2014 Draft Contact List

[manxman2601]

New England Patriots have worked out Anthony Larry/DE-OLB/Eastern Washington- good fit as designated pass rusher; R Ninkovich just turned 30

https://twitter.com/TonyPauline/status/450683270188236800

Anthony Larry!

:rocker:

Wait...

Who?

 

[patchick]

https://twitter.com/TonyPauline/status/450683270188236800

Anthony Larry!

:rocker:

Wait...

Who?

You know, Anthony Larry! It's just like they said, a designated pass rusher because Rob Ninkovich is turning 30.

Wait...

 

[manxman2601]

You know, Anthony Larry! It's just like they said, a designated pass rusher because Rob Ninkovich is turning 30.

Wait...

Getting interest from the Packers, Bears and Seahawks as well as us.

Tony Pauline really likes him:

Defensive end Anthony Larry, who totaled 61 tackles and 5.5 sacks last season, measured 6022/251lbs (15 more than his playing weight), timed 4.74s in the forty, 4.27s in the short shuttle, 7.23 in the cone and completed 15 reps on the bench. Larry could be the most underrated defensive prospect in the nation. He looked like a terror on the field as a sophomore in 2011 then was ruled academically ineligible the following year. He made it back in time to take part in the 2013 season, yet was never graded by any scouting concern. On film, he's a natural pass rusher with terrific physical skills. Larry's a fluid athlete who shows ability playing in space, which give him an advantage in camp this summer.

2014 NFL Pro Day Results: WalterFootball.com

Off to youtube for me

 

[patchick]

Off to youtube for me

Nah, that's too much work. I'm just going by the name and calling Larry a junior Demarcus Lawrence.

 

[manxman2601]

Nah, that's too much work. I'm just going by the name and calling Larry a junior Demarcus Lawrence.

Only had his pro day and some high school footage. We've found our third round pick.

 

[manxman2601]

Nah, that's too much work. I'm just going by the name and calling Larry a junior Demarcus Lawrence.

Those good fellows at Draft Breakdown come up with this this very day:

Anthony Larry vs Towson (2013) | Draft Breakdown

First impressions weren't that great but I was impressed with his body type and athleticism. I am intrigued enough to want to see more. However, being manhandled by a 230lb TE (#84) was a bit of a downer.

 

[manxman2601]

So the last time the Patriots had two high profile QBs in for a visit, they drafted one of them.

Locker/Mallett.

 

[Urgent]

**UPDATED**



The Patriots have had pre-draft contact with the following 2014 NFL Draft Prospects.

PW – Private Workout
OV – Official Visit
CI – Combine Interview
U – Unconfirmed Contact (Interview, Workout, Etc…)

Quarterbacks
Kenny Guiton, QB, Ohio State (PW)
Connor Shaw, QB, S Carolina (PW)

Running Backs
Ben Malena, RB, Texas A&M (U)
Nikita Whitlock, FB (?), Wake Forest (PW)
Dri Archer, RB, Kent State (PW)
Marion Grice, RB, Arizona State (U)
Stephen Houston, RB, Indiana (PW)
Storm Johnson, RB, UCF (PW)


Wide Receivers
Odell Beckham Jr., WR, LSU (CI)
Michael Campanaro, WR, Wake Forest (CI, U)
Brandon Coleman, WR, Rutgers (CI)
Mike Evans, WR Texas A&M (PW)
Marqise Lee, WR, USC (CI)
Bruce Ellington, WR, S Carolina (PW)
Robert Herron, WR, Wyoming (PW)
Jeremy Gallon, WR, Michigan (PW)
Kelvin Benjamin, WR, FSU (PW)


Tight Ends
Jace Amaro, TE, Texas Tech (CI)
C.J. Fiedorowicz, TE, Iowa (CI) (OV)
Troy Niklas,TE, Notre Dame (CI)
Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE, Washington (CI)
Blake Annen, TE, Cincinnati (PW)
Marcel Jensen, TE, Fresno State (U)

Offensive Line
Xavier Su’a-Filo, OG, UCLA (CI)
Matt Patchan, OT, Boston College (CI)

