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Join me and James Co as we take a deep dive into the position that's going to make or break your fantasy roster. Wide receivers. We analyze route running, target share, and all the metrics that matter giving you the insights you need to draft the best wide receivers. As you prep for your draft, let us give you the coverage you need. Follow and listen to Reception Perception on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. It's Tom Carroll here, filling in for Andy Hart and Fitzy on the Six Rings and Football Things podcast for WEI. I am here with Dakota Randall of the Pro Football Network. He's joining me to talk about four days of Patriots training camp in the books. Dakota, what's up, man? Not too much things to happen to me on. I'm just trying to wipe the sweat off my back at this point. It was a little hot out there practicing today, but doing well. Yeah, it was probably the second hottest day of camp. And luckily for the guys, it was a bit of a sleepy day because pads come on tomorrow. So typically the day before pads come on, it's a little bit slower paced, but we did see some really fun one-on-one drills with the receivers matching up with DBs. And there is stuff to talk about despite the sleepiness. So let's dig in first on your overall impressions through four days of camp. It's different vibe. It's a different world. No more Belichick here. Now it's Mayo's turn. What have you seen so far? Yeah, I mean, there's a lot to get into, right? I think for me, everyone wants to know about the offense and the quarterback competition. And so just on that front, I think the defense has clearly been ahead of the offense. That's not really surprising. That's usually the case, but it's been convincing every day. I thought today was another spotty day for the offense. It's probably putting it kindly. It wasn't great during team periods. I thought it was probably Drake May's worst practice, but there are signs of life, especially from the receivers and I will probably get to them in a minute. But again, I think the big concern has to be the offensive line, especially the tackle spots. They've kind of put those four or five guys in a blender every day with a lot of different combinations that said we have had the same top left and right tackle for the last two days. And so maybe that's a sign that we're getting a bit more consistent. But I think the offensive line just has to be the biggest concern because I don't think the team's going to go anywhere unless they figure that out. And then as far as Drake May and Jacobi Brissette, I know a lot of people think the Patriots are kind of lying about the fact that Jacobi Brissette is the top starter in that Drake May eventually will clearly be the number one quarterback. I don't really buy that. I think the Patriots are being serious. And I think Jacobi Brissette probably should be. The week when starter at this point, I don't think Drake May has done anything to prove otherwise. Again, but what I would say with that is people that are talking about the quarterback competition, I don't think we're going to get any signs on whether this is even a real competition until around that joint practice with the Eagles and that preseason game. I think then we'll have a barometer of where Drake May is and whether this a real chance there could be a competition. But at this point, there's really nothing to talk about. And I would say Jacobi Brissette has been the better player overall. And I thought today was Jacobi's best practice too. So that really kind of puts the exclamation point on that point. So you hit on quarterbacks, you hit on receivers, you hit on linemen. Those are the three silos I actually wanted to talk with you. So let's talk about receivers first. I've been really impressed with Baker. I've been impressed with Polk and I thought Rager has looked good through four days here as well. He's had probably three or four of the best catches of camp so far. It seems like those are the three guys that Drake May has the best chemistry with at the moment here. We already talked about how Brissette is likely to be the starter to start the season. In fact, almost definitely will be the starter week one. But looking at the three guys that I mentioned just there, Baker, Polk, Rager, what have you seen from them? And what should we expect from them on the season as a whole? Is Rager going to be this kind of weird complimentary piece that is going to contribute on special teams? Or do we think he's actually going to be a true factor for the entire season here on offense? Well, I think first of all, we have to talk about the roster math a bit because I think there are five receivers who are roster locks on this team. And that is Kendrick Bourne, Demario Douglas, Jalen Polk, Jayvonne Baker and KJ Osborne. Even though I don't think he's been great, I think with the contract they gave him, I think he's a roster lock. So those are five receivers. The Patriots typically roster five. They have rolled with six in the