patchick

College wide receivers are notoriously difficult to evaluate. Too much depends on the QB and the system. WR has the lowest hit rate of any position in the high rounds. And last year was a perfect example.

Only one rookie receiver even made it onto NFL.com's top-30 receiving yards chart--Colston, a 7th rounder. Meanwhile anybody who hung out on this board before the draft got an earful of Mike Hass, Maurice Stovall and Jason Avant. Guess what? Those three players combined to equal the 2006 production of...Chad Jackson.

Could the Patriots use a young stud WR? You bet. Can they find one? Flip a coin: heads Deion Branch, tails Bethel Johnson. And I surely don't know any better than they do. So this year I'm saving some precious time by not thinking about WRs at all. Ah,feels good.

Off to review some linebacker measurables!

DaBruinz

I'm pretty sure that Terry Glenn made it into the Top 30 as a rookie WR. And I am pretty sure that Anquan Boldin did.

Hank Baskett was another player talked about quite a bit. And Baskett had a very good season.

BelichickFan

Ignore them as much as you like, history tells us we're much more likely to draft a WR on the first day than a LB . . . so I'd head off to check out the WR if I were you.

Seymour93

Greg Jennings also had a solid season for the Packers.

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patsfan55

stop tormenting me
i prayed for him
and look what happened
he goes with our pick
but to the pack
and has a solid yr
woulda been much better if he hadnt gotten hurt
look at how his numbers dipped after the ankle injury

in order of games:
1 catch 5 yards
6 rec 67 yds 1td (long of 23)
3-101-1td (75)
5-86 (30)
5-105-1td (46)
1-14 (injured in this game)
didnt play next
5-69 (25)
3-38 (14)
1-26 (vs Pats)
6-50 (17)
2-14 (7)
5-50 (17)
1-5
1-2
didnt play last game?
he didnt score a td after he got hurt
in weeks 2-5 he had 67 or more yds each week, after the injury he only went over that mark once
he still finished with respectable rookie numbers of 45 rec-632 yds-3tds

man i wish we had gotten him

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“My favorite ring? I've always said, you know, I always said the next one. The next one is the best,” Brady says.

bosfan

Think WR is a lower priority this year and any additions will be a FA or lower draft pick. If we get another 3rd as J.Kraft speculated in Felgers interview we might go after one on day one depending on what is available.

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BelichickFan

Our WR are in worse shape now than any year since 2002 (Branch didn't really turn it on until 2003). Caldwell and Gaffney are OK. For their price they're great value but they're run of the mill WR. Jackson, we're hoping for. Other than an aging Troy, that's it. Unless we sign a good vet FA I fully expect a Day One WR.

patchick

But guys, this is exactly my point! 32 WRs were drafted in 2006. The 3 who looked best in their rookie years: a 2nd-rounder (Jennings), a 7th-rounder (Colston) and a UDFA (Baskett). You might as well throw darts at a wall!


Oh, I'm not saying the Patriots won't draft a WR, I'm sure they will. I'm just saying that I'm not going to waste my time trying to sort the wheat from the chaff because it's too big a crapshoot. I liked 3 receivers last year, Chad Jackson, Greg Jennings, and Mike Hass. Again, looks like a virtual random sample of quality. (Yes it's way too early to say, but we have to judge rookie seasons because they're all we've got.)

I'd also argue that history tells us that it's hugely likely that the Pats will take a linebacker on day 1. Here's the history I'm looking at: the Patriots completely neglected the OL in the draft for years, particularly the interior line. It was declared the #1 rock-solid Pats tendency, don't waste high picks on any lineman other than a LT. So what did they do? Turned around and spent 2 day-1 picks on OT/OG tweeners. When you neglect a position it creates a hole to be plugged.

everlong

After Calvin Johnson this years WR class is really hard to pick. They are all flawed on some level.

Jarrett is a boom/bust type of player. He has size but not great speed. Best case he's Keyshawn, worst case Mike Williams. He scares me the most.

Bowe reminds me of Michael Clayton who's been solid for the Bucs. If he went elsewhere perhaps he would be a lot better but at this point as the #15 pick in the draft he's David Givens.

Meacham is similar to Bowe with slightly better speed, but Bowe is considered a much better blocker.

Ginn/Gonzalez are both smaller with good speed. The knock on Ginn is being able to make a catch in traffic. Both have questions about durability in at the pro level.

Rice is always injured and from what I saw isn't a great route runner.

I do not think they'll use a first rounder on one of these players but if they did I wouldn't be completely shocked either. If they go for a WR with one of their first 3 picks my guess is it'll be like last year where they trade up in the second round to grab one of these guys that slipped out of the first round.

First round my guess is CB with one pick and S or I/OLB with the other.

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"When Peyton Manning was a kid he used to go to bed at night and dream about throwing the winning touchdown for the Saints in the Superbowl. And on Sunday he did."

There's only two conclusions for Patriots fans on rookies. They are either a bust or being fitted for their bust in Canton.


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shirtsleeve

I totally agree with you, patchick. WR' s are a gamble at any point in the draft. I tried yelling that from the rooftops last year. The Pats could do anything at anytime in the draft, but I wont look at them either.