Report: New England Patriots–Mike Evans Linked | Rasheed Walker Targeted?

0:00Free agent wide receiver Mike Evans reportedly linked to the past. Evans could be a answer, but we're not sold that he's the answer. This is Lockdown Patriots. You are Lockdown Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team, every day. What's happening? I am your host Nick Cattles, born and raised in New England, been covering the past 16 years. And of course, I'm also the co-host of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattles in a sports radio veteran thinking of all of those in New England battling the blizzard insane. The pictures I see, the videos I see absolutely nuts. We're thinking about you, but we're here to try to entertain you and form you and keep your mind busy and away from all of the snow. Welcome to Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Now, the number one sports podcast network, your team, every day on today's show, a certain

1:05defensive end keeps getting mocked to the past. And we don't mind the idea. In our second segment, Mike Evans is not the only big name being discussed for the past this off season as they are reportedly looking at a certain offensive lineman. And first, the paths are looking for an X, Y receiver and Mike Evans just might be that guy. Before we get into Mike Evans, quick note news coming out earlier on Monday afternoon about Antonio Gibson, the Patriots have released running back Antonio Gibson that will create depending on who you believe, all the funny money, all the different numbers anywhere from two million or so to 3.14 million dollars in cap space created by releasing Antonio Gibson. And when you look at the running back free agency market, a lot of guys are going to be out there. And it's, it's actually a pretty deep running back free agency market.

2:05You're not looking at the tip of the top of that market, of course, because you have Ramon Drase, Stevenson, Travian Henderson, but I do think it would not be a shock if the paths go out and sign a veteran running back to battle to rail Jennings, Elijah Mitchell, Landlarrison, for that third running back spot in the running back room. That would not surprise me. They could also draft somebody with one of those six round lottery tickets we talked about on yesterday's show. They can sign a UDFA running back like they did with Landlarrison last year. So it's not that crazy. It's not that surprising that Antonio Gibson coming off the ACL has been released to create that cap space. And you know, the one thing I would say is the kick return game. And I thought when Antonio Gibson went down with that injury, the kick return game was less potent for the Patriots, but now they have an off season to try to find someone who can help them in that department. We saw enough of F.D. Chisholm. He's not the answer. Maybe a little bit more Kyle Williams.

3:06We'll see. But this move makes sense financially and given the supply demand at that position in the options. The paths are likely looking at. All right. Let's get to Mike Evans. The paths need an upgrade at X receiver. We've been talking about this the past couple of weeks. We've been talking about this the last few years for this football team in a surprising name and free agency is Mike Evans. We all know Mike Evans Tampa Bay Bucks prolific wide receiver pretty much when he's healthy. He's a guarantee to get a thousand yards every single season. Is there interest between Evans in the Patriots? Jason Locke and for a wrote about Evans on Monday at sports boom. He wrote Mike Evans. A standout receiver in this year's free agent class is carefully considering his next move as negotiations heat up despite interest from Tampa. Evans is exploring other options with a focus on offenses quarterback quality and chances to win a Super Bowl. At 33, he remains a top tier receiver and could be a game changer for teams like the 49ers,

4:09Patriots and chargers. Jason Locke and for continues Evans is interested in exploring several reasonable options according to some close to him. Those sources are adamant that Evans is closely studying the offenses, both quarterback scheme and acumen of the offense of coordinator slash play collar and prioritizing those matters along with the opportunity to win another Super Bowl. Now it sounds like Evans has interest in New England. But does New England have interest in Evans? You know, the headline to this story is exclusive, Colin, Mike Evans expected to draw interest from 49ers, Buccaneers, Patriots, chargers and free agency. But that's not really how the story reads. The story reads like Evans is the one that is interested in exploring these possibilities. It feels like Evans agent agents agency, whoever represents him is trying to throw this out

5:10as a feeler. It also could just be Evans trying to build up his own market to get a better deal from Tampa. If he just wants to remain with the Buccaneers who he's been with from the very beginning. So I'm not sold on this idea that the Patriots are banging down the door of Mike Evans. Now could they be interested? Apps are freaking lootly. It makes all the sense in the world. And from Mike Evans point of view, it makes a lot of sense. The Pats check all the boxes. If you're looking at quarterback play, Pats have the MVP runner up and Drake May. And of course, we know Evans loves getting down field, making big plays. And we know how good May was throwing the football deep for most of this season. So the quarterback obviously checks the box. The offensive coordinator slash play caller Josh McDaniels has to check the box. He is considered one of the best offensive coordinators in football.

