who certainly impressed during the school’s most recent pro day.
Looking at the video from his pro day, it’s hard not to be intrigued by the type of player he could be and the type of upgrade he could provide to New England’s offense.
McConkey is incredibly smooth and athletic, looking essentially like the offensive version of last year’s Patriots first-round selection, Christian Gonzalez.
The former Georgia standout appeared recently on The Patriots Report with Price & Hogan, with the Boston Globe’s Christopher Price asking about what his first meeting was like with New England.
“More of the Senior Bowl, kind of their first time talking to you,” said McConkey during the interview. “They really wanted to get to know about your family, what made you want to go to Georgia, just getting to know the person not the player. So, met with them since then a couple times, and it’s been great every single time.”
McConkey explained that those conversations essentially challenged his recall, along with the club asking him questions about various football situations as they familiarized him with their offense.
“Sometimes, they’ll give you their install, put some of their formations, their plays in, stuff like that. Try to memorize it, take it all in,” said McConkey. “Then they’ll take your mind off of it, and go watch my film. So then they want to know if I can tell you what everybody’s running, what the play call is, what the reads are.”
“And then after I do that, they’ll come back and [ask], ‘OK, what was that play that I taught you again?’ So, little stuff like that. Just kind of see if you can recall information and if you can understand football.”
McConkey is a player who may be on New England’s radar, depending on where he ultimately goes. Quite a few mocks have him somewhere between the end of the first or early second round, which could see New England target him to compliment whichever quarterback they ultimately end up taking.
Overall, McConkey said it was a good meeting, and he came away with what he felt was a “solid” impression ahead of the draft.
“Meeting with them, I feel like it was solid every single time,” said McConkey. “Seemed like great people, great coaches. They want the best for me if that was to happen and all their players. So, nothing but great things to say about them and their organization.”
One big story this week was ESPN analyst Merril Hoge expressing concern when it comes to North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, with Maye being a player Hoge doesn’t believe any teams should target in round one.
Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston followed up with Hoge, with the NFL analyst appearing on Curran’s most recent Patriots Talk Podcast. Curran asked him about those comments, as well as what he looks for in a quarterback.
“There’s really two things, and they’re entwined as one,” explained Hoge. “You can’t have one without the other, they have to work together and it’s really a guy that processes things quickly and effectively and is accurate, and that’s where it starts.”
“Let’s say you don’t have accuracy, but you’re a pretty good processor. Well, the accuracy will run you out of the league. Let’s say you’re accurate, but you’re really not a good processor. Well, that will run you out of the league. So those two things you have to show in college that you can really perform well.”
Hoge went on to say that within the last five years, only C.J. Stroud and Joe Burrow have fallen within that category based on who he’s evaluated.
One other note that Hoge mentioned was the fact that how fans view quarterbacks isn’t the right way. He says most judge players by what they did in college, and not necessarily how they’ll perform at the NFL level.
“I evaluate players on where they’re going to play, not where they’re playing,” said Hoge. “That’s always the problem because fans look at the college player, ‘He won a Heisman trophy,’ that’s a college thing. ‘He won a National Championship,’ that’s a college thing. ‘He played in the SEC,’ that’s the SEC in college. There’s a bunch of things that change and are big changes from college to the NFL that I don’t think anybody considers, and they are monumental.”
“First of all, the field is different. Now, the width and length are the same, however, the hashmarks are different and that completely changes the environment of the game. College hashmarks are wide, in the NFL, they’re narrow. In colleges you play on the perimeter, in the NFL, you’ve got to play in the middle.”
“Then when you look at the defenses and offenses that exist in the NFL, they’re just not even in the same hemispheres with what you see in college, it’s mindboggling. That’s the biggest hurdle. Everybody goes, ‘Oh, speed,’ no, speed is third. Number one is the IQ of the game. The overall intelligence of the game. You’ve got grown men, they’re the best in the world, being paid millions of dollars to play it, and they’re good at it.”
“You’ve got great coaches. You’ve got great people that game plan, thinking of things, you had one of the best of all time in Bill Belichick. That’s what you’re going against each and every Sunday and that’s just a big jump and a monumental jump.”
When asked about Maye, Hoge again doubled down on his previous evaluation.
“The Maye kid will get you fired,” said Hoge. “I wouldn’t touch him. Let’s talk about the two things I just mentioned – processing and accuracy – I cannot think of somebody as erratic as I have seen, I mean at every level.”
“People bring up Josh Allen all the time. They are 100% incorrect. This kid in North Carolina – I mean, let me tell you something, I’ve watched his last two years, every game. And I tried … the best game I ever saw, which actually would be a marginal game too – you’d walk away going ‘eh’ – was the Pitt game. His last game, the NC State game, I’m telling you [shakes head], when I got done with it, I’m like, can he function in a dirty environment? Does he move well, still throw well, and process well? He’s bad there, and he’s bad in a clean pocket which actually was very disturbing.”
Curran then asked him if Maye’s footwork could be fixed, which Hoge felt was possible, but he also said that clubs often fall into the trap of ‘I can fix him.’ He also believes there’s too much else that just makes Maye a player not worthy of being taken at the top of round one.
Meanwhile, he called Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy “OK,” and he’s someone who Hoge also feels doesn’t believe to be worthy of a first-round pick, at least not when compared to players like Stroud and Burrow.
One point of emphasis that Hoge did preach was the fact that, “Nothing great is built suddenly,” and “Teams win championships.” That strikes a bit of a chord, given that even someone like Tom Brady didn’t win as a rookie. It took Brady a full year quietly in the NFL behind the scenes before he was truly ready to step in when his number was called, and it took a collective effort by that entire team during that 2001 Patriots season to win a title.
For now, Hoge makes a couple of arguments that would make any Patriots fan potentially have pause when it comes to Maye, which will likely see the narrative continue to shift toward McCarthy, who the club is also rumored to have interest in.
There’s been a lot of chatter online about Tee Higgins’ situation in Cincinnati as things continue to drag out. The 33rd Team cited a scenario that could see New England send pick #34 to the Bengals for his services, albeit the challenge then becomes trying to extend him and get him under contract. The Patriots have the room and the money, but the deal certainly wouldn’t make sense unless they could get him locked up long-term. … In addition to New England, Jayden Daniels’ also recently met with the Washington Commanders. However, it sounds like his meeting in Washington apparently “didn’t go as smoothly.” What that means remains to be seen, but it would be interesting to see if this news might ultimately see the Commanders potentially switch gears and go in a different direction, creating a little turmoil at the top of the board. … Following up on the mention of what Logan Ryan’s wife went through during his time in New York in this space yesterday, and it sounds like former coach Joe Judge deserves some kudos. After their trainer encouraged Ryan’s wife, Ashley, to go the emergency room, where she ultimately ended up undergoing surgery, Judge apparently told the former defensive back, “If you need to fly to Florida, don’t worry about football.” Ryan added, “That’s what Joe is as a man and as a coach.” Judge took a lot of heat here, but he certainly deserves some credit for his empathy for Ryan and his family in that situation. … Nice little tidbit on J.J. McCarthy as highlighted by draft expert Dane Brugler in his 2024 Draft Guide for the Athletic. An NFL scout told him, “Before he signed, he was telling other Michigan recruits that if they wanted to party and chase girls, go somewhere else. His class was going to be the one that restored Michigan. To have that mentality and then actually go achieve it? He’s different.” … More on McCarthy: “NFL teams describe him as a ‘winner’ and love the way he is wired (Harbaugh calls him the ‘Ice Man’ for the way he stays cool under pressure).” These bits of insight only add to the reasons why McCarthy may be on New England’s radar.
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