Defensive Line
Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh (CI)
Ego Ferguson, DT, LSU (CI)
Ra’Shede Hageman, DE/DT, Minnesota (CI)
Zach Moore, DE, Concordia (PW)
Dee Ford, DE, Auburn (PW)
James Gayle, DE, Virginia Tech (U)

Linebackers
Jackson Jeffcoat, OLB, Texas (CI)
Tyler Starr, OLB, South Dakota (CI)
Kevin Pierre-Louis, OLB, Boston College (U)
Jordan Tripp, OLB, Montana (PW)
Brock Coyle, OLB, Montana (PW)
Jack Tyler, ILB, Virginia Tech (PW)
Xavius Boyd, LB, Western Kentucky (PW)
Andrew Wilson, ILB, Missouri (PW)


Defensive Backs
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S, Alabama (CI)
Brock Vereen, S, Minnesota (CI)
Shaquille Richardson, CB, Arizona (PW)
Alden Darby, S, Arizona (PW)
Kenneth Gilstrap, CB, Middle Tennessee State (U)
Kendall James, CB, Maine (U)
Walt Aikens, CB, Liberty (PW)
Kevin Fogg, CB, Liberty (PW)
Lonnie Ballentine, S, Memphis (PW)
Hakeem Smith, S, Louisville (PW)



Specialists
Vincenzo D’Amato, PK, California (PW)
Andrew Furney, PK, Washington (PW)

Always an interesting exercise. Thanks Manx.

As people have noted, while the players don't always line up, there is a correlation with the numbers of players at certain positions and where the Patriots focus in the draft.

Check out the lack of DL and OL interest so far. Other than a few Combine Interviews, which as a lower investment of time seem to correlate less with their interests, only two private workouts to date.

A lot more QB/RB/WR research so far than we might expect. Less TE.
Lot of attention to mid-level LB and Secondary.

 

[patchick]

So the last time the Patriots had two high profile QBs in for a visit, they drafted one of them.

Locker/Mallett.

Yep, they were prepared to take advantage of a major slide. If one of these players falls similarly, who knows?

 

[BelichickFan]

So the last time the Patriots had two high profile QBs in for a visit, they drafted one of them.

Locker/Mallett.

Regarding the QB, we have two "QB issues" right now. This assumes that Mallett stays in 2015 and leaves as a UFA in 2015.

1) We need a backup QB for 2015. Preferably one who knows the offense which would mean he's on the team this year.

2) We need a starting QB for 2018. Yes that could be Brady if he decided to keep playing .

Both of those make this an obvious year to draft a QB - and I think we all expect them to but a little later in the draft. But given (1) and (2) it makes sense to keep the top QB in consideration and be prepared "just in case".

 

[Wilfork#75]

Regarding the QB, we have two "QB issues" right now. This assumes that Mallett stays in 2015 and leaves as a UFA in 2015.

1) We need a backup QB for 2015. Preferably one who knows the offense which would mean he's on the team this year.

2) We need a starting QB for 2018. Yes that could be Brady if he decided to keep playing .

Both of those make this an obvious year to draft a QB - and I think we all expect them to but a little later in the draft. But given (1) and (2) it makes sense to keep the top QB in consideration and be prepared "just in case".

I certainly agree we need someone to replace Mallett, but I think it's 2 years too early to look for the eventual Brady replacement unless he has given an indication that he won't see out his contract. Brady still has 4 years left under contract, so if we draft someone this year they will reach free agency at the same time as Brady (assuming we don't use a 1st round pick and pick up a 5th year option). I think 2016 would be the ideal time to draft the eventual Brady replacement because it would hopefully give a rookie QB two years in the system to learn before taking over, and if Brady does retire after his current contract, two years of starting experience before needing to hand out a big contract. Drafting a long term replacement now could put us in a precarious position if Brady retires after his current contract and our backup is a free agent with no starting experience and looking for a decent sized contract.

