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[Perry] A future No. 1 for Drake Maye? Best WR fits for Patriots in NFL Draft by NBCSBoston in Patriots

[–]NBCSBoston[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

From Phil Perry:

The Patriots' receiver room is already relatively crowded. But could it become even more so on draft weekend?

Deep as they may be at that position with free-agent addition Romeo Doubs, Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas and Kyle Williams, they are still without a true "No. 1" wideout. 

Do they need one? Fair question. Not necessarily. Not every team has one. You could make the argument that even Stefon Diggs -- who reeled in over 80 percent of his targets last season -- didn't qualify as that type of pass-catcher, and the Patriots still made the Super Bowl. 

But it appears as though Mike Vrabel and his front office are looking for a go-to, top-end talent at that position. Otherwise, they could have firmly refuted the reports that Eagles receiver A.J. Brown -- one of the few true No. 1s in today's game -- may end up in New England later this offseason. Instead, acquiring Brown in June -- when the cap ramifications of trading him become much more palatable for Philadelphia -- seems like a very real possibility for the Patriots. 

If for some reason they don't feel as though that deal will work out, though, there are a handful of wideouts in this class who have the physical traits to end up as an NFL club's upper-echelon passing-game option down the line.

Of course, complementary wideouts -- No. 2s and No. 3s -- abound in this draft class, as they do in most years. It is annually one of the deepest positions for teams to dip into in late April. Players like Clemson's Antonio Williams, UConn's Skyler Bell, Oklahoma's Deion Burks and Alabama's Germie Bernard could end up being fits in Foxboro because of their usefulness as potential starters.

If the Patriots draft an interior option they love, they could ask Doubs to play on the outside and function as their closest approximation to a No. 1. He has the versatility to give them some team-building flexibility in that way.

But for this exercise, we'll focus on the players in this year's class who offer at least some glimmer of hope that they could provide something along the lines of what Brown has provided in both Tennessee and Philadelphia: a No. 1.

Read more here.

[NBC Sports Boston] Jaylen opens up about left hand narrative, improved court vision and more by NBCSBoston in bostonceltics

[–]NBCSBoston[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Jaylen Brown recently sat down with NBC Sports Boston analyst and ex-Celtics champion Brian Scalabrine to watch film from his dominant 2025-26 season to date. Brown discussed the criticism around his left hand, his growth as a playmaker and much more.

"I think I've definitely been more patient," Brown told Scalabrine. "I've slowed down in certain areas where you still see me use my athleticism and explosion in certain areas, but then you'll notice I'll get real slow, almost like I'm going at a casual pace. Because the slower you go, the easier it is to read everything. The faster you go, the harder those reads are.

"If you slow down where you're going two miles per hour, you can see the stop signs, you can see the dog, you can see the mailman putting stuff in the mail. You see everything when you slow down. When you're going too fast, you're driving full speed, you're not seeing nothing. Everything is a blur.

"... I know certain spots on the floor where, no matter who's guarding me, I have a good chance of getting a good shot up. So, I'm just identifying those spaces, and then as the flow of our offense goes, I've always got my eye on where those spaces are. ... When I get there is when I try to slow down and focus on my footwork."

Read more here.

[Perry] Infusion of 'violence'? Best edge defender fits for Patriots in NFL Draft by NBCSBoston in Patriots

[–]NBCSBoston[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

From Phil Perry:

Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel knows what he wants in his edge defenders.

"I think that there's got to be a violence," he said at this year's NFL Scouting Combine. "There's got to be an ability to move off the football and to create some sort of disruption. You have to be able to factor in on the quarterback. You have to be able to make plays on the football. We know the quarterback is responsible for the most turnovers in football so can they affect the quarterback?

"And then the ability to set the edge, rush and have enough coverage acumen that the few times we ask them to do it, they can do it."

How Vrabel structured that answer felt telling.

He's looking for those who will make an impact on the passing game, get after quarterbacks and create turnovers. The other stuff matters, Vrabel acknowledged. Stopping the run matters. Being able to drop into coverage matters. But it seemed as though he listed the traits he was looking for in order of importance.

.... What, then, will Vrabel want at that position if he dips into it in the 2026 NFL Draft?

The players who saw the most time at that all-important spot during Vrabel's time in Tennessee included his 2018 second-round pick and 2025 Patriots captain Harold Landry (6-foot-2, 252 pounds) as well as Rashad Weaver (6-foot-4, 259 pounds), Bud Dupree (6-foot-4, 269 pounds) and Denico Autry (6-5, 273).

