Rookies Making The Team - Upgrades On Offense

Where do rookies have the best chance to make the 53?

OFFENSE (25)
QB (2) Brady, Garappolo
WR (4) Edelman, LaFell, Amendola, Dobson (or one of several others)
RB (5) Blount, Cadet, White, Bolden, Gray/Gaffney
FB - (1) Develin
TE (3) Gronkowski, Chandler, Hooman/Wright
OL (9) Vollmer, Solder, Cannon, Fleming, Stork, Wendell, Kline, Devey, Barker
ST (1) Slater

Clearly, the last few rosters spots could be at any position, so the position totals could be different.

I think that rookies have good chances at LG and RB.

I agree. Connolly and Wendell played well last season when the OL was fully intact but I could see upgrades at both guard spots, especially considering the D Lines they will be seeing. That said it won't be two rookies. I would love to see them take a OL prospect high for one guard spot and a trade for Mathis as the other, but ultimately they need two young guards to deal with the lines they will be facing in the East.

I also think they need a speed back, and even with the injury to Ridley losing him to the jets sucks. They need a good back out of this draft class imo.

I think definitely one rookie and perhaps two rookies can make our team at guard. The only other positions I can possibly see would be maybe RB and possibly WR, but I think our team on Offense is in pretty good shape except for the Guard position.

If we choose to spend a high pick at RB (Gurley if he lasts to 32 or one of the 2nd-3rd round RBs), seems reasonable that one could win the starting job by midseason.

ashley1992 said:

I think definitely one rookie and perhaps two rookies can make our team at guard. The only other positions I can possibly see would be maybe RB and possibly WR, but I think our team on Offense is in pretty good shape except for the Guard position.

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I don't think that we are in good shape at running back.

patsinthesnow said:

If we choose to spend a high pick at RB (Gurley if he lasts to 32 or one of the 2nd-3rd round RBs), seems reasonable that one could win the starting job by midseason.

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I agree. Gurley is possible in the first, Alayi in the 2nd. Either is likely to be an immediate starter. At the end of the 3rd, several might be available that could win the starting job: Johnson, Langford, Yeldon, Allen, and Davis.

mgteich said:

I don't think that we are in good shape at running back.

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I don't know, I think there are definitely other positions that I would rather address. I think if we have :

Blount
Gray
Gaffney
Bolden
White
Cadet

That's not bad. We should address the O-line before even considering running back and that's not even mentioning on defense where we need to address to CB and DT position and then the linebacker position.

ashley1992 said:

I don't know, I think there are definitely other positions that I would rather address. I think if we have :

Blount
Gray
Gaffney
Bolden
White
Cadet

That's not bad. We should address the O-line before even considering running back and that's not even mentioning on defense where we need to address to CB and DT position and then the linebacker position.

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No, that's not bad at RB; it's awful.

I disagree with those who list our needs and think that that should determine the order in which players are picked.

Center was the #1 need last year. Perhaps, we should have used a first for Stork. And yes, I have been pleading for five years that Belichick use top picks for guards; we''ll see.

RUNNING BACKS
I don't think that we'll use a first because there will be none that is likely to be worth picking at 32. I do favor one of the OL's or an ILB.

There are a couple of running backs that might be worth a second.

There are many that will be worth one of our midlevel picks (96, 97, or 101).

mgteich said:

No, that's not bad at RB; it's awful.

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I agree. This is a very easy position to get discouraged with, although I'm sure they'll be fine there in the end. It definitely needs to be addressed for sure.

I think that any of the following positions could be included on offense: OL, RB, WR

Will they necessarily be "upgrades" over what they had last season? That's a question that can't be answered, but it's certainly no sure thing.

The bar was set very low at RB, so that's certainly a possibility.

mgteich said:

No, that's not bad at RB; it's awful.

I disagree with those who list our needs and think that that should determine the order in which players are picked.

Center was the #1 need last year. Perhaps, we should have used a first for Stork. And yes, I have been pleading for five years that Belichick use top picks for guards; we''ll see.

RUNNING BACKS
I don't think that we'll use a first because there will be none that is likely to be worth picking at 32. I do favor one of the OL's or an ILB.

There are a couple of running backs that might be worth a second.

There are many that will be worth one of our midlevel picks (96, 97, or 101).

