Future/Potential All-Pros

[Ring 6]

I dont really care about pro bowl awards, so I'm really talking about guys who either already are or have the potential to be among the few best in the NFL at their positions on the current Pats roster.

My opinion:

Brady. Already the best.
Maroney. Potentially, but long way to go.
Branch. No doubt he could have 'all pro' seasons.
Graham. Already there as a blocker.
Watson. All the tools.
Mankins. Could be our version of the perennial all-pro OL.
***I am tempted to add Matt Light, because I think he has played at that level all around, but he will never get the recognition, and in terms of flat out talent there will always be a slew of new young stud LTs
Seymour. Already the best.
Wilfork. Excellent chance
****Tempted to add Warren but he wont get the recognition as a 2 gap DL, but if every team played 2 gap he would be all-pro.
Bruschi. Has been there, may not stay there as he gets older.
Colvin. Very close IMO.
Rodney. Was there may not stay there.
Wilson. No reason he cannot.


Thats a pretty impressive list. Anyone have others they would add, or some to disagree with?

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Vrabes, too many people are learning the hard way what he can do.
I like Hobbs' potential if he stays in BB's system.
Koppen should get some consideration.
If Kaczur ever settles in one position, he might get a look too.

 

[Ring 6]

Vrabes, too many people are learning the hard way what he can do.
I like Hobbs' potential if he stays in BB's system.
Koppen should get some consideration.
If Kaczur ever settles in one position, he might get a look too.

I struggled with Vrabel. Personally, he is on the list IMO, mostly because he does everything well and is such a team player. I dont think flat out ability-wise he is near the top few OLBs in the game. Play by play he doesnt stand out like some OLBs do, but at the end of the day, he is a big reason we win.
I dont think he would ever get the notoriety though. He is a grinder, and I mean that as a complement, he just will always get the job.

I like Hobbs to, but see it as a stretch that he could be a top 3 or 4 in the NFL corner.
Koppen is a good addition to the list, and Kaczur potentially could get there. I kind of chose Mankins as most likely, since there are an awful lot of stud OL out there (see my Light comments)

 

[JoeSixPat]

Vrabel's versatility hurts him in the eyes of many pro-bowl voters, but I expect that one day soon his team first mentality will pay off and he'll get the recognition.

We heard Givens bemoan the "system" as keeping his numbers down. There's some truth to that - on another team Branch could be in the 90+ receptions but here 75-80 is what I would be happy with - and that's probably not pro bowl numbers

I pretty much agree with your "potential" and "past" assessments, with the possible exception of Colvin.

Is that based on what you view as potential - i.e. pre-injury? Or do you already see him playing on the cusp of pro-bowl level post injury?

I see Colvin in the "very good" category - glad he's on the team but I'm not expecting him to ever meet his pre-injury potential

 

[D-cleater]

Agreed. I like the list, but need to see near- McGinest production from Colvin before I put him on the list.

Would love to see Wilson there, but he needs to prove it without Rodney in the backfield. I think he may be there as a FS, but it does depend on who he has around him. I don't think he quite as good as Polumolu, I hate to say, but its hard to tell because he's not used the same way.

I am VERY optimistic about Hobbs. More so than Asante, who I love, but who I think is a #2 corner on many teams.

I dont think Light is ALL Pro. Excellent LT, but not all Pro.

Who knows what we really have in Chad Jackson?

 

[IcyPatriot]

I would love to see Gostkowski make it there...oh the media would love it....NOT!!!

 

[Joker]

Patriot all pros?

Brady

Seymour

Branch

Ty Law if they re-sign him

Maybe Watson...he has the ability...has to have a break out year...plenty of all pro type TE's in the league

All the rest of our players are very good to pretty good but nowhere near the criteria used to select All Pros league wide. Vrabel could get serious consideration because of his smarts,as a replacement for an injured selectee

 

[AzPatsFan]

How could you ignore Vrabel?

Before he done he could be All Pro at OLB and at ILB...

 

[patsox23]

Patriot all pros?

Brady

Seymour

Branch

Ty Law if they re-sign him

Maybe Watson...he has the ability...has to have a break out year...plenty of all pro type TE's in the league

All the rest of our players are very good to pretty good but nowhere near the criteria used to select All Pros league wide. Vrabel could get serious consideration because of his smarts,as a replacement for an injured selectee

I totally agree, Joker. Good points.

 

[shakadave]

Brady. Already the best.
Maroney. Potentially, but long way to go.
Branch. No doubt he could have 'all pro' seasons.
Graham. Already there as a blocker.
Watson. All the tools.
Mankins. Could be our version of the perennial all-pro OL.
***I am tempted to add Matt Light, because I think he has played at that level all around, but he will never get the recognition, and in terms of flat out talent there will always be a slew of new young stud LTs
Seymour. Already the best.
Wilfork. Excellent chance
****Tempted to add Warren but he wont get the recognition as a 2 gap DL, but if every team played 2 gap he would be all-pro.
Bruschi. Has been there, may not stay there as he gets older.
Colvin. Very close IMO.
Rodney. Was there may not stay there.
Wilson. No reason he cannot.

