[FREUD ALERT?] “Even though we’re three, we could be at 23,” Pioli said.

[mayoclinic]

and where do premium LOT's get you?

2006 - ferguson at #5 or marcus mcneill at #50?
2005 - brown at #13 or roos at #41?
2004 - gallery at #2 or starks at #75 or jason peters at (undrafted)?

sure there are guys who are perennial probowlers but when has tying up huge resources at OT ever equated to an incremental improvement of a team?

in my opinion, ''good enough" works much better at OT than at many other positions

Your point is a good one. But it is still very hard to get quality big men later in the draft than quality LBs.

I love Aaron Curry. I had my eye on him a year ago, and 6 months ago when everyone was hyping Laurinaitis and Maualuga I thought he was the best LB around by far. But if we have a top 10 pick (especially a top 5 pick) I think that unless we are absolutely 100% convinced that he will be another Lawrence Taylor, or at least another Junior Seau/Ray Lewis, that we're better off spending the pick on a big guy. BJ Raji and Jason Smith would both be excellent picks, and would have enormous value to the team.

 

[tanked_as_usual]

Your point is a good one. But it is still very hard to get quality big men later in the draft than quality LBs.

I love Aaron Curry. I had my eye on him a year ago, and 6 months ago when everyone was hyping Laurinaitis and Maualuga I thought he was the best LB around by far. But if we have a top 10 pick (especially a top 5 pick) I think that unless we are absolutely 100% convinced that he will be another Lawrence Taylor, or at least another Junior Seau/Ray Lewis, that we're better off spending the pick on a big guy. BJ Raji and Jason Smith would both be excellent picks, and would have enormous value to the team.

I just think there is a bigger law of diminished returns with the drafting of a top of round 1 OT..........I believe it forces you to overpay for the position.....not just in the resources yoy give up (the draft pick), but also the $$ you spend on the contract........Leonard Davis is a better OL than Matt Light, but what difference would he have made? if you go over the past years, what could walter jones, or jordan gross, or any of the top LOT's in the league done to put the pats in a better place than they are? you also must consider the $$ it would have cost for that guy and the compromise it would have forced somewhere else on the roster.........

 

[tanked_as_usual]

I simply don't believe the pats would move up to #3 to get an OT........

the way I see it, if this deal would go down, it would only go down on draft day and only if curry is available.........I don't see anyone else in that spot that the pats would get all jiggy over

 

[tanked_as_usual]

what is better value? a guy like jason smith at #3 or a guy like beatty at #23 and why?

 

[JSn]

what is better value? a guy like jason smith at #3 or a guy like beatty at #23 and why?

I find it hard to imagine the top 5 even holds "good value" since that would be equivalent to getting your money's worth, and that's not gonna happen with top tier players like... ever.

 

[Richter]

I just think there is a bigger law of diminished returns with the drafting of a top of round 1 OT..........I believe it forces you to overpay for the position.....not just in the resources yoy give up (the draft pick), but also the $$ you spend on the contract........Leonard Davis is a better OL than Matt Light, but what difference would he have made? if you go over the past years, what could walter jones, or jordan gross, or any of the top LOT's in the league done to put the pats in a better place than they are? you also must consider the $$ it would have cost for that guy and the compromise it would have forced somewhere else on the roster.........

I totally disagree with you and think you couldn't be more wrong, to be frank. Linemen on both sides of the ball are the most valuable commodity aside from a QB. It costs more to lock up a top tackle in the league than it does a linebacker usually. If you hit with an OT at the top of the draft, you're probably set there for several years, and the money you're spending is equivalent to what you would have spent to lock up a guy in FA. What could a guy like Jones or a Clady or Thomas have meant to putting the Pats in a better place? I dunno, 19-0 instead of 18-1? If the Pats had an elite LT that allowed them to slide Light to RT, it could have strengthened the line as a whole and allowed the offense to perform well against the Giants. Yes, it was the defense that ultimately failed in that game, but they did their job for 58 minutes or so. Had the offense done more before that final hookup between Brady and Moss, the game would have long been won. It's all hypothetical, but I'm a firm believer of building from the lines outward. The way the Patriots run things, defensive linemen are the most valuable commodity, but offensive linemen are valuable too. Going after a guy like Curry, who is overrated as an athlete and won't be a franchise type defender in the Patriots' scheme for the same amount of money makes far less sense to me. I'd much rather go after a premium defensive end (to be rush linebacker), defensive tackle or offensive tackle at the top than a guy like Curry who'll probably play inside in the Patriots' scheme where we already have a top quality performer in Mayo who'll command significant dollars down the line. If you evaluate Curry as the best player in the draft, or better than the top OTs, and think he'll be more than a just a solid WILB in the Patriots' scheme, taking him makes some sense, but I don't think he's nearly that good and plays a less valuable, easier to fill position.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Pioli's just probably running his mouth off without even thinking about what he says. It's a bad habit he picked up from Belichick.

 

[mayoclinic]

Linemen on both sides of the ball are the most valuable commodity aside from a QB. ... It's all hypothetical, but I'm a firm believer of building from the lines outward. The way the Patriots run things, defensive linemen are the most valuable commodity, but offensive linemen are valuable too. Going after a guy like Curry, who is overrated as an athlete and won't be a franchise type defender in the Patriots' scheme for the same amount of money makes far less sense to me. I'd much rather go after a premium defensive end (to be rush linebacker), defensive tackle or offensive tackle at the top than a guy like Curry who'll probably play inside in the Patriots' scheme where we already have a top quality performer in Mayo who'll command significant dollars down the line.

Totally agree. I see one DL player worth going after, BJ Raji, and one OL player, Jason Smith. Curry is a great player, but we've already got Mayo, and if we hypothetically should get another top 10 pick I would go after one of those 2 guys. Same thing with Crabtree - great player, but give me OL/DL, with a strong preference for defense.

 

[The_Riddler]

Totally agree. I see one DL player worth going after, BJ Raji, and one OL player, Jason Smith. Curry is a great player, but we've already got Mayo, and if we hypothetically should get another top 10 pick I would go after one of those 2 guys. Same thing with Crabtree - great player, but give me OL/DL, with a strong preference for defense.

Are you assuming we replace Big Vince with Raji, or would Raji be Big Sey's replacement ? If so, not sure how that helps our overall defense. I agree with focusing on the interior, but in our situation that value is with the stud OT who could start out at RT and take over for Matt in 2-3 years, fully groomed.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Pioli's just probably running his mouth off without even thinking about what he says. It's a bad habit he picked up from Belichick.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

That's pretty funny. I had to read it a couple of times to understand what he was talking about. If the Pats do in fact swap picks, I would want the Pats to take an O-lineman or Curry at #3. No Crabtree, too much of a risk.