New England Patriots links 4/15/20 - Josh McDaniels has more to prove in a Brady-less world

TEAM TALK

• Patriots 2020 Mock Draft Tracker.
• Mike Dussault presents his top 50 Patriots draft fits Big Board.
• Erik Scalavino reports the Patriots offseason workout program is likely to start virtually.
• Paul Perillo tackles this week’s Patriots Unfiltered Q&A: Draft scenarios, trades and more.
• Patriots Unfiltered 4/14: All-Decade Team and 2020 HOF debate; Draft talk; Is Stidham ready? (2 hours)

LOCAL LINKS

• Jeff Howe (The Athletic) Ten years later, the inside story of how Patriots learned to love Rob Gronkowski. /Great read for anyone who still has the free subscription.
• Jake Levin thinks, QB situation aside, Bill Belichick is acing the challenging offseason for the Patriots.
• Ryan Hannable explains why Josh McDaniels has more to prove without Tom Brady than Bill Belichick. /For the record, Belichick has nothing left to prove.
• Matt Dolloff reminds us of the Patriots’ 12 picks in the 2020 NFL Draft and where they came from.
• David Latham (LastWordOnSports) New England Patriots trade down scenarios. /Informative.
• Tom E. Curran analyzes the pros and cons of the Patriots drafting Tua Tagovailoa.
• Zack Cox takes a closer look at this year’s QB class and how each player could fit with the Patriots: Georgia QB Jake Fromm.
• Zack Cox notes the Patriots reportedly held a virtual meeting with highly-touted Louisiana-Lafayette O-lineman Robert Hunt.
• Nick Goss ranks the top five centers and offensive guards in the 2020 draft class.
• 98.5 The Sports Hub’s NFL Draft Tracker: The full list of the Patriots’ 2020 pre-draft meetings.
• Zack Cox continues his countdown of Bill Belichick’s best (and worst) drafts. No. 8: 2005.
• Phil Perry examines the 2018 NFL Draft: Only four players remain from the Patriots’ draft-in-bulk approach.
• Matthew Geagan looks back at the Patriots’ 2016 draft class, noting that group of players is a unique one.
• Adam London highlights Ben Watson on FS1’s “First Things First” yesterday sharing an anecdote about Bill Belichick that a lot of us hadn’t heard before.
• Rob Bradford points out that Mel Kiper’s projected Patriots pick, Wisconsin OLB Zack Baun, had a diluted drug test sample at the Combine.
• Doug Kyed gives us his latest Patriots Mock Draft: Pats trade down for massive WR/TE.
• Locked On Patriots podcast: Mike D’Abate and Steve Balestrieri talk Patriots draft priorities and Belichick’s strategy for 2020. (27 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Charlotte Wilder (Fox Sports) The inside story behind Tom Brady’s fake social media newspaper, the “TB Times,” from the people who helped create it. /Fun read.
• Danny Heifetz (The Ringer) What are AFC East teams doing to prep for a Tom Brady–less world?
• Albert Breer (SI) Mailbag: One more week of NFL draft questions.
• Mike Freeman (Bleacher Report) 10-Point Stance: NFL unsure what to make of Jordan Love in draft.
• Paul Kasabian (Bleacher Report) Report: Tua Tagovailoa’s injuries creating ‘persistent’ talk of draft-day slide.
• Paul Kasabian (Bleacher Report) Patriots Rumors: New England ‘very firmly’ in QB mix entering 2020 NFL draft.
• Martin Fenn (Bleacher Report) Grading every NFL team’s offseason before the 2020 draft. Patriots: C.
• Staff (The Ringer) The five most interesting teams in the NFL draft’s first round.
• Ryan Wilson (CBS Sports) Predicting the 2020 NFL Draft’s five biggest surprises.
• Cody Benjamin & Tyler Sullivan (CBS Sports) Five potential Eagles-Patriots trades, including a blockbuster, that could happen during draft
• Chris Roling (Bleacher Report) The 7 most plausible 2020 NFL draft-day trades. Andy Dalton to Patriots. /Uh... no.
• Steven Ruiz (ForTheWin) Explaining each top quarterback prospect using one throw.
• Brad Gagnon (Bleacher Report) The NFL’s best breakout candidates at every position in 2020. Offensive Tackle: Isaiah Wynn, New England Patriots.
• Michael Renner (Pro Football Focus) 2020 NFL three-round mock draft.

EXTRACURRICULAR

• Michael Hurley has the update on the Patriots-Bengals sideline video incident. /The investigation that never ends.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Patriots’ sideline video violation “remains under review”
• Jordan Heck (Sporting News) Colts accused of ‘ripping off’ new logo design from local high school. /The high school logo doesn’t include the stupid holes.
• Lauren Campbell notes President Trump reportedly is set to hold call with Robert Kraft, Mark Cuban, Jerry Jones.
• Blake Schuster (Bleacher Report) President Trump names sports commissioners to panel on restarting economy.