The New England Patriots have their eye on an early-round offensive line prospect ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft.
According to a report Tuesday from SB Nation’s Justin Melo, the Patriots are among the dozen teams that have held FaceTime meetings with Louisiana-Lafayette O-lineman Robert Hunt.
https://twitter.com/JustinM_NFL/status/1250128643537371136
Hunt was a four-year starter for the Ragin’ Cajuns, primarily playing left guard for his first two seasons before switching to right tackle in 2018. He projects as a guard at the NFL level, with The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranking him as the top guard in this year’s draft class.
Multiple scouting reports compliment Hunt’s “nastiness” as a run blocker. He held up well in pass protection, as well, allowing just two sacks and 11 total pressures in 605 pass-block snaps over the last two seasons, per Pro Football Focus, after struggling in that area in 2017.
Hunt suffered a groin injury that caused him to miss the second half of last season and prevented him from working out at the NFL Scouting Combine. He projects as a Day 2 pick.
“Overall, Hunt needs to clean up some bad habits from a mechanical standpoint,” Brugler wrote in his 2020 draft guide, “but his quiet feet, loud hands and competitive nature are NFL starting-level traits, projecting best inside at guard.”
At 6-foot-5, 323 pounds, Hunt is larger than most Patriots guards, who typically weigh between 300 and 310 pounds. It’s possible they view him as a tackle, as was the case with tweener Isaiah Wynn in 2018.
New England lacks proven depth at both spots after losing top interior backup Ted Karras in free agency and choosing not to re-sign swing tackle Marshall Newhouse. 2019 draftees Hjalte Froholdt and Yodny Cajuste could fill those holes, but they’re unproven after missing their rookie season with injuries.
The digital age has allowed the New England Patriots to still meet with 2020 NFL Draft prospects despite travel restrictions.
North Carolina State defensive lineman Larrell Murchison told Daniel Valente of Steelers Depot that he met with the Patriots over FaceTime.
NC State DT Larrell Murchison confirms he has met over FaceTime with the #Jets, #Patriots, #Jaguars, #Raiders, #Lions & #Titans.
Murchison is coming off a 2019 season that saw him record 12 TFL & 7 sacks.
— Daniel Valente (@StatsGuyDaniel) April 14, 2020
Murchison is an interesting prospect in that he played out of position last season as a defensive end, despite being 6-foot-2, 297 pounds. He projects as a defensive tackle in the NFL and tested well with a 5.05-second 40-yard dash 4.51-second short shuttle and 9-feet, 10-inch broad jump.
Murchison managed seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss in 2019. He’s projected to be taken in the fifth round of the draft.
The Patriots have defensive tackles Lawrence Guy, Adam Butler, Beau Allen, Nick Thurman and Byron Cowart on their 90-man roster. They could add some competition to that group through the draft after losing Danny Shelton in free agency.
The NFL is doing everything in its power to not let the ongoing coronavirus crisis completely dismantle the league’s offseason.
After the virtual 2020 NFL Draft on April 23, however, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the spring plays out for the league.
Executive director of the NFL Players Association DeMaurice Smith is under the impression that it’s just too early to tell.
Smith, according to NFL Media’s Judy Battista, said it’s “impossible” to know right now whether training camps will be able to open on time this summer.
De Smith, the head of the NFLPA, said today it's impossible to answer the question right now of whether training camps will be able to open on time this summer. Many questions would have to be answered about what conditions would have to be in place to open.
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) April 14, 2020
This development comes one day after reports surfaced about the NFL and Players Association agreeing on specifications for a 2020 voluntary offseason program, which will start Monday. The offseason program is comprised of both on-field and virtual aspects.
Former Boston Red Sox first basemen Steve Pearce is hanging up his cleats.
The 2018 World Series hero announced the news on WEEI on Tuesday morning as they rebroadcasted Game 1 of the 2018 World Series. Pearce eventually would go on to win the Most Valuable Player award during said World Series hitting an impressive .333, with three home runs.
NESN anchor and reporter Adam Pellerin broke down the news in his latest segment of “Up & Adam.”
Check out the new segment above!
Forget arm talent. For Jarrett Stidham to be successful with the New England Patriots, it could come down to how the young quarterback is wired between the ears.
