FreeTedWilliams

His latest mock:

http://www.nflplayers.com/players/player.aspx?id=22529

I highly doubt this will happen, but it would be great if it did.

24. New England: Patrick Willis, ILB, Mississippi
Willis shows excellent instincts and is a superb tackler, qualities that would seem to make him right at home in a complex scheme that needs some youth and depth at inside linebacker.



28. **New England: Reggie Nelson, S, Florida
Nelson, who has good speed and athleticism, fills an obvious need for the Patriots. With some added bulk and strength, he could be an exceptional player for many years to come.

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The Jets look like a Super Bowl contender right now about as much as Rosie O’Donnell looks like a threat for the Miss America crown. -NY Post 12/19/2011


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PATSNUTme

Kiper has both going to the Patriots too.

But, I think we will have to trade up to get Willis.

cstjohn17

It will be interesting to see if Willis falls whether the Patriots are interested. I don't think he gets past the Giants but if he is there at 24 and the Patriots don't take him, it adds some additional drama to the process.

PATSNUTme

Actually, with the Bills losing Fletcher-Baker and now hearing Spikes is on the way out, I think they are the ones targeting Willis. We will have to talk nice to the 49ers to get ahead of the Bills.

BelichickFan

And what do you think the odds of that are ? I think it's 50-50 at best that we draft Willis at #24, let alone trading up for him. We all know the situation with drafting LB here; the chance that we'll go from not drafting one higher than Round 5 to using more than a first rounder is unreasonable.

cstjohn17

If he drops to 20 then I am a little bit interested in trading up for him, moving up to 11 or 12 doesn't make sense.

He is a good (not great) LB with some serious size limitations (237 at his pro day). IMO he is not as good fit for the Patriots as Carpenter was last year and he was picked at 18.

14thDragon

I figure that is the likely spot. Unless somehow Peterson falls like mana from the heavens to them. I figure it was a lot like last year hoping the Wimbley was going to fall to 21, never had a chance.

The question is, once Willis comes off the board, does that create a domino effect knocking more LBs off the board in a hurry. Thus negating the possiblities of Beason, Posluzny, or Timmons at 24 or 28.

Well, based on past drafts, they should not have valued a guard or a running back high enough to pick in the first round either. So unless you are trying to say it is going to be DL or TE, history is not a great guide here. (I could live with another DL, but so help me if it is another TE....) If the value of Willis is deemed to be higher then that of guys they would expect to be there at 24 and 28, then go ahead and make the deal. I could certainly see such a case being made.

BelichickFan

I've heard that argument before but I don't buy it.

RB ? That's completely different as we have one starting RB. That's ONE. 4.5% of the starting lineup. We have 4 starting LB, 18% of the starting lineup. So if picks were made regardless of position we would draft a starting LB 4 times as often as a starting RB.

Guard ? There's a little stronger argument there but if you look at Belichick's drafts in NE they're dotted with more OL than LB. OL . . . even before the 1 and 3 in 2005 we used a #2 and a #4 in 2001. Sure, it's not a lot and they were both OT not OG. Still, that's two OL in the first four rounds. How many LB ? Zero. Not just zero in the first 4 rounds but Belichick has only ever drafted ONE LB, Ryan Claridge. Count the conversion project Mincey if you like but only one college LB has ever been drafted here by Belichick.

Deby it all you want but the RB argument is weak and the Guard argument, while stronger, is still weak compared to the LB.

sebman2112

Here we go again. He has serious size limitations? So, a LB who came in at 242lbs at the combine has serious size limitations? You realize he has the frame to add another 10-15lbs right? Also, you realize most ILB's aren't really any bigger than 240-255lbs? It's usually OLB's who are 6'4"-6'6" and weigh 260-270lbs, not ILB's. Also, Bruschi is 6'1", and weighs 247lbs, has shorter arms, and is a lot slower than Willis, so I can't see your believing Willis is to small.

I mean really people since when is a fast 6'1 1/2" 242lbs LB with long arms to small? The guys about the same size as Harris, but he has longer arms, and is faster, yet I don't see people talking about Harris being to small.

Oh, and Carpenter was an OLB

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14thDragon

Are you trying to say there was ample evidence that a RB or a Guard was going to be the overall first selection in the last two drafts? Based soley on previous draft history? Color me a bit skeptical. But if you look at the choices in context, it makes perfect sense. In both cases they had an aging veteran and wanted to draft the replacement.

From my POV, LB has come due for some upgrade. Perhaps I am completely wrong and the FO does not trust college LBs. Or perhaps they were simply happy with who they had. But I am not going to say they are not going to do something because they have not done it before. I do know there pattern is that if they want a guy, they will go and get him.