Is WR Deceker of Minny out for the season? - New England Patriots Forums

Ochmed Jones · 11-02-2009, 03:06 PM

If so this could be an opportunity so BB to do like Tate and take an injured WR and stash him on the PUP or even IR for a season. There is no denying the hands, route running and even a little blocking that Decker has. Depending on how they project his speed, a late round gamble of this kid could pay off rather nicely.

***mayoclinic*** · 11-02-2009, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ochmed Jones

If so this could be an opportunity so BB to do like Tate and take an injured WR and stash him on the PUP or even IR for a season. There is no denying the hands, route running and even a little blocking that Decker has. Depending on how they project his speed, a late round gamble of this kid could pay off rather nicely.

Yes, and he reportedly won't be ready to work out for teams before the draft. Tough break.

reamer · 11-02-2009, 05:16 PM

Ouch. I was a big fan of Decker's play. Nice routes, outstanding toughness, excellent body control and YAC--seems like an intelligent kid, too. I'd love to see him join Tate as part of our injury-special wide receiver corp.

On a slightly more . . . clinical . . . note, now that Decker is out and Williams quit his team, how does this shake up the order of the draft? I think both of those guys would have gone in the second round, at least, had they continued to play out the year. Factor in Bryant's suspension, and the WR class is certainly more intriguing this year.

Ochmed Jones · 11-03-2009, 02:22 PM

If we had a 7th round pick, maybe we could take a Tate like flier on Decker, but since we don't maybe BB can sign him as a UDFA.

***patchick*** · 11-03-2009, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ochmed Jones

If we had a 7th round pick, maybe we could take a Tate like flier on Decker, but since we don't maybe BB can sign him as a UDFA.

No worries, they didn't have the 7th they used on Edelman at the start of this year's draft, either.

(BTW, I just noticed that the write-up on Decker compares him to Jordy Nelson. And the write-up on Nelson compared him to Kevin Walter and Joe Jurevicius. Gee, what a coincidence that...

)

***ctpatsfan77*** · 11-03-2009, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ochmed Jones

If we had a 7th round pick, maybe we could take a Tate like flier on Decker, but since we don't maybe BB can sign him as a UDFA.

Pats have their 7 and the Iggles'.

***patchick*** · 11-03-2009, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctpatsfan77

Pats have their 7 and the Iggles'.

Ooh...I think you're right -- they traded both away at various points, but they ended up coming back home. The Pats' own went to Denver w/Le Kevin Smith, but came back in the Hochstein deal. Then there were the conditional deals for P. Burgess and Matthews that weren't triggered.

IIRC the remaining unknown is the extra conditional pick for D. Burgess?

***ctpatsfan77*** · 11-13-2009, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patchick

Ooh...I think you're right -- they traded both away at various points, but they ended up coming back home. The Pats' own went to Denver w/Le Kevin Smith, but came back in the Hochstein deal. Then there were the conditional deals for P. Burgess and Matthews that weren't triggered.

IIRC the remaining unknown is the extra conditional pick for D. Burgess?

AFAIK, the Raiders don't actually owe the Pats anything for Burgess' suckitude.

* * *

On a related note: if the Pats used, say, a late 2 on Decker, might they consider trading Edelperson?

DocE · 11-18-2009, 12:59 AM

As a Minnesota fan, I thought I'd add some information on Decker. He is out for the season with a foot injury that has been described in at least one article as Lisfranc. He went to North Carolina for surgery and the surgery was a success (then again, aren't they all described that way). He was interviewed during halftime of the Gophers last game and he hope to begin pool workouts in a few weeks. I am pretty sure he won't be cleared to run full speed until June. This will put a huge dent in his draft status as not only will he not be able to workout for teams prior to the draft, but he won't be able to participate in minicamps after the draft. Also of note is that Decker was basically lost for the season last year during the 8th game of year with a bad ankle sprain. He came back for the last game of the year, but was not close to 100%.

As a player on the field, he's got great hands, is very smart, runs strong, can get up and high point the ball and there is no questioning his toughness. On the negative side, I would not classify him as having either elite speed or elite quickness which makes gaining separation in the NFL difficult.

The best play I have seen from Decker in regards to a possible NFL future was him beating Vontae Davis in man coverage on a fade route for about a 25-30 yard TD.

I don't think Decker is explosive enough to be a gunner on the punt team, but I believe he could help in kick coverage and kick return (not as the returner).

In my opinion the level of success Decker achieves in the NFL (assuming health) is almost solely dependent on his ability to separate from NFL db's. I have no doubts about his size, strength, hands, or ability to decipher an NFL playbook.

Ochmed Jones · 11-18-2009, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DocE

As a Minnesota fan, I thought I'd add some information on Decker. He is out for the season with a foot injury that has been described in at least one article as Lisfranc. He went to North Carolina for surgery and the surgery was a success (then again, aren't they all described that way). He was interviewed during halftime of the Gophers last game and he hope to begin pool workouts in a few weeks. I am pretty sure he won't be cleared to run full speed until June. This will put a huge dent in his draft status as not only will he not be able to workout for teams prior to the draft, but he won't be able to participate in minicamps after the draft. Also of note is that Decker was basically lost for the season last year during the 8th game of year with a bad ankle sprain. He came back for the last game of the year, but was not close to 100%.

As a player on the field, he's got great hands, is very smart, runs strong, can get up and high point the ball and there is no questioning his toughness. On the negative side, I would not classify him as having either elite speed or elite quickness which makes gaining separation in the NFL difficult.

The best play I have seen from Decker in regards to a possible NFL future was him beating Vontae Davis in man coverage on a fade route for about a 25-30 yard TD.

I don't think Decker is explosive enough to be a gunner on the punt team, but I believe he could help in kick coverage and kick return (not as the returner).

In my opinion the level of success Decker achieves in the NFL (assuming health) is almost solely dependent on his ability to separate from NFL db's. I have no doubts about his size, strength, hands, or ability to decipher an NFL playbook.

I have only seen a hand full of Gopher games, but the ones I did see, he is always getting open and on the replays, he looks to get open with quickness at the LOS.

Not sure what he runs, but I think he is worth a seventh round gamble.