The wildcard is Tate. I think Tate either settles into the #3 role at some point next year or he moves on. Tate will need practice and game reps to grow into this role. So unless the Pats are ready to give up on Tate or Edelman (and I don't think they are), bringing in a FA to push them down the depth chart seems misguided. Bringing in a draft pick to compete with Stanback for the #6 seems fine, but I wouldn't invest more than a mid-round pick to do it.
I do believe the Pats could use a pure speed guy, but I would rather see that at the RB position as a return guy and an eventual replacement for Faulk.
I think we're on the same page here. However, my issue is banking on Tate - I have very high hopes for him, but if his injury is another ligament tear, that is a huge disappointment. That would set him back to at least training camp, and put him largely in the same situation he was this year. Really makes you feel for the guy. It's never been confirmed, so we won't know until the summer, probably, when we see if he's at camps or not.
I think the point about getting a speed guy at RB is a good one.
We have avoided the super-quick undersized offensive skill player in the last two drafts and we have missed out. Chris Johnson, Donnie Avery, Eddie Royal, etc. I'd like to see us pick up a guy like that at either or both positions. (On a side note, can anyone see us swinging a trade for Royal? He's really underused in the Broncos offense which has great depth at the wide receiver position. And, like many Patriot players on this roster, he had great success playing against us.)
I forgot about Stanback - I like what I see from him so far, but you never know how much of it is just being put in a position he's been forced to be in. The lack of depth has thrust him into the role he's played. This is the same offense with the same quarterback that turned Reche Caldwell into a decent #1. Two years later, Caldwell was out of the league. So I'm always wary of saying "hey, Sam Aiken is producing more than he used to" or "Brady found Stanback a few times, he must be coming along" and making a judgment like that. It's not a conclusion I feel comfortable making yet.
One final thing on RB vs WR. Given our RB by committee approach, given we have a 3rd down back in Faulk, given we have Maroney & Taylor under contact next season - think about how many snaps another RB would get, even a high draft pick. 10-15? 20 at most? A legitimate #3 WR would get anywhere between 30-55 snaps in this system. When we had Gaffney & Stallworth, we were playing 3-wide almost exclusively. With the depth depleted, and injuries to Aiken & Edelman, we use it less, but still. A #3WR is a starting position on this team, and it needs to be improved greatly for next season.
