Are 7th round picks that much better than rookie FAs?

[Tunescribe]

The Patriots have five seventh-round picks and I'm trying to get a feel for what that truly means. How do you gauge the value of those picks going into the draft? Will BB use all of them? Can they be packaged and traded to move up a round or two? Or are they just a crapshoot? Looking for perspective here.

 

[patchick]

The comp picks can't be traded. Personally, I value 7th round picks a lot. Think of it this way: you get to scoop the rest of the league on 5 of the top UDFA candidates. That's exactly the Matt Cassel story.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

The Patriots have five seventh-round picks and I'm trying to get a feel for what that truly means. How do you gauge the value of those picks going into the draft? Will BB use all of them? Can they be packaged and traded to move up a round or two? Or are they just a crapshoot? Looking for perspective here.

Compensatory 7th rd. picks cannot be moved

 

[Tunescribe]

Compensatory 7th rd. picks cannot be moved

Yes, right, forgot that. So, they HAVE to be used ... or simply forfeited.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

Yes, right, forgot that. So, they HAVE to be used ... or simply forfeited.

Only 3 of the 7th and 1 of the 6th round picks are comps, so the other two 7ths and the other 6th could be traded.

 

[patsinthesnow]

The comp picks can't be traded. Personally, I value 7th round picks a lot. Think of it this way: you get to scoop the rest of the league on 5 of the top UDFA candidates. That's exactly the Matt Cassel story.

That's how I see it. You get to scoop the small school studs or players that missed the last year due to injury that became undrafted, good talent is still found in the 7th.

 

[Sciz]

Ideally, the 2 non-comp 7ths get traded up or traded into 2011. The comp 7ths will have to be used for guys though. Of course, getting 3 of the top UDFAs isn't horrible.

 

[Seneschal2]

Personally, I value 7th round picks a lot. Think of it this way: you get to scoop the rest of the league on 5 of the top UDFA candidates. That's exactly the Matt Cassel story.

Reiss alluded to this in his quick hits:

7. The Patriots have three seventh-round compensatory draft choices. One of the primary benefits of those picks is that they can be used on players the team would be targeting as rookie free agents, as they won’t face competition for them.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

The comp picks can't be traded. Personally, I value 7th round picks a lot. Think of it this way: you get to scoop the rest of the league on 5 of the top UDFA candidates. That's exactly the Matt Cassel story.

Except, of course, that Matt Cassel was not a compensatory pick (nor was Edelperson).

 

[PATSNUTme]

There may be a player that you think may be a good fit but in pre-draft talks, you get the sense that he may choose to sign with another team as a UDFA.

So if you like him that much, you whack him with a 7th round choice. Then he can't choose to go elsewhere. I often think that a player is better off being a UDFA than a 7th pick. But most players say they want to be drafted.

 

[patchick]

Except, of course, that Matt Cassel was not a compensatory pick (nor was Edelperson).

Right. Did I say otherwise?

 

[ctpatsfan77]

There may be a player that you think may be a good fit but in pre-draft talks, you get the sense that he may choose to sign with another team as a UDFA.

So if you like him that much, you whack him with a 7th round choice. Then he can't choose to go elsewhere. I often think that a player is better off being a UDFA than a 7th pick. But most players say they want to be drafted.

Julian Edelman (7): $48,700 signing bonus/4 yr contract
Brian Hoyer (UDFA): $12,000 signing bonus/3 yr contract

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Except, of course, that Matt Cassel was not a compensatory pick (nor was Edelperson).

But pick #199 of the 2000 draft was a compensatory one.....

 

[ctpatsfan77]

But pick #199 of the 2000 draft was a compensatory one.....

True, but Brady wasn't a case of the Patriots seeing more in Brady than everyone else in quite the same way as Cassel. By their own admission, they should have taken Brady earlier than they did; (almost) no other team in the NFL could have drafted Cassel without their sanity being questioned.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

A lot of intriguing seventh round talent in this draft.

Batten
Konz
Dray
Starks
Zoltan

A lot of ways for to add quality depth as well as upgrade STs.

 

[Blizzzard]

Except, of course, that Matt Cassel was not a compensatory pick (nor was Edelperson).

Irrelevant

They were still 7th round picks

What was your point? I may have just missed it

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Irrelevant

They were still 7th round picks

What was your point? I may have just missed it

In other words, I got this thread conflated with another one that was discussing Edelman/Cassel as comp picks.

 

[patchick]

In other words, I got this thread conflated with another one that was discussing Edelman/Cassel as comp picks.

Why you...you...conflator!

 

[VJCPatriot]

Why you...you...conflator!

Aren't you supposed to say excuse me when you do that?

 

[mgteich]

LET'S DRAFT A FEW PUNTERS!

Seriously, we have 7 picks in the 6th and 7th. That is the time for drafting special teamers and taking an advance shot at UDFA quality players.

Perhaps we can avoid having the two days of tortured posts on which UDFA's we just HAVE to sign, or not.