DaBruinz

This is my preliminary list of guys who I like. Some I have watched play, others I haven't and I am going by what I have read. I know that it will change as I learn more about the different players.

RB: D'Angelo Williams, Laurence Maroney, Maurice Drew

FB/TE: Matt Bernstein, David Thomas

O-line: Jonathan Scott, Jeremy Trueblood, Pat Ross, Greg Eslinger, Will Montgomery, Daryn Colledge, Charles Spencer, Chris Kuper, Jhari Evans

WR: Maurice Stovall, Jonathan Orr, Todd Watkins (who can ALSO perform kick off duties), Cory Rogers, Miles Austin

NT: Haloti Ngata or Babatunde Oshinowo

OLB: Tamba Hali, Mathias Kiwanuka, Stanley McGlover,

ILB: Kai Parham or Spencer Havener, Tim Dobbins

CB: Ashton Youboty, Anwar Phillips, Jonathan Joseph, Will Blackmon, and Marcus Maxey

S: Michael Huff, Bernard Pollard, Demeco Ryans, Freddie Keisho, Keith Ellison, Tim McGarigle

I'd really like the Pats to take Drew, who I think can be more than a 3rd down back, and Bernstein, who I think they can make into their #1 FB and #3 TE because of his hands, his blocking ability, his ability to pick up the blitz, and his athleticism.

I have taken Darnell Bing and Greg Blue off my list for safeties. Bing, I keep hearing bad things about. And Blue, I wasn't impressed with when I watched him though I put him on my list because I thought I might have been too critical of him. Then it was brought to my attention that he didn't have an interception in his entire college career. That's not a good thing for a safety.

patsfaninpa

What do you think of Manny Lawson Dabruinz? I know you put
a lot of work into studying the draft. He seems like a good fit
for our defense. I'm worried about Willie losing a step. Our
pass rush struggled at times. We didn't put much pressure on
Plummer at all. I think speed off of the corner would help our
defense get off of the field. I follow PSU so I get to see a lot
of the Big 10 games. I think you should put A.Zemaitis on
your cb list. I'm curious to see his 40 time. Along with Anwar.
I view Anwar more as a nickel back. Bigger cb who can cover
the slot wr and maybe blitz. I think Zemaitis can become a
solid starting cb in the NFL.

If you're looking for a safety. I like Pat Watkins from FSU.
He's a big, rangy kid who will probably get stronger once he
gets out of school. He was a special teams demon too. He
looked outstanding against PSU in Orange Bowl.

nickw308810

Interesting list. A lot of players I would add and take off of it though. But I guess that is all just opinion stuff. The one question I do have, is why do you have LBs like Ryans, McGarigle, and Ellison listed at S? I don't understand that at all. I also am not so sure how well Hali or Kiwi would translate to a 3-4 OLB, but possibly could, but I don't think I want to try it.

mgteich

Please review the thread on strong safeties.

It is the belief of many here that a great 225 pound college linebacker who can cover may have a future on the patriots. However, that future is as a safety, likely as a strong safety.

BTW, a great 255 pound college DE whose specialty is rushing the QB, is called by the patriots "an OLB"

A tweener for the patriots is someone between 225 and 250 pounds. It is not clear where we would put such a defensive player.

patchick

If I had to make a prediction right now, I think I'd pick Lawson as my likeliest selection at #21. The one question I'd have is his football dedication.

How about Steve Fifita of Utah at NT? Stout, strong, immovable bowling ball who should be available in the middle rounds.

DaBruinz

I will be honest. Manny Lawson scares me. He has skyrocketed up the charts and when you hear words like "His workout numbers will boost his stock" another name comes to mind. Mike Mamula.

I think that taking Lawson at 21 would be a massive reach. Entering the season, Lawson was rated as a 5th - 6th rounder by a few sites. Guys who tend to massively jump up like that tend not to do too well.

As for Fifita, I worry about his size. He is only 5'11. That is significantly different than the 6'5 that Ted Washington was and the 6'4 that Vince Wilfork is. Now, the guy is supposedly 322. I would wager that he'd be a decent 2nd day pick or possibly a street free agent.

DaBruinz

Nick -
As MG pointed out (Thanks MG), Ryans, McGarigle and Ellison are too small to play ILB in the Pats 3-4. In the Pats 3-4, an ILB (which is DIFFERENT than a MLB) needs to be around 6'1 or taller and weigh in at 245 - 260. This is because the ILB has to be able to take on guards at times.

The OLBs tend to be taller (6'3-6'5) and weigh 250-270. Hali is 1 inch shorter and Kiwanuka is 1 inche Taller. I still think they could fit into the mold becuase of their abilities. As for not trying it, well, that is your perogative. From what I have seen from Belichick, he would try it.

nickw308810

A 225 pound LB may be able to move to strong safety on another team. But not the Patriots. Our DBs have to be versatile, and none of these LBs are going to be fast enough to play SS for us. You look at our Safeties now and you have Wilson, a former CB, at FS and Harrison, a former FS, at SS. In our secondary we need athletic players who can cover WRs even at the SS position. Ellison couldn't even keep up with Bruce Gradkowski.
And of course we look for speedy DEs to play OLB for us. Believe me I understand how it works. All I was saying is that I don't believe either Hali or Kiwanuka can be that type of player.

nickw308810

Ryans, McGarigle, and Ellison are too small to play ILB for the Pats. You are absolutely right about the type of player that we need to play ILB. Not really sure why you explained it, but I am sure if helped someone out. You have the perfect players listed there with Kai Parham and Spencer Havner. But move the 3 you mentioned to SS? That just doesn't make sense. If we line up DBs with 4.6-4.7 speed in Belichicks complex defense they are just going to get toasted. These guys aren't Michael Boulware, they aren't making that switch.
Could Kiwi and Hali make that move? Possibly, but I just don't think they would excel in that position. If you are going to pick a "tweener" as I hope we do, there are better players out there to make that move.
Sorry that I posted pretty much the same thing twice, I just felt both posts were so wrong that I needed to respond to them both.

DaBruinz

Sorry to burst your bubble, Nick, but you are wrong. Ryan Demeco runs "slow" at 4.6. Ellison is only slightly slower at 4.7. That is plenty fast to play SS in the Pats defense. BTW, before you go talking about what players a guy can't keep up with, you'd better make sure the guy you're using as an examply isn't faster. It makes your example worthless. Gradkowski is a 4.57 in the 40.

As for what you believe, how about backing it up with something? Like reasoning?

See, I've caught 3 of Hali's games. In each game he was a house. His hunger and drive is that of a Patriot player. And you could see it. He's also a leader on his team.

As for Kiwi, He's got the skills and I don't see why he couldn't be a solid pass-rushing OLB either.

Sorry, but you haven't convinced me of anything. Especially since Don Davis was able to convert from LB to safety and he's in the 240 range. He was able to keep up with players whom I didn't think he'd be able to stay with.