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I don't see the relevance of Curry or Cooper or Gilbert to Marpet.....nothing about any of them has anything to do with the fact that you're talking about a small school guy with a lack of competition who who is slated to play a position in the NFL he has yet to play. A much much much further stretch of the imagination if you are making a direct comparison to Erving or Clemmings.....they have proven their abilities at a much higher level and have fewer shortcomings....Erving played C last year and before that he played OT......at least he has displayed positional flexibility and he has done it at a high level......you can't claim either for Marpet.......
I think the small school and the lack of competition is exactly what will keep him from being drafted by the pats.........when it comes to OL, they don't go small school division 3.......
I don't expect you to agree, and I'm not particularly trying to convince you. But what I am saying is this:
1. I think every prospect is a projection, whether they come from Division III or Alabama/Florida St.
2. I don't think that you draft with a "window" in mind. You draft to infuse talent for the long term.
3. I don't think that you draft with an expectation about when a prospect can start. You build your short term around veterans, and you have contingency plans in place. You let your rookies compete, whether they are 1st round picks or UDFAs, and regardless of where they competed in college, and if they prove themselves ready, they get playing time.
4. I disagree, with the bolded statement above. I don't thing the small school and the lack of competition will make that much difference to the Pats. They took a guy who didn't play football in college and developed him as a starting RG - albeit Neal was signed as a UDFA. Marpet is far more developed. His lack of competitive tape will, however, complicate his evaluation. Ultimately, you let Scar and Gooch evaluate the players and see if they think they fit. The Pats have already met with Marpet, so they have their eye on him. Whether they go further will depend on what they see out of him, and whether they take him will depend mainly on their up front evaluation of him. He may or may not pass that level of scrutiny, but I wouldn't be surprised if he does.
Again, I don't expect you to agree.