Thursday Patriots Notebook 5/23: News and Notes
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Some Patriots news and notes for this morning:
Phil Perry had Jim Nagy on his recent Next Pats Podcast, with Nagy providing some insight into some of the selections for New England in this past draft.
One player Nagy talked about was offensive Layden Robinson, who was New England’s fourth-round pick (103rd overall) out of Texas A&M. Robinson was primarily a guard in college, which had a few people puzzled when the selection was made.
While the question initially was whether or not the club had possibly drafted another project to go along with fellow pick Caedan Wallace, Nagy believes that Robinson is primarily a guard, but he feels the former Texas A&M standout is potentially a starting-caliber player and a solid selection by the Patriots.
“He’s a talented guy,” said Nagy of Robinson. “I think Layden is a guard only, I don’t see a lot of tackle or center flexibility from Layden. So, even just going back to my time with the Patriots, coach [Dante] Scarnecchia would never have wanted a one position back up player, it’s just hard to build a roster that way. So, to me, that signifies the Patriots see this guy as a starting-level guard, which we did too. We had a starter-level grade on him.”
“He’s big. He can play square and stout. He’s got strong hands. And yes, in terms of getting out on the perimeter and doing some of the wide zone stuff, he’s certainly athletic enough to do that. You saw what he did at the Combine. I think he probably surprised some folks in how well he tested in some of that stuff. Good player. he’s played a ton of ball in the SEC, I don’t think it’s going to be too big for him. I would be surprised if he doesn’t come in and seriously push for a starting job this year, I think he’s ready to do that.”
One of the more interesting comments came with Nagy talking about the selections of both Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, who he said are quite different than the guys New England has looked at previously when it comes to the receiver position.
He believes they hit on two guys who can open up their offense, which is an improvement from the type of players they had targeted in the past.
“I think they drafted two guys that can separate,” said Nagy. “I’ve said this before, I think Polk and Baker can both separate, and they haven’t been drafting separators up there for a while. It’s been a while since they’ve drafted guys that can get open, and I think both these guys can and they both have great ball skills.”
Nagy also noted that when it came to Polk, he was a player who was quietly rated highly by quite a few teams around the league, and he feels that Polk flew under the radar a bit behind Washington teammate Rome Odunze. Odunze was a higher-rated prospect and ended up being taken 9th overall by the Bears.
However, Nagy believes the Patriots got good value for him, and he feels Polk likely wouldn’t have been around much longer from where he was selected (Round 2, 37th overall by the Patriots).
“We did a lot of work on Polk too, and I think that he was a guy that the league was much higher than the media,” said Nagy. “I think maybe the media kind of lost him in the Rome Odunze talk and everything, I don’t know. But Polk was a guy that a lot of teams were high on. They probably had to take Polk there where they took him.”
The future of the league seems to be heading toward seeing the NFL go to an 18-game schedule, with Roger Goodell reportedly saying this week he feels like it just makes sense.
“We would do it in the context of reducing the number of preseason games,” said Goodell during a recent press conference. “We think that’s a good trade: less preseason games and more regular season games. I think most anybody would think that was beneficial. But again, those two other factors are important.”
What’s odd about this discussion is the fact players keep asking for an additional bye, which feels like something that continues to get swept under the rug whenever this topic comes up. The league obviously wants the additional ad dollars that come from another regular season contest, yet they don’t seem to want to bend when it comes to player safety.
Several players have already come out and said that in order for that to be realistic, it’s going to require the league to figure out a way to offer its clubs at least two bye weeks during the regular season. Player recovery remains the biggest factor that is being argued, with the addition of Thursday night games being a bone of contention that’s come up – and continues to be discussed – from players who are frustrated with having to play a game mere days after being out on the field.
As we know, it’s an incredibly long season, and it’s a little strange that each time this topic is broached, it feels like the league balks rather than trying to be mindful of the real reason fans come out each Sunday – to see their players on the field. Goodell can’t step into the bodies of these players to get a sense of what they’re dealing with, and he appears to be completely tone-deaf on the matter.
Giants Owner John Mara isn’t a fan of expanding the season, and he at least acknowledges the concerns his players have. Still, he does feel his fellow owners are on board, which probably means it’s in the league’s future at some point.
“I can’t say I’m necessarily crazy about extending the season,” Mara said, via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. “I worry more about player fatigue and wear and tear on the players moving forward. That’s one of the reasons why we have to have the discussion with [the NFLPA].”
The other factor that’s lost in this is the fact the removal of one preseason game has already removed an opportunity for longshot players to have the opportunity to flash and potentially emerge on a club’s roster. Removing another eliminates yet another chance, possibly robbing fans of seeing an unknown player turn into a star for their football team.
That could be an issue down the road, since it could see dozens of guys annually be looked over since there already are only so many reps to go around due to the new practice restrictions that have come about in recent years.
Fortunately, this is a decision that certainly isn’t imminent, nor is it one that can be made without the NFLPA agreeing to it.
However, it’s going to be interesting to see if the players hold their ground, or if the league will eventually push this through the same way they did when they went to 17 games a few years ago.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft may soon see his son, Josh, running local government in Boston. According to the Boston Globe, the younger son is “actively considering making a run” against current mayor Michelle Wu in the upcoming 2025 election. The 57-year-old has been a big part of contributing to the community, having spent 30 years with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, as well as working in a full-time role as president of Kraft Family Philanthropies. … Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal wasn’t surprised by the news of DeVante Parker’s retirement, noting that he was apparently someone that Matt Patricia lobbied for. “DeVante Parker, not my favorite Patriot to deal with, and I didn’t think he wanted to be here,” said Bedard in a recent podcast with Nick Cattles. “For him to go to the Eagles, take a look around, and go, ‘Nah, I’m good,” doesn’t really surprise me. I think he pretty much made that decision last year on the Patriots. And also, you can’t help but think back to all the flowers that were given to Matt Patricia for finding DeVante Parker and executing this deal. It’s another in a long line of offensive personnel failures that led the Patriots to the depths that they sunk to, and now they’re trying to climb their way out of it.” … While the hope is that the Patriots surprise some people in 2024, the early oddsmakers don’t seem to love their chances. Draft Kings currently lists the Patriots at +2000 to win the AFC East, with the Bills (+130), Dolphins (+180), and Jets (+300) coming in ahead of them. As much as it pains me to say it, it would be tough not to take a shot on the Jets, who have a lot of talent and may be the team that unseats Miami this season in the standings. … Former Patriots running back James White said during a recent appearance on MassLive’s “Eye on Foxboro” podcast that this Patriots team has shot at surprising some people if they just do the basics and execute. “They don’t have to go out there and score 35 points a game or anything like that,” said White. “But if they consistently move the ball, control the line of scrimmage, and score 25 points a game, this team could be right there in the mix. They’re going to surprise some people.”
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