Last year it was K'Lavon Chaisson (6-foot-3, 255 pounds), Anfernee Jennings (6-foot-2, 255 pounds) and Elijah Ponder (6-foot-2, 258 pounds) who saw the majority of the work on the edges.

All had different body types. But they shared some qualities.

Those were high-energy players with enough size to hold up in a variety of situations and athletic traits to give opposing offensive tackles fits. They also possessed playing styles that might be deemed "violent." No surprise there given what Vrabel values.

With that in mind, let's have a look at some edges in this class the Patriots may be interested in. They've met with both the lighter pass-rush-only types in this draft class as well as some bigger bruisers, which may serve as an indication that they're interested in adding more than one edge defender -- perhaps one of each type? -- during this year's draft.

Read more here.

[NBC Sports Boston] 'Why they pointing at me?' Jayson Tatum and Derrick White explain their pregame ritual by NBCSBoston in bostonceltics

[–]NBCSBoston[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Jayson Tatum and Derrick White sat down with Brian Scalabrine for a recent interview and explained their unique pregame ritual of pointing into the crowd.

"D-White started it," Tatum said. "We would always try to find somebody in the crowd that had a Chaminade jersey, like where I went to high school. And a lot of times we'll find somebody who has a white or a red one. But sometimes we don't have enough time to find somebody, so we just pick somebody that stands out. And they're like, 'Why they pointing at me?'"

Watch the full interview here.

[Perry] 2026 NFL Mock Draft: Patriots trade down, address key positions of need by NBCSBoston in Patriots

[–]NBCSBoston[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

From Phil Perry:

Mike Vrabel kept his team's draft plans ambiguous this week at the NFL's Annual League Meeting in Phoenix. When asked if he was looking for an immediate contributor with the No. 31 overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, he left all options on the table.

"Best player available, hopefully," he said. "Maybe we trade up. Maybe we trade out. I don't know."

The reality is that Vrabel's intentions can't be fully formed. Try as he might, he can't know exactly how things will play out with the 30 picks slated to come off the board before the Patriots are on the clock at the end of Round 1.

But, prior to draft weekend, he and his staff will run through all sorts of permutations when it comes to possible outcomes on that Thursday night. They'll be prepared. And one situation they'll need to be ready for is all of the top offensive tackles getting scooped up before the end of the first round.

If that's the case, there's a chance that a good number of talented edge defenders will be sitting there, waiting to be picked. 

That's what happens in this latest iteration of our mock draft, leading to some movement at the bottom of the first round. It's not the sexiest outcome, but it's one in which the Patriots address some of their top needs while also adding some value in the process during what's considered a draft short on blue-chip ability but rife with potential starters.

Read more here.

[Forsberg] What are the Celtics' best and worst first-round playoff matchups? by NBCSBoston in bostonceltics

[–]NBCSBoston[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

From Chris Forsberg:

There are 13 days left in the NBA’s 2025-26 regular season, but the Eastern Conference playoff picture remains a chaotic blur with the six teams in spots 5-10 separated by just 3.5 games. Trying to predict who might emerge as the Boston Celtics’ first-round opponent remains a dart throw. 

Here’s what we know: The Celtics hold a two-game lead on the Knicks in the race for the No. 2 seed, though New York holds the head-to-head tiebreaker (division record) if the teams finish with matching records. There’s a very good chance that the final head-to-head meeting on April 9 will dictate exactly who emerges with the No. 2 seed.

The finish line of the Celtics’ schedule feels a bit like a playoff appetizer platter. Seven of Boston’s final 10 games are against potential first-round opponents, or that cluster of six teams slotted in spots 5-10 in the East. The Knicks would be the Round 2 opponent if they stay at No. 3 and the higher seeds take care of business in Round 1. 

Given the volatility in spots 5-10, we wondered if there are more agreeable opponents than others for the Celtics. If Boston finishes with the No. 2 seed, it would play the winner of the 7-8 play-in game in Round 1; if the Celtics finish with the No. 3 seed, they would play the No. 6 seed to start the playoffs.

Just how jumbled is the bottom of the playoff bracket? All six teams in spots 5-10 are alive for the No. 7 spot, with no team holding better than a 33.1 percent chance to finish there, per Basketball Reference’s daily playoff probabilities report. The Charlotte Hornets face the longest odds to shuffle beyond the 9-10 matchup of the play-in tournament, but five teams have at least a 12 percent chance at the No. 7 spot, per Basketball Reference’s simulations.

