Who is your "safety valve" at #29?

patchick said:

Let's say pick 29 is about to be on the clock. So far, you've caught no breaks. E.g.:

Aaron Donald is a Cowboy.
Ra'Shede Hageman is a Raven.
Ryan Shazier is a Packer.
Dee Ford is a Saint.
Absolutely everybody is trying to trade down for more picks, so you can't find a trading partner. (An all-too-realistic possibility, according to current chatter.)

Who is your fallback plan, the player who you feel pretty confident will be available at #29 if you have to take them?

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Yankey, Marcus Martin, Dominique Easley, ASJ

ASJ all day.

patchick said:

I asked this question because I'm really struggling with it myself.

Su'a-Filo and Yankey don't feel realistic to me. They're good football players, but when the Patriots have used a high pick on OLs (Solder, Mankins, Vollmer) they've been elite athletes. The two guards just aren't that.

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Not surprising, really, since Mankins was a LT at Fresno State (where he protected David Carr). Heck, Marcus Cannon was a LT at TCU who would have gone much higher had it not been for his lymphoma diagnosis.

Any chances Ebron slips to the let's say 23 range?

varjao said:

Any chances Ebron slips to the let's say 23 range?

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Sure there is. A lot of good WRs in this draft that a team might want to take over a TE. I am personally willing to trade up for Ebron but only with a 4th. I think he is going to get good but not a true elite and so am not willing to give up a pick higher than our 130 to get him.

patchick said:

I asked this question because I'm really struggling with it myself.

Su'a-Filo and Yankey don't feel realistic to me. They're good football players, but when the Patriots have used a high pick on OLs (Solder, Mankins, Vollmer) they've been elite athletes. The two guards just aren't that.

Tuitt, I'm just not sure. I keep watching him and seeing 5-tech. I'm not as confident as some here in projecting him to the Patriots' defense, and lacking a workout and measurables isn't helping in that regard. Whispers about his effort and conditioning don't help, either.

I don't rate Scott Crichton as high as some of you do. Louis Nix, to me, is born to play 3-4 NT. Hearing ASJ described as "a pain in the butt" isn't encouraging. Etc.

Still pondering...

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Agreed on Crichton. He seems like a solid 3rd rounder to me. Good football player but lacks "premium" attributes worth higher draft status.

I don't know who my "safety valve" is to be honest. This draft doesn't seem to line up well with our needs in the 20-40 range. Tuitt is a consideration but without workout numbers to justify optimism, I have a hard time getting over his tape. I like "the idea of Stephon Tuitt" (a super powerful 5T who generates pressure using strength and can play a jumbo LE ala Red Bryant) but right now that seems like just an idea.

The wide receivers and corners look like positional groups were there will be good talent available at 29. But do we want to go there given the state of the roster?

I really hope there's a trade down available.

Jimmie Ward, Dominique Easley, Kyle Fuller, Stephon Tuitt, and Louis Nix all would make me pretty happy.

For me its Tuitt and no1 else - Thats a top 10 talent even in this class without the sickness ( bad 2013 tape and now injury ) - Good thing is, BB wont miss out on him, question is more if we can snack another late first aswell.

Donald? There is NO chance the Patriot will have a shot at him. He looked like Reggie White in the film I saw of him. Heck if the Patriots had the first choice, I would not be unhappy if they took him.

As far as who to take at 29, if Pryor is there, you have to take him. It would make the the secondary truly scary. He is the most dominant safety I have seen come our since Sean Taylor.

scratch mine. lesgo with A Donald, D Easley, Carlos Hyde, Marcus Martin, or Jeremy Hill

Who is your "safety valve" at #29?

Johnny Manziel or Teddy Bridgewater

Jimmie Ward

It's all about disruption. Donald. I would trade our 1st and 2nd to land him.

Easley. Could be a superstar but as all have mentioned he is a risk. I'm ok with that if the Patriots are.

Tuitt, Ealy,Hageman,Jernigan Nix are definitely in the mix.

I would take one of these players –

- Kyle Fuller
- Marqise Lee
- Xavier Su'a-Filo
- C.J. Mosley
- Kelvin Benjamin
- Stephon Tuitt
- Louis Nix
- Dominique Easley
- Austin Seferian-Jenkins

That is not in any particular order except to say Fuller would be my top choice, the rest would require some thought.

I don't see how Jimmie Ward is safe value at #29. He's far from a sure thing IMO.

Keyser Söze said:

I don't see how Jimmie Ward is safe value at #29. He's far from a sure thing IMO.

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He's the best safety in the draft.

Moot point anyway. We've got Patrick Chung!

manxman2601 said:

He's the best safety in the draft.

Moot point anyway. We've got Patrick Chung!

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I actually see Chung as a positive in that they are going to draft the LB\S hybrid we've all wanted. I don't think they signed him to play safety. In that role he should be able to play downhill and could be effective......although he'll get injured at some point. Hopefully after the drafted player comes up to speed.

Keyser Söze said:

I don't see how Jimmie Ward is safe value at #29. He's far from a sure thing IMO.

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For starters, there are almost never "sure things" in any draft, and there has never been one at pick 29. Secondly, the thread is about who would you take if all of the perceived blue chips are gone, so when people are mentioning Aaron Donald in a trade up, that's not what the thread is asking.

3rd, as Manx said, Jimmie Ward is this draft's best safety. He does everything well and a few things very well. Mayo is advocating playing the 5-2 look that Seattle went to, and it looks to me as if Belichick has decided playing the 4-3 under or something similar to it is the way he's trending. This basically requires two coverage safeties, making people's desire for a head-hunter type who can't cover obsolete.

Hence, Jimmie Ward.

Hercules Rockefeller said:

For starters, there are almost never "sure things" in any draft, and there has never been one at pick 29. Secondly, the thread is about who would you take if all of the perceived blue chips are gone, so when people are mentioning Aaron Donald in a trade up, that's not what the thread is asking.

3rd, as Manx said, Jimmie Ward is this draft's best safety. He does everything well and a few things very well. Mayo is advocating playing the 5-2 look that Seattle went to, and it looks to me as if Belichick has decided playing the 4-3 under or something similar to it is the way he's trending. This basically requires two coverage safeties, making people's desire for a head-hunter type who can't cover obsolete.

Hence, Jimmie Ward.

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This, of course, was what I meant to say but Hercules is more eloquent than I.