Patriots dream draft scenario

Today, it is fantasy time. Time for the dream draft scenario(try to keep it somewhat realistic). I urge the rest of you to play along.

For the Patriots, it is all about getting as many picks in the 2nd or 3rd round as possible. So, I have done some wheeling and dealing as is the Patriots wont to do anyways.
So: Trade #1- I trade pick 29(640)to Jacksonville for 39, 105, 150, and 159(653.2). Number in parenthesis is that of their value according to the trade chart.

Trade #2-The Texans were trying to move up with the Patriots in the 1st round as well to grab one of the falling QB's, but could not, so instead they trade their 2nd round pick for Ryan Mallett, who would grade out better than any of these QB's this year anyways.

Trade #3- The Patriots get a ton of calls for the 1st pick in the 2nd round, and the 49rs have too many picks for the holes on the team, so they trade up to get the guy they covet. Pats trade 33+130(622) for picks 56+61(632).

Now to the Picks:
39. Kyle Fuller, CB, VT- Top 5 personal favorites in this draft. Was barely mentioned as a top CB until recently, has always been my #1. Might go late first round, or even earlier now that it is known I like him.

56. Troy Niklas, TE, Notre Dame- Gronk Lite. Best blocking TE in this class, but was underused as a pass catcher in college. Huge frame and very good athleticism for his size. Could give the pats a great duo at TE once again.

61. Dominique Easley, DT, Florida- Not to many draftniks have Easley as high as I do on their boards. I think without the injury concern he is a top ten pick. The days of the big, slow, run stuffing DT is coming to an end. Easley has great skill as an interior pass rusher and holds up well in the run game.

62. Deone Buchannon, S, Washington St.- Patriots go back to the safety well yet again, but this time, get it right. Big, fast, thumper who loves to hit. Needs to work on his angles, but has the athleticism to be great.

93. Zach Mettenberger, QB, LSU- One of the best if not the best arms in this draft. Pure pocket passer with little to no mobility outside the pocket. Makes quick reads, goes through his progressions well, and anticipates the open receiver. I think down the road he will be talked about as the best QB to come out of this draft if he goes to the right situation.

105. Marcus Martin,C,USC- Martin brings athleticism to the center position. He is a great fit for the zone blocking scheme as he moves very well laterally. He needs to be more consistent against the bigger DT's, but showed improvement throughout the year.

140. Jeremy Hill, RB, LSU- Go back to the LSU well for a RB again. Both Ridley and Vereen's contracts are up after this season, so a replacement may be needed for 1 or both. Hill is my #1 RB in the class because of his size, speed, vision combo. His off the field issues will be what makes him fall on draft day.

150. Trai Turner, OG, LSU- Yup, did it again. 3 times since Belichick became coach have the taken more than one player from the same team. This year no different. Turner is a wide bodied guy who is surprisingly nimble on his feet. Another perfect addition to the zone blocking scheme.

159. Jordan Tripp, LB, Montana- Tripp reminds me a lot of Mike Vrabel and Rob Ninkovich. He has fluid hips and can drop into coverage on a LB and also has good explosion to be a pass rusher from the OLB position.

198. Christian Jones, LB, Florida St.- I missed out on Ryan Shazier in the first, but Jones brings that same type of game at a much better value. Jones moves like a safety but hits like a linebacker. A perfect sub package type of linebacker with speed and agility to really be a good WILL linebacker.

206. Laurent Duverney-Tardif, McGill, Canada- I told you all about this guy in my lesser known players post. Purely a developmental player with massive upside. Huge frame and crazy athleticism. If he can be coached up for a year or 2, he could be a starting LT.

244. Colt Lyerla, TE, Oregon- I already got my Gronk type TE earlier, why not get my Hernandez type as well. Lyerla is a first/second round talent with his movement skills and his hands. He may go undrafted because he may have the biggest off the field questions of any player in this draft or any draft for that matter. Alfonso Dennard went in the 7th after punching a cop, so Lyerla may not even get drafted for all his off field problems, but the talent is just too tempting to not take a flyer on here.

Now that is a dream draft.


I would love to see others, so please play along

Love your draft minus Lyerla but Fuller being their at 39 truly is fantasy.

Thanks everlong,
Yeah, I think as we get closer and closer to the draft, the further and further away from the Patriots Fuller gets, which really sucks, because I think he would be a great addition to this team. He is so fun to watch.
Dreams were made to be broken.

everlong said:

Love your draft minus Lyerla but Fuller being their at 39 truly is fantasy.

