Time for a new mock.
Assumptions.
1.According to Miguel, we'll have $15m in cap room next year assuming the release of Marcus Cannon and Jerod Mayo.
2. I'm going to extend Hightower, and Chandler Jones. Taking the Bobby Wagner contract for Hightower and using Miguel's Mike Daniels template for Chandler Jones, that's an approx saving against the cap of 4.5 million, leaving nearly 20m available.
3. I'm not going to re-sign Blount but I'm not going to release Amendola or Branch either. I will re-sign Hicks though which means our DL almost needs no additions.
4. Unless he improves through the end of the regular season and the playoffs, I'm tempted to say goodbye to LaFell. His return from injury might be a mitigating factor, but he's been a real disappointment. Scott Chandler could be a gonner too although I'm less sure where I stand on him. There's another 4m to be saved there potentially, which, at the very least pays about 2/3 of Amendola's contract and he's the more valuable receiver to me.
5. Keshawn Martin and Leonard Hankerson are both interesting as possible re-signings but I think both should be allowed to test the market. I'm not rushing to approach their agent.
Signings
1. There are a number of interesting RBs available in FA; Chris Ivory, Matt Forte, Doug Martin are possibilities and I wouldn't rule out bringing Ridley back to camp on a 1 year deal. But, with Lewis, White and Bolden already on the roster, I think it's safe to draft the 4th RB.
2.
Sign Benjamin Watson. Could probably be had fairly cheaply at 34 and is having a good year. Don't see why he can't be as productive as Scott Chandler for one season.
3.
Sign Marvin Jones. I still think he's the ideal guy for our offence, and based upon how LaFell is playing currently is probably an upgrade. He won't be restrictively expensive either as he's more a #2 than a #1 receiver.
4. I'm really tempted to suggest signing Mark Barron who is playing really well as a linebacker for the Rams, he's their leading tackler. I'm tempted, but there's probably too much wishful thinking on my part. He was my first ever real binkie.
5. There will be other smaller signings but I'm happy to rely on the draft for any other significant additions to the roster.
Draft
2nd Round
LeRaven Clark, OT, Texas Tech
I think he'll end up going higher than this in the end (Lance Zierlein gives him a late 1st, early 2nd grade) but CBS still has him available for now. Watching his tape, I think there's room for improvement but he wins more than his share thanks to his 36" arms. There's no reason to rush him, coaching should fix the rest and that length can't be coached. I watched him against Trey Flowers and he more than held his own and he reportedly shut down Shawn Oakman this year. He can back up the tackle positions for now and take over from Vollmer in 2017.
3rd Round
Braxton Miller, WR, Ohio State
Binkie baby! I was a little less certain to have him here, purely because I added Marvin Jones and I wondered about adding a more obvious deep threat receiver. But whilst Jones and Miller aren't obvious deep threats, both have the ability to get deep and win. I'd certainly prefer either of those too on the end of a Brady deep ball than Keshawn Martin or Julian Edelman who just don't have the range to win consistently on those passes. Edelman, Gronk, Lewis, Amendola, Jones and Miller would be an awesome receiving corps.
3rd Round (Comp)
Jonathan Williams, RB, Arkansas
It really was a toss up between Williams and Alex Collins, his Arkansas team mate. I'm not wedded to Williams over Collins but he gets the edge because he has better overall ability. Collins excels running between the tackles but Williams is a potential #1 back who could be a top 5 NFL back in the future. He has been injured all year so it might be worth adding Ridley (who I compare Collins too) for a season just in case Williams needs to be IRed.
4th Round
Kevin Peterson, CB, Oklahoma State
Binkie alert! This guy really reminds me of Malcolm Butler. Very physical corner who runs well in downfield man coverage. Outstanding in press and a superb tackler. One of the things that has most impressed me with the Patriots corners this year is their physicality, particularly in run support. Peterson would only add to that. Peterson is protection from losing one of Butler or Ryan through FA at the end of the 2016 season, not that I want us to lose either (I have almost preferred Ryan to Butler these last few games although both have been terrific). Butler/Ryan/Roberts/Peterson/Coleman/Johnson would be a genuinely good but underrated secondary moving forward.
5th Round (Compensatory)
Terrance Smith, LB, Florida State
At this point I'm in dire need of a backup linebacker for Hightower and Collins. I've only seen highlights so far but Smith looks like a fast aggressive linebacker who can drop into coverage - exactly what the team needs. He comes with a recommendation from
@I.M. Fletcher and Optimum Scouting gives Smith a First round grade. Those recommendations are good enough for me.
6th (K.Martin trade)
David Morgan, TE, UTSA
2nd team All-American and PFF's highest graded TE, he's supposed to be an excellent run blocking TE who has shown himself in the passing game too. Now I've just noticed that CBS have him graded as a 4-5th rounder so this might be wishful thinking. In that case, I'd happily substitute him for
Jake McGee of Florida.
6th (Compensatory)
Jihad Ward, DL, Illinois
A 6-5, 290lb 3 or 5-tech. Brief exposure shows a long, bursty lineman who could be an Easley/Hicks backup and might even work at LDE. He has a Senior Bowl invite and I've seen a number of people say he's currently underrated (Matt Miller thinks he might go as high as the 3rd round). Also, his first name would really troll Donald Trump
(just a joke, I'm not making a political statement, I myself lean strongly to the right, albeit not in Trump's direction).
7th Round (Mallett)
Joe Dahl, OL, Washington State
I had this guy as my 2nd rounder in my last mock (I like him) but if CBS have him as a 7th-UDFA guy, who am I to argue. A useful OL swing guy who is excellent in pass-pro.
7th Round
Steven Daniels, LB, Boston College
Lacks the athleticism to do much in coverage and special teams but he's PFF's #1
College linebacker this year and is the star of the top ranked defense in CFB. A tackle for loss/blitzing specialist, he can at least find a spot on the PS and could potentially backup Hightower at a push.
7th Round (Compensatory)
Nick VanHoose, CB, Northwestern
Another of PFF's highly graded players, VanHoose is an off-man CB with 12 PBUs on the year. I like him as a special teamer who could play either the Harmon deep safety role or McCourty's cover safety role. Useful depth on the roster and potential special team star.
I REALLY like the first four picks here and am, at the very least, intrigued by the remaining ones. By the way, when you take into account the depth of our roster, it's really hard to fit guys onto a potential 2016 roster once you hit the mid-late part of day three. It will be interesting to see what BB does with that number of late picks. I can see 2-3 draft picks not even making the day one roster as has happened the last couple of years.
