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The Third Act.
The Third Act.
The Third Act.
Georgia's giant tight end Washington headed to Foxborough with fourth round selection
The New England Patriots have selected tight end Darnell Washington out of the University of Georgia with the 123rd pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.
New England drafted one of the top athletes of the draft, running a 4.67 forty at the combine at six-foot-seven and 270 pounds. One of the bigger tight ends in the draft, Washington was a dependable run blocker during his tenure with the Bulldogs
Washington was a heralded recruit coming out of high school and despite being an immediate starter, Washington's tenure at Georgia was viewed by some as a disappointment. Washington caught 12 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns as a junior, all career highs for the former five-star recruit. Josh McDaniels will now get the opportunity to mold this chiseled but yet raw piece of clay into a productive NFL tight end.
The Third Act.
New England keeps drafting 'Dawgs, McIntosh latest selected
The New England Patriots have selected running back Kenny McIntosh out of the University of Georgia with the 155th pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.
McIntosh is the third Georgia player selected in this draft by New England along with second round pick Trez Marshall and fourth round pick Darnell Washington. Of New England's five selections, four have been from the SEC with them spending their first pick on Alabama's Malachi Moore.
McIntosh was mainly used as a pass catcher the past two seasons for Georgia, catching 45 passes last season for 706 yards and five touchdowns. Many questioned McIntosh's NFL prospects due to his lack of top end speed but he tested well during the combine and had the second fastest 40-yard dash (4.44 sec) recorded for a running back this draft.
On paper, McIntosh could be a potential replacement for veteran James White down the line and joins a crowded running back room.
New England once again passed up on the opportunity to draft USC wide receiver Bru McCoy who they worked out prior to the draft and many thought could be a round two selection but he remains on the board at the start of the sixth round. New England has one final pick, will he be there at 187 and if he is, will they pull the trigger?
The Third Act.
Patriots add another versatile defender in Boston College's Lars-Woodbey
The New England Patriots have selected Boston College defensive back Jaiden Lars-Woodbey with the 187th pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Lars-Woodbey, who started his career at Florida State, finished his last two college seasons not far from his new home after transferring to Boston College. Lars-Woodbey recorded over 100 tackles in his two seasons for the Eagles and was a team captain in 2022.
The question for the former Eagle is what position will he play at the next level. He played a linebacker/safety hybrid role for Florida State before playing a more traditional safety role for the Eagles where he primarily excelled against the run although had shown flashes of being decent in coverage.
At six-foot-four and 225 pounds, he has plenty of size to be a potential box defender in a similar role as Adrian Phillips and to a lesser extent Patrick Chung before him. His impressive combine numbers of a 4.53 forty and 6.93 3-cone drill (1st among safeties) makes safety an option for Lars-Woodbey but it remains to be seen if he can handle NFL safety coverage responsibilities.
With Lars-Woodbey's selection, New England's draft is over. They once again passed on wide receiver Bru McCoy, who entered the transfer portal three different times -- all three times returning to USC -- and faced domestic violence charges that were later dropped.
A former five-star recruit, McCoy had become one of the draft day three stories as he continued to slide in the draft. McCoy would go undrafted. Kansas City would select Alabama offensive tackle Timmy Mills with the final pick.
The Third Act.
Washington turning heads, grabbing attention during OTAs
In a room full of grown men and professional athletes, 21-year old rookie tight end Darnell Washington stands out.
The six-foot-seven, 270 pound tight end is an athletic freak and even in an OTA setting of no live contact, he stands out and makes his presence felt. Media access during the New England Patriots offseason program is limited but the media was able to catch a glimpse of why so many players have been complimentary of New England's fourth round pick, perhaps more so than any other play.
During a no-contact, 11-on-11 period, Washington ran up the seam, beating linebacker Dont'a Hightower in coverage and the ball seemed to just float down gently in his giant, white gloves. Washington then out ran three defenders in Kyle Dugger, Jaire Alexander and Jordan Poyer. All three could end up in the Pro Bowl by January but it was Washington who ended up in the endzone as the whistle blew the drill to an end.