6:13He's been now to 10 Super Bowls and I know we'll all remember what we saw against Seattle and it was a tough finish in the post season for the offense. But Josh McDaniels is Josh McDaniels. And if you asked anybody in the game, they would rank him as a top 5 OC at least. So the OC checks the box. The last time I checked the Patriots got to the Super Bowl this year, which of course would mean that would give Mike Evans an opportunity to win another Super Bowl. So from Evans point of view, make sense from the Patriots point of view, make sense. Evans is really a perfect fit. He's six foot five, 231 pounds. Big time catch radius. Awesome at contested catches. How many times have you seen Evans go up and get it? How many times have you seen him make a catch in traffic? The dude is is just swallowing contested catches on a weekly basis throughout his NFL career. He is a really good red zone threat because of how big he is because of how he can go up

7:16and get it fade routes boxing guys out. That's what he can do. He's not afraid to go into the middle of the field. Again, he's not afraid to get stuck into some traffic. So when you look at catch radius contested catches, you know, just size and being able to utilize that size down field. When you think about his ability to block, he embraces blocking. He can block well in the run game, which we know fits with McDaniels offense. And Evans competes, man, they say in hockey compete level, Evans has a high compete level. And if you're the paths and you're looking at your options, you're looking at maybe Alec Pierce, you're looking at maybe AJ Brown, you're looking at maybe Romeo dobs, you're looking at maybe Mike Evans. Evans is only going to cost you money, much like Alec Pierce, much like Romeo dobs. It's just money. You're not having to trade picks. If you want to bring in AJ Brown, you're dealing picks. So it's all about the asset management and how much you're willing to give up for which

8:16receiver. If AJ Brown is available. So it's only going to cost you money and Spotrack, their market value number for Mike Evans is $13 million a year. So could you make something work where you say, you know, a two year, $28 million dollar deal, $26 million deal somewhere in that range, you guarantee a chunk of the money, it's not going to cost you a bunch. I mean, when you look at Alec Pierce, you look at AJ Brown, you're talking about guys that are going to cost you more than 20 million per season. And so Evans market is, I would think a little bit lighter. And if you want to argue it and you say, well, if we brought in AJ Brown or we signed Pierce, then we're looking at probably having to cut the fond digs because I'm not so sure that the Patriots would be willing to pay the amount of money that they would have to pay to keep both Brown or Pierce and digs on the roster. Now if you wanted to keep digs, it's easier to keep digs if you go out and get an Evans

9:22instead of going out and getting a Pierce or a Brown. Evans would really be a bridge guy and you could draft an ex receiver. We know receivers deep. We talked about it on yesterday's episode. And there are a number of guys who fit that ex receiver prototype. So you bring Evans in short term deal bridge guy at the ex who has been very productive in the NFL. And you draft somebody that you say, all right, in 2027 or 2028, that's our guide to replace Evans. That could be what you're looking at. Now for me, I don't think Evans is plan A. Evans would not be my plan A. He just would not be. I would look at Pierce. I would look at Brown. There's some rumblings that Pierce might get franchised. He might not even make it to the market again, you don't know if Brown's going to make it to the market. I'll be looking at Romeo dobs as well. Evans turns 33 years old in August.

10:23He's not a spring chicken and he only played eight games last year. Now yes, he's usually healthy. He usually plays through injuries and he's been incredibly productive. And now you look at him turning 33 in August, played half the season in 2025 had 30 catches for 368 yards and three touchdowns. I want to get younger. I want to get younger from the Patriots. I want to go out and get an ex receiver that I think has three or four years left at at the least, if not more than that. So if if Evans is somebody you're looking at is on the radar and he's interested in joining you, yes, he would be on my list. If I couldn't get Pierce, if I couldn't get Brown, maybe if I couldn't get dobs, if I couldn't get some of these other guys, if somebody doesn't fall to me at 31, but of course, you got to make that decision on Evans before you get to the draft. So if if I run out of veteran options and free agency or trade, then yeah, I would look at Evans as kind of that bridge guy.

