Ochmed Jones

BB has a love/hate relationship with the WR position in the draft. Lots of second round picks used on this position,but outside of Branch, not a lot of success.

So now we come to this April's draft. Almost all the teams WRs are FA so this figures to be the year BB goes back to the draft pool for a youngster.

Assuming Allen of Cal is off the board early, that leaves some interesting talent available at #32 when we pick. Patterson from Tenn., Woods from USC, and undersized Austin from WV

Looking at these guys tape, none strike me as Patriot type players. Although Woods is intriguing but appears a bit slow footed.

Late Round 2 of this draft does not appear to contain any option, unless Hopkins from Clemson or Williams from WV drops.

So is this the year BB goes for a WR in round 1 or does BB wait until round 3 or later to draft a WR and then, how much do we really expect that player to contribute on the field? And remember there are only so many veterans retreads on the FA Market that BB could potentially sign.

patfanken

Interesting question OJ. I am a big believer is NOT drafting a WR early in the draft, but given that we are likely to be drafting in the 30's again, it is kind of moot point, because our "early picks" are going to be at 30ish and 60ish. Not exactly "blue chip" country.

That being said, I think WR SHOULD be a prime concern for this year's draft/FA period. Contrary to your remarks, I was under the impression that this was a really deep year for WRs. Am I mistaken? It might just be an impression, but it seems like there are a lot of tall fast WRs on just about every division one team. I'd like to think that one of them might wind up with the Pats...at some round and a mid-level FA can blossom in this offense

kennyb

I think it's almost guaranteed to be a mistake. Apparently the offense is so hard that many simply can't learn it. They'd be better off getting a "smart" WR with good hands who knows where to be in a later round.

Connor vernon wr duke could be one.

manxman2601

Unless we want BB floundering at trying to fill the position like these last eight months, we better draft a quality WR.

patsfaninpa

I like DeAndre Hopkins from Clemson if he comes out. He's 6'1" 195lb. One of those big fast receivers most teams seem to have. But, we shy away from. No idea how smart he is. Or, how he runs the dreaded 3-cone drill. But, he does have 69 rec 1214 yards for a nifty 17.6 ypc and 16 td's. As a soph he was 72r 978y 5 td and a frosh 51r 626y 4 td. So, there's a lot of film on him. I think once he does his workouts he'll move up the boards. Tavon Austin seems like the sort of kid BB likes. Can cut on a dime and is still very fast. Versatile. 300 yards rushing against OU. Outstanding return guy.

At the beginning of the year, I thought we'd go defense, defense and more defense in the upcoming draft. Now, with Edelman's injury issues and pending free-agency, and Lloyds ok but nothing special performance. Oh, and Welker isn't signed yet either. It's really a need. Don't see how anyone can think otherwise now.

mayoclinic

What exactly do you think is a "quality WR"? Is it defined by the value of the draft choice? A 1st round pick? Spending a high 2nd like we did on Chad Jackson? Spending a 3rd like we did on Brandon Tate and Taylor Price? What exactly do you have in mind? Are Wes Welker, Julio Cruz and Miles Austin not "quality WRs" because they went undrafted? Is it defined by some set of measurables, productivity or other criteria that you would care to specify?

Our offense is extremely complicated and very precision oriented. Brady is extremely demanding, and very finnicky about who he bonds with. Some guys make it, others don't. From what I can tell, it's hit or miss, and it's not particularly related to the success of the WR in other systems. THere are some criteria that can be used to weed guys out (guys who can't digest the playbook, guys who are selfish, guys who aren't willing to block, guys who can't run the route tree, guys who can't run precise routes), but it's just not that simple, or our coaching staff would have figured it out by now. They're not morons.

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DocHoliday

Sometimes I feel it may be worth bringing along a WR who is here simply to go deep. Dallas has one, Morgan I think. Hes the guy that came in, promptly ran downfield and caught two 40 yard throws in double coverage and disappeared for the rest of the game.

Megatron was running sideline routes for a couple years until he finally started working more of the field this year.

Versatility is nice, but I think it might help to throw a guy on the field who can draw PI calls - something we just don't get enough of.

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mayoclinic

That's not unreasonable, but you can get a deep speed burner late in the draft.

I like Manx's guy Markus Wheaton. He reminds me of a Greg Jennings kind of receiver. Plenty of speed to go deep, plenty of toughness to go over the middle, runs good routes. I think he's the best fit for the Pats outside of Tavon Austin.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi

Snake Eyes

Jeff Demps is a burner and can likely go deep very well, I wonder if the team has that in mind. Also, Brian Hartline owned Talib deep a few times last week, I wonder how he'd fit in, assuming we could get him in free agency along with resigning our current guys.

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D-Money

I feel Woods will be a player at the next level.He has been battling an ankle injury all year.He runs very good routes.