Stidham, the frontrunner to become New England’s starting QB this season in wake of Tom Brady’s departure, slipped to the fourth round in last year’s draft thanks to a shaky 2018 season at Auburn.
While teammates, coaches and scouts since have praised Stidham, suggesting he’s a capable successor to the greatest quarterback of all time, NFL Media draft expert Lance Zierlein recently explained on WEEI that the second-year signal-caller first needs to mentally overcome his final taste of college football.
“The issue with Jarrett Stidham is not his throwing, it’s not his accuracy or placement,” Zierlein said, as transcribed by WEEI.com. “I think the biggest concern moving forward with Jarrett Stidham is going to be whether or not he is shell-shocked that year with Auburn. People may think that’s ridiculous. It’s just one year. But I’m telling you, I have been in Houston doing radio and NFL stuff for a while, and I will never forget watching David Carr at Fresno State coming out of the draft and what happened to David over time with the subpar offensive line and then David also held onto the ball too long. He got shell-shocked and nothing was the same. Everything was a check down, check down, check down. Always looking to escape. Eyes dropping from the pocket.”
No NFL quarterback wants to be compared to Carr, one of the biggest busts in league history. And it’s probably unfair to attach similar hype to Stidham, seeing as the Patriots selected him with the 133rd overall pick in 2019. The Houston Texans drafted Carr with the No. 1 overall pick in 2002.
But Zierlein’s example speaks to how important it’ll be for Stidham to put his final season at Auburn in the rearview mirror if indeed Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels hand him the keys to New England’s offense in 2020. Or else the Stidham era could wind up being nothing more than a one-year experiment until the Patriots find a better option.
“He’s got the talent to be an NFL starter,” Zierlein said, per WEEI.com. “The question is what does his poise look like and how does he deal with adversity? The only way you find out is to let that play out. And you don’t let that play out with one or two games. You let that play out over the course of a season because you don’t just overcome adversity in a game. That is a process. There is a learning process. There is coaching to be had. And I don’t think it’s fair to Jarrett Stidham to not really give him any kind of an opportunity to go through the same process other quarterbacks get.”
This is unfamiliar territory for the Patriots, as it’s the first time since 2001 they’ll enter a season without Brady as their starting quarterback. But it’s the new reality, and all signs point toward Stidham, who turns 24 in August, getting the first crack at replacing the six-time Super Bowl champion.
It’ll be fascinating to watch whether Stidham is up to the challenge — physically and mentally.
First-year Celtic Kemba Walker has come up with a unique, and somewhat educational, way to help the community during the coronavirus pandemic.
The All-Star point guard announced on Instagram on Tuesday that he has teamed up with JBL Headphones to provide Boston-area children with earphones, in hopes to enhance their virtual learning procedures amid the pandemic.
“It’s times like these where we need to come together as a community,” Walker said. “Mentoring students, and helping them believe in themselves and succeed has always been important to me. JBL has been a partner for me throughout my career, and we teamed up to donate headphones to Boston-area children to help them adjust and stay focused in their new educational environments.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B–BCHPjyz0/?utm_source=ig_embed
Fellow Boston athletes like Red Sox outfield Jackie Bradley Jr. and New England Patriots’ Stephon Gilmore also are helping in their own ways during the pandemic. But certainly, Walker’s contributions will be appreciated.
The COVID-19 outbreak may have millions of people stuck at home, but that’s not stopping them from finding creative ways to stay entertained.
In Danny Ainge’s case, he’s got a little friend to give him a hand.
The Boston Celtics president of basketball operations and his French bulldog pup, Weezy, got a bit of fresh air Tuesday at Ainge’s home when the two went through a few simple drills. They even squeezed in a quick game of monkey in the middle before wrapping up the workout.
And, of course, Weezy is a natural defenseman.
Check it out:
Monkey in the middle🙉 pic.twitter.com/OT2ZBc6uA9
— Danny Ainge (@danielrainge) April 14, 2020
OK, Ainge definitely still has some skills, too.
Quarantine is hitting people in different ways.
New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty took to Instagram on Monday night to announce that him and his wife are expecting their third child in the perfect way, saying, “?? idk started this quarantine with 2 now a 3rd coming!!!!”
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson also used the popular social media platform to announce some big news. Wilson, alongside wife Ciara and two children, posted a gender reveal video as they found out they have a boy on the way.
