AJ Derby traded to Broncos for 2017 5th round pick

[long distance]

I don't like it. he was a nice depth piece and insurance for gronk and bennet.

How could he be insurance for Bennett and Gronk if he cannot block at all?
Thats why they went for Scruggs. Unfortunately Mr.Mysterious hurt himself before we could say hello ..

I bet they have a TE solution in place and if it turns out to be Reece who could complement the Two Towers perfectly as FB/TE blocker/receiver/runner (if he is in form) then the whole TE saga can have a great ending ..

 

[BobDigital]

Marcel Reece is an okay player but can't get overly excited about it.

He is a depth piece. Then again Derby wasn't ready to be a depth piece most likely. One thing i do like about him if they sign him is he is a FB/TE so he again is one of those guys you put on the field and think "run or pass" . If he frees up Bennett or Gronk to run more routes I am all for it of course.

 

[long distance]

Marcel Reece is an okay player but can't get overly excited about it.

He is a depth piece. Then again Derby wasn't ready to be a depth piece most likely. One thing i do like about him if they sign him is he is a FB/TE so he again is one of those guys you put on the field and think "run or pass" . If he frees up Bennett or Gronk to run more routes I am all for it of course.

The “run or pass“ thing is IMO the only thing missing to NE being virtually unstoppable ..
The best option for that would be fully healthy Lewis of course .. but maybe Reece still has a say on the field ..

 

[Hammer of Thor]

Wow, Thor, impressive!
(Unless you secretly (to us) work in the Pats front office...)

Crap, my cover is blown. Now that I've been caught, I might as well reveal my assignment -- my job is to scour the game threads to assist in personnel decisions....

 

[long distance]

OT

Jefferson is the guy that got us a 2017 4th rounder in draft trade .. how fortune turns in this game ..



And this is what we experienced last year .. like Pats they are hanging in well though ..

 

[RobertWeathers]

Marcel Reece is an okay player but can't get overly excited about it.

He is a depth piece. Then again Derby wasn't ready to be a depth piece most likely. One thing i do like about him if they sign him is he is a FB/TE so he again is one of those guys you put on the field and think "run or pass" . If he frees up Bennett or Gronk to run more routes I am all for it of course.

As you say Reece gives them a ton of positional flexibility. There is a lot of value in that.

 

[oldrover]

Man, Ron Paul has aged.

 

[bbobbo]

The “run or pass“ thing is IMO the only thing missing to NE being virtually unstoppable ..
The best option for that would be fully healthy Lewis of course .. but maybe Reece still has a say on the field ..

i wouldn't say it's exactly missing. edelman, hogan, bennett, gronk, blount -- are the patriots running or passing with that personnel?

granted, with lewis it would be even more unstoppable.

 

[ausbacker]

Feels like something straight off the Zach Sudfeld school of Tight Ending.

 

[Fencer]

I hope the reason is that he had difficulties understanding the playbook ...

 

[FourierSeries]

I hope the reason is that he had difficulties understanding the playbook ...

He had an opportunity to try to impress the coaching staff early in the season with Gronk out. He failed. Getting a 5th for him is a steal.

 

[Fencer]

He had an opportunity to try to impress the coaching staff early in the season with Gronk out. He failed. Getting a 5th for him is a steal.

He was probably a top candidate to be outright cut to free up a roster space.

Other ways to frame things:

• Did he ever block well enough to help him get on the field at the expense of a WR?
• Did he ever play well enough on STs to get on the field in that role over an LB?

 

[Gumby]

Actually, there are 2 reasons.

So, Derby was the developmental te. Does the willingness to give up a dev guy mean you already have a long term solution in hand for that position? (That ext for Bennet is in works-agreed in principle)

 

[FourierSeries]

He was probably a top candidate to be outright cut to free up a roster space.

Other ways to frame things:

• Did he ever block well enough to help him get on the field at the expense of a WR?
• Did he ever play well enough on STs to get on the field in that role over an LB?

His blocking sucked. Bill even commented on the fact that he has a ways to go when it comes to his blocking.

 

[Todd Bradley]

Woah, Trader Bill always come through with a few surprises.

Belichick has to be the most active trader in the entire NFL. No other team makes as many trades as the Pats do.

And best part is, Bill wins those trades wayyyy more often than he loses.

 

[patfanken]

How could he be insurance for Bennett and Gronk if he cannot block at all?
Thats why they went for Scruggs. Unfortunately Mr.Mysterious hurt himself before we could say hello ..

I bet they have a TE solution in place and if it turns out to be Reece who could complement the Two Towers perfectly as FB/TE blocker/receiver/runner (if he is in form) then the whole TE saga can have a great ending ..

Maybe its Reece, but just maybe that 3rd guy is someone who is already here. James Devlin. He can block. We know that. He also has very good hands. We know that too. What we DON'T know is how well he can run TE routes. But we do know that he works out with the TEs every day and is in that meeting room.

All I know is that I don't like having only 2 TE's on this team. Too risky

 

[oldrover]

Belichick has to be the most active trader in the entire NFL. No other team makes as many trades as the Pats do.

He's unleashed his inner...

...Monty Hall.

 

[supafly]

So, Derby was the developmental te. Does the willingness to give up a dev guy mean you already have a long term solution in hand for that position? (That ext for Bennet is in works-agreed in principle)

That's one optimistic way of looking at it, although I think they'll still need another developmental TE here sooner than later.

 

[RayClay]

I trust BBs opinion, but acting like this is some great deal is dumb. They used a 6th on him and could have just traded that for a 2017 5th instead of drafting. They broke even and wasted two years on someone elses player.

 

[Fencer]

Maybe its Reece, but just maybe that 3rd guy is someone who is already here. James Devlin. He can block. We know that. He also has very good hands. We know that too. What we DON'T know is how well he can run TE routes. But we do know that he works out with the TEs every day and is in that meeting room.

All I know is that I don't like having only 2 TE's on this team. Too risky

A lot of positions that looked deep in August don't look so deep in October or November. It happens every year. It's happening even more this year because BB made so many comments about deep positions in the off-season.