Draft Priorities and Round 1 and 2 Priorities

TOP DRAFT PRIORITY - OL?
As was the case last year, OL is the top draft priority. As was the case last year, that doesn't mean that Belichick will fill that priority in the 1st or 2nd Round. We have three picks between 96 and 101 which may be find for that purpose. All those picks are earlier than when we picked our two OL's last year. The situation is not really a crisis at all. We are likely to sign a vet after May 12th. We have Kline, who can start; and we have lots of draft picks at a place where OL's are plentiful.

CORNER
Some would make corner our top early priority. It probably is. Belichick is likely to draft a corner in the 1st or 2nd.

RUNNING BACK
I think that we need to be real. We have Blount for 2015, a special teamer and a bunch of prospects. The teams need some quality competition for running back positions. We've lost Vereen and Ridley. We're going to move on. Well, we need someone to move on to. belichick took a flyer on Cadet (under $100K guaranteed). That's fine. He'll compete with White for the 3rd down position.

I would not be surprised to see us draft two running backs, as we did the last time we were in this position. I'd trade our first two picks for Gurley in a heartbeat, but I don't think he'll be available at 20.

CONCLUSIONS
1) The OL hole will easily be filled.
2) Belichick has made his choices at CB; training camp will decide who gets the reps (and he'll likely add a draftee).
3) We might add a DT, but we have Branch, Siliga, Jones, Easley and Johnson.
4) Our RB position is an important focus of this draft, or it should be now that Belichick has moved on from Ridley and Vereen.

To put this another way, we're likely to draft a corner in the top 50 and a guard in the top 100. We would still have FOUR PICKS in the first four rounds to consider the RB position.

I'd rather not spend a 1-2 or 3 on a runningback.

Ol/DL/DB are the three big needs, followed by LB

My thoughts pretty much exactly.

BB has taken an IOL in the draft just 1 time in the top 100 IIRC. The OL has taken high have been OTs or OT/OGs. Mankins is the lone exception and even he was capable of playing Tackle or Center in a pinch.

I don't think they break that trend. I think they value IOL a certain way and will continue to do so.

RB in the top 2 picks would surprise me a bit just cause of the depth of the class and the guys who will be there at 96. Possible but surprising.

Best player available. Stay the course.

If they go RB with any of their top 101 picks, I hope it's someone who can catch the ball out of the backfield. BJGE, Ridley, and Blount have given them nothing in the passing game. I think some versatility is needed there.

I'd go guard at 32 and again in the 96-101 range.

I'm not as concerned about DT and CB as others seem to be, but they'll draft at least 1 player at both of those spots.

Agreed.

By the end of the season the OL was fine and we only lost Connolly which is not a big deal to be honest. The ideal scenario right now is keep him at a cheap contract for backup purposes but he seems to want more which is fair enough, he just won the SB as a starter. One of the best scenarios from now on is a draftee and a FA, if they had kept Connolly he would be the FA signing so I think they are looking to spend this money on someone else.

Another scenario is a double dib at guard, because Wendell is an ok player and the RG position can benefit from an upgrade. I just find difficult to imagine 2 new rookie guards starting next season. So I think Wendell stays at RG at least half of the season.

SOLDER - TBD - STORK - WENDELL - VOLLMER

RB - It's higher than CB in my priorities list. I'm tired of jags, I want a playmaker there releaving some pressure of Brady.

CB - If the right prospect falls I'm ok with BB using our 1st round pick on a CB but I already processed the fact that our secondary will stink this year compared to last year's so I'm kind of OK with a bend don't break secondary as long as they field a scary DL that can pressure QB's all the time so if they draft another DE or DT I'm ok with that too.

I see OL and CB as the top priorities, therefore Belichick will go RB and LB.

I think they go OL and CB one-two or two-one.

The Patriots picked Logan Mankins in 2005 and Devin McCourty as a corner in 2010 in the first round. I expect he'll fill one of those two holes in 2015. Two pro-bowlers who signed multiple contracts.

Both guys came from a "where?!?" program that wasn't on anybody's radar, so look for a talented player that is not coming out of a traditional college powerhouse.

They might even trade up into the late teens or early 20s in the 1st round to get the player they want. The Pats will get a fourth compensatory pick for Ridley, and have some picks to play with.