past. Let's just say they go with six this year. That's really one spot up for grabs, though it could be two if Kendrick Bourne starts the season on PUP, for example. But let's just say there is only one spot up for grabs. You know, then we're talking about Jalen Rager, Kajon Booty, Judu Smith-Shuster. And I think it has to be Jalen Rager at this point, even though I think Kajon Booty has done some impressive things. I think Jalen Rager offers more upside. He's certainly faster. I think he offers more big play potential. I think Booty's just more of a possession receiver. But I also think Jalen Rager's added value as a kick returner isn't a thing to be overlooked, especially with a new kickoff rule. So for me, you know, he's got a lot of work in the spring and in the summer and he's rewarded them every step of the way. I think he's been, you know, one of, I think, Polk's been the most consistent receiver with Rager right after that. So I think for me right now, he's on the roster. And then with the other guys with Polk and Baker, I think Polk's probably been, like, as I said, the most consistent receiver. He's kind of there to factor number one target right now. Granted, tomorrow Douglas hasn't been in team drills. But regardless, I've been really impressed with Polk. I mean, he's sure-handed. You don't see him any, I don't think he has any drop so far. He runs great routes. He's tough. He's a little bit faster than advertised coming out of the draft. To me, he sort of strikes me as a souped up to Kobe Myers. I think, you know, unless he gets injured, I think he's in line for a pretty significant target share right away. If for only the reason that the Patriots don't have many other options, especially, you know, with his receiver type, I think he could be a contributor right away. And Baker is a bit of a wild card. I mean, he was good today. He definitely has big plate potential. Is he going to pick up the offense? I don't know. We'll just have to see. You know, that's going to be the big question mark with him. But there's no doubt. I mean, you look at him and he probably has the best big plate potential of any receiver in the room. You know, he's got a lot of speed after the catch. He can gain separation. We saw him go up yesterday and make a great catch on a 6-yard pass from Joe Milton. So, you know, to kind of bring it all full circle, not just on those three receivers, but the whole receiver room. I would say, and I've really felt this all along, that I think the Patriots receiver room has a higher ceiling than many people give it credit for, but the floor is low. There's a lot of these guys haven't proven anything and that includes tomorrow. Douglas, who's obviously smaller and is dealt with injuries. So, the floor is low on this group, but I think the ceiling is higher than people think. And I think they've only sort of further proven that during camp so far. So you mentioned Juju Smith-Schuster. I forget he's even out there sometimes. What's going on with Juju here? It's wild to think that the guy that they de facto replaced Jacobi Myers with, right? It was kind of a one for one switch is in jeopardy of not making the roster this year. It's crazy. So, is there a world where Juju Smith-Schuster is not on the Patriots in 2024? I know you said he's going to be up for kind of that last if there is sixth spot at receiver. You really feel that he is someone that could be out of here? Yeah, I mean I just, to me, at this point he's just a slow possession receiver. And if it were me, I would just go with someone like Keisha on booty at that point just because, you know, he has the upside. Like, he might, you know, maybe the best is yet to come from him and he gets better kind of every practice. And that's been the case since last year. With Juju Smith-Schuster, I mean, the reason that they brought him here is because he was supposed to add a yard after the catch element that they didn't have. Which Kobe Myers or really anybody on the roster, you know, but because of that knee injury that was worse than anybody let on last year, he just doesn't have any more juice. He has no juice after the catch. He doesn't gain much separation. He's just kind of a slow, kind of dependable possession receiver. And maybe you could make the case for rostering him because, you know, he's a veteran. He'll, you probably can bank on him running the correct routes when you don't totally know that with players like Polk and Baker and tomorrow Douglas, because they're so young. But that's really it. At the end of the day, I can't find any other good arguments for him being on the roster. I think if they cut him, it would be a seven or so million dead cap hit with net cap savings of a million. So at the end of the day, I don't know. You can make cases for it from the financial standpoint, for against keeping him. But ultimately, I just don't know, I don't want him taking up a roster spot for a younger player who could have more promise. Let's go ahead and talk about the offensive line here. We talked to Caden Wallace after practice