After Week 7: Devin McCourty or Dez Bryant?

[ivanvamp]

Not to be an ass, but that's a horrible way to look at it. You're going into "what if" and hypothetical land. What did happen was we traded back with Denver, picked up Hernandez, and then traded back with Dallas and selected McCourty / Price.

Nah, it's cool. No problem. I realize I am playing "what if", but that's part of what's happening here. Because if the Pats had a pretty good idea that they might deal Moss (which, from reports, seems like a possibility), then picking up Bryant could have opened the door to deal Moss much sooner.

And the reality is that if we picked Bryant, the rest of the teams almost certainly don't all draft the way they do, and we likely don't end up with Gronkowski or Hernandez. So to talk about one change (Bryant v. McCourty) is to automatically invite all kinds of speculation, including mine.

 

[mgteich]

I believe that Dez Bryant will be a star in this league.

That being said we received good value in getting the corner we badly needed in McCourty.

We also trading up with our 4th as part of this deal to move into the 3rd where we expected to be able to draft a needed developmental wide receiver. Price is that player.

Finally, one of Bryant's best skills is as a returner. We already had invested a top pick for one of those in Tate (and another in Edelman). Tate is indeed the best returner we've had in awhile. Hobbs and Welker come to mind as comparable receivers in the Belichick era.

 

[TriplecHamp]

I believe that Dez Bryant will be a star in this league.

That being said we receied good value in getting the corner we badly needed in McCourty.

We also trading up with our 4th as part of this deal to move into the 3rd where we expected to be able to draft a needed developmental wide receiver. Price is that player.

Finally, one of Bryant's best skills is as a returner. We already had invested a top pick for one of those in Tate (and another in Edelman). Tate is indeed the best returner we've had in awhile. Hobbs and Welker come to mind as comparable receivers in the Belichick era.

Punt returner to be exact. Welker is no slouch but Bryan't can take it to the house with ease. I pick McCourty but I agree with you in that Bryant will be an awesome player baring injuries. Big target with strong hands. He gets too much crap here because he was wanted by many so others reply by trying to diminish his skills.

 

[Kontradiction]

McCourty was the most unpopular round-1 pick in ages, it's impressive how quickly he turned the legions around.

That's because the pick was standing by itself, without the rest of the draft to evaluate from. When that happens, the pick has a lot more of a chance to become unpopular at the time. A lot of people, including myself, thought that we needed to go elsewhere with that first round pick. I wanted Odrick, personally. Also, to be fair, the next day when we got a better look at where we were going with the draft and some of those areas of need started getting filled with good picks, a lot of us came around to the choice of McCourty.

As much as I think that people are beginning to overrate him currently (the guy just learned to turn his head and look up for the ball this past weekend), I think he has a VERY bright future with us. I'm very much looking forward to seeing him mature in the system and watching him build off of his first career interception.

 

[FadedIdea]

i was upset when the pats let him go to the cowboys and even more when we drafted mccourty but. Mccourty is what this team needs more and im fine with the decision. Bill knows best

 

[BradyFTW!]

I'd be happy with either of them, and we could still definitely use a Dez Bryant type of guy (especially post-Moss). But I'm more optimistic about Tate than I am about Butler, so I'll go ahead and go with McCourty.

 

[jaychamp]

As much as I think that people are beginning to overrate him currently (the guy just learned to turn his head and look up for the ball this past weekend)

A little earlier than that, a big break up on a pass to Heap come to mind

 

[jsull87]

A little earlier than that, a big break up on a pass to Heap come to mind

I get Kontra's point tho. I thnik it's just pats fans being excited about watching a talented young kid grow in front of us and the potential he has. It's like Gronk, i think he has all the potential to be a dominant TE but if your looking just at stats you would say he has under performed. I am just excited about the growth in all the rookies play McCourty included

 

[Pessimistic Pete]

Dez Bryant is the best young WR in the NFL since Randy Moss, the guy is like from another planet.

It's almost impossible to tackle the guy, and you can NOT arm tackle him down. He is a god damn beast. I have no idea what about his past was SO bad that so many teams passed up on him, by far the most taleneted offensive player of last years draft and will soon be the best WR in the NFL.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Dez Bryant is the best young WR in the NFL since Randy Moss, the guy is like from another planet.

It's almost impossible to tackle the guy, and you can NOT arm tackle him down. He is a god damn beast. I have no idea what about his past was SO bad that so many teams passed up on him, by far the most taleneted offensive player of last years draft and will soon be the best WR in the NFL.

When people say things like that, I think they forget how good Moss really was as a rookie. Bryant isn't even close.

 

[The Dynasty]

When people say things like that, I think they forget how good Moss really was as a rookie. Bryant isn't even close.

Completely agree 100%

 

[Lockdown24]

i was begging the jets through the television to move up and get bryant when he fell to the 20's and was very happy to see the pats did not get him. that said, it seems like mccourty should be a fine CB.

 

[folamzz]

I live in Dallas, so I am bias towards dez bryant. The cowboy coaches have been gushing over him since training camp. He his built like andre johnson, that his what he will be like , not moss. He's an elite talent that i would want on the patriot.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Yup, Hernandez is from the Denver deal. So it's like,

McCourty, Hernandez, & Price vs. Tebow vs. Bryant... take your pick, lol.

McCourty + Hernandez > Dez Bryant. It doesn't even matter what Price does at this point.

Dez Bryant is the best young WR in the NFL since Randy Moss, the guy is like from another planet.