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Yep, I'm afraid this looks like a "dream draft" in more ways than one! I just looked a

midwestpatsfan said:

Thanks everlong,
Yeah, I think as we get closer and closer to the draft, the further and further away from the Patriots Fuller gets, which really sucks, because I think he would be a great addition to this team. He is so fun to watch.
Dreams were made to be broken.

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I totally sympathize, as I watch Ryan Shazier climb higher and higher up mocks.

Aside from the "dreaminess" of your dream draft, I'm awfully nervous a the idea of trading away Mallett and then handing the backup job to as raw a project as Mettenberger. He strikes me as, ironically, a (very) poor man's Ryan Mallett: big guy with a big arm, limited mobility, and off-field character questions. But his release seems slower than Mallett's, and unlike Mallett his work ethic and on-field leadership are also question marks.

Part of the reason I want to draft a quarterback in round 3 or 4 this year is to avoid having to spend a higher pick (or significant FA money) on the position next year, when Mallett is gone and they'll need a player ready to step in immediately. If you're disposing of Mallett now, IMO you need to draft a QB with a higher floor and greater readiness, even if it means accepting a lower ceiling. This team has too much talent to just give up on the season if Brady goes down.

patchick said:

Part of the reason I want to draft a quarterback in round 3 or 4 this year is to avoid having to spend a higher pick (or significant FA money) on the position next year, when Mallett is gone and they'll need a player ready to step in immediately. If you're disposing of Mallett now, IMO you need to draft a QB with a higher floor and greater readiness, even if it means accepting a lower ceiling. This team has too much talent to just give up on the season if Brady goes down.

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The problem for me is I don't see a QB I love in this draft in the 3rd or 4th round that can come in as an emergency QB for the Pats offense. It's pretty much Mettenberger, McCarron and Murray in that range. I'm not big on any of the 3M's of the SEC.

I'd much prefer taking Logan Thomas later in the draft and worst case he becomes a TE and then draft another in the 7th or as an FA.

For some **** up reason i donno why, then i think they bring back Tebow if Mallett happens to be traded.

everlong said:

The problem for me is I don't see a QB I love in this draft in the 3rd or 4th round that can come in as an emergency QB for the Pats offense. It's pretty much Mettenberger, McCarron and Murray in that range. I'm not big on any of the 3M's of the SEC.

I'd much prefer taking Logan Thomas later in the draft and worst case he becomes a TE and then draft another in the 7th or as an FA.

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Can't argue with you, which is why I'm not eager to say goodbye to Mallett!

Great Work Midwestpatsfan! My imagination is just too limited to create a dream scenario right now.

patchick said:

I totally sympathize, as I watch Ryan Shazier climb higher and higher up mocks.

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I feel lke this happens to me every year. Happened with JJ Watt in '11, Fletcher Cox in '12, Eric Reid in '13 (he moved up even more on draft day!).

Funny, I was just about to post the same topic.

No Mallett trade here, I just don't buy it. I'm looking here for players who can come in and contribute immediately whenever possible.

#29 - Definitely a trade down here, looking at the board, the value is likely to dry up just before the Pats pick (I have M Lee, K Ealy, L Nix, K Fuller all getting drafted just before the Pats pick). I see Minnesota as a potential partner. They seem to be leaning defense in round 1, meaning they get their pick of the Bridgewater - Savage - Mettenberger - Garrapolo leftovers. Minnesota trades #40, #96 and #149 to the Pats for #29 and #244.

#40 Kyle Van Noy - OLB - BYU
LB is an underrated need, this unit is as dangerously thin as the DE position. Van Noy is a solid all around LB who can start in case of injury and allows scheme flexibility to drop Collins into coverage or move Hightower to the line.

#48 Dominique Easley - DT - Florida
Patriots trade #62 and #130 to Dallas for #4. Seems like a logical trade partner given Dallas' defensive holes. Easley is repoted to be fully recovered, and the days of an ACL being a career ender are long passed. Easley gives the Patriots an explosive pass rush that they have lacked since Seymour's prime.

#93 Will Clarke - DE - Virginia
Continue to solidify the front 7, ensuring that Jones and Nink don't have to play 95%+ of their snps again. Clarke has the long body and long arms that Belichick likes in his outside rushers and is an instinctive, hard working player.

#96 CJ Fiedorowicz - TE - Iowa
People constantly mock him higher, but every ranking I can find has him in the 100 - 120 range. Fiedorowicz will be a solid piece, not a starter but he'll hold his own if he needs to fill in for Gronk.

#140 James White - RB - Wisconsin
A slippery and misleadingly powerful back who will be competent as a pass blocker and receiver. Was very productive replacing Montee Ball at Wisconsin.

