"With the 32'd Pick of the First Round, the New England Patriots select..."

captain stone said:

How about this surprise:
"With the 32nd and final pick in the first round, the 4-time defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots select… from Louisiana State University…Defensive End…Danielle Hunter."

Click to expand...

That's an intriguing one all right. Hunter fits the Pats' LDE profile perfectly -- pretty much the same frame as Chandler Jones and Michael Buchanan, and maybe even a smidgen better raw athlete. If the thinking is that you can't keep both Jones & Hightower, then drafting a Jones replacement a year in advance could make some sense.

But...for THIS year DE is probably the deepest position on the defense with Jones, Ninkovich, Sheard, Hightower, Buchanan and Moore available. To spend #32 on a player who won't represent much of a year-1 upgrade, I'd want him to be a pretty special prospect. It's hard for me to see Hunter as that. Jones and Buchanan both had an explosive first step off the line, whereas that's Hunter's glaring weakness.

I believe we need to get more athletic at DT.....we have easley, but adding someone like hardison gives the pats a mobile guy with decent size

the pats are softer now against the run than they were at the end of the season.......

The #32 has additional value than high 2nd round picks due to the 5th year possibility, but seriously I don't think a irrefutable trade will present in draft day, if someone is interested they will try to low ball Bill just like it happened with Seattle last year, might as well stay put and grab a starter for 5 years, I'm ok with AJ Cann, he is said to be not that versatile but we do need stability at LG don't we?

If AJ Cann can play LT here, then I would have no problem taking him at 32. Or would we be better-served if DJ Humphries or Jake Fisher were taken to convert from LT to LG?

And I too believe that DE/OLB will not be taken at 32; but of those in that range, I would take Hunter. Maybe Max Valles with one of the cluster picks?

IllegalContact said:

I believe we need to get more athletic at DT.....we have easley, but adding someone like hardison gives the pats a mobile guy with decent size

the pats are softer now against the run than they were at the end of the season.......

Click to expand...

Seems like last season that we gave up a ton of yards on the ground when the opposing team ran off tackle. except for the Cleveland signing, we have not really addressed that situation.

I think we'll try to trade down. I don't see much difference between the guys around at 30 and those around 15/20 picks later.

The Patriots seem to be interested in the top level OL players and high end WRs. Obviously CB seems a need too. The flip side of this is the depth at WR is good but at CB the starters are all likely to be gone by about pick 50.

Going by CBS rankings I see the most viable pick at 32 (if we stay) being someone like AJ Cann, Jalean Strong or Eric Rowe/Ronald Darby. The other outsider is someone like Eddie Goldman/Grady Jarrett.

I think this might be one of those Devin McCourty/Logan Mankins years where we might be a bit stunned by who we pick at 32. It will probably be someone who most have a late 2nd round grade on (Jarrett?)

captain stone said:

If AJ Cann can play LT here, then I would have no problem taking him at 32. Or would we be better-served if DJ Humphries or Jake Fisher were taken to convert from LT to LG?

And I too believe that DE/OLB will not be taken at 32; but of those in that range, I would take Hunter. Maybe Max Valles with one of the cluster picks?

Click to expand...

There are questions as to whether Cann is a fit at LG in our system. He's a mauler and doesn't move all that great. Can't play tackle anywhere. I can see Fisher at 32. He can play LG as a rookie. If we don't keep Solder, he can slide outside.

BelichickFan said:

However I'm on that bandwagon, not necessary at #32 but we need a top talent at WR badly IMO unless they really like Dobson, Tyms or Boyce. Other than them we have no depth nor upside.

Click to expand...

I have a hard time buying this line of reasoning. Edelman/LaFell/Amendola may lack top end star power, but it is a well rounded corps that is perfectly suited for what NE wants to do. We'd all like the depth to be better, but what team out there is thrilled to be regularly trotting their 4th and 5th receivers on the field?

It also seems possible, or even probable, that between Dobson/Tyms/Boyce, the couple scrap heap signings and the almost certain later round acquisition NE has ample opportunity to find a couple more reliable backups. That's what then need. Not a top talent, but just someone who can step up if/when Edelman or Amdendola go down.

This is made even more so by the fact that NE's top receiving option isn't even a receiver at all, so we're already talking about 2nd-4th options. And that's before recognizing that receiving TE is much deeper this year than it was last.

If NE sees an opportunity to bring in a stud outside guy,you won't hear me complain. But it isn't nearly the need that CB, DT, OG and ILB are so I'm not going to hold my breath.

zimmy said:

Going by CBS rankings I see the most viable pick at 32 (if we stay) being someone like AJ Cann, Jalean Strong or Eric Rowe/Ronald Darby. The other outsider is someone like Eddie Goldman/Grady Jarrett.

Click to expand...

Darby,eh? He has great speed and some coverage skills but I don't think I have ever seen a CB with worse hands. They are stones. Time and time again heis in the perfect position and drops the ball.

Yeah, using 32 on Darby or Eric Rowe is too early. They are guys I would consider at 64 if CB had not been addressed at 32.

I think a CB is a must. Our defense will get wrecked with the way it is currently built at CB.

scott99 said:

I think a CB is a must. Our defense will get wrecked with the way it is currently built at CB.

Click to expand...

It's not as bad as you think it is.

