Zolak & Bertrand: Patriots targeting “toughness” at QB?
On Tuesday’s edition of Zolak & Bertrand, we dive into what Eliot Wolf’s “toughness” comments about the QBs in the draft mean for the future of the Patriots.
The Top 3 guys are more dynamic than tough…
Marc Bertrand: Are they all tough?
Scott Zolak: I would say that the first three are more dynamic than tough. I’ve looked at a lot of these comparisons. When I say comparisons, what are the positives? What are the negatives? One guy played 55 games. One guy didn’t play enough. One guy’s kind of young. One guy is 21. I don’t see anything with Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, or Jayden Daniels, they all call them dynamic all, I don’t see tough being thrown around a lot. Where I do see the word tough being thrown around is J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix who plays sort of like a linebacker. Bloody his nose up and he just looks tough when he plays the position. I’m not a big Bo Nix next guy either. Then Michael Penix coming back from two knee surgeries and hanging in there and carrying the team makes him tough.
Are they zeroing in on that second group because you’re three and you’re going to move out and we’re going to be able to either get McCarthy, Nix, or Penix. That could be a possibility. The work culture stood out to me when he talked about, we got to pick the type of players that fit our culture. What is your culture? I’m glad he brought up (Kyle) Duggar and (Michael) Onwenu because you keep those guys, you’re building culture. You’re rewarding players that you drafted that came up through your system, that are going to get paid and get paid well here. Salary cap is up, what $35 million? Even though I don’t care about the cap, there’s more money now this year. So take care of your guys that you know. That’s building a culture.
If you let those guys go, you’re bringing in more outsiders. You don’t have a culture, you don’t. You keep David Andrews. That’s culture. You go get Hunter Henry. That’s establishing culture because you already indicated to Coach (Jerod) Mayo that Hunter Henry is a big leader for this offense. It’s keeping your guys. it’s hard to have culture when you just keep bringing new blood in.
Marc Bertrand: Back to his (Eliot Wolf) quarterback stuff. Yes. He talked about these guys being tough and also seemingly took a number of shots at Mac Jones. Talking about how body language matters. How the underrated thing is guys wanting to play for your quarterback. Since when is that underrated? And he said nobody talks about that. In fact, I would say everybody talks about that.
Scott Zolak: You ever hear the word moxie? You ever watch Friday Night Lights? You ever watch Varsity Blues? Jonathan Moxon.
Marc Bertrand: We’ve been talking for three years about players wanting or not wanting to play for their quarterback in New England.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 04: Michael Penix Jr. #9 of the Washington Huskiesat United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 04, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
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Barth's 2024 Draft Profiles: Notre Dame OT Joe Alt
Offensive tackles can’t get drafted in fantasy football and don’t sell as many jerseys, which may be why Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt is viewed in a group below the truly elite skill position players in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, he has all the makings of an elite offensive line prospect, and shouldn’t be written off as a likely top-five pick just because he doesn’t catch or throw touchdowns.
Joe Alt scouting report
Sep 9, 2023; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish tackle Joe Alt (76) during the first half at Carter-Finley Stadium. Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
College: Notre Dame
Age: 20 (turns 21 on February 28)
Height: 6’8
Weight: 322
Awards: Unanimous All-American (2023), First-Team All-American (2022)
Alt is the son of former Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro tackle John Alt, who played in the NFL from 1984-1996. Joe was a tight end in high school, but was recruited by Notre Dame as a tackle. 247 Sports had Alt ranked as the 20th tackle and 180th overall player in the class of 2021 coming out of Totino-Grace High School in Minnesota.
The move from tight end to tackle couldn’t have gone smoother for Alt. He began his true freshman season playing a handful of snaps over the first few games as a tackle-eligible tight end, but was named the starting left tackle for the Fighting Irish by Week 6. He never game the job up, starting every game at left tackle over the next two years for Notre Dame until opting out of their bowl game this year after declaring early for the Draft. In both seasons as a full-time starter, Alt was named an All-American (he couldn’t be named all-conference, with Notre Dame playing as an independent).
For more player breakdowns, scouting reports, and all things 2024 NFL Draft, check out the 98.5 The Sports Hub Draft Hub page.