today. He talked about how before practice, they'll post the depth chart. And that's how he knows which side of the line he's going to be playing on today. Sometimes it's right tackle. Sometimes it's left tackle. We don't know what the starting five of the offensive line is going to look like week one of this season. We know that David Andrews is going to be the center. Outside of that, everything is kind of up for grabs. We know when who's going to be in the mix. But we're in a situation where Mayo says the best five are going to play. We don't know what that five looks like. I don't think we're going to know what that five looks like until well into preseason. We need to see these guys play against real competition, real pads hitting real pads. Joint practices are going to be huge for that. So I wanted to get your take on the offensive line so far, what you've seen, what do you think it looks like? Is there anything you can even project at the moment through four days? No, the only thing I feel good about is that, you know, your top interior line is probably city so a left guard. David Andrews at center and Mike and when you are right guard. And if I'm a Patriots fan, I feel good about that. I think so is a good player. Certainly finished last season strong. I think David Andrews remains one of the better centers in football. Even if he maybe has declined, I know some people believe that. I didn't see it last year. And Mike and when it is obviously a very good right guard. At the tackle spots, I mean, again, they've had Kate and Wallace as the top left tackle. And Chooks of core four is the top right tackle the last two days. I don't see that holding. I'd be stunned if Kate and Wallace eventually is your week one left tackle. If I was to bet, it would be a core four left and Wallace it right. But even that, I mean, we won't know if Kate and Wallace is up to the job until the pads come on. So I don't, I don't rule out at all. It's still being someone like Calvin Anderson or Vadarian Lowe on the right side. Even though I know that probably we're concerned Patriots fans. But, you know, again, I don't, I don't know what the tackles are going to be. And from just a performance standpoint, I still have no idea if this line is going to be any good because we don't know if Peter Scott Peters can coach. We don't know the alignment that they have are good for sort of this outside zone running scheme that they want to run. I don't know if that's his forte. So I think there are a lot of questions about this offensive line. And to your point, I don't think we're going to get any clear answers for a little while, but right now it's not pretty outside of a couple of guys. So we know Jacobi Bursett is technically the starter at the moment and they're going to ride with that unless Drake May totally just pops off over the next few weeks. We understand that's the plan. With that said, let's go ahead and talk about the quarterbacks here and let's work backwards. Let's talk with Zappi, Milton, May and Bursett. That's the order we'll go in here. Zappi has had a sleepy camp, I'd say. Not a ton to discuss. I saw him miss some pretty easy throws today. When he talked to us after practice on Thursday or Friday, forgive me. I didn't feel like he seemed all that upbeat. And in years past, he seemed like he was the guy that was like the little puppy that just wanted love to be here. And he knew that it was incredible that he was in the NFL and the story he's had and all that. It just feels like a different vibe from Zappi right now. And I think he kind of sees the writing on the wall. What do you think about Bailey so far? Yeah, I would agree with that. I think he only had one. He worked in one seven on seven drill today and I think he got working at 11 on 11 at the very end. But otherwise he's been wrapping behind Joe Milton for the past few practices. And to your point, I mean, I just, I don't, I don't see any reason for him to have a future here. The Patriots drafted Joe Milton for a reason. I mean, who knows if Joe Milton's going to be able to play? But I think at the end of the day, they're going to want to keep him over Zappi just because of the upside. I mean, he can throw the hell out of the ball. So I think that's, they'll want to keep working with him. There's just no role for someone like Bailey Zappi. If anything, I think the Patriots would come play with him one way or the other and then maybe sign a veteran who's out there who has experience in Alex Van Pelt's system or another West Coast scheme. You know, veteran, that would be all right with being on a practice squad. That's the kind of guy I think they might bring in. If they are going to have four quarterbacks around, I just don't see why it would be Bailey Zappi. And he hasn't done anything this year to change who I think he is, which is a low level and I felt back up with a lot of spunk, with a lot of confidence at times. Yeah, he's got a little bit of that Brett Farven. I'm right. He's that gamer. Joe Milton, you talked about him a little bit there. He has