patchick

Barring a sudden leap forward by Chad Jackson, there's a clear spot on this team for a lightning-quick WR who can be a legitimate weapon on returns. The middle rounds look to have good value in this realm. Who do you like?

How about:

Dexter Jackson, Appalachian State
5'9' 182 and runs a blazing 4.33 with excellent quickness. Explosive and elusive; not much of a leaper. Strong Pats interest rumored.

Eddie Royal, Virginia Tech
5'10" 184 , tremendous athlete with speed (4.39/2.53/1.46), quickness, strength (24 reps) and leaping ability. Smart, hard worker, not a refined route runner at this point but instant contributor on returns.

BradyManny

Yeah, I am a major Chad Jackson homer, but kick returning shouldn't be part of his duties. It's not the right fit.

So, I too, feel the Pats should be in the market for a KR, whether it comes in the form of a corner or a wideout, I'm not sure. Frankly, there's more room on the roster for a CB/returner at this point b/c wideout is pretty crowded, but the two you listed were two guys who interested me.

Donnie Avery & Harry Douglas are two more guys I've noted as having an impact as a KR.

dryheat44

Both residents on my third-round target list -- Royal longtime resident, Jackson a relative newcomer.

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RussFrancis

In short, I think if either of those guys were to fall into the 3rd round, probably the late 3rd round, we'd possibly be all over one of them. Our return guy needs to be versatile enough to fill another role as well. One of those guys would be either a 4th or 5th WR, depending on injury. Because I dont expect either to move ahead of the other 4 WRs otherwise. Ive seen enough of Royal to know how talented he is. Not enough of Jackson. But Id imagine either guy could fill that back-up slot role behind Welker.

PATSNUTme

We can get a KR without going WR. Some of the DB's have KR experience. Last night I reading about a CB that I totally overlooked for some reason.

I don't have my guides here but he's a CB from UConn who we may be able to get in the 2nd. He has blazing speed and he has good size and all the other things that you want in a CB. His name excapes me right now (total mental block).

patchick

I agree with this, but I don't really see that player on the board. McKelvin is the only elite KR who's a cornerback; Cason and Chevis Jackson are good on punts. Possibly Terrence Wheatley?

On offense, I'll also toss out a name I'm fond of mentioning: Darius Reynaud of West Virginia. He's an RB/WR tweener -- think 2/3 Kevin Faulk, 1/3 Wes Welker. Not the classic breakaway threat on kick returns but has the kamikaze instinct and good burst (10 yd splits much more impressive than 40 times).

patchick

Ahh, Tyvon Branch...totally forgot about him as a returner.

Edit: just looked back and remembered some of the reasons he's not on my CB list, like this red-flag phrase: "he does not like being challenged by hard coaching."

RussFrancis

Im personally hoping we find a way to move up into the mid 2nd round to pick up Chris Johnson to handle both kicks and punts. He could not only fill a role as a depth RB, but considering how many balls he actually caught, he could also learn to handle some receiving duties as well. They dont really come much faster than that kid. Plus, he's a little more solidly built. More in the 200lb range, as opposed to 180.

PATSNUTme

Now ProFW had the exact opposite take on him. They had him as a smart, team player and coachable. I guess that's was the draft is so inexact. Lot's of opinions but they are all good because who know which is the correct one.

BradfordPatsFan

I was coming over here to ask why we had to find a kick returner/wr myself, and I had Branch in mind.

Trust me, UConn's head coach, Randy Edsall, is from the Tom Coughlin coaching tree. He is not a soft coach. I think TB would be a great fit here. He has excelled in zone schemes, and while he doesn't have a ton of picks, it is because teams routinely did not throw to his side very often the last two years.

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