11:25But he is not my plan A. All right. The Pats are reportedly looking at adding a big name to its offensive line. We'll talk about that next. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown podcast network, your team every day. As the New Year gets going, a lot of people are trying to simplify their routines and dinner is a big one between busy work days, cold winter nights and packed schedules, having an easy, reliable dinner plan makes a huge difference. And that's where Home Chef comes in. Home Chef takes the stress out of cooking by delivering fresh, pre portioned ingredients right to your door with easy to follow recipes that actually taste great. They're rated number one by users of other meal kits for quality, convenience, value, taste and recipe ease. And it's easy to see why meals come ready to fit your schedule, 30 minute recipes, oven ready trays or quick launches for a limited time. Home Chef is offering my listeners 50% off your first box, free shipping and free dessert

12:26for life. You must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert. If you love this podcast, but you hate the interruptions, you could try the everyday air club, we're talking ad free, we're talking discord access and more, go to lockdownpatriots.supercast.com or check the link in the show notes to learn even more, if you're watching on YouTube, don't forget to help us out by hitting that thumbs up button at the bottom. Hit that like. We appreciate it. Don't forget to throw a comment in Mike Evans in or out on the Evans idea. I want to know how you feel and don't forget to subscribe to this podcast. We appreciate every single one of you. The offensive line needs to be addressed. We've discussed it since the Super Bowl, that much is obvious.

13:28And the question is how big of a swing or the Patriots willing to take and they might be ready to take a bigger swing than we might have expected. Uh, again, this is Jason Law can't for. I don't know if he's been talking to a lot of people in New England and what's going on. But Jason Law can for rights green Bay Packers left tackle Rashid Walker, a coveted free agent is expected to be among the highest paid players in the league next month with interest from contending teams like the chiefs and Patriots walkers steady play in size may come a top target this off season. Of course, when you look at somebody like Rashid Walker, you want to stand that he's been playing for the green Bay Packers and Elliott Wolf has a lot of connections in green Bay. So the background work is probably not going to be very difficult. And so maybe this is a wolf thing, maybe it's in totality, just a Patriots thing, but we can't overlook that connection that wolf has being in green Bay for so long that we

14:29can't overlook that. That would play a role in this idea. Now Rashid Walker is a left tackle. He is six foot six, three hundred and twenty four pounds. We talk about the length, his arm length is 33 and five eight inches. His wingspan is 80 and a half inches. So both of those tell you that he is longer than will Campbell is again, six six, three twenty four. He's not three fifty three sixty, but still a pretty big guy. And the interesting thing about Rashid Walker is he's entering his prime. He's only 26 years old. And you go back to twenty twenty three, he has missed zero point zero games. This is a guy for the past three years that has made it to every single Sunday, ready to play. He has been the poster child of dependability. So 26 years old, no significant injuries in his NFL career, especially the last three

15:33years. He hasn't missed a single game. Now how is he? How's he play pro football focus will tell you that he wasn't rated very high or graded very high this year. But when you look at other metrics like ESPN's past block win rate, you see that Walker is fifth in the NFL at tackle in past block win rate over the past three years. So has it missed a game in three years and Bill Barnwell of ESPN writes that he is fifth in past block win rate over that time, one of the best tackles in past protection. If you go by that metric. So very interesting guy. Now it begs the question why somebody who is ranked fifth in past block win rate the last three years and is only 26 years old. It makes you wonder why is that guy walking into free agency? Why are the packers letting him walk? We've talked about how tough it is to find legitimate tackles.

16:36It's very, very difficult in college football. These tackles, they're not as good blocking as they used to be. Now yes, you'll get some guys like Joe wall to come out who is an absolute stud. But when you look across college football, you'll notice a lot of times we get into the draft and we're talking about the tackle position. We're talking about guys who are raw. They have tons of potential. So when you have a tackle who's in his mid 20s and he's played pretty well, you usually wants to hold on to that guy. So why would he be available? Well, pro football focus says he's not good in the run game. And if you look at his last three years, his run blocking grade has not been good. So he has not been, you know, getting to that second level, creating openings consistently for the running backs. So good in past protection, not so good in the run game. Walker's also had 27 penalties in three years.