an absolute cannon. I saw him make probably the worst pick of camp today. It was underneath the defense. The guy was clearly covered. I think it was a back and he went and tried to just gun it in there and it got picked off. So he's got the cannon, but I don't know if the decision making is there or will get there. With that said, they drafted Joe Milton for a reason. Is he going to be on the roster week one? Yeah, I think so. I think he'll be on the roster just because I don't think the Patriots would want to risk releasing him and exposing him to waivers because I think another team would probably pick him up. I'd have to assume so. But I mean, the talent's intriguing for sure. And I think not yesterday on Friday, you know, that was his best practice so far. I think it was probably better than Drake May that day. So you've certainly seen flashes of the ability and I think more than enough for the Patriots to want to continue working with him. And that doesn't mean, you know, someone might look at and say, well, Joe Milton's never going to be the starting quarterback here. So why have him keep him around? But that's not it doesn't have to be that. If he just turns into a decent backup, that's fine. Or maybe he becomes the next Jacobi Bursett where, you know, he gets a cup of coffee at some point because of an injury or he shows well in a preseason and you dangle him in a trade. I just think Joe Milton has far more value to the Patriots on the roster than he does often. So I think he stays. All right, let's hit May and Jacobi at the same time here. You've said Jacobi's probably had the best camp, but we've seen the highs from May and we've like what we've seen so far. So let's fast forward here to after the by week. Okay, so we're pretty deep into the season at this point. I believe that that would be week 15 would be after the by who's starting for the Patriots. Put me on the spot. Yeah, I say Jacobi Bursett. I mean, and this is part of a longer take that I'll spare everybody, but I've kind of been in the camp that I think the Patriots could be better than people realize. Sorry, something just came out of my mouth. Not because I think they'll actually be good per se, but sometimes, you know, your record isn't indicative of who you really are. Like last year, I don't think the Patriots were a four win team. I think they were a little bit better than that. They just had horrendous quarterback play. You know, this year, I think they might be able to get around seven wins if they get lucky, maybe one more or so. And because of that, I think, unless the only way I see Drake made playing is if the Patriots are very bad and out of it early, then you want to put them in there. But if they hang around, hover around 500 for much of the season, which I think is possible, then I think Jacobi Bursett stays in there. Because I think the plan, the ideal plan, especially knowing where a lot of these guys now running the operation come from with the Packers, let Drake may sit a year, or as long as he needs to be totally ready. Don't rush him in there because you can't screw this up. So I think, again, I think the Patriots are going to win a few more games, especially early than people realize. And then they'll still be afloat by that time. Week 15 rolls around and Bricep will stay in there. So there's a bunch of schools of thought on this, right? It's the Let 'Em Sit, the Jordan Love Method, and look, Jordan Love just got an enormous amount of money from the Green Bay Packers. It's the, hey, throw the kid out there from week one on. Let 'Em figure it out, trial by fire. That's kind of the sliding scale here, right? So the scenario you're talking about where the team is actually better than we all think they're going to be. I say, we all, you know, not you and I, I think they're going to be a lot worse than you do, but we could talk another day about that. It makes sense to keep Jacoby percent in there, right? Because if you're in that seven, eight-win range, you're not trying to tank for one of those top few picks, right? So, but then there's also the, okay, do you throw Drake May into a situation with a bad team and then you ruin Drake May quote unquote. So it's going to be really interesting to see how this all plays out. It's, it's for a team that just picked number three overall. There's actually a lot of really interesting story lines heading into the season surrounding it. So Dakota, thank you so much for joining me, man. I really appreciate it. I will see you tomorrow here at camp and we'll be talking to you guys every single day throughout the Patriot season. It is the six rings and football things podcast with WEEI. I'm Tom Carroll. Talk to you guys soon.
WEEI’s Tom Carroll fills in for Hart and Fitzy on today’s episode, and he’s joined by Pro Football Network’s Dakota Randall. The guys talk about their overall observations through four days of training camp and hone in on three position groups in particular: wide receiver, offensive line, and quarterback.
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