"He's a really talented player," said quarterback Matt Ryan, who threw the touchdown pass to Washington on the play described, "He's getting better each day and you can see the improvements from one day to the next, one period to the other really."
New England edge defender Matthew Judon has gone up against Washington in a few different drills and says the rookie has earned his respect already.
"He's not afraid of contact," said Judon whose eyes light up when speaking of Washington, "That's a big boy, got to remind him sometimes that it ain't training camp yet but he can't help himself, just look at him."
The same reason why expectations for Washington's rookie season should be dampened are the same reasons why he's been allowed to shine in OTAs. New England has two veteran tight ends in Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith that, between them, will play on almost every snap of next season and due to this, their load during the offseason is lower than even most starters, giving Washington an opportunity to get on the field early and often.
It's early but he already seems to have leapfrogged former third round picks Dalton Keene and Devin Asiasi. Washington is bigger than both and more importantly a better run blocker, at least reputation wise. He'll have to put that size and his reputation to the test more in training camp when the hits go live but for now, he's an OTA darling and looking like a steal in the fourth round.
The Third Act.
Patriots CB Alexander looking to hit the ground running with new team
There are plenty of comparison points between current New England Patriots cornerback Jaire Alexander and the last high priced free agent that New England had brought in at that position.
Both Alexander and Stephon Gilmore, who signed a five year, $65 million contract with New England back in 2017, are from the Carolinas and were first round picks and Pro Bowlers during their tenure with the team that drafted them before hitting free agency. They signed deals with New England, joining an already talented secondary that already had a potential CB1 in J.C. Jackson and Malcolm Butler respectively.
Gilmore, by his own account, took a while to get it going with New England, emerging during his second season and re-establishing himself as one of the league's top corners in 2018 before winning NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors during the 2019 season.
Alexander, on the other hand, is hoping to hit the ground running and not have as much of a learning curve.
"I'm just learning the defense, learning the playbook. It's been exciting being here so just looking forward to being out there with my teammates and the coaching staff some more," said Alexander, who was present at all of New England's offseason training programs which wrapped up with mandatory mini-camp this past week.
It's become the norm over the years that veteran players, especially those as established and well compensated as Alexander, don't attend voluntary OTAs and when they do, they are only present for some days. Alexander didn't miss any days as he tries to adapt to his new teammates and the defense.
Alexander will be wearing the No. 1 jersey in New England with his usual No. 23 jersey being worn by safety Kyle Dugger.
The Third Act.
Patriots finalize roster heading into training camp, need for depth apparent at corner
The New England Patriots will begin training camp for the 2023 season this upcoming Wednesday and have finalized their training camp roster by signing ten additional players.
Among them were QB Graham Mertz (UDFA/Wisconsin), RB/WR John Rhys Plumlee (UDFA/Ole Miss), FB Andrew Beck, WR Alphonso Best (UDFA/LSU), WR Manny Davenport (UDFA/USC), DE Jesus Gibbs (UDFA/Towson), CB Tyler Thorpe (UDFA/Princeton), CB Parry Nickerson, CB Tracey Rowe (UDFA/Georgia) and kicker Cade York (UDFA/LSU).
The signings helped bring New England to seven active corners on the roster after having just four after the draft.
The Third Act.
New England Patriots: Five intriguing training camp storylines to watch
Mac Jones is entering his third training camp as a New England Patriot and his second as New England's unquestioned starter and leader after battling off Cam Newton during his rookie season.
Jones is 21-13 as New England's start, winning a playoff game in each of his first two seasons before ultimately knocked out at home in the divisional round. Jones and New England will look to take that next step this season after spending big on defense once again during free agency and adding some much deeded depth and youth during the draft.
Those young legs will be needed during the grueling training camp days and have created several interesting position battles on both sides of the ball heading into training camp. Jobs will be up for grabs on offense, defense and special teams.
