New England Patriots links 5/04/22 - Pats riding with veteran linebackers

TEAM TALK

• Key dates on the 2022 NFL/Patriots calendar.
• Transactions: Patriots release RB Devine Ozigbo.
• Paul Perillo tackles this week’s Patriots Mailbag: Breaking down the draft and assessing how the new pieces will fit.
• Mike Dussault reports new Patriots LB Mack Wilson will be in the mix as the team makes a significant transition at the position.
• Press Conference: Mack Wilson (13 min. video)
• One-on-One with Cole Strange. (2.09 min. video)
• Patriots Unfiltered 5/3: Analyzing New England’s 2022 NFL draft class. (2 hours)

LOCAL LINKS

• Khari Thompson posts the the Patriots’ OTA and minicamp schedule. First up: Rookie minicamp, May 13-15.
• Mike Reiss explains how the Patriots’ draft revealed Bill Belichick’s view of the roster: It’s clear that improving team speed and matching up with opponents in the AFC East were among the Pats’ priorities.
• Zack Cox relays veteran LB Mack Wilson on the Pats’ surprising draft strategy that features no rookie linebackers: “Obviously, the front office and Coach Belichick seem very confident in the guys we have in the room now.”
• Andrew Callahan reports Patriots LB Mack Wilson described the culture in Foxboro as “structured” and “old fashioned,” which he believes will help maximize his potential.
• Zack Cox takes a look at how the Patriots’ 2022 draft picks will fit into the depth chart.
• Ian Logue (PatsFans) Daily Patriots news and NFL notes: 5 Things to know. 1) Rams aren’t exactly the epitome of drafting.
• Dakota Randall shares 10 mostly Patriots-related random thoughts on this year’s draft. 1. Is it finally time to stop putting stock into anything Mel Kiper says before, during or after the draft?
• Tyler Lamb (Gillette Gazette) 2022 draft class: Welcome in the new Patriots.
• Mike D’Abate (Patriots Country) Exclusive: Chattanooga coach on Patriots Cole Strange - ‘He’s ready’.
• Tom Westerholm notes Bailey Zappe’s high-school coach believes his former QB will push Mac Jones and compete for real minutes in the NFL.
• Staff (Patriots Country) Patriots Tracker: A refusal, a release and more undrafted free agent recruiting.
• Richie Whitt (Patriots Country) Post-draft Patriots: Faster! Better? In making picks to improve its football team, New England might have also assembled a track squad.
• Dakota Randall mentions a new report that reveals where the Patriots’ top two picks could’ve been drafted: Perhaps New England didn’t ‘reach’ that much at all.
• Kevin Tame, Jr. (Patriots Country) Patriots positional preview: LBs - Why didn’t New England draft one?
• Danny Jaillet (PatriotsWire) 5 things to know about rookie CB Marcus Jones. 1. Jones burst onto the collegiate scene.
• Sara Marshall (Patriots Country) Pierre Strong Jr. Patriots 2022 draft class review.
• Scott Neville points to Doug Kyed’s uncanny comparison of Patriots draft pick Pierre Strong Jr. to ex-New England fan favorite Danny Woodhead.
• Khari Thompson does not go out on a limb with his take on Tyquan Thornton. He doesn’t even climb the tree.
• Arnav Sharma (Patriots Country) After further review: Regrading Patriots 2021 draft - it’s worth taking a look back to see how the team’s draft went last year.
• Ryan Cooley (NutsandBoltsSports) Winners and losers of the 2022 draft. Losers: Patriots. “the Ravens had the perfect blueprint on how to draft, well so does New England… If it were the 1980s.” /Yuk, yuk, yuk.
• Robert Alvarez (PatsFans) NFL Fan Therapy: A strange draft for the Patriots.
• Dakota Randall tells us why Mac Jones came up during a recent ‘Family Guy’ episode.
• Patriots Fourth and Two podcast: Russ Goldman returns to give his two cents on the reaction to the Patriots picks in the NFL Draft. (20 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Dan Wetzel (Yahoo! Sports) What did Bill Belichick and the Patriots do in the draft? Go full Belichick, that’s what.
• Natalie Miller (DraftWire) Why Patriots fans should be excited about Cole Strange.
• Oliver Thomas (Forbes) Patriots saw more than the stopwatch with second-round receiver Tyquan Thornton.
• Corey Seeley (The Draft Scout) 2022 NFL Draft: Final takeaways, biggest winners and favorite picks from each round. On the Patriots: “Many have deemed Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots as ‘losers’ coming out of the 2022 draft. While it’s awfully difficult to use the word loser and Belichick or Patriots in the same sentence, bending the truth of the matter here is near impossible.” ... More below in comments.
• Dan Parr (NFL.com) AFC East draft grades: Jets take flight; Patriots perplex. Pats: D.
• Ryan Wilson (CBS Sports) Ranking every team’s 2022 NFL Draft class. Patriots 26th. Bills 31st.
• Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Post-draft NFL power rankings. Patriots 18th.
• Mark Schofield (TouchdownWire) What we got wrong, and what we learned, about the 2022 NFL draft
• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Nineteen 2019 first-rounders had their fifth-year options exercised.
• Chad Reuter (NFL.com) 2022 NFL draft: Ranking favorite picks in every round. No Pats.
• Around the NFL (NFL.com) NFL announces five games for 2022 International Series.
• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) NFL announces London matchups for the 2022 season.

EXTRACURRICULAR

• Gary Gramling and Conor Orr (SI) Inside Hue Jackson’s tanking allegations against the Browns.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Hue Jackson’s tanking claim focused on a “4-year plan” that, in the first two years, did not incentivize winning.