carolinatony

I give it a 7.
If we had drafted a LB or two it would be higher.

Patriot Missile

7 maybe 8. Meriweather,Welker and Moss were superb and deserve a 10. But you are right they needed a LB. I liked the Kareem Brown pick on the 2nd day. I'm not worrying too much on the LB,I'm sure there is a plan in place or they just don't see it as an issue at all.

DarrylS

If we consider Welker a #2 and Moss a #4, with Meriweather a #1 and the #3 in the bank for next year and anonther #1 in the bank also I would give it a, 9..

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"Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.

cstjohn17

Someone in another post said C- without Moss and Welker and an A with them. I agree.

Looking purely at the players picked from college I give it a 4.
- 1 pick in the top 130
- 3 offensive lineman (WTF)
- ILB in round 7 (injury past, undersized and slow)
- CB from Notre Dame (?)

VJCPatriot

9 out of 10.

We get Meriweather, Welker, and RANDY MOSS.
Dude Moss runs a faster 40 than Calvin Johnson and he just turned 30 years old. The guy's skills are unreal and not only does he have the physical tools but he also has a lot of experience and is a proven receiver in this league.

Everything else is gravy after that.
And no, reaching for a linebacker at 28 was not worth it.
Instead we got a future 1st and a high 4th in this year's draft.
NOW, if you will recall that we used that same high 4th from the 49ers to TRADE FOR Moss, then you'll understand how excellent this draft was.

The only reason I can't give it a 10 yet is that we have yet to see how these guys fit into our team chemistry-wise, but they all address very real needs and are very talented players. And yes despite me mentioning only 3 players of note we did draft 2 linebackers. Look hard, you'll find em.

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patchick

It's almost too weird a draft to be graded. How do you weigh a 1-year deal for Randy Moss vs. a 4-year deal for, say, Zak DeOssie?

The Pats do seem to have gotten good value for their top handful picks, which is the primary measure you can realistically use. (Who really knows whether Mike Elgin is worth #247?) Meriweather looks like a solid player at a position of need at #24, Randy Moss + SF's 2008 is nifty for #28, and Welker looks like a stroke of genius compared to the WRs taken after #60. After that, eh. Trading forward #91, ok, I guess they like the look of that draft better. Some maneuvering up in the 4th might have yielded some nice players too. But overall: B+, nice work. Add in the earlier FA signings and the whole offseason has to get a solid A.

p.s. sign an ILB already

PatsFanSince74

Given what we can know, I'd give us a 9. Here's why.

1) I think that Piolichick's board didn't show any prospects they rated as First Rounders in positions they wanted to fill by the time 28 came around. So, since they already had a boatload of late choices, the trade to SF was brilliant. If you believe that the niners overachieved last season, that could translate into a top ten pick in 08. So, big points.

2) "In Bill I trust." The consensus is that Meriweather was a low first round pick, if he didn't have the character issues. BB spent a lot of time working him out and getting to know both his situation and the people around him who know him well. So, if we're gonna dance with the one that brung us this far, we have to take this pick on trust. Serious points, with maybe a half point deduction for the questionmark.

3) "In Bill I trust (see above)." Moss for a Fourth Round pick could go down as one of the great draft trades of all time. I also give a lot of weight to the "Troy Brown" factor here. During his interview over the weekend, Moss said that he refers to himself as "the second best receiver ever to come out of Marshall." To me this means that the Patriots will move heaven and h&*l to bring Troy back this year, as well. So, serious points again, with no deduction. Risk is the name of the game, with any pick.

4) Clearly, we didn't use low picks for LB's. Here, I conclude that Piolichick decided that the current cadre, buttressed by AT, has at least one more good year left in it and that there may be some hidden gems in the higher round picks. Also, I doubt they've made their last offseason move at this position. Think "Junior Seau." So, a half point deduction due to my anxiety.

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It is what it is. It wasn't what it wasn't.

Fantasic4x50x54x59x55

You know I never even thought about it that way..I would have orginally graded it a 7.5 but now that you said it like that, I grade it a 8.5 .

Question(s): Anyone think Merriweather is groomed to play CB? Do you think this solidfies the move of Wilson To CB?

Fantasic4x50x54x59x55

The offseason as a whole gets an B+, only because i am selfish and want a big bad ILB.

DaBruinz

I can't give this draft anything higher than a 6.5 and that is considering Moss and Welker.

My reasoning:
1) The Pats got taken on their trade out of the 1st round. BB didn't get even close to the value that Dallas paid and Dallas only moved up 11 spots. San Fran, if you go by the way Belichick has described future picks (they are the equivalent of one round less in the current year and you treat them as a mid round pick of that round), moved up some 22 spots and only paid about half what Dallas did.

2) At some point they are going to have to invest in a quality LB in the draft. They already got burned once by relying solely on free agency. They lucked out last year with Seau being available and willing to come to the Patriots.

3) While they added Richardson, Rogers and Lua, did they really address the long term needs at LB and CB? Richardson looks to be a work-out warrior but could make his mark on special teams. Maybe the Pats can correct the bad techniques that plague Richardson and he'll become a good #3 CB in a couple years..
Rogers is a conversion project if you believe he's going to be moved inside. If he can make the move and be productive, great. The Pats have needed a SILB since Johnson went down. Lua also projects to the SILB position. They could give the Pats a strong 1-2 punch there.... However, Rogers could also be an OLB. He has some speed and ability out there. He might end up being another Mike Vrabel.

4) 3 O-linemen???? Ok, I understand picking up someone like an Oldenburg because of the questions at OT with Kaczur, O'Callaghan, and Britt. But why Elgin when you have Koppen just re-signed to a long term deal. You have Hochstein, Yates (newly re-signed) and Mruczkowski. I know Mruczkowski has been given his walking papers a couple times already, but why tender him if you aren't planning on keeping him. That tender is a guaranteed contract.

5) I understand the picking of Kareem Brown. He supposedly can be someone like Mike Wright and line up at NT or DE. He should mean the end of the failed Marquis Hill project. The question will be whether Brown can also knock LeKevan Smith off the roster.

6) The trade of the 3rd round pick to Oakland. When you look at what other teams were getting, how did the Pats not get more? Even if it meant another pick in 2008.