17:40It's a lot 27, not a math major, but that's nine per season. And of those 27 penalties over the past three years, seven have been holding calls. Green Bay also might like Darian Knard, who is a backup tackle played a little bit this year. Maybe they just like him and say, well, we don't have to pay him as much money and we don't think it's going to be a significant drop in play. But it is odd that a guy who's 26 and plays this position is going to just walk into free agency. So what would the plan be for the past? Do you move Will Campbell to left guard is Morgan Moses retiring? Here's more from lock and for another GM noted the Patriots as a potential shooter with rookie will Campbell struggling in the second half of his rookie season and perhaps being a better fit on the right side. The GM noted quote, I know what Mike Vrable said about keeping Campbell on the blind side.

18:40But what did you expect him to say? Unquote, I get the point from the GM, but I'm not sold. I'm not sold on this number one, I'm not sold that, you know, Mike Vrable would just go out there and say something to say something that's usually not his style. Again, I get the point, but usually what Vrable says he stands by and he was very cocksure when he came out and said, Will Campbell's going to be our left tackle. We're not moving them anywhere. We're not moving them to guard right side. We're not moving them to tight end. We're not moving him anywhere. Vrable was defiant. I just, I find it hard to believe from what we have seen from this head coach that he would go out there a month or two after saying what he said after the Super Bowl and say, you know what, we thought better of it. We're going to actually move Will. You also picked Campbell fourth in the draft and it just feels like you're giving up on him way too soon at left tackle when for most of the year, for most of the year, I don't

19:43buy that GM saying, you know, the second half or lock in for writing the second half wasn't that good. He wasn't good in the playoffs. We know that. We also know he got injured and he missed the final month of the season. But for the vast majority of the regular season, Campbell played well at left tackle. He was at least average, if not above average. And you use the fourth pick in the draft on this young man at 22 years old, I'm not just going to write him off and move him after one season. Now the move Campbell to right tackle if Morgan Moses retires, do you try Walker at right tackle if Moses retires? I don't know, but you're going to be paying Walker as a left tackle. And you don't want to pay him left tackle money to play right tackle. I mean, I don't hate the idea on the basic foundation on the premise. I don't hate the idea of moving, you know, Campbell to the right side to play right tackle or or playing Walker at right tackle.

20:45If you think those guys can play that position, if one of those guys can play that position if Morgan Moses is retiring, but there's a lot of ifs. And I just don't think Vrable is going to back away from what he said post Superbowl. I think there are significant questions about why Walker is going to walk into free agency if he does. And what's the rest of this old line look like? And are you just shuffling to shuffle? Are you going to have a new left tackle, a new left guard, a new center and a new right tackle again? You're going to roll in with four out of five linemen being new in new spots again. After you did it this past year, just seems like it's a little bit too much. Not to mention the money you're going to spend on something to like Walker when you have other obvious needs. Coming up, the pros and cons of the defensive end that is consistently being mocked to New England. This is Lockdown Patriots part of the Lockdown podcast network your team every day. Ever wanted to experience the NBA finals live and in person?

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22:50So combine workouts start later this week. And as we know, with the Mike Evans stuff, the Rashid Walker stuff, people are talking. And there's going to be a lot of talk over the next seven days or so. And as we get ready for these combine workouts, we keep sifting through different updated rankings for these players from all of the draft pundits and insiders. We look at mock drafts. There's just mock draft after mock draft after mock draft in multiple mock drafts that I have seen. Have the Patriots selecting defensive and TJ Parker at number 31 and TJ Parker from Clemson. Clemson, of course, disappointed in 2025. They were supposed to be one of the favorites to win the national championship, not even close, not only did Clemson disappoint as a team, but a number of the guys on the team disappointed. And that would include TJ Parker. He only had like five and a half sacks this past

23:50season in the ACC and people expected him to be a double digit sack guy. Now, Dan Brugler of the athletic has Parker ranked as his 36th best prospect on the board in his top 100. So it would not be a reach. If the Patriots selected Parker at 31, it would not be seen as a reach. Now, of course, I'm talking about this in a vacuum pre combine. We'll see how the combine might impact that. But Parker, he went to the senior bowl and he had an absolutely excellent week of practice. And ESPN Jordan Reed, Matt Miller, Field Yates, they wrote about Parker senior bowl. He consistently won. He consistently won against every offensive tackle he faced while showing a repertoire of moves. So TJ Parker, after a disappointing 2025 goes down to the senior bowl, takes care of business and was one of these standouts that week.