NESN After Hours co-host Emerson Lotzia spoke about both of these feel-good stories on Tuesday’s edition of “LOTZ Of Likes.”
Check out the segment above!
The 2020 NFL Draft entered more uncharted territory Tuesday.
The league sent out a memo telling prospects what they are allowed to eat, drink and wear during the Draft starting April 23. Of course, the guidelines wouldn’t be much to scoff at if the NFL Draft was taking place in Las Vegas as originally scheduled. But, as you know, it will be not be.
Instead, the Draft will take place virtually, with draftees, organizations and even NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell all taking precautions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, with all the changes, the NFL maintains that although players who will be featured on the telecast haven’t signed contracts, and although they will be showed inside the comfort of their own homes, their appearances remain property of the NFL, according to The Action Network.
“Do NOT have any products displaying brands or logos that have not been approved by the NFL within camera range of your feed for the NFL Draft broadcast,” the memo reads, according to The Action Network’s Darren Rovell.
Instead, draftees will receive a “welcome kit” of food and drink products from the league’s partners.
The kit will include PepsiCo products — Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Bubly, Gatorade — Frito Lay snacks — Cheetos, Doritos and Tostitos — and Mars candy including Skittles, Snickers and M&M’s.
The memo also indicated how players’ clothing is being dictated as prospects can’t wear logos of any brand other than an NFL team, or an official league partner such as Nike, Adidas, Under Armour or New Era.
The 2020 NFL Draft has showed early signs of one that, for good or bad, will never be forgotten.
Marcus Stroman is pissed at Kyle Larson — and who could blame him?
On Tuesday, the New York Mets pitcher challenged Larson to a fight over the NASCAR driver using a racial slur during an iRacing event Sunday night. Larson, who could be heard saying the N-word during his Twitch stream, was fired by Chip Ganassi Racing on Tuesday. NASCAR and iRacing both announced indefinite suspensions of the 27-year-old driver Monday morning.
“He should never be allowed to race again in NASCAR,” Stroman tweeted. “Said that derogatory word so nonchalantly. Your apology doesn’t matter. Post-career… I’ll fight this man in a UFC event for charity. He needs his ass beat. Would love to hear him say that word in the octagon!”
https://twitter.com/STR0/status/1250044580977938433
It’s unclear whether Stroman was serious, though that isn’t really the point.
Where Larson’s professional racing career goes from here remains to be seen. Even if the California native, who also owns World of Outlaws Sprint car team, at some point returns to NASCAR racing, his reputation might be damaged beyond repair.
Boston Red Sox interim manager Ron Roenicke is feeling like many of us while quarantining amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roenicke, speaking on conference call Tuesday, said while he’s uncomfortable during this time, he has some optimism that the MLB will return to normal.
“Everyday I wake up and I know I’m not supposed to be here (at home),” the manager said, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “It’s not comfortable.”
“It’s not fun either. You work so hard and we got everybody so close to being ready… and then boom, just a complete stop.”
Still, Roenicke said it gives him some perspective.
Roenicke added he’s not concerned about himself if the league does come back with any of the proposed plans, per the Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams. Instead, his main worry would be about a player catching the coronavirus, and setting everything back longer.
His intuition, however, is that there will be a MLB season.
“If everybody stays along with these plans they’re putting out there, we’ve got a chance to level this thing off.” Roenicke said. “Once it levels off, that curve will go downhill and we can start.”
Commissioner Rob Manfred said the game won’t return until public health officials deem it ok, but ideas floating around are starting the season centralized in Arizona, holding the season at spring training facilities and restructuring divisions to cut down on travel, or play it entirely in Japan.
Fingers crossed for a return of any sort in early May.
Eduardo Rodriguez will look to right the ship Tuesday night.
The Boston Red Sox pitcher went winless in his first four “MLB: The Show” Players League matchups. Rodriguez, like 29 other players, is representing his team in the 29-game virtual season to be played out on the best baseball video game you can find.
Here are Rodriguez’s four opponents for Tuesday night:
— Ryne Stanek, P (MIA)
— Ty Buttrey, P (LAA)
— Joey Gallo, OF (TEX)
— Luke Jackson, P (ATL)
There are many (perhaps too many) ways to stream the Players League. If you want to watch Rodriguez’s games, the easiest way is to head over to his personal Twitch account.
