BradyManny

I was a huge Chad Jackson homer, so it hurts to make this thread.

But when Brady comes back next season, we know he will have Moss & Welker under contract. It'd be ideal to bring back Gaffney, but can't take that for granted. That's about it for reliable receiving options, Kelley Washington has not proved to be more than an STer yet.

So ideally the Pats need to a) bring a guy in to challenge Gaffney (assuming we can retain him) and also b) provide a different skillset [that was supposed to be you Chad!!]. Not to mention that long term, an outside receiver is still a general need for this team with Moss only signed through 2010.

Any thoughts on potential WR prospects for the Pats? It has to be the most frustrating position to draft. Bethel Johnson, Chad Jackson...those seem to be the norm nowadays, Deion Branch is the exception. It seems its just generally hit or miss drafting a WR, and coming off of the Chad Jackson experience, I'm reticent to spend anything in the first two rounds on a WR, but I think it is relatively high up on the needs list.

Jimke

I think drafting a wide receiver would be low on the list of Patriots'
needs. The Patriots prime offensive needs are an OT, OG, and TE.
The Patriots also need a MLB, CB, and S on defense before addressing
the wide receiver position. If Gaffney leaves, maybe they would sign a UFA replace him.

condon84

I don't think we need a MLB. I think we have Mayo and yesterday, I saw Guyton a lot playing in regular defense. I've seen Guyton's PT increase so I believe the Pats have their two ILBs of the future.

What we need is a WR to step in once Moss is done and some OLs. Our OL has been the biggest disappointment this year. We need some young talent there.

BradyManny

I'm not overwhelmed with the list of UFA or RFAs:

2009 NFL Free Agents: WR

I like Roy Williams, but that doesn't seem too likely. Lee Evans is off the list now. Houshmandzadeh, I dunno, seems to be redundant to Welker.

So I don't know. Getting a guy who is either an upgrade or provides a different skillset to me is high up on the list of needs. I agree OT & OG are top needs, but I disagree about ILB, CB, S as being needs above WR for the moment. Guyton could be the answer at SILB, we may have two future starters at CB in Whealtey and Wilhite - only time will tell. Safety, I think I like a Sanders-Meriweather combo.

KillEM

ILB,CB,SS,OT,OG

Those are NEEDS. WR is a luxury at this point.

Patsmaniac

I liked what I saw of Greg Carr this past weekend vs Miami. Not sure of his speed but he looked awesome in the red zone and looked very acrobatic, which made me think he is very fluid physically. I would love a six foot six wideout.

Ochmed Jones

In order to figure the draft or FA, we have to look at what we have on the roster.

Moss - vertical threat
Welker - master of the underneath routes
Faulk - screens and swing routes

What does that leave. The answer is the intermediate routes. Which means we are looking at 2 positions, TE and 3rd WR.

Ideally BB would love to have a TE that can handle the deep seam routes. I think BB has given up on Watson ever fulfilling that role. And Thomas does not have the speed to fill that role either.

At WR we need to look for a WR that can be reliable in the 8 - 15 yard range. Someone with speed and quick twitch; that has great hands and has to be able to read defenses and be on the same page as Brady since it is all option route running.

Gafney is filling this role now, but is nothing special. Roy Williams could be special in that role, but how much money is BB willing to invest at the WR position?

I have not seen 1 college WR this year, that can fill the 3rd WR role better than Gafney is doing now. I thought for a while that Chris Jones was going to beat out Gafney for the spot in training camp, but that didn't happen. Maybe Jones just needs a little more seasoning.

maryjane

Drafting a WR is a wasted pick, IMO. Pats have proven they can't do it with Jackson and Johnson. Maybe just avoid the letter "J"?

Maybe find a mature guy who had a lot of production in college in the 5th or 6th.....kind of the opposite of Jackson and Johnson.

BradyManny

Reading the bolded paragraph, sadly, the first name that I think of is Deion Branch...

Yeah, Roy Williams I listed above as unlikely. But he is a pretty co*ky guy [not a bad thing], and based on a few quotes I've seen from him, he might be a guy whose ego is bigger than his value on the market. And like Stallworth, might be forced into taking a one year prove it deal somewhere like New England in order to get the kind of contract he really wants. Plus, if his #s this season stay down, he would fit that Stallworth type situation even more. So, there, I just upgraded it from "not likely" to "slightly more likely than not likely"

BradyManny

Based on what I'd read about him, I thought Eddie Royal would be a good fit for the Patriots.

Really, they want to find Deion Branch part 2.