24:50And ESPN would tell you he was the standout that week. And this is how you build momentum. If you went into 2025 with big time expectations, you fell short of those expectations. You have to revitalize yourself in the eyes of scouts in front offices and the way you do that is, you go crush the senior bowl. You go crush the combine. You go crush your pro day. And then everybody says, well, maybe it was just a down year. It was a down year for the program. It was a down year for the defense. It was down year for Parker. But then we saw what he did at the senior bowl. We saw what he did at the combine. We saw what he did at his pro day. And we believe that there is that untapped potential. That's what he has to do. The size fits the bill. He is a legitimate, bona fide, four, three defense event. We've talked about this. We'll continue to bring this up to remind you when you look at the edge of a Mike variable defense. He likes the guys to be, you know, 250, 255, maybe a little bit bigger. And TJ Parker,

25:53six foot three, 265. So Harold Landrie's like six foot two and 250 in change. So 63, 265, he fits the frame. His arm length again, 33 and one quarter inches if you're into that thing. And at the senior bowl, one of the most important aspects of his week of practice was the fact that he showed a little bit more juice. People question his burst. They question whether or not he has the athleticism to get up field quickly at the NFL level. Well, during senior bowl week, he showed a little bit more explosivity. He showed a little bit more juice getting up field. And if he does that at the combine, he does that at his pro day, then again, Scouts will look at him and say, he didn't always show the burst, but hey, maybe he's got more in the bag than we thought. Another thing about Parker is he is a very good, if not elite run defender, which tells you he could be a full time guy on the edge. He sets the edge very well. He sheds blocks very well. And he

26:58attacks runners. Now he's not the fastest guy. He's not going to play a lot of catch up from behind. But he is an elite run defender. You know, if you want somebody on that defensive line, that could give you a pass rush and be good against the run. Parker was that guy at Clemson. He also has high character, according to everything that I've read. So that also kind of fits the Mike Vrable thing, right? High character smart football players. He has the size to play the position in the Patriots defense. He can play the run, which means he can play full time. If he earns that, he's not a guy that's going to come off the field, you know, on early downs. He's not going to be that rotational substitute pass rusher. He might be early in his career, but he's somebody who can play all three downs. And he's got that high character and Clint McMillan, defensive line coach for the Patriots. You know, he has shown what he can do. And Mike Smith, outside linebackers coach, pass rush specialist, I have a lot of trust in those two coaches.

27:59They did a really good job given what they were handed this year. And so, you know, I believe in the staff. Now the questions, the questions about Parker, again, upfield burst, you know, what he did in game versus what he did senior bowl week, which one do you believe? You tend to believe the film. Also, there's this kind of feel of like the bull rush or bust, you know, when we talked about Keon white, he didn't have a ton of different pass rush moves. And so one of the questions about Parker is does he have something to go to when his bull rush doesn't work? Now again, senior bowl week, he showed a little bit more. He showed a little bit more versatility in his pass rush. And then people will look at the fact that he only had five and a half sacks in the ACC in 2025. And, you know, expecting him to be a double digit sack guy, that begs the question of what happened. But TJ Parker is a very popular name for the Patriots at number 31. And I would not mind

29:04I think he would be a very good fit. We'll see if the Patriots agree. We'll see if he's there at 31. All right, that wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Thank you for making us your first listen for being in every day or reach out to me on Twitter at nixie radio. And don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel. Hit that like button and subscribe. And if you're looking for a gift for someone, make it easy. Check out the every day or club. Add free episodes of this show exclusive discord server access and more five dollars a month buck at a quarter a week, $50 for the year subscriptions can be gifted through Lockdown Patriots dot supercast.com have a great day. And we will see you tomorrow.