And Here’s how to watch Rodriguez’s “MLB: The Show” Players League matchups:
When: Tuesday, April at 9 p.m. ET
Live stream: Twitch
Nothing Bill Belichick said Monday about Tom Brady really stood out to Skip Bayless.
However, Bayless couldn’t believe his ears when the Patriots coach spoke about Jarrett Stidham, who appears to be the frontrunner to replace Brady as New England’s starting quarterback this season.
“When it was time to talk about the other quarterbacks, about Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham, he referred to Brian Hoyer as ‘Brian,’ and then he referred to Jarrett Stidham as ‘Stid,’ ” Bayless said Tuesday on FS1’s “Undisputed.” “We heard on the podcasts that the McCourtys did the other day, they call him ‘Stiddy’ — with a ‘y’ on it; ‘Stiddy.’ But Belichick just called him ‘Stid.’ Stid?
“I have been closely observing Bill Belichick for at least 20 years, in large part because of Tom Brady. But in all those 20 years of me following the Patriots … I can’t remember one time that Bill Belichick ever referred to any player he’s ever coached by his nickname. He’s not a nickname user. Especially with an unproven, young quarterback — a second-year quarterback. What are you doing? Seriously. Stid? Did he ever call Tom ‘Tommy?’ No. Not one time that I ever heard.”
"I can't remember one time that Bill Belichick ever referred to any player he's ever coached by his nickname. He's not a nickname user. Especially with an unproven 2nd-year quarterback. What are you doing? Stid? Seriously?"
— @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/BaKaGGgwmM
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) April 14, 2020
While this might seem like a weird thing for Bayless to focus on, he believes Belichick referring to Stidham by his nickname is indicative of a bigger development. The Patriots are entering a season without Brady as their starting quarterback for the first time since 2001, yet Belichick’s apparent chumminess with Stidham seems to suggest he has high hopes for the 2019 fourth-round draft pick as the organization moves on from TB12.
“To me, the coach who never says anything in any sort of press conference situation, or in this circumstance a conference call, he said volumes by calling the young quarterback, that we all think he’s going to try to make his starting quarterback, by a nickname. He called him ‘Stid,’ ” Bayless said. “He used affection that he would never use for any other player, and I thought that one tiny, little, four-letter nickname spoke volumes about what he’s about to try to do.
“This is his ‘Tommy.’ This is the kid that he’s going to say ‘watch this’ with. ‘I found him in the fourth round. He’s going to be my new Tom Brady.’ … Now he’s going to say, ‘I’m starting over with Jarret Stidham — Stid — because I’ll show you I can win with just any ol’ quarterback, even my fourth-rounder that I picked when nobody else loved Jarrett Stidham.’ ”
Is Bayless reading too much into Belichick’s casual nickname drop? Maybe. But it won’t be surprising if Stidham is under center when New England opens its 2020 season, and it’ll be fascinating to see how the young signal-caller performs under pressure.
Adrian Gonzalez knows a good taco when he sees one.
The former Boston Red Sox slugger grew up in Tijuana, and because of this, he can be considered a connoisseur when it comes to Mexican cuisine.
Gonzalez spoke with Yahoo! Sports and shared some of his pet peeves when it comes to people eating the Mexican dish. He was quick to slam people who don’t eat tacos with soft shells.
‘First of all, you can’t qualify a hard shell as a taco,” Gonzalez said. “If anybody that’s out there is throwing hard-shell Taco Tuesdays, they don’t know what they’re talking about.”
Wow. Harsh.
So how does the five-time All-Star prefer his tacos?
“I grew up in Tijuana. Tijuana is known for the best carne asada taco possibly in the world so for me there is only one way to make it: the way we make it in Tijuana, which is corn or flour tortilla, carne asada and then you just put onion, cilantro, guacamole and salsa on it.”
Notice that the recipe ignores a key ingredient in most tacos: cheese. Gonzalez made a cogent argument for why cheese has no place in tacos.
“I mean cheese (inside a taco) would make it a quesadilla. That’s not a taco anymore.”
Well, alrighty then.
The family of Colby Cave, along with the Edmonton Oilers, have set up a memorial fund after the NHL forward died Saturday due to a brain bleed.