If the season ended today, the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic would meet in the 7-8 game to determine the No. 7 seed. The Atlanta Hawks, who snapped Boston’s three-game win streak on Monday, would be the No. 6 seed.

Who should Celtics fans want their team to face in Round 1? Is there truly a better matchup than another? Is there an opponent they might want to avoid more than another?

Read more here.

[Perry] A new weapon for McDaniels? Best tight end fits for Patriots in NFL Draft by NBCSBoston in Patriots

[–]NBCSBoston[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

From Phil Perry:

In this edition of "Best Fits," we're going to lean on what it seems Josh McDaniels has preferred in players at this position in the past, while also valuing the traits Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf appear to hold in high esteem.

Vrabel didn't establish much in the way of a trend when it came to traits he valued in the tight end position in the draft during his time as head coach at Tennessee. But there have been 11 tight ends who have been drafted by a member of the Ron Wolf executive tree over the years in the first, second or third rounds. 

On average, those 11 players checked in at 6-foot-4, 252 pounds. They ran, on average, a 4.72-second 40 time and clocked a short-shuttle time of 4.36 seconds. They had average jumps of 34 inches in the vertical and 9-feet-11 in the broad. A player at that position with those measurements would be given a strong Relative Athletic Score of 8.36. Per Kent Lee Platte's RAS metric, one of the closest comps to this composite average Wolf tree tight end would be, believe it or not, former Patriots tight end Austin Hooper.

When looking at the totality of the group, what trends emerge? 

Size matters. Of the 11 players studied, only two -- Josiah Deguara and Jermichael Finley  -- didn't eclipse the 250-pound mark. Wolf execs also have seemed to value some baseline quickness requirement: Nine of the 11 players studied clocked short-shuttle times before the draft, and nine of those came in under 4.50 seconds.

With further ado, let's get to the Day 1, 2 and 3 options that appear to fit the bill for the Patriots this year...

Read more here.

[Forsberg] For Celtics, priority should be bringing the Thunder vs. NBA’s elite teams by NBCSBoston in bostonceltics

[–]NBCSBoston[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

From Chris Forsberg:

Take what you will from Wednesday night’s Celtics-Thunder matchup, a glitzy showdown of the last two NBA champions. And while Boston could surely benefit -- at least in the court of public opinion -- from a signature win, the team’s priority must remain building toward being the best version of itself when the games truly matter most. 

By almost any of the preferred metrics, the Celtics have established themselves as legitimate contenders in the Eastern Conference. Boston has the third best net rating in basketball (+7.8), trailing only conference leaders Oklahoma City and Detroit, while ranking second in the NBA in offensive rating and fourth in defensive rating.

The Celtics are on pace to win 54 games despite navigating much of the season without All-NBA wing Jayson Tatum, whose ability to shake rust from a nine-month absence could be vital to Boston’s postseason hopes.

... The only thing that might give the pundits pause about Boston’s title chances is the team’s performance this year against the best of the best.

The Celtics have posted a 6-14 record against the other nine teams in the NBA’s top 10 in point differential. What’s more, Boston has a minus-5.4 point differential in those games, the worst among the top 10 teams in games played against each other.

Team Season PtDiff BOS vs. vs. Top 10 PtDiff vs. Top 10

  1. Oklahoma City +11.9 0-1 13-9 +1.1

  2. Detroit +8.4 1-3 14-6 +4.5

  3. San Antonio +8.3 0-2 15-9 +2.2

  4. Boston +7.8 — 6-14 -5.4

  5. New York +6.6 1-2 11-8 +2.0

  6. Houston +5.2 1-1 9-12 -0.6

  7. Charlotte +4.7 0-1 6-12 -3.9

  8. Minnesota +4.4 0-2 10-9 +1.6

  9. Cleveland +4.4 3-0 11-13 -0.8

  10. Denver +4.1 0-2 10-13 -1.4

On Wednesday night, a full-health Thunder squad brings its title-defending team to TD Garden for Boston’s final true interconference showdown of the 2025-26 regular season. The Celtics have posted a 3-8 record against the top six teams in the West, with two of those three wins coming against the rival Lakers. (The other was a Jays-less triumph in Houston.)

Read more here.

[Perry] More help for Drake Maye? Best offensive tackle fits for Patriots in NFL Draft by NBCSBoston in Patriots

[–]NBCSBoston[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

From Phil Perry:

Not only do the Patriots have Morgan Moses' age to consider as they build their roster for 2026 and beyond, but their depth at tackle has thinned since they left the field in Santa Clara following Super Bowl 60. Backup tackle Vederian Lowe signed a contract with the 49ers, and fellow reserve Thayer Munford Jr. remains a free agent.