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We won the super bowl last year with that group minus Vereen. I respect your opinion and can tell that you are knowlegable and usually agree with your posts, but I think the running back position is very overrated in the NFL nowadays. Gray did run for 200 yards against Indy last year and Blount is always a workhorse and no matter who we would potentially draft at that position, if we don't have a good line to block for them, it doesn't matter who is back there for us.

supafly said:

I think that any of the following positions could be included on offense: OL, RB, WR

Will they necessarily be "upgrades" over what they had last season? That's a question that can't be answered, but it's certainly no sure thing.

The bar was set very low at RB, so that's certainly a possibility.

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I also think it doesn't help the running back position when we have Devey, Cannon, Kline, Connolly and Wendell playing guard and they can't create a hole for our guys to run through. lol

ashley1992 said:

We won the super bowl last year with that group minus Vereen.

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While I do agree with your general point that we'll likely be fine at RB no matter what happens, I also agree with @mgteich that the current depth chart looks pretty bad at the moment.

As far as "winning the SB" with this group, that was very lucky--and we all know that. There aren't going to be many times where your running game is non-existent in 2/3 postseason games, and yet the team is still able to move on (let alone come back from double digit deficits TWICE). It's an issue that must be addressed, and it likely will be.

I am pretty sure that we'll see a RB or two drafted in the spring, and could even sign a remaining free agent. Either way, your overall point is valid. We've had some pretty piss poor RBs over the Brady years and still managed to compete on a high level. It sure would be nice to have some balance though.

ashley1992 said:

I also think it doesn't help the running back position when we have Devey, Cannon, Kline, Connolly and Wendell playing guard and they can't create a hole for our guys to run through. lol

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The Super Bowl line we had last year included Connolly and Wendell. I understand that it normal poster practice to think that they have been terrible. They have NOT been. They played very well last year, especially Wendell.

That having been said, Connolly is gone. Kline did an OK job as a backup. We still need two guards to replace Connolly and Devey. They could come from the draft or free agency.

supafly said:

I think that any of the following positions could be included on offense: OL, RB, WR

Will they necessarily be "upgrades" over what they had last season? That's a question that can't be answered, but it's certainly no sure thing.

The bar was set very low at RB, so that's certainly a possibility.

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A rookie would need to be an upgrade over Gray, and Gaffney. I do indeed think that the bar is very low.

ashley1992 said:

We won the super bowl last year with that group minus Vereen. I respect your opinion and can tell that you are knowlegable and usually agree with your posts, but I think the running back position is very overrated in the NFL nowadays. Gray did run for 200 yards against Indy last year and Blount is always a workhorse and no matter who we would potentially draft at that position, if we don't have a good line to block for them, it doesn't matter who is back there for us.

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No one is saying that we don't need a couple of offensive linemen, certainly not me who argues for a 1st or 2nd round OL almost every year.

That being said, IMHO, Gurley or a top WR would have a greater effect on this offense than a 1st round OG.

Gurley instead of Gray

Perriman instead of Amendola/Dobson

ashley1992 said:

I also think it doesn't help the running back position when we have Devey, Cannon, Kline, Connolly and Wendell playing guard and they can't create a hole for our guys to run through. lol

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I wouldn't mind a high draft pick on a stud left guard. How about you?

NG Pats Fan said:

I wouldn't mind a high draft pick on a stud left guard. How about you?

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I would love to get a stud guard with one of our early draft picks. It's one of our highest priorities in my opinion along with CB and DT. With those interior defensive lines that we are going to be going up against in our division, we better get some people that can protect Tom.

mgteich said:

The Super Bowl line we had last year included Connolly and Wendell. I understand that it normal poster practice to think that they have been terrible. They have NOT been. They played very well last year, especially Wendell.

That having been said, Connolly is gone. Kline did an OK job as a backup. We still need two guards to replace Connolly and Devey. They could come from the draft or free agency.

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I agree that they were perfectly competent, particularly at pass protection. But as you say, Connolly is gone.

Moreover, next Fall we will have a 38 year old Quarterback. I think he is the best ever, and his ability to perform at a high level without major injuries at his age last year is remarkable. For example, it isn't like he was handing the ball off in the Super Bowl, the offense was completely on his shoulders.

However, it is hard to imagine that he will continue to be so injury-free and function at such a high level unless the offensive line becomes the strength of the team, and it becomes great instead of merely competent. With a great offensive line, maybe we can start running the ball more also. All of this to extend Brady's career, similarly to how Elway's productive career was extended in Denver with their strong line play and running game. That is why I think that despite our holes in the defensive line and cornerback, getting a couple of great guards should be the top priority in the draft.