FredFromDartmouth said:

Sounds about right but I will take it a bit further. The Patriots will select someone we did not expect and who is a bit of a disappointment to some...but then turns out great...like Jamie Collins.

Even better there will be some high-maintenance, big, prima-donna WR who all the draftnics love and instead of taking him, the Patriots trade down and select some Jamie Collins type.

Click to expand...

FredFromDartmouth said:

Sounds about right but I will take it a bit further. The Patriots will select someone we did not expect and who is a bit of a disappointment to some...but then turns out great...like Jamie Collins.

Even better there will be some high-maintenance, big, prima-donna WR who all the draftnics love and instead of taking him, the Patriots trade down and select some Jamie Collins type.

Click to expand...

This sounds right. I don't think the Patriots ever pick for need. Fit, athleticism (i.e. Collins) and value are all that matter. The Pats would rather fill their needs by other means than pass over the best player available each time they pick. Without moving up or down Arik Armstead, an under performing workout warrior, is there to go to the Pats exactly at Pick 32 in the Top 300 published in SI magazine. He is projected to go all over the place but rarely if at all in the top 25. Someone else might covet him, though he is a project and an under achiever, but it's foreseeable that he will be there for the taking at #32. Here are some positive takes about him:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2431895-why-oregon-dl-arik-armstead-should-be-a-top-10-draft-pick

Armstead and CB Byron Jones (who clearly fills a need) are the Collins type players that the Patriots love and patiently develop. This opinion includes both of them among the most athletic players in this draft:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...yron-jones-leads-nine-most-athletic-prospects

If either of them are there at #32, I don't see the Patriots trading out of the first round. If both are still there, perhaps the Patriots try to trade up if whoever they don't pick between these two slides far enough into the second round to stand out as a value pick that the Pats can target.

I would be much happier with PJ Williams instead of Darby. Darby has better speed, but PJ has better coverage skills, much better hands and hits a LOT harder. I do not want Darby; you need to have CBs with soft hands so that QBs have to pay the price if make a mistake. You have to make the throws be high-risk but with Darby they throws would always be safe.

I would love to see PJ on one side and Butler on the other....

A cornerback or else the New England Patriots secondary will get torched during the 2015 NFL Season.

The closer the draft gets, the more I'm becoming convinced that the best play at 32 is a DT. Whether its Goldman from FSU or Davis from Iowa, I just think that's a good value pick, in a position of need.

You can get good value on guards in the mid rounds, and although our secondary might not be as good as it was last year, I feel comfortable with Butler and Fletcher outside, especially reading comments from a number of sources that say the team expects big things from Butler.

That's just my .02 ....

AzorianPats said:

The closer the draft gets, the more I'm becoming convinced that the best play at 32 is a DT. Whether its Goldman from FSU or Davis from Iowa, I just think that's a good value pick, in a position of need.

You can get good value on guards in the mid rounds, and although our secondary might not be as good as it was last year, I feel comfortable with Butler and Fletcher outside, especially reading comments from a number of sources that say the team expects big things from Butler.

That's just my .02 ....

Click to expand...

Don'y mean to keep taking issue with your good, and very plausible, points but I really hope it's not Goldman at 32. I really don't think he's a three down guy. I think he'd be a good run stopping 0 or 1 tech but we already have Alan Branch for that role. I'm hoping for Grady Jarrett or Marcus Hardison in a trade back (or at 64) but can see Carl Davis or Jordan Phillips also potentially being trade back targets.

Here's where I do agree with you though. If the top targets at 32 are off the board (people like Jones, Erving, Johnson, Peters) then I'd rather look at a different position rather than reach for a CB or OL.

manxman2601 said:

If the top targets at 32 are off the board (people like Jones, Erving, Johnson, Peters) then I'd rather look at a different position rather than reach for a CB or OL.

Click to expand...

I'm with you. At CB, in particular, they have plenty of bodies -- the need is for an impact player. If he's not there, move on.

manxman2601 said:

Don'y mean to keep taking issue with your good, and very plausible, points but I really hope it's not Goldman at 32. I really don't think he's a three down guy. I think he'd be a good run stopping 0 or 1 tech but we already have Alan Branch for that role. I'm hoping for Grady Jarrett or Marcus Hardison in a trade back (or at 64) but can see Carl Davis or Jordan Phillips also potentially being trade back targets.

Here's where I do agree with you though. If the top targets at 32 are off the board (people like Jones, Erving, Johnson, Peters) then I'd rather look at a different position rather than reach for a CB or OL.

Click to expand...

No issues at all Manx, I always respect your input.

I probably rate Goldman better than you, but I understand your reasoning. I feel OK with Branch and Siliga, but just feel we got pushed around in the trenches more then I liked last year. That could be because Siliga missed time due to injury, and Branch came mid way into the season, but I also feel those guys (Branch in particular) are just a year or 2 rentals.

I know the 325lbs run stuffing NT isnt as important as it was 10 years ago, but I still have nightmares of that 2002 Pats D that couldn't stop the run for the life of them. That to me was more frustrating to watch than the piss poor secondaries we had for a couple of years.

Another guy that's becoming a Binky of mine is Eric Kendricks.

I don't know if we'll draft an LB that high, but he's a playmaker, in a position that looks like the team is trying to improve.