Gil Brandt Adds A.J.Derby to his Day 3 Possible Impact Player List.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...id-cobb-among-impact-players-drafted-on-day-3

The former quarterback -- who started his college career at Iowa, then played for Coffeyville Community College before landing in Arkansas, where he converted to tight end last season -- will line up all over the field for New England. He will block, but he also has tons of upside, thanks to his athletic ability and speed.

He's the kind of guy Bill Belichick likes to shift around and use as the H-back, as a wide receiver and as a tight end. Of course, Derby won't beat out Rob Gronkowski, but he could push Timothy Wright as a spot player this season. The Pats develop players pretty quickly, and Derby could be making a splash as soon as 2016.

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I will be surprised if Wright makes the 53 ....

He was invisible down the stretch ... barring an injury I think Derby has a chance to beat him out.
Wright does not have a skill we don't already have ...... Derby has more ST potential.

IcyPatriot said:

I will be surprised if Wright makes the 53 ....

He was invisible down the stretch ... barring an injury I think Derby has a chance to beat him out.

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he was invisible because pats played with 3WR 1 TE and Amendola became a good weapon in the slot.

I thought there was a chance Derby wouldn't even be ready for the start of the season due to a knee injury or something. I'm guessing he'll be on the PUP and have a chance to get on the roster mid season?

reneluar said:

... and Amendola became a good weapon in the slot.

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Mister. You must be new to these here parts. Thems fightin werds around here.

I think we'll carry 3 te's and 6 wr's. I count Slater as a WR, so really only 5. Wright can't block anybody but is an effective receiver in the red zone. I see Dobson as the 4th wr, with the 5th spot a battle between; Wright, Gibson, Boyce and Tyms. Wright prob has the lead right now. Derby would have to beat out Davis for the 3rd te. Or, Wright could be the 3rd te and a different 5th receiver. Meaning Davis and Derby don't make the cut. Maybe, Boyce or Gibson has a good camp. At least there's some good competition. Nothing set in stone for those last few spots.

If Derby shows well in camp, maybe BB decides not to expose him to waivers and risk losing him as happened the last time Pats had promising TEs at cut down time that they were hoping to sneak to the PS or add to the roster later, in Lee Smith and Will Yeatman.

Both have been productive pros.

People sure are down on a guy who came across in a trade with SFA time to properly integrate himself into the playbook/team. I'd like to see what Wright can do with a full offseason under his belt before throwing him out with the bathwater.

patsfaninpa said:

I think we'll carry 3 te's and 6 wr's. I count Slater as a WR, so really only 5. Wright can't block anybody but is an effective receiver in the red zone. I see Dobson as the 4th wr, with the 5th spot a battle between; Wright, Gibson, Boyce and Tyms. Wright prob has the lead right now. Derby would have to beat out Davis for the 3rd te. Or, Wright could be the 3rd te and a different 5th receiver. Meaning Davis and Derby don't make the cut. Maybe, Boyce or Gibson has a good camp. At least there's some good competition. Nothing set in stone for those last few spots.

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I agree with almost all of this analysis. I just don't think that Wright has the lead for the 5th WR spot. I think that Gibson has that lead. There is even a s,all chance that Dobson won't make the roster.

BOTTOM LINE
1) Four WR's, Slater, and 2 TE's are very, very likely to have spots.
2) The competition is for TWO additional roster spots which could be any out 2 of
Gibson, Hooman, Wright, Boyce, Tyms, Dorsey, Davis, Derby, or even someone else.

It's good to have competition.

I forgot Hoo-Man. My bad. He could definitely be the 3rd TE. Kinda funny how everyone thinks we need receivers on draft night. Then you look at our roster. Pretty darn good. Edelman plays like a pro-bowler and JoJO LaFell really came on in the second half of the season and playoffs.

Man, the competition at TE is going to be tight this year. Gronk, Chandler, Hooman, Wright, Davis, Derby... Last year we jumped for joy when Bill traded for Wright because we were so desperate for a decent TE2. Now, Wright could end up being the 5th or 6th best TE. Crazy.

One thing's for sure, whichever 3 or 4 TEs make the roster will have earned their spots.

I'm rooting for Derby. He looked really good in his highlight video. Yes, of course, it is a highlight video, but still the skills he showed suggest a decent upside if he develops.

We already have a pretty good idea that Hooman and Wright are nothing special, and Derby is the shiny new penny we found. We need to take it to BB the coin dealer to find out what it's worth. Most likely it is only worth a penny, but maybe we got lucky and found a rare coin worth much more.

I hope football talk isn't frowned upon in this establishment

The contrast between TE and CB is not lost on me comparing last year to this year.

I have to ask the obligatory Tight End question. Can he block?

You almost have to wonder, the depth at TE is so seemingly deep, imagine if Gronk, Chandler, Wright, Davis, Derby and even Hooman showed really well this offseason. Would they cut half the group, or would BB task McDaniels with implementing a super sweet 3 or 4 TE set?

So how about a set with Gronk, Chandler, Davis, Derby and Wright on the line, then suddenly Gronk splits out wide and Wright lines up in the backfield, they run the play, the line plows forward and Brady fakes a handoff to Wright, pulls it in, but then tosses it across field laterally to Derby who had slipped into the backfield a la Edelman and tosses it 30 yards to a sprinting Gronk.

Too much Tight End?

4 Tight end set would be interesting especially in the goal line.

IcyPatriot said:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...id-cobb-among-impact-players-drafted-on-day-3

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Great post. And it's actually about football.

Wheelman said:

I have to ask the obligatory Tight End question. Can he block?

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Can he play corner?

TomPatriot said:

Can he play corner?

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But can he rush the passer?