Grade our Draft

[State]

Chung - A - Best strong safety in the draft. Fills an immediate need. Only 21

Brace - B+ - Arguably the best pure 3-4 2 gap NT in the draft. Backup for Vince and allows BB to run some 4-3, stuff the run for certain teams etc. I'm thinking the Steelers/Chargers

Butler - A+ - Best CB next to Jenkins. Great value where we got him

Vollmer - B - Either great or a bust but have to love the upside. Looking around boards a lot of others think this is a great pick

Money spent - A + - As always we did all this in the second round and haven't broken the bank

Overall - A-

Great analysis. Money has to figure into it.

I'm higher on Brace than others because the loss of Vince Wolfork would almost cripple our 3-4 defense, with a dominant NT being the building block. You can't go long with an undersized guy there.

So we've addressed a weakness--Wright at backup NT--and done the same with our flexibility. That goal line d-line looks even nastier. At least on paper.

Not many teams are going to be able to score on the one yard line with a straight ahead plunge with Wolfork and Brace lined up on the center's ears.

 

[capetide]

According to Pro Football Weekly: Chung #1 rated strong safety; Butler #2 CB; Brace #5 DT & #2 NT; and Vollmer #19 OT. Not bad.

 

[BTTA]

We got some solid players, but I am completely confused about why no linebackers were taken. I guess we are signing taylor to play OLB and not finding a replacement at ILB? We could have had a great young LBing core after this draft, and instead we will have 3 aging starters. Grade: C+

You are working with assumptions that the Patriots apparently don't share. Perhaps Guyton and the young OLB's are ready to step up and be solid starters. If so, our core of LB's is actually very young and will get better every year for the next 5.

 

[State]

Come back to me in two years' time.

Chung could play like Eugene.

Vollmer never make it beyond the practice squad.

The CB suffer injury. Brace not make to past Le Kevin Smith on the depth chart.

Or the reverse.

But one thing's for sure: we didn't break the bank on this year's crop. So right away we know it's looking good. Now it's all up to the players and their health.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

I would rate it a C. They just could not resist trading down; like a dog on a full stomach chasing a garbage truck, even when they did not need the extra picks. They should have stayed put and grabbed best guys available such as Delmas.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Come back to me in two years' time.

Chung could play like Eugene.

Vollmer never make it beyond the practice squad.

The CB suffer injury. Brace not make to past Le Kevin Smith on the depth chart.

Or the reverse.

But one thing's for sure: we didn't break the bank on this year's crop. So right away we know it's looking good. Now it's all up to the players and their health.

Smith vs. Brace is looking like a huge TC battle.

 

[BTTA]

With the picks they had, they could have gotten the 3 defensive players and still drafted Oher.

It has been said in many places that Oher isn't smart enough to play in a Patriot offensive scheme.

 

[State]

It has been said in many places that Oher isn't smart enough to play in a Patriot offensive scheme.

You're almost certainly right. But boy does this go against the egalitarian ethos that one can become anything one sets his sights to.

IQ truly is an important factor, and it all ain't environmental. Oher's mother in the book Blind Side is depicted as a Memphis, Tenn., crack addict haphazardly producing a large brood she couldn't much care for.

I remember years ago saying the same thing about then-Patriots QB Michael Bishop. Some people were offended. Fantastic physical skills aside, Bishop's very low Wonderlic (a soft IQ test) indicated he wouldn't be able to make the lightning-quick progression reads necessary in the NFL.

The jury's still out on the Titans QB. Good luck to him.

 

[unoriginal]

Be fair now. I've defended Light about as much as anyone on this board. However, this team's tackles both have contract issues coming up within 2 years and light will be in his 30's when it's time to decide what to do with him. Add in the injury prone Neal and the notion of moving Kazcur to guard if needed, and a left tackle ready from the start would have been the right play in my mind.

You disagree, and that's fine, but there's no need to falsely place me in a camp that derides the current starters at the tackle positions.