Cave underwent emergency surgery at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, but never woke up from a medically induced coma.
Dozens of cars lined up to remember the forward in Saskatchewan on Monday. And Edmonton on Tuesday announced the memorial fund that will “help carry on the memory and legacy of Oilers forward Colby Cave.”
“Proceeds from the fund will go toward community programs with an emphasis on mental health initiatives and providing access to sports for underprivileged children,” the official statement said.
Emily Cave, Colby’s wife, said being married to her husband was her “greatest honour” and is “looking forward to continuing his legacy alongside the Edmonton Oilers and the rest of the hockey community.”
Cave was 25 years old.
The NFL has a way of moving incredibly slowly with investigations relating to the New England Patriots.
The Patriots’ latest controversy is no different. The Patriots admitted team TV production employees were discovered taping the Cincinnati Bengals’ sideline during a game in December. Evidence was immediately turned over to the NFL, yet there has been no verdict or announcement.
“The matter remains under review,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told ProFootballTalk on Tuesday.
The 2020 NFL Draft is just over a week away. If the Patriots are going to be disciplined, that punishment could include the loss of a draft pick.
It seems the NFL is in no rush to resolve anything, however.
Tom Brady apparently has been a good teammate for ages.
Former Michigan quarterback Drew Henson discussed in an article the New York Post’s Joel Sherman published Saturday what the time he spent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback was like and also revealed his hope to rekindle their friendship in the future. Henson and Brady famously split playing time at Michigan in the 1998 and 1999 seasons before the latter joined the New England Patriots and embarked on a successful NFL career. Many assumed their internal rivalry would have prevented them from developing a bond, but Henson refutes that belief.
“What people fail to understand is there is competition at every position all the time,” Henson said. “And at Michigan they preach the competition. It is what develops good culture, a great team and great leadership. You walk in and want to get on the field.
“At the same time, you walk into a quarterback room that is close knit. Tom is three years older. I am looking up to him. You learn from the older players, like you do on every team. Preparation, film study, just overall knowledge of the game. From that aspect, I was learning from him. Yet, on the field you are competing for reps.
“Obviously, it is something that everyone is talking about, but you know what is going on inside. You control what you can control. You control how you prepare. You support your teammates. And then whoever they go with that is the deal, that is the way sports is.
“He was always good to me, and we got along really well. There was nothing negative about it other than the fact that you had two quarterbacks who are alternating. But everything worked itself out and certainly made me better.”
Although Henson never panned out as an NFL quarterback or a generational baseball talent — the New York Yankees drafted him with hopes of pairing him with Derek Jeter on the left side of their infield — he remains fond of Brady. Both now live in the Tampa, Fla., area and Henson would like Brady join him for a meal.
“I hope we can go for lunch,” Henson concludes.
Football fans of all stripes probably would enjoy sitting in on that conversation.
People around the NFL apparently believe it’s a foregone conclusion that the New England Patriots will select a quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The question, however, is when?
Though some reports have indicated the Patriots are comfortable with handing the keys to second-year QB Jarrett Stidham, others suggest Bill Belichick prefers to keep his options open. The Patriots reportedly have shown interest in multiple quarterbacks — both those projected to go in the early rounds and those expected to wait a while — in the lead-up to next week’s draft.
NFL Media reporter Ian Rapoport discussed the Patriots Monday during an appearance on “NFL Total Access.”
“Everybody knows that they’re going to take a quarterback,” he said. “And, of course, when they released Cody Kessler, it opened up a spot in their quarterback room. They are going to select someone. Obviously, it does get complicated. They don’t have a second-round pick. So it seems to be, pick someone in the first round or pick someone in the mid-rounds. There’s really no in-between for the Patriots.
“No one has really seen what the Patriots look for in a top-flight quarterback. It’s been so long – really since Jimmy Garoppolo – since they’ve used a premium pick on a quarterback. That’s why there is so much intrigue surrounding them and who they actually like, and, of course, if one of the top quarterbacks slides — like Tua (Tagovailoa) or Jordan Love — are the Patriots going to pick them, and when, is going to be the biggest storyline of the draft. Everyone expects them to make some sort of move.”