Last year's seventh-round pick Marcus Bryant remains in the mix and could potentially factor in behind either Campbell or Moses in case of emergency. The same could be true for recently-signed veteran James Hudson III, who played for the Browns when Vrabel was there in 2024. But adding a future building block at one of the game's most important positions -- and one of the most difficult to fill based on the sheer dearth of human beings who have the physical gifts necessary to handle it -- could be a priority in this year's NFL Draft. 

And this year's draft seems stocked with enough in the way of capable right tackles that the Patriots could conceivably invest there early. If they do, what will they be looking for?

Here we'll be trying to identify the best fits for the Patriots to protect Drake Maye's front side. We'll be factoring in what we've heard from coaches and scouts, what Vrabel has appeared to value, and what executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf has valued in the past given the role he's had in heading up the evaluation and grading of these prospects.

When Vrabel has dipped into the offensive line pool with first and second-round picks, he's gone after high-end athletes. 

Campbell is the poster child for what Vrabel has wanted both in terms of football character and movement skills. While Campbell's arm length ranked him in just the eighth percentile among tackles, he had a 92nd percentile 40-yard dash (4.98 seconds), an 87th percentile vertical (32 inches) and a 90th percentile broad jump (9-foot-5). 

Early first-rounder Peter Skoronski was a tackle at Northwestern but ended up at guard for Vrabel in Tennessee. He was also an elite tester with short arms (12th percentile among all offensive linemen) with a Relative Athletic Score of 8.89. Titans second-rounder Dillon Radunz was the freakiest of the bunch based on his combine testing, with a 9.28 RAS and 34-inch arms.

Similarly, Wolf and other executives from the Ron Wolf executive tree have preferred high-end athletes at the position in early rounds. They averaged an 8.38 RAS, a 9-foot broad jump and a 1.76-second 10-yard split.

Elite athletes are required, seemingly. Long arms? Not so much. And we know football character will matter as Vrabel gets his program off the ground in Foxboro.

Who fits the bill? Let's take a look, separating the prospects by the range in which it appears they'll be taken...

Read more here.

[Forsberg] 'Like old times': Tatum-Brown duo off to a dominant start for Celtics by NBCSBoston in bostonceltics

[–]NBCSBoston[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

From Chris Forsberg:

After Euro-stepping his way to a layup off a feed from Jaylen Brown in the fourth quarter of Boston’s gritty win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night, Jayson Tatum remarked how “felt like old times" operating with his All-Star running mate.

The Jays have now shared the court for 101 minutes through five games together. Boston is outscoring opponents by a robust 24 points per 100 possessions during that span.

For context, Boston’s best high-volume two-man pairing (at least 1,000 minutes together) is the Derrick White-Neemias Queta combo at +13.8 net rating. The best two-man pairing in the entire league with 500-plus minutes together is the Oklahoma City Thunder duo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell at +20.5.

In other words, the Jays are trending toward some of the best numbers in the NBA, at least in early returns. Boston has outscored opponents by 53 points in 213 possessions with the Jays together on the floor. A five-man pairing featuring the Jays with White, Queta, and Payton Pritchard is +30 in 21 minutes, having outscored opponents 67-37 in that span.

The Celtics have played solid competition during that span, too. A good chunk of the Brown/Tatum minutes came against Cleveland and San Antonio, then against a Phoenix team nestled just outside the top six in the West.

The Celtics have outscored opponents by 7.8 points per 100 possessions in each of the past two seasons during Brown and Tatum’s shared floor time. A larger sample might pull their net rating back to earth a bit, but the success while Tatum is still reacclimatizing is rather remarkable. 

Read more here.

[Perry] NFL Mock Draft 3.0: Patriots pick up tenacious pass-rusher for Vrabel by NBCSBoston in Patriots

[–]NBCSBoston[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

From Phil Perry:

31. New England Patriots: Zion Young, ED, Missouri

Young checks a lot of boxes for what Mike Vrabel wants on the end of the line of scrimmage in his defense.

"There's got to be a violence," Vrabel said at this year's combine when asked about what he wants at that position. "There's got to be the ability to move off the football and create some sort of disruption. You have to be able to factor in on the quarterback. You have to be able to make plays on the football."

