Just one week to go until the NFL draft. Today we're breaking down the tight ends and the running

backs and all the latest news. Let's do it.

Welcome everybody to Patriots Draft Countdown presented by Bud Light. Easy to drink. Easy to enjoy

Bud Light is the official beer sponsor of the New England Patriots. And guys were just a little over one week out finally. I know it seems a little shorter this year because we were at the Super Bowl. So it wasn't, was it, did you get through it all right? I mean, this process of the draft, do you feel like you've gotten a handle on this class? I think I'm there now. You know, I had a little panic set in when I started working on the draft because of how late of a start we got. But that caused me to, like, really cram even more, I feel like, into a short period of time. So we're in a good spot now. I think we got a feel for the thing, Mike. I'm going to feel for it. We got Paul here. Paul, someone who's used to picking near the bottom of the first round. The rest of us, we're like, hey, where's our top five pick?

Paul is, Paul, this is familiar territory for you. I mean, I'm just glad they didn't decide to push the draft back because Evan wasn't quite prepared yet. I'm getting there. So I have, like, maybe like eight guys that I really need to get to over the next week, but we're on the... Yeah, it is challenging a little bit, and I can only imagine, you know, in real life.

In other words, the actual personnel department. Oh, the people that matter, you mean. You know, and it's the coaches, because the scouts obviously are doing all their work all year round, regardless of the caliber of the team. It's the coaches and whatnot that are getting caught up to all the information. So yeah,

it's a little bit of a different dynamic. Belichick used to sort of quote unquote complain about it,

and Vrable has been the same way. They're playing catch up. But at this point, you're caught up.

I think you rely a lot on your, Elliot Wolf was talking at his pre-draft press conference about the

coaches list. So like the board kind of goes through the scouts and goes through the personnel

people that have been focused on the draft. And then they only really give the, try to give the

coaches like a refined list of here's like eight to ten guys at your position that we want you to watch instead

of here's 50 at your position that you want you watch so you rely a lot on you know those scouts

to get the list down to a comfortable limit and then he mentioned that mike rable has taken

all of the play the list for the position coaches and he's watched every single Whereas maybe if you're Ashton Grant, you're only watching day three quarterbacks. There's two quarterbacks there. Yeah, right. So your job might be a little bit easier than Doug Marone, who might have to watch 50 offensive linemen. Yeah, what about you, T's where have you landed here with this draft? How are you feeling? It's not my favorite draft. I thought it was going to be edge, but the past couple days, I think they're trading out of the first round. I just think it's one of those drafts where you try to get depth, and I don't think we're going to get a pick at 31 personally. I mean, I don't think it's crazy. We've talked about a little bit, Paul, if they just traded down a little bit. I mean, you lose that fifth year option, but maybe you pick up, you know, another day two pick. Yeah, I don't hate it.

Generally, I'm anti-trading down, but this draft, this class, I think

Matisse is right. I don't think it's, you know, stocked with a bunch of can't miss starting

caliber players. So if the right opportunity presents itself, now, the big question is, I think, in regard to that, is Ty Simpson.

Does he sort of entice someone to move into the bottom of the first round to go get him?

And we'll find out.

Yeah, find out.

There's always that mini run of wide receivers, usually late first round, early second round receivers too. That would be the

...