My guess is they go with 6'0" 197-lb. CB Bryon Jones out of UConn. Not a speedster, but a smart CB who is known for how he closes on the receiver (sound familiar?). Has the size to do the job and will be there at 32.

http://profootball.scout.com/story/1533618-bryon-jones-player-evaluation

The second round is always a crap shoot with Belichick where he makes a reach for a potentially great player with intangibles with some winners (Vollmer, Hightower, Deion Branch, Gronk, etc.) and some big-time busts - wr Chad Jackson, cb Ras-I Dowling, cb Terrence Wheatley, wr Bethel Johnson, etc. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nwe/draft.htm The second rounders stood out for leadership or some special skills but came with question marks like they played against weak competition, or our favorite, they just had major surgery.

That said, look for the Patriots to draft Dookie OG Laken Tomlinson at 64. There are reasons that Dook has transformed its football team, and this guy is one of them. He's smart. well-coached and has the size and experience against some elite ACC pass rushers to be a good player:

http://profootball.scout.com/story/1526038-draft-eval-laken-tomlinson

Actually Byron Jones ran sub 4.4, he can fly and he is the best pure athlete in this draft. I like Tomlinson but the Patriots usually go for college tackles and convert them to guard and I would expect that to be the case this draft as well. As for trading the most likely trade scenario imo is for them to package 64 and 96 to move up for a second top 50 player they have targeted. Those two pick bring them up to around 50. They would still have 97, which can't be trade as well as 101, which is also going to be trade bait on day three.

BobDigital said:

RB in the top 2 picks would surprise me a bit just cause of the depth of the class and the guys who will be there at 96. Possible but surprising.

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Agreed. I think that 3rd and 4th are the likely place to draft running backs. However, Alayi is interesting if he is available around 64.

One can hope that a LB of hight enough available int he first two rounds. Everyone seems to believe in us drafting a corner in one of the first two rounds.

Id say corner first if there's one worth taking. I'll certainly be happy with a guard but with Scar still scouting should be able to get a good one in rounds 2-4. Not too worried about running back tbh, definitely don't spend a high pick on it.

Be wary of trading up..there are fans here that think that is a no-no......

Froob said:

Id say corner first if there's one worth taking. I'll certainly be happy with a guard but with Scar still scouting should be able to get a good one in rounds 2-4. Not too worried about running back tbh, definitely don't spend a high pick on it.

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A guard or LT/LG taken at 32 might be a much better prospect than one chosen later. There may be a couple of plug in starters available, who are viewed as potential pro-bowlers.

I could see us using 32 for a CB, but it is quite possible that none is seen as a value.

mgteich said:

A guard or LT/LG taken at 32 might be a much better prospect than one chosen later. There may be a couple of plug in starters available, who are viewed as potential pro-bowlers.

I could see us using 32 for a CB, but it is quite possible that none is seen as a value.

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That's true, now that I think about it I can't really think of any o line bust off the top of my head. Scar probably knows it as well as anybody who has ever watched this game.

New England Pride said:

Best player available. Stay the course.

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Not really.
Pats do BPA in areas of need. Often we have different perceptions of need than that damned BB.

Corner and run stuffing DT are the only priority holes I think we must fill with the right players.

At corner I still like peters the best, because his tape is so good, but I doubt he is on BB's board.

Johnson is my next choice, but I believe Ozzie is going to take him.

That leaves Williams of fsu. He may have a drinking problem, but he can help us if sober.

At dt, I think the best ones are off the table by pick 32. But by pick 64, we could luck out and have Davis on the board. However the run stuffer I like best is mbu of Houston. Maybe we can get him in the third?

depends on who is on the board.........between OG,DT, and CB, there are several positions the pats stand to improve

I have a feeling they will be moving down though.

I think they will take an OG/C and a CB early and follow that up with taking the same late. Maybe a DT and a SS in the middle. I doubt we'd pick up a RB except maybe in FA or very low in the draft.

BobDigital said:

My thoughts pretty much exactly.

BB has taken an IOL in the draft just 1 time in the top 100 IIRC. The OL has taken high have been OTs or OT/OGs. Mankins is the lone exception and even he was capable of playing Tackle or Center in a pinch.

I don't think they break that trend. I think they value IOL a certain way and will continue to do so.

RB in the top 2 picks would surprise me a bit just cause of the depth of the class and the guys who will be there at 96. Possible but surprising.

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RB in round 2 wouldn't shock me if the value is there. There are some good RBs in this class, if someone like Duke Johnson is around at 64 I could definitely see the Pats taking him. They used a 2nd on Vereen just a few years ago, and I think Johnson is a better prospect than Vereen was.

BlueThunder said:

Be wary of trading up..there are fans here that think that is a no-no......

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Not always - I don't remember too many people complaining when the Pats traded up for Jones and Hightower. Trade ups are fine if they're done sparingly, target an immediate need, and you have enough depth that the back of your roster won't suffer much. It's the teams that habitually trade up that are screwing themselves.