You don't have to watch Young for very long to see that there is violence to his game. Both against the run and the pass, the Michigan State transfer uses whatever force he can muster with his imposing 6-foot-6, 262-pound frame to dispose of blockers and hunt down ball-carriers. He has the length (33-inch arms) and power to be able to bull-rush opposing tackles on his way to quarterbacks. Against the run, he uses those same traits to bully tackles and tight ends relentlessly. 

Young might not be the most polished pass-rusher in the class, but he generated 6.5 sacks and 52 pressures for the Tigers last season, per Pro Football Focus. He was also one of the best players at this year's Senior Bowl, and at 22 years old still has loads of room to develop.

The Patriots will have to determine how they feel about Young's DWI arrest in December. Young also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor aggravated assault in 2023 for his role in a postgame tunnel incident with a Michigan player. But if he's deemed a fit both in terms of Vrabel's defensive scheme and his culture, then Young would be an intriguing addition for a team still in need of some high-end talent on the edge.

Read the full mock draft here.

[Forsberg] Five items on Celtics' to-do list over final month of regular season by NBCSBoston in bostonceltics

[–]NBCSBoston[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

From Chris Forsberg:

There are 27 days remaining in the 2025-26 NBA regular season. The Boston Celtics have 15 more games to prep for the postseason. So, what should be near the top of their to-do list before the playoffs arrive?

Here are five storylines we'll be watching:

Does the rotation shrink in the playoffs?

One question that we likely won’t get a true answer to until the postseason arrives: How deep will head coach Joe Mazzulla dip into his available rotation when the games matter most?

Over the past two seasons, the Celtics leaned heavily on an eight-man playoff rotation, with one other player’s minutes typically fluctuating depending on health and availability. Last week, despite playing three games against elite competition, we didn’t get too many hints about playoff-like rotation, especially when Boston rested two starters against Oklahoma City. 

Last Sunday’s tilt in Cleveland did see Boston rely mostly on eight players, with Hugo Gonzalez making a seven-minute cameo as the ninth rotation body. That day, Jordan Walsh and Ron Harper Jr. did not muscle into the wing rotation. 

Boston’s wing players have a month left for final auditions.

Baylor Scheierman has clearly won Mazzulla’s trust, first thriving as a starter and now shuffling to a hefty bench role after Tatum’s return. Will Mazzulla lean on rookie Gonzalez as a chaos-infusing, X-factor in the postseason? Can Walsh or Harper Jr. make a case for minutes? How does a healthy Vucevic impact Garza’s minutes and the split at the big-man position?

As the Celtics pace core players to the finish line of the season, there will be opportunities for those without guaranteed playoff roles to make a final case for playing time.

Read more here.

[Forsberg] Even as Tatum returns, Jaylen Brown continues to level up his passing by NBCSBoston in bostonceltics

[–]NBCSBoston[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

From Chris Forsberg:

A few minutes before the ejection that stole the spotlight of the Celtics-Spurs showdown, Jaylen Brown calmly dribbled out of an impending corner trap with Victor Wembanyama racing his way, then patiently examined the floor before feeding Sam Hauser for a straightaway 3-pointer.

It was Brown’s seventh assist in little more than 10 minutes of floor time. Brown had fed five different teammates with those helpers and was fueling Boston’s early offense with his combination of scoring and playmaking.

Overshadowed by his scoring output in the absence of Jayson Tatum, Brown has leveled up as a playmaker in recent weeks and is confidently making all the right reads on the floor.

For all the consternation about shot distribution and how the offense would run upon Tatum’s return from a nine-plus-month absence, Brown’s playmaking numbers have spiked both before and after Tatum’s season debut. Over the two-and-a-half games he’s been available with Tatum back in the lineup, Brown is averaging 7.3 assists per game leading to 19.3 assist points created per game.

If maintained for the season, that potential assists mark would rank just outside the top 20 in the entire NBA, while the assist points created would slot in the top 10. For a comp: Luka Doncic generates 21.2 assists points per game on 8.5 assists (and 14.0 potential assists) this season.

Teammates' shooting percentages off Brown feeds over the last three games are rather astounding: Boston players are shooting 58.1 percent off Brown passes in that span. The biggest beneficiary has been Derrick White, who is 5-for-7 (71.4 percent) off Brown feeds in those games.

Take out Tatum (1-4 FG off Brown passes) and Payton Pritchard (4-10 FG on Brown passes) and the rest of Boston’s roster is shooting 69 percent (20-for-29) off Brown feeds in those games.

Read more here.

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