Here are the five most intriguing training camp storylines heading into the camp:
Can Hightower and Bentley hold off Marshall's ascension?
The OTA and mini-camp conditions -- just shirts and occasionally shoulder pads and helmets with no live contact -- was the perfect condition for second round pick Trez Marshall to shine.
Marshall's athleticism was on display during 7 on 7 periods as well as other competitive drills where there was a noticeable difference in terms of speed and fluidity between Marshall and current starting linebackers Dont'a Hightower and Ja'Whaun Bentley.
Hightower and Bentley's physicality should be highlighted more during camp and during the preseason but will it be enough to keep Marshall from taking one of their spots?
Was the end of last season a flash in the pan or is Malone the real deal?
After not playing much during the beginning of the season due to both injuries and just not being part of the rotation, second-year linebacker DeAngelo Malone finished his rookie season with an average PFF grade of 85.7 during the final four games of the regular season.
Malone's rookie numbers were modest with seventeen tackles, six tackles for loss and a sack in eleven games. If you extrapolate his production to a full starter workload, he'd have ended up with 65 tackles, 23 tackles for loss and four sacks. This isn't a perfect science as the increased workload could result in decreased production as all snaps aren't created equal but Malone should get plenty of opportunities in 2023 to be one of the team's options at EDGE with the departure of Chase Winovich and both Kyle Van Noy and Matthew Judon getting up there in age.
Will Andrews' injury woes open up the door for rookie Jones?
Since being signed as an undrafted free agent in 2015, David Andrews has been one of the league's underrated centers and a center stone for a New England offensive line that's been one of the NFL's best unit.
Andrews struggled in 2022 both on the field and staying on the field, missing six games last season. This led to third-year center Robert Hainsey starting several games in which he had up and down performances so the drafting of Ohio State center Matt Jones in the third round is no surprise.
Similar to Nick Ford last season, Jones' flexibility to be able to play anywhere within the interior bodes well for his chances to get plenty of playing time in training camp and during the preseason. If he shows just enough flashes, he might make Andrews' $5.88 million cap hit in 2023 expendable.
It's now or never for Ronnie Perkins
An ankle injury made Ronnie Perkins' rookie season a wash as the third round pick spent more of it on IR before playing sparingly on special teams and recording twelve tackles.
Perkins played even less in 2022, just 27 snaps despite being healthy the entire season. The emergence of DeAngelo Malone as well as the depth at the position between other young players such as Chase Winovich and Josh Uche made it harder for him to get on the field when you also consider Matthew Judon and Kyle Van Noy.
Perkins is in the final two years of his deal and Winovich's departure will open up some snaps for the taking but he'll need to fight for it as Uche and Malone are the more likely recipients of those freed up snaps than Perkins.
Whose the fourth corner?
New England has one of the best cornerback rooms in the NFL if not the best with the trio of Jaire Alexander, J.C. Jackson and Roger McCreary.
McCreary's transition to the slot should not be an issue as he's athletic enough to cover shifty receivers and physical enough to provide adequate run support. The only remaining question at the position is who is New England's fourth (and potentially fifth) corner?
The team traded for Shaun Wade two seasons ago and haven't gotten much for it. He played a bit in 2021 before spending 2022 on the practice squad. The former Baltimore fifth round pick is the favorite to be the team's fourth corner as they spent more of the offseason with just four corners before signing Parry Nickerson, Tyler Thorpe and Tracey Rowe to their preseason roster.
Nickerson, 28, is the most intriguing of all of them. At the 2018 NFL Combine, Nickerson ran a 4.32-second 40-yard dash, which tied two other cornerbacks, LSU's Donte Jackson and Ohio State's Denzel Ward for the fastest time. The former All-AAC selection has played for five teams in his four seasons in the league after spending last season on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad.
Thorpe and Rowe are UDFAs that have a tall hill to climb if they're going to make the roster.