From @NFLTotalAccess: #Patriots coach Bill Belichick's conference call today only re-emphasized what we know — it's going to be a bit different with Tom Brady. pic.twitter.com/pxXE099VUt
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 13, 2020
For the first time in what feels like forever, the Patriots are among the more interesting teams to monitor ahead of the draft. Still, fans probably should prepare themselves for the possibility of Belichick trading out of the early rounds, hoarding assets and selecting a bunch of versatile, unheralded linebackers, or something.
The (all virtual) 2020 NFL Draft is scheduled to start Thursday, April 23.
Dustin Pedroia has been battling a lingering knee injury that’s limited him to just nine games between the 2018 and 2019 Major League Baseball season.
And even though the 2020 campaign has been postponed, it’s still looking pretty grim for the Boston Red Sox second baseman.
Pedroia played in just six games in 2019 before missing the rest of the season. He underwent surgeries and completed rehabs in order to make another attempt to come back this year. But a significant setback suffered before spring training put a return, and his career, in jeopardy.
The 36-year-old was placed on the 60-day injured list in February.
Interim manager Ron Roenicke held a conference call Tuesday and was asked about the status of Pedroia. And it wasn’t exactly encouraging.
“He’s still not a point where he’s thinking about trying to be ready to come back and join us,” he said, via NESN’s Guerin Austin.
And according to The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams, it sounds as if the second baseman will not be ready for baseball activity when — and if — the season begins.
Pedroia has been with the Red Sox for his entire 14-year career and is a four-time All-Star, was the 2007 Rookie of the Year and 2008 MVP. He also is a four-time Gold Glove winner.
The San Francisco 49ers’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV might have been a blessing in disguise.
The Wall Street Journal published a piece Tuesday in which medical experts suggested a victory parade in California — had the Niners beat the Chiefs — could have accelerated the spread of the coronavirus.
There already had been reported cases in Santa Clara County on Feb. 2, the day of Super Bowl LIV, whereas Kansas City didn’t report its first case until March 18.
“It may go down in the annals as being a brutal sports loss, but one that may have saved lives” Dr. Bob Wachter, the chair of the University of California San Francisco’s Department of Medicine, told the Wall Street Journal.
California has been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak in the months since the 49ers blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter of Super Bow LIV. It’s scary to think of how much worse the situation might have been had San Francisco won and hundreds of thousands of people gathered in close proximity to each other in the Bay Area.
“If one person had it and spread it to a number of people at the parade, that could’ve had an impact on the epidemic trajectory,” Carl Bergstrom, a University of Washington biology professor, told the Wall Street Journal.
California issued a stay-at-home order March 19, about six and a half weeks after the Chiefs defeated the 49ers 31-20 behind an MVP performance from quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Obviously, the loss didn’t sit well with Niners fans in the immediate aftermath, but Wachter told the Journal it “may be one of the lucky breaks that spared us from a much worse fate.”
A potential New England Patriots draft target reportedly tested positive for a diluted sample at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Wisconsin linebacker Zack Baun’s urine test was flagged by NFL personnel in Indianapolis, according to a report Tuesday from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Baun blamed the discrepancy on increased water intake ahead of his combine weigh-in, per Schefter’s report. Baun was a highly productive edge rusher for the Badgers, but at 6-foot-2, 238 pounds, he’s undersized for that spot by NFL standards.
Because of changes to the NFL’s drug-testing policies included in the new collective bargaining agreement, Schefter reported that “teams don’t believe (Baun’s diluted sample) will impact his draft status much.”
Here’s an interesting twist regarding Zach Baun testing positive for a diluted sample at combine: Under the NFL’s new CBA, it will not count as a strike against him whereas it would have under the NFL’s old CBA. Therefore, teams don’t believe it will impact his draft status much. https://t.co/Xw8Q7dTqqb
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 14, 2020
Baun, who can play on the edge or off the ball, currently is projected as a late first- or early second-round pick, with many outlets — including this one — mentioning him as a potential option for the Patriots at No. 23 overall. His versatility and pass-rushing prowess have earned him comparisons to Kyle Van Noy, who excelled in New England’s defense before signing with the Miami Dolphins in free agency.
Baun tallied 76 tackles, 12 1/2 sacks and 19 1/2 tackles for loss as a redshirt senior last season.