 

[BelichickFan]

I certainly agree we need someone to replace Mallett, but I think it's 2 years too early to look for the eventual Brady replacement unless he has given an indication that he won't see out his contract. Brady still has 4 years left under contract, so if we draft someone this year they will reach free agency at the same time as Brady (assuming we don't use a 1st round pick and pick up a 5th year option). I think 2016 would be the ideal time to draft the eventual Brady replacement because it would hopefully give a rookie QB two years in the system to learn before taking over, and if Brady does retire after his current contract, two years of starting experience before needing to hand out a big contract. Drafting a long term replacement now could put us in a precarious position if Brady retires after his current contract and our backup is a free agent with no starting experience and looking for a decent sized contract.

I agree it's not perfect which is why I have wanted, and expected, to pick a QB later in the draft (3rd round or later) and have a year to evaluate if he can fill either role (2015 backup or long term starter). I wouldn't plan on using a #1 at this time.

However I also wouldn't rule out the possibility if the right guy drops. I think there's a 25% chance Bridgewater make it to our pick as things stand now. We may not even like him. What what if he's evaluated by the Patriots as a pro bowl caliber QB ? The next Aaron Rodgers so to speak. Would I take him ? Absolutely. Sure I would prefer to be doing this in two years but when you pick low all the time you can't choose your year.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Whilst there's still a month to go, does anyone else think it interesting that the only OL we are reported to have worked out is Trey Hopkins of Texas. That's it apparently (some suggestion that Matt Patchan got a look at the BC pro day).

Ahem.

Christopher Price @cpriceNFL
Per this report, Pats looked at Jeff Godfrey, Justin McCray, Jordan McCray, Chris Martin & Storm Johnson at UCF Tues
New England Patriots conduct private workout with former UCF players - Orlando Sentinel

The players in bold are all OLs.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Going back over the last three years of visits, the Patriots look at a lot of prospects at the position they end up drafting. I don't necessarily focus on the names, but more often than not, the positions they look at can be telling.

The Patriots canceled Nate Solder's pre-draft visit precisely so they wouldn't have to report it to the league and therefore other teams (IIRC, every team gets to know who each team brings in for a visit).

OTOH, back in 2009, the Pats brought Minitron in for a visit. [Rather amusingly, so did the LOLphins. The LOLphins would have been better off drafting Edelman instead of Pat White, even if they did it with the second-rounder they used on White.]

 

[manxman2601]

The Patriots canceled Nate Solder's pre-draft visit precisely so they wouldn't have to report it to the league and therefore other teams (IIRC, every team gets to know who each team brings in for a visit).

OTOH, back in 2009, the Pats brought Minitron in for a visit. [Rather amusingly, so did the LOLphins. The LOLphins would have been better off drafting Edelman instead of Pat White, even if they did it with the second-rounder they used on White.]

If you go back and look at the 2011 version of this thread, Nate Solder was on there so it wasn't much of a secret

 

[manxman2601]

It should also be noted that they put Bortles through his video watching paces at the UCF pro day that the Patriots attended. They also were at Ball State's pro day whose QB is Keith Wenning and they are giving him a private workout too.


Just a note on this Brady has four more years on his contract, any QB drafted this year will see out his first contract thing. All very true but Brady is 36, it's quite possible that in a couple of years time that he could go into a fairly steep decline and also, at that age, injuries are tougher to come back from. I wish neither on him but it's smart to prepare for either possibility.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

If you go back and look at the 2011 version of this thread, Nate Solder was on there so it wasn't much of a secret

My point is simply that the number of visits at a particular position doesn't necessarily correlate with the (un)likelihood of drafting players at that position.

 

[manxman2601]

My point is simply that the number of visits at a particular position doesn't necessarily correlate with the (un)likelihood of drafting players at that position.

It's a guide is all - it just happens to be a pretty good one. In the year they drafted Chandler Jones, they had contact with a number of first round pass rushers just as they looked at OTs the year they drafted Solder. They looked at almost every TE the year they drafted Gronk and of course looked at almost every WR last year. The two I found that couldn't really be predicted by pre-draft visits were Hightower and Collins.

 

[manxman2601]

Don't be surprised if Dominique Easley comes in for a visit, and don't read too much into it if he does. We had both Lattimore and Carradine visit us last year. The same can be said for Tuitt, Nix and ASJ.

 

[manxman2601]

Stephon Tuitt is having a private workout with the Pats on Thursday according to Gil Brandt.