Fine. I just happen to think the time to draft an NFL ready tackle is the year you have a hole, not two years previous. "NFL-ready" means he'll only really improve with game experience. No point drafting at a premium and then stashing someone on the bench for years.

 

[State]

You'd have to say B+. If any of the developmental players--Vollmer and Tate--comes through it goes up to A-/A.

If Darius Butler starts this season--and with the two second-rounders next year, probably a better draft--we're talking A/A+.

Go Patriots!

 

[Deus Irae]

Fine. I just happen to think the time to draft an NFL ready tackle is the year you have a hole, not two years previous. "NFL-ready" means he'll only really improve with game experience. No point drafting at a premium and then stashing someone on the bench for years.

That would be fine in a situation where you haven't been struggling with injuries on your line. That's not the case in New England.

 

[unoriginal]

That would be fine in a situation where you haven't been struggling with injuries on your line. That's not the case in New England.

Interesting point. At what other positions should we use our 1st round picks as primary backups?

 

[beans]

Is this Patrick Chung dude related to Eugene?

 

[WaterfallJumper]

Is this Patrick Chung dude related to Eugene?

Thankfully not. He's actually quite durable.

 

[Deus Irae]

Interesting point. At what other positions should we use our 1st round picks as primary backups?

Well, you could ask Brandon Meriweather about it, for example. He has recent experience.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

First round backup/rotational guys at impact positions seems like a good idea to me. We can develop the guy for a year or two, and then turn over the position full time when the vet retires or cashes in with free agency. Pittsburgh in particular manages their talent pool this way. They have a non-stop pipeline of prospects who come in and play at a very high level. It's a wise, forward-thinking investment in long term football excellence.

 

[Wheelssps]

First round backup/rotational guys at impact positions seems like a good idea to me. We can develop the guy for a year or two, and then turn over the position full time when the vet retires or cashes in with free agency. Pittsburgh in particular manages their talent pool this way. They have a non-stop pipeline of prospects who come in and play at a very high level. It's a wise, forward-thinking investment in long term football excellence.

Exactly. The opposite end of the spectrum is Detroit, who out of necessity need ALL of their picks to be "NFL ready".

 

[jeffbiologist]

If you listen to McShay or any of the pundits they all say it was a very weak draft to begin with. With as many options as we had, we COULD have chosen the trade-up/lose picks route to snipe our chosen player....but we didnt. Why?
One person can say trade down and accumulate "value", another can view the result as being indecisive and being "safe" with the picks, and another can call someone chicken ****. Strength/weakness/intelligence/ambivalence, I think we can agree BB gets a few more free passes on draft day.
The results of our draft today will be mostly placed on exactly how successful Oher is in the league. We basically traded him(top 12 talent on most boards) for Brace(whats the % bust on NTs??), a pot smoking diva WR with a torn up ACL and a future 2nd rd pick. I think its obvious we had that trade-down with GB set up pre-draft, similar to our trade with NO last year. And our biggest problem, lack of a pass rush, wasnt even close to being addressed. September is a LONG way away and I am sure we are far from having our final roster set....I just hope some of these guys are PLAYMAKERS not just football players. Only time will tell.

 

[mesoslo]

I would give this draft an A.

Everyone knew this was a deep draft. The patriots walked away with 4 picks in the second round's top ten, which with a little luck might pan out to be 4 first round picks. The patriots also got 2 more second round picks in 2010.

Drafting players is not an exact science, so if you walk away with more players to increase your probability of landing really good players for your team's future I say you did a pretty good job of drafting.

 

[alvinnf]

I give them a B. While I was high on PC. I feel they took him sooner than they should have and actually flipped where Butler might have gone. When Delmas was picked by the Lions they snatched up PC. While I like PC I wonder how they felt about Delmas, was he their guy or was PC their top safety. Three big DT's all of whom play in big time conferences against good competition. I actually think Brace could end up being a steal for us, he plays the anchor role well and relies less on having to get of the ball well, unlike Raji. Lastly if you look at Tate's highlights, he looks like he's already playing at another level, he could wind up being the best guy out of this draft class.