A draft we should like

[SidelineSid]

I liked your draft a lot. However, to nitpick, I think that picking 27th is generous right now, and that we're more like to pick in the 21-25 range. With that in mind, I've slot us where Arizona is picking at 22 and 54, in which case I would be even happier with the following (juniors with an *):

22. Cameron Heyward*, DE, Ohio State. 6'6" 287# guy who I think could be the next Richard Seymour at the 5 technique. Good pick. I like this option. The one question that I have to ask is: Do we have to take him this high? The scouting reports on this guy is that he's better suited for a 3-4 than a 4-3. If he falls to us, he would have fallen past teams like the Jets and 49er's. Other than the Chargers, I don't think there are too many teams that we have to worry about stealing him from us.

47. Greg Romeus*, DE/OLB, Pittsburgh. 6'5" 265# monster with a non-stop motor. I really, really like this pick. The only problem is that ther's a rumor going around that he might stay another year. I hope it's not true.

48. Gabe Carimi*, OT/OG, Wyoming. A 6'7" 325# beast who should be able to play RG or RT equally.

54. Austen Lane, DE/OLB, Murray State. A 6'6" 260# freak with 4.6 speed and DeMarcus Ware agility (6.70 3-cone, 4.07 20 yard shuttle).

I love Beal and Graham and would be happy with both, but I think that Lane is better suited to play in space than Graham and that Romeus and Lane offer the kind of length and athleticism that BB loves. I love Iupati, but I can't turn up the chance to get a blue chip prospect at 3-4 DE, and I think Gabe Carimi should be about as good for as at RG/RT.

I like Golden Tate, but I still don't see what he provides that a healthy Brandon Tate shouldn't. Give B. Tate a chance before drafting another Tate.

Short of landing Rolando McClain, that would be about as good a draft as I could imagine.

To who ever mentioned Jermaine Gresham, please don't. for the love of all that's sweet and beautiful, please don't jinx us. Bill has spent 10,000 draft picks on the tight end position. I really hope that we don't do it again. If we do, it would have been the third time in ten years that we would have devoted a first round pick on that position. It is dumb. Especially considering that we don't even use the tight end as a receiver that often, it doesn't make sense. To this day, I don't know why Bill spends so many draft picks on them, and then rarely uses them.

 

[patsfaninpa]

To who ever mentioned Jermaine Gresham, please don't. for the love of all that's sweet and beautiful, please don't jinx us. Bill has spent 10,000 draft picks on the tight end position. I really hope that we don't do it again. If we do, it would have been the third time in ten years that we would have devoted a first round pick on that position. It is dumb. Especially considering that we don't even use the tight end as a receiver that often, it doesn't make sense. To this day, I don't know why Bill spends so many draft picks on them, and then rarely uses them.

Sorry to mention Gresham. But, he'd be a great pick if healthy. Heyward will be gone before we pick. Here's a link with 2 1st round mocks. Good site. Both have him gone before we pick. I think J.Odrick - PSU might be a two-gap de for the 3-4. I did a mock on the another site and have us taking

1 b. graham - olb - michigan
2a e. griffen - de - usc
2b a. mccoy - te - usc
2C m. johnson - G - bama

NFL Draft - 2009 Mock Drafts - CBSSports.com - NFLDraftScout.com

 

[carolinatony]

To who ever mentioned Jermaine Gresham, please don't. for the love of all that's sweet and beautiful, please don't jinx us. Bill has spent 10,000 draft picks on the tight end position. I really hope that we don't do it again. If we do, it would have been the third time in ten years that we would have devoted a first round pick on that position. It is dumb. Especially considering that we don't even use the tight end as a receiver that often, it doesn't make sense. To this day, I don't know why Bill spends so many draft picks on them, and then rarely uses them.


