Running back

[mayoclinic]

I'm not really to sure about that..

I mean look Andre Williams has potential to play 1st or 2nd downs in the NFL but I don't think he'll ever play 3rd downs. Granted I could be wrong but there's a reason why he only had 10 career catches in college. Take that into account and the fact that Shane Vereen can't stay healthy I think James White is a better fit.

Andre Williams was vastly overrated, IMO, and had little versatility. Devonta Freeman might have been a better choice than White, and might well have been the pick at 105, but he was off the board at #103, so that wasn't an option. White has a similar skill set, plus a history of holding on to the ball. My personal opinion is that the Pats were targeting Freeman and had to fall back on an alternative when he was off the board, but that's just a hunch; we do tend to forget that the draft takes place in real time, with only 5 minutes to make their picks in rounds 4-7, so when a player a team has been targeting comes off the board shortly before they pick that team needs to have a strong backup plan in place, as there is little time to scramble.

As far as finding a power back, I think the Pats did better than Williams by picking up Stephen Houston as a UDFA. 6' 225#, averaged 5.4 YPC and over 8 rushing TDs over his last 3 seasons, and 65 receptions for 658 yards and 4 TDS over those 3 seasons.

http://stats.washingtonpost.com/cfb/players.asp?id=206861

Ridley+Houston and Vereen+White gives the Pats excellent depth at both RB positions, at low cost (both draft capital and salary cap).

I wanted other guys at #130, but if White pans out it's hard to fault the pick (at least hard for anyone not a troll).

 

[Off The Grid]

In 18 career games at Oregon, PasstheBlount caught a grand total of 4 passes for 15 yards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeGarrette_Blount

Less than 100 Hours left, Brother Stone...Still haven't heard from you!!

Gonna put your money where your mouth is, Bro?

Or don't you have...the STONES???

 

[mayoclinic]

In 18 career games at Oregon, PasstheBlount caught a grand total of 4 passes for 15 yards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeGarrette_Blount

Exactly. And, as good as Blount was last year, it was obvious when he was in the game that it was going to be a running play, allowing teams to stack the box. Give me a power back who can also be a receiving threat, and it's a whole different kettle of fish.

 

[BelichickFan]

Ridley+Houston and Vereen+White gives the Pats excellent depth at both RB positions, at low cost (both draft capital and salary cap).

Houston is definitely the guy I'm hoping surprises in camp. He has all the measurables and seemed to like his meetings with Fears, there's some potential there. I wasn't on White at all heading into the draft - I would have been very happy with Freeman; however looking at the measurables they are almost exactly the same with a slight edge to White and he seems to get it. I could see the Patriots having had those two graded very equally.

 

[patchick]

Ridley+Houston and Vereen+White gives the Pats excellent depth at both RB positions, at low cost (both draft capital and salary cap).

I wanted other guys at #130, but if White pans out it's hard to fault the pick (at least hard for anyone not a troll).

Couldn't agree more. I was hoping for an LB at that pick, but White is a well-rounded prospect who fills a need -- and I love that they don't pour $$ into the RB position.

 

[varjao]

Prediction:

600 yards , 5 Tds

 

[captain stone]

Less than 100 Hours left, Brother Stone...Still haven't heard from you!!

Gonna put your money where your mouth is, Bro?

Or don't you have...the STONES???

Apologies for the lateness, but I was incommunicado in Ohio for the weekend, and did not return until earlier this evening.

Now I'm not sure if what I'm about to write fits the description of your Final Exam, but this is what I would've done if I were in Bill's shoes on draft weekend:

Trade 29 to Minny for 40 & 108: Ebron, Zach Martin, Shazier, Buchanon, Pryor & Clinton Dix are all gone; Bitonio, XSF, ASJ, Amaro & Kony Ealy are my next favorite targets, but I just don't know if any of them are #29 overall worthy. I want more picks in a deep draft, so I'll take a chance that I can get one of them later.

Trade 40 to St Lou for 44 & 153: Bitonio, XSF & ASJ are gone, but Amaro & Kony Ealy are still available, and getting a 5th-rounder (which I didn't previously have) for moving down a mere 4 spots is worth the risk.

At 44 I select TE Jace Amaro: there is not one single TE in the rest of this draft who can do what Amaro can do, and we absolutely Must have a Move TE to make this offense work. I would not have felt real great about taking him at 29, but I feel a lot better taking him at 44 while adding 108 & 153.

At 62 I select either DE Scott Crichton or DE Kareem Martin (I would've been happy with either of them): by far the 2 best remaining pass-rushers in the draft. C/G Marcus Martin was strongly considered, but the available depth at interior OL greatly exceeded the depth at DE.

Like Bill, I also would've traded 93 to Jax for 105 & 179, especially after Trai Turner (my best available OG) was just taken at 92.

At 105 I select RB Andre Williams: Blount's immediate replacement, and Ridley's future replacement. I realize that I was very, very strongly opposed to drafting a RB anywhere at all; but now I have 3 additional picks, so I'm pulling a Rick "I meant it at the time" Pitino and taking one here. The kid's a class act, too.

At 108 I select CB Pierre Desir: another position I would not have addressed with only 8 picks, but with the shaky legal standings of Browner & Dennard, the one-and-done likelihood of Revis, and the bloated contract of Arrington, taking one of the Best Players Available regardless of position seems like a good idea. Another good kid, too.

At 130 I select DT Caraun Reid: here's the penetrating DT we've been asking for; if Dom Easley is still available, then I'll take him instead.

continued in next post...

 

[captain stone]

…continued:

At 140 I select OG John Urschel: much better athletically than originally thought, he has the physical & mental makeup to eventually become a starting-caliber Center. The conversations between him & Reid during practices would be mind-boggling.

At 153 I select either LB Jordan Tripp or LB Lamin Barrow: both are athletic enough to hang with TEs & RBs in space, and both appear sturdier than Telvin Smith, who seems to have attempted to gain weight the old-fashioned method - by getting the Munchies.

At 179 I select DB Antone Exum: he might need a medical redshirt year, but by 2015 he could very well become our starting SS.

At 198 I select OT Laurent Duvernay Tardif: one of the most athletic OLmen in the entire draft, he could become our Swing Tackle by 2015, and our starting RT by 2016 if Vollmer continues to have health "issues" that would make his contract unworthy of his production. I'm sure that LDT is a Montreal Canadiens fan, but I won't hold it against him if he can play football.

At 206 I select WR Jeff Janis: like LDT, he's one of the most athletic players at his position in the entire draft; and again like LDT his level of competition is his biggest question mark. At this point of the draft, I feel that he's easily worth the risk to learn the answer.

And finally, at 244 I select DE Zach Moore: another athletic, small-school kid with potential at a position of perpetual need. I would love it if he were to last this long; but if he were already taken, then there are multiple options still available, including DEs Adrian Hubbard, Jackson Jeffcoat & James Gayle, not to mention many other players at other positions.

I hope these posts answer your questions OTG, and again apologies for the delay in responding. I'll be interested to see how my suggestions fare vs Bill's actual choices.