patchick

In the constant merry-go-round of Landry-vs-Nelson-vs-Griffin-vs-Meriweather, I'm increasingly tempted to vote "none of the above." There is a lot of quality depth at the position this year, and I'd be perfectly happy if the Pats could nab a couple of these guys instead...

(Criteria include balanced pass/run skills, field smarts, ball skills, tackling. Order is alphabetical.)

Josh Gattis, Wake Forest
6'1" 206
A strong, physical player with passion and intensity that earn a lot of comparisons to Rodney Harrison. Speed/quickness measurables are only average, but plays faster than he measures. Sturdy against both run and pass. Smart player, but can get out of control at times due to intensity.

Will Gulley, Houston
6'3" 220
Gulley is a big, physical SS, a solid, hard-hitting tackler with excellent hands and ball skills -- a knack for both interceptions and forcing fumbles. Missed a season with a serious knee injury. Legitimate prospect who's often overlooked because he didn't get a combine invite.

Sabby Piscitelli, Oregon State
6'3" 220
Smart, experienced, athletic and a leader. Big, fast, durable, great hands for the interception. Only knock on him: not hugely physical, not the hardest hitter in the bunch.

Eric Weddle, Utah
5'11" 205
Versatile player who could line up at SS or CB but probably projects to FS. Accomplished, well-rounded DB in college with good on-and-off-field intelligence. Special teams standout. Not considered a great athlete, but has exceptional burst; 1.43 10-yard split!

John Wendling, Wyoming
6'1", 220
Excellent athlete with great speed/leaping ability. All-around smarts (Draddy finalist) with good field awareness. Strong frame, hard hitter. Level of competition a big question mark.

Seneschal2

Beam me up please...

Will you folks please get your Free Safeties (FS) and Strong Safeties (SS) organized?!

To save ya'll some time, some of the Safety prospects play one (FS) or the other (SS) -- and some have played both (FS/SS). And some (SS) may be better suited for (FS). Now I'll leave it to everyone to figure out who plays what.

__________________
"What we want to try to do is maximize each spot on the roster; we want to be stronger at No. 1 than the opponent, stronger at No. 25 than they are, and stronger at No. 53 than they are, we're always looking to upgrade the talent level on the team, and play together to be functional."
- Bill Belichick -

patchick

You know, I actually thought about it. But it's hard to project from college, where a star player is usually positioned for overall impact. And it's been said in the past that the distinction isn't so strong in the Pats' defense -- more of a left vs. right safety. Which is a long way of saying I wimped out and lumped them all together.

Seneschal2

Uh oh, I hope you weren't thinking I was referring to your excellent post patchick. I'd just finished reading 3 pages of posts and decided to have some fun. Read your post after mine was submitted. Love the left/right theory (an accurate one). I didn't want to mention that aspect of the Pats secondary -- there was enough confusion already.

BTW, terrific Safety options this draft -- ya think?

__________________
"What we want to try to do is maximize each spot on the roster; we want to be stronger at No. 1 than the opponent, stronger at No. 25 than they are, and stronger at No. 53 than they are, we're always looking to upgrade the talent level on the team, and play together to be functional."
- Bill Belichick -

SamBamsFan

Just my opinion. There are great choices. I just don't see any great 1st round choices @ 24 & 28. Just reinforcing what Patchick said (along w/ dryheat & many others).

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Box_O_Rocks

As one of those others I naturally concur, as far as I can see, there are decent looking big/fast Safeties who will go undrafted in this class. I'll be watching the Practice Squad turnover to see how many Pioli cycles through for team tryouts this Fall.

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Seneschal2

Also as one of 'The Others' (wasn't that the name of a supernatural flick?), been saying for some time now how deep the Safety position is, and if we pass on one in the first, chances are we'll still get one later on.

Actually, even if we grabbed Nelson in round one, I'd still go SS later.

__________________
"What we want to try to do is maximize each spot on the roster; we want to be stronger at No. 1 than the opponent, stronger at No. 25 than they are, and stronger at No. 53 than they are, we're always looking to upgrade the talent level on the team, and play together to be functional."
- Bill Belichick -