Possibly a total of 12 picks for this year

[RayClay]

Are we really counting on 7th round picks as a big boost? lol

A 7th round pick is a free agent without a possible bidding war.

Guyton, Woods and others prove you just sign the guy if you forgot to pick him in 7.

I'd much rather lose some comp picks because we picked up a valuable cheap vet.

 

[DaBruinz]

It might allow us to package some picks together to move around a bit in the draft.

I don't see us needing another 12 players in the team.

Comp picks can't be traded.

 

[DaBruinz]

It's one of the deepest ever, with many underclassmen declaring because of the threat of a rookie cap next season.

This is why I feel the Pats are putting far more work into scouting than FA.

Actually, there are no more underclassmen declaring this year than in any other year. The agents tried (via the media) to scare more underclassmen into the draft, but the NFL Draft Projection committee was up to the task in terms of telling juniors where they were likely to be drafted.

 

[BradyBranch39]

if it's so deep maybe we can trade a 4 this year for a 2 next.

 

[JMarr]

if it's so deep maybe we can trade a 4 this year for a 2 next.

If there was ever a year for BB to trade around in the draft to get the guys he wants this year, this is it. Pats' strategy of always seeking value over the long haul should be changed, potential rookie cap be damned. Worry about next year when it gets here. There may not even be a season next year.

If he trades picks into next year then either
1) the trade offer we get makes it a total no-brainer. 2) the Pats just aren't feeling as much urgency to win now as they should be.

IMO the "player needs to fit the Pat's prototype at any given position" gets thrown out the window this year and the Pats' grading system undergoes some serious adjustments. They will tolerate more risk this draft.

 

[Triumph]

Its time to hit on 3 - 4 players that will be cornerstones of the team looking towards the future.

1.CB
2 WR
3 OLB
4 TE

 

[patriotscpfc]

Comp picks can't be traded.

Yes, I know.

I mean the other 7th/6th rounders we have from trades (and our own picks)

Could be thrown in if we want to move up/down slots. Maybe a way of getting an extra 2011 pick. Or a throw-in in a trade for players.

 

[Bertil]

Given the success the Pats have had with UDFAs, getting the jump on the rest of the league via untradeable, end-of-draft picks might be fine. As we know, Bodden was a UDFA, Mike Wright, Pierre Woods, Patten. They may actually be more likely to make the team than the three second rounders...Oh wait, that's NOT good news.

 

[WelshPat]

The draft is very deep yeah, but too say there will still be talent in the 7th round, thats crazy man. No draft is that deep, once you get past the 4th round your really just taking flyers

 

[patsinthesnow]

Don't forget BB and his undrafted finds as well in the last couple of years.

2008- Gary Guyton: Starting ILB
Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis: A depth back/ST player who could see more action.

2009: Brian Hoyer: The Brady back-up his rookie year. BB must see some real talent.

 

[Prufrock]

I've always wondered, who was the player that turned into the comp pick that they used to select Brady?

 

[DaBruinz]

Don't forget BB and his undrafted finds as well in the last couple of years.

2008- Gary Guyton: Starting ILB
Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis: A depth back/ST player who could see more action.

2009: Brian Hoyer: The Brady back-up his rookie year. BB must see some real talent.

BB is awful at finding talent. That is if you listen to the whiners on this board. The ones who slam and bash him about nearly every pick.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Don't forget BB and his undrafted finds as well in the last couple of years.

2008- Gary Guyton: Starting ILB
Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis: A depth back/ST player who could see more action.

2009: Brian Hoyer: The Brady back-up his rookie year. BB must see some real talent.

And, as I've pointed out before, here are the guys they signed as UDFAs in 2005:

RB DeCori Birmingham, C Travis Conway, FB Kyle Eckel, K Robbie Gould, G Ryan Krug, OT Mike Lorenz, FB Matt Phillips, LB Andre Torrey, S Raymond Ventrone and DL Mike Wright.

 

[patsinthesnow]

BB is awful at finding talent. That is if you listen to the whiners on this board. The ones who slam and bash him about nearly every pick.

Too many people think that Mel Kiper and Todd McShay know everything. There is a reason they are working for ESPN and not an NFL team.

I remember Kiper on Vollmer: " I had him as late 4th,early 5th, kind of an odd choice by BB".

They thought Gholston was going to be all-pro. Don't listen to their position rankings to determine who's a better player.

 

[jmt57]

I wonder what the NFL's official line was for reducing the draft to seven rounds. Even with the equivalent of an additional round with the number of compensatory picks, teams still sign more undrafted free agents than drafted players each year. I assume the owners want to limit the draft in order to control costs; i.e., fewer players expecting a signing bonus and more players making the rookie minimum salary. But it has to be rather chaotic as the draft winds down; 32 teams frantically trying to contact ten or twelve players each and agree to a deal, while those players are being told 'here's my offer, take it or leave it'. I'm not advocating a return to a 17-round draft, but considering how many undrafted free agents are signed within hours of the end of the draft it seems like a few more rounds may be worth considering.

 

[Patspsycho]

The draft is very deep yeah, but too say there will still be talent in the 7th round, thats crazy man. No draft is that deep, once you get past the 4th round your really just taking flyers

So Edelman is not talented?

 

[jmt57]

I've always wondered, who was the player that turned into the comp pick that they used to select Brady?

The NFL doesn't publicly announce what free agent was lost to result in a compensatory pick, so it's just speculation as to who the Pats lost that resulted in that pick. But after the 1999 season the Pats lost Scott Zolak, Todd Collins, Mark Wheeler, Devin Wyman, Dave Wohlabaugh, and Tom Tupa. So it was one of those players; Tom Tupa, perhaps?


EDIT: AdamJT13 is the expert on compensatory picks - national sites rely on him for information and analysis - and he says it was Todd Collins.

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/10/225262-tom-brady-compensatory-pick.html

 

[Ochmed Jones]

The last time there was a deep draft, BB kept all his picks and did not make any trades that year. I could easily see that happening again this year.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Too many people think that Mel Kiper and Todd McShay know everything. There is a reason they are working for ESPN and not an NFL team.

I remember Kiper on Vollmer: " I had him as late 4th,early 5th, kind of an odd choice by BB".

They thought Gholston was going to be all-pro. Don't listen to their position rankings to determine who's a better player.

Excellent point. At one time I think Kiper was a scout for the Baltimore Colt, but flamed out because he did not understand how players fit specific scheme.

But as for Vollmer,a lot of draft "experts" missed the boat on that one. But the NFL teams were on it and rumor was that the Pats overdrafted Vollmer because another team was set to take him.

I had the Patriots taking Vollmer in my mock draft, but only in the fifth as well. I knew he would be on their board because Houston's OLine plays almost the exact same zone blocking scheme as ours, but I had the Patriots taking him in the fifth round as well,in part because of the back surgery, which is always scary.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

The last time there was a deep draft, BB kept all his picks and did not make any trades that year. I could easily see that happening again this year.

Not quite.

He might not have traded picks away, but he definitely traded. In fact, I can't recall a single draft in which the Patriots didn't make at least one trade involving either a first- or second-round pick.