It's almost impossible to tackle the guy, and you can NOT arm tackle him down. He is a god damn beast. I have no idea what about his past was SO bad that so many teams passed up on him, by far the most taleneted offensive player of last years draft and will soon be the best WR in the NFL.

Not even close to Randy Moss and Bryant is playing in an NFL ruleset that favors the wide receiver more than ever.
Come back to me after he actually makes 1k yards. 1 good game doesn't make the guy a beast. It's a flash of potential.
I'm sure you thought Maroney was gonna be a beast after he racked up 100 over a hapless Miami team. And then waited... 5 years later for him to contiue to underachieve.

 

[aluminum seats]

McCourty + Hernandez > Dez Bryant. It doesn't even matter what Price does at this point.



Not even close to Randy Moss and Bryant is playing in an NFL ruleset that favors the wide receiver more than ever.
Come back to me after he actually makes 1k yards. 1 good game doesn't make the guy a beast. It's a flash of potential.
I'm sure you thought Maroney was gonna be a beast after he racked up 100 over a hapless Miami team. And then waited... 5 years later for him to contiue to underachieve.

Of course comparions to all-timers like Moss are premature. But considering it's not possible to analyze 5 years of Bryant yet, we analyze what we HAVE seen. And the guy looks like he can be truly amazing--he's incredibly hard to tackle, and is just a playmaker. I don't know about the off-the-field stuff, but on the field the guy's sick.

Having said that, man did the Pats need a good young CB, so no complaints here.

 

[Patriot Missile]

Interesting topic. If we didn't have such a need at cb I would go Dez Bryant all the way.

He is enormous and physically unmatched. Comparisons to Andre Johnson are pretty much spot on except in character. Johnson has been an outstanding role model for the NFL since day 1. Hardnosed, plays hard and stays out of trouble. The book is out on Bryant in that regard. No doubt Bryant will be immensely talented though if not top 2 or 3.

However the book is still out on McCourty too. I don't remember Samuel or Revis progressing this fast in their rookie season. That is a huge plus in Devin's favor and it put's him in the subject of can this kid be an elite cb in a couple of years? Time will tell and I think both clubs will benefit with the picks.

Btw, I really like the Miles Austin kid too. He'd make a damn fine Patriot someday.

 

[MustaphaM0nd]

Revis was very promising his rookie year IIRC. As solid as McCourty is now, but more of a big play threat. Not that I imagine McCourty (or any other young CB in the league right now) will have a season like Revis did last year.
I actually feel bad for Revis. He overachieved in a league where everything is stacked against corners. Now he's gonna be held to that standard until he retires. He still might be the best in the league, but what he did last year was nuts.

or at least I would if it werent for the contract.

Interesting topic. If we didn't have such a need at cb I would go Dez Bryant all the way.

He is enormous and physically unmatched. Comparisons to Andre Johnson are pretty much spot on except in character. Johnson has been an outstanding role model for the NFL since day 1. Hardnosed, plays hard and stays out of trouble. The book is out on Bryant in that regard. No doubt Bryant will be immensely talented though if not top 2 or 3.

However the book is still out on McCourty too. I don't remember Samuel or Revis progressing this fast in their rookie season. That is a huge plus in Devin's favor and it put's him in the subject of can this kid be an elite cb in a couple of years? Time will tell and I think both clubs will benefit with the picks.

Btw, I really like the Miles Austin kid too. He'd make a damn fine Patriot someday.

 

[PatsFanStnfrd]

McCourty was the most unpopular round-1 pick in ages, it's impressive how quickly he turned the legions around.

Bryant has certainly looked good too, but it's also worth considering how much of this year's personnel shuffling has been about locker-room intangibles. Coaches past and present gush about McCourty's intelligence, football knowledge, attitude, coachability and leadership. Bryant, not so much.

Well said!!

 

[Rob0729]

I didn't want to start another thread for this, but other than the McCourty vs. Bryant comparisons there was the McCourty vs. Kyle Wilson comparisons because many especially Jets fans thought the Pats selected the wrong CB with the pick.

Apparently, both CBs are currently moving in different directions. McCourty is heading towards being a pretty good #1 CB while Wilson looks to be heading towards the inactive list. Apparently, Wilson didn't play a single down against the Broncos last week. Here is what Sexy Rexy said about him yesterday:

“His role is shrinking” Jets coach Rex Ryan said Thursday. “When you do get your opportunities in the game you have to step up.”

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2010/10/ny_jets_notebook_kyle_wilson_f.html

It is still way early in the game, but I think it looks pretty clear so far that Belichick selected the right CB with that pick.

 

[Ring 6]

McCourty is what the Patriots needed more than anything else so even without considering the additional players we picked up by trading back it still has to be McCourty.

Still I'm sure this board would be saying that Bryant was the better pick if we had taken him. Bryant had questions coming into the draft which allowed him to drop as far as he did but he has shown that he was a steal at 24 in the first round. I didn't like the thought of us taking a player with question marks though and I was happy they didn't take Bryant. I think barring injury there is a great chance he goes on to become a great, great player, just too much natural talent there for it not to happen.

But I also think that McCourty will be one of the elite cornerbacks in the league and he is my favourite Patriot rookie.

Bryants question marks revolve around maturity and reliability.
Assessing him after 6 games of his rookie year ignores those risks, so of course he is a 'steal' at 24. You have to take a longer view to see if the reasons teams passed on him and considered him too much of a risk to take before that were accurate or not.
Its crazy to call anyone a steal 6 games in, but even moreso with a guy who dropped for 'character' reasons.