I was just speaking with my brother and we were mentioning why BB does NOT use the TE. Only BB knows.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

To who ever mentioned Jermaine Gresham, please don't. for the love of all that's sweet and beautiful, please don't jinx us. Bill has spent 10,000 draft picks on the tight end position. I really hope that we don't do it again. If we do, it would have been the third time in ten years that we would have devoted a first round pick on that position. It is dumb. Especially considering that we don't even use the tight end as a receiver that often, it doesn't make sense. To this day, I don't know why Bill spends so many draft picks on them, and then rarely uses them.

TE's require a rare combination of size, speed, quickness, hands, and versatility to go from blocking DL to lead blocking for RBs to blocking in the open field to running good routes against DBs and LBs to making tough catches in traffic, playing split wide, in the backfield, or in-line, on Special Teams, as a DB for Hail Mary defenses...BB clearly expects a great deal from a Tight End and is willing to spend a high pick to get one he likes. That said, I don't expect him to go after a TE too early while he has Moss and Welker to play with.

 

[dryheat44]

BB's use of 3rd round picks for the Pats:

2000 - J.R. Redmond - not much there.
2001 - Brock Williams - see above.
2002 - traded to move up for Dan Graham - decent use of the pick.
2003 - traded pick (#75) plus 2nd round pick (#41) for #36 and #117, used to draft Eugene Wilson - decent but not great.
2004 - Gus Scott - dreadful may be an understatement.
2005 - Ellis Hobbs - decent but not great. 95 pick traded for John Starks - dreadful may be an understatement. Nick Kaczur was a comp pick.
2006 - traded up for Chad Jackson, and Dave Thomas. Dreadful may be an understatement.
2007 - traded.
2008 - traded + Crable and O'Connell. Dreadful may be an understatement.
2009 - traded x 2 for 2010 2nd round picks plus Brandon Tate. Too early to tell. McKenzie was a comp pick.

"Pretty dreadful" may be an understatement.

I would disagree. JR Redmond was a key player on a Super Bowl team. Brock Williams suffered a career-ending injury. Graham, Wilson, Hobbs, and Kaczur were all multi-year starters, and are still starting in this league. I'm not sure what more you expect from third round picks. Thomas is a key cog in the New Orleans offense. Scott was over-drafted as a special teams star, but suffered multiple knee injuries. At least he cost us very little thanks to his dummy agent.

The clear misses are trading one for Starks, and drafting Jackson and O'Connell. It would be nice to be able to consistently draft all-pros in the third round, but I think "Pretty dreadful" is way overboard.

 

[captain stone]

It would be nice to be able to consistently draft all-pros in the third round, but I think "Pretty dreadful" is way overboard.

No it isn't.

And "pretty dreadful" can pretty much describe every other pick from the '04 (excl. Wilfork), '07 & '08 drafts, and beyond rd 2 of the '01 draft, too.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Thomas is a key cog in the New Orleans offense.

And he made a lot of sense at the time, with Graham in the last year of his contract, and before Miami undertendered Wes Welker.

 

[SidelineSid]

I'll never understand why we traded a TE with probably the best hands on the team, with the possible exceptions of Faulk and Welker, and replace him with a blocking TE who wasn't a good enough blocking TE to stay on the team past week 2 or so and is now on his 4th team this year.

I usually defend Belichick, but between the Thomas-Matthews situation, and then trading draft picks for Alex Smith in order to cut him, he's really bulloxed the tight end position this year. Thomas has looked great for New Orleans this year...better than Shockey, and he'd not doing anything differently than he would have done in this offense.

What the hell, throw in Greg Lewis and Derrick Burgess too, and you have plenty of evidence for the "draft picks aren't worth much" crowd.

That was one of the dumbest moves I can remember. More importantly, I'll never understand why Bill spends so many draft picks on TE's, and then he rarely uses them in the passing game. If he just wants a dedicated blocker, why not waste a low end draft choice on them. A fifth round pick should do. Instead Bill has spent several first and third round choices on guys he doesn't even deem worthy of keeping. Please, please, don't put Jermaine Gresham on your mock drafts. I don't think I could take it if he picks him. I don't think our pass rush can take it either.