IcyPatriot

I think there are 2 ways to think about this draft.

1- take the best player available who fits the system
2- Take the best player avialable that will grow into the system.

If you take step 2, you acknowledge that your current roster will mainly be your team this year and anyone drafted will help when ready. If that's the case, a small moveup, possible he is still there will be Jonathan Joseph.

Assuming the Patriots would entertain a moveup in he 2nd round should he last...I think Belichick would be wise to invest in Joseph for the future. By seasons end or 2007...a tandem of Hobbs/JosephWilson will be fire in the backfield.

IcyPatriot

BelichickFan

He's one guy I haven't paid a lot of attention to but the opinions I've noticed on him seem to be all over - some love him, others think he'd be a horrible pick before the mid 2nd round.

At this point I'm not real interested in a first round CB. Assuming we sign Warfield, we're kind of set at CB with, in some order, Hobbs, Gay, Samuel, Warfield, Scott. And Poteat if we keep six.

We're taking either Carpenter, Wimbley, Greenway or Lawson in Round one . . . or another similar player that has slipped my mind for now . . . I am very confident in this.

BelichickFan

Or we could take the best player who fits a need, as long as he's reasonable value. That's what we usually do and that's what I think we'll do this year.

patchick

With the new contract length rules, a player like Joseph becomes a little problematic. While opinions differ, the general consensus seems to be, in the words of condraft.com: "If Joseph gets good coaching at the next level, he could be an excellent corner in a few years." But with a 4-year cap on 2nd round contracts, that's just not worth waiting for. I'd rather go with a Richard Marshall, who doesn't have the same measurables but is a couple steps closer to a finished product.

In a way, this could turn traditional draft valuations upside down. You might be more willing to spring for a raw guy or conversion project with spectacular upside (e.g. Manny Lawson) in round 1 , where a patient team will have the chance to reap the fruits of its labors. But I don't think Joseph's quite at that level, either. So on my board he kind of falls through the cracks, slipping down to a point where the Patriots are unlikely to land him.

Ochmed Jones

There's a bit of risk with Joseph. He's older, already 23-24. He's only played 1 year of major college football, so he has much to learn. He played beside an awesome FS in Ko, not sure how much that helped him, but it probably didn't hurt him.
On the other side, he's fast, fairly quick and seems very dedicated to the game. Plenty of upside left.
I think he'll wind up being a decent player in the right system, but proabably not in 2006. He has a lot of learning ahead of him.