TEAM TALK
- Andy Hart tackles this week’s Ask PFW Mailbag: Dissecting the draft.
- John Rooke’s View from Above: A head-scratching draft, but for the right reasons.
- Media Availability: Jeremy Hill (transcript plus video).
LOCAL LINKS
- Karen Guregian gets it: “So, they’ve had issues. That much seems obvious and for the first time, Brady acknowledges them. This isn’t a media creation. But it doesn’t appear to be a deal breaker.” /Good read.
- Michael Hurley says Tom Brady pleading the fifth is indicative of his disagreement with Belichick, but it’s not Armageddon. “It’s an issue, but it’s not a franchise-crippling issue that some have made it out to be.”
- Jerry Thornton (Barstool Sports) Tom Brady’s interview was incredibly positive, despite how the fake news is twisting it.
- Mike D’Abate (FullPressCoverage) When Tom Brady talks, people listen.
- Mike Reiss serves up some leftovers from Tom Brady’s interview with Jim Gray: Tom Brady talked about the Super Bowl loss, including the team’s decision not to play Malcolm Butler.
- Mike Dussault (PatsPropaganda) Tom Brady will finish career as Patriot, on his own terms.
- Steve Buckley calls Brady a diva for ‘pleading the fifth’ comment, and pokes at Jim Gray for allowing him to get away with it.
- Ryan Hannable suggests the Patriots could use a different approach to finding Tom Brady’s successor.
- Karen Guregian notes that Jeremy Hill believes he can recapture his rookie form now that he’s healthy again.
- Kevin Duffy notes Jeremy Hill recalls being on the wrong side of the ‘on to Cincinnati’ game.
- Ryan Hannable notes Jeremy Hill was surprised when the Patriots showed interest in him: ‘I jumped on a plane as quick as I could.’
- Doug Kyed provides a film review of Ja’Whaun Bentley: Thumper LB should upgrade run defense.
- Doug Kyed reviews the film on CB Duke Dawson: Versatile corner gives Patriots intriguing slot option.
- Joshua Schrock highlights Mike Lombardi on Braxton Berrios: “You watch this guy play and you say wait a minute, this is Wes Welker, wait a minute, this is Danny Amendola, wait a minute, this could be Julian Edelman... He can return punts, he has great hands...”
- Nick O’Malley takes a look at where each Patriot draft pick will play and how soon they could see the field.
- Ryan Hannable reports Chris Hogan is the latest Patriots player to be all-in on the TB12 Method.
- Steve Balestrieri (PatsFans) Post draft reactions: But what about the Patriots defense?
- Doug Kyed ranks the potential starting left tackle candidates for 2018: 1) Isaiah Wynn.
- Zack Cox fills us in on what to know about the Patriots’ new crop of undrafted free agents: Maryland CB J.C. Jackson might be the most talented player in this UDFA group.
- Nick O’Malley regrades the Patriots 2015 draft class: Belichick whiffed Day 2, then dominated Day 3.
- Henry McKenna (PatriotsWire) Tom Brady shares story of brutally unimpressed Bill Belichick from 2007.
- Mike Reiss notes Tom Brady is happy to have one more season with his preferred helmet.
- Mike Dussault (PatsPropaganda) Tom Brady’s helmets: A retrospective.
- Ryan Hannable passes along a report that national scout James Liipfert is leaving the Patriots to become the Texans’ director of college scouting.
- Ryan Hannable relays the Jets’ Quincy Enunwa on CBS Radio Friday: Patriots are “vulnerable” to not winning the AFC East this year and the Jets are “capable” of doing it.
- NESN posts a video clip of Max Kellerman getting roasted over his still ridiculous Tom Brady “cliff” theory.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Agent says Patriots considered trading up to No. 2 for Baker Mayfield. /Define ‘considered’.
- Peter King (SI) One question, 32 answers: What do you think about every team’s offseason?; MMQB Mailbag.
- Maurice Moton (Bleacher Report) The biggest flaw every NFL team still must address after the draft. Patriots: Wide receiver. /Really?
- NFL Nation (ESPN) Post-draft joy or blues? How all 32 NFL fan bases should feel. Patriots: Confident.
- Andrew Brandt (SI) Business of Football: Saquon Barkley’s enormous projected contract; Lamar Jackson’s lack of an agent; More.
- Howie Kussoy (NY Post) Jets fire an opening shot at ‘vulnerable’ Patriots.
- Justis Mosqueda (Bleacher Report) Win-loss predictions for every NFL team, post-draft. Patriots: 11-5.
- Nick Shook (NFL.com) AFC East draft grades: Jets finally get their man in Sam Darnold. Patriots: B+.
- Judy Battista (NFL.com) Troy Vincent: NFL will ‘absolutely not’ eliminate kickoffs.
- Ryan Van Bibber (SB Nation) NFL kickoffs aren’t dead yet, but they will be.
- Jenny Vrentas (SI) The NFL is still trying to work out the new helmet-lowering rule.
- Kevin Seifert (ESPN) NFL not expecting spike in ejections with new helmet rule.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) New helmet rule may have far more limited impact than language would suggest. /Worth listening to Mike Florio’s commentary too.
- Elliot Harrison (NFL.com) NFL Power Rankings after 2018 NFL draft. No. 3 Patriots.
- Rob Goldberg (Bleacher Report) Tom Brady on NFL TV ratings decline: ‘I don’t follow it like I used to’.
- E. J. Zarett (Sporting News) Jaguars owner Shad Khan wants NFL to play Super Bowl at Wembley Stadium.