#149 Ross ****rell - CB - Duke
Adds depth to the secondary and, if he catches on, allows the team to experiment with Logan Ryan at SS without sacrificing depth at CB. A ballhawk who plays well in zone and could be a situational dime corner.

#198 Logan Thomas - QB - Virginia Tech
Now the developmental player portion of the draft. Thomas has to learn the position, but would have a full year under his belt before he's even expected to carry a clip board. Worst case scenario he could catch on as a special teams player.

#206 Brandon Thomas - G - Clemson
The least likely of my scenarios. Every year a few guys plummet and Thomas' recent ACL injury makes him a prime candidate. He redshirts his rookie year and, if he fully recovers, is a potential starter at RG.

everlong said:

The problem for me is I don't see a QB I love in this draft in the 3rd or 4th round that can come in as an emergency QB for the Pats offense. It's pretty much Mettenberger, McCarron and Murray in that range. I'm not big on any of the 3M's of the SEC.

I'd much prefer taking Logan Thomas later in the draft and worst case he becomes a TE and then draft another in the 7th or as an FA.

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I think it is very interesting that so many poster feel we need to draft a backup for Brady so early in the draft. Outside of Mallett who was taken because the value was undeniable to be able to draft a first round talent in the third round when, have we ever invested an early draft pick in a backup QB. Matt Cassel was a seventh round pick, Brian Hoyer was an UDFA, and the prior QBs were not anything more than a late round pick.

If the Patriots trade Mallett I suspect they will sign an UDFA like Jeff Matthews and then wait for the Cowboys to release Kyle Orton and sign him to backup Brady. There is not even a sure fire top five pick at the QB position in this draft so suggesting the heir apparent to Brady is in this draft class is optimistic to say the least.

Brady6 said:

I think it is very interesting that so many poster feel we need to draft a backup for Brady so early in the draft. Outside of Mallett who was taken because the value was undeniable to be able to draft a first round talent in the third round when, have we ever invested an early draft pick in a backup QB. Matt Cassel was a seventh round pick, Brian Hoyer was an UDFA, and the prior QBs were not anything more than a late round pick.

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Brady6, I think your memory is off on this one. When Matt Cassel was heading into the final year of his rookie contract -- just as Mallett is now -- the Patriots spent a 3rd on Kevin O'Connell. (Hoyer just happened to beat him out.) In keeping with that precedent, they seem to be devoting an unusual amount of scouting resources to QBs this year.

This is what my dream draft would look like.

Trade Ryan Mallett to Houston for #33
Trade #29 to Detroit for #45 and #76
Trade #33 to Arizona for #52, #84, and #160

45 Joel Bitonio
52 Kelvin Benjamin
62 Dominique Easley
76 Deone Bucannon
84 Trent Murphy
93 C.J. Fiedorowicz
130 Jordan Tripp
140 Jerick McKinnon
160 Logan Thomas
198 Brandon Thomas
206 Zach Kerr
244 Trey Burton

patchick said:

Brady6, I think your memory is off on this one. When Matt Cassel was heading into the final year of his rookie contract -- just as Mallett is now -- the Patriots spent a 3rd on Kevin O'Connell. (Hoyer just happened to beat him out.) In keeping with that precedent, they seem to be devoting an unusual amount of scouting resources to QBs this year.

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Have to wonder if that had anything to do with Mallett's tumble into Round 3 fostering a "Who knows? Maybe another WTF? will happen this year, too." attitude.

ctpatsfan77 said:

Have to wonder if that had anything to do with Mallett's tumble into Round 3 fostering a "Who knows? Maybe another WTF? will happen this year, too." attitude.

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Yeah, Mallett seemed like a pure opportunity pick -- a chance to get a 1st-round arm in round 3, thanks to teams being afraid to hang their franchises on a guy with character question marks. But O'Connell looked like a strategic need pick, strategically made a year in advance of need. That precedent says NOW.

patchick said:

Brady6, I think your memory is off on this one. When Matt Cassel was heading into the final year of his rookie contract -- just as Mallett is now -- the Patriots spent a 3rd on Kevin O'Connell. (Hoyer just happened to beat him out.) In keeping with that precedent, they seem to be devoting an unusual amount of scouting resources to QBs this year.

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I remember Bill having so much faith in Brady after he won a SB he spent a 4th(117) on Rohan Davey as well. A 3rd or 4th on a QB is not out of the realm of precedence or possibility. I hope not though. Just keep Mallet and ride out his contract and save the roster spot as far as I'm concerned. I'm not high on this QB class at all.