Anyone have others they would add, or some to disagree with?

My adjustments to your list:
Maroney --- too early to say. (Ditto Jackson) Potential? I suppose.
Branch --- I don't think we'll see it.
Graham --- I doubt we'll see it.
Light --- I really doubt it.
Wilson --- I doubt this one, too.

Best potential to break into All-Pro greatness this year:
1) Colvin
2) Wilfork

 

[Ring 6]

My adjustments to your list:
Maroney --- too early to say. (Ditto Jackson) Potential? I suppose.
Branch --- I don't think we'll see it.
Graham --- I doubt we'll see it.
Light --- I really doubt it.
Wilson --- I doubt this one, too.

Best potential to break into All-Pro greatness this year:
1) Colvin
2) Wilfork

I wasnt talking about this year, but at some point in their career. Maroney has to be on the list, I cant imagine there being little or no chance he can become an Allpro at some point.
I think Branch isnt very far off. Graham may not get the recognition, but is already there as a blocker. I commented on Light. Wilson, IMO, has that upside.

 

[bucky]

I agree that it's too early to make ANY jusgement on Maroney. Does he have a chance? Sure. But he hasn't played a single down in the NFL yet.

A year ago, I would have said Warren, Wilson and Samuel were on their way to being Pro-Bowl caliber players. Warren dominated in the playoffs when Seymour was out. Wilson was very steady in all phases of the game, was hitting very hard, and has the ability to cover WRs 1-1 as a FS. Samuel stepped into Law's LCB spot rather seamlessly, though without the big number of INTs, which I thought were about to come. Last year, all 3 of them regressed and have to get back to the level of 2004 to be considered on the list.

Wilfork - doesn't belong there yet. He's only had about half a season of solid play.
Colvin - I have yet to see the speed and agility he showed before the hip surgery.

So my list would go like this:

Brady - easy and hopefully for a long time to come
Seymour - see Brady
Bruschi - also easy, though age may catch up with him soon
Branch - probably there already, but doesn't get the recognition because of the "system"
Watson - I would say Watson is today where Warren, Samuel and Wilson were a year ago. Now he needs to avoid the off year.
Vrabel - great production and awesome versatility. There aren't many guys who can stuff the run on first down, cover RBs man-man on second down, and line up as a pass-rushing DE on 3rd. He does all of those things well.

OL - Light, Koppen and Mankins are very good players. But I don't see them on the same level as the other guys above.

 

[shakadave]

Interesting question

I wasnt talking about this year, but at some point in their career. Maroney has to be on the list, I cant imagine there being little or no chance he can become an Allpro at some point.
I think Branch isnt very far off. Graham may not get the recognition, but is already there as a blocker. I commented on Light. Wilson, IMO, has that upside.

Remember, All-Pro is much tougher to make than Pro Bowl.

I'm wondering how some of you would complete this sentence, which has bearing on what we're discussing in this thread:

"On average, when an All-Pro makes it to All-Pro status for the first time, it's after his [ # ??]th season."

In other words, how many years of improvement is it usually before a player reaches his peak? I would think if you're not there by Year 4, there's no particular reason to expect you'll ever get there, but I'm sure there are lots of exceptions to this.

 

[GoWesleyan]

Next ones in my mind to make it:
Wilfork
Hobbs



One thing to keep in mind about Kaczur is that he isn't young. He's inexperienced, but he's not young. In fact, he's older than Seymour... I think. That's not to say he doesn't have time to blossom, but the odds are much lower that he get's to that level because he has so many fewer years to do it.

 

[shakadave]

Agree that Vrabel is a good call. Casual observers will see him as a late bloomer, like Tedi Bruschi.

Just you watch Wilfork in the next two years....

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Agree that Vrabel is a good call. Casual observers will see him as a late bloomer, like Tedi Bruschi.

Just you watch Wilfork in the next two years....

Letting Mike Vrabel (and Josh Miller) go was the best decision Bill Cowher ever made. . . . at least as far as us Pats fans should be concerned.

 

[pats1]

One thing to keep in mind about Kaczur is that he isn't young. He's inexperienced, but he's not young. In fact, he's older than Seymour... I think.

That is correct. Kaczur will be 27 in July, Seymour will be 27 in October.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

I see Brady and Seymour as the only all pros.

IF Mankins makes a tremendous leap in year 2, he has an outside chance somewhere down the line.

At this time last year, I was thinking Wilson could be pro bowl material. He really seemed to have a nose for the ball and great anticipation.
But then we lost a ton of CBs very early and then Rodney went down and Wilson's game suffered.
I'm hoping he rededicates himself and really picks his game up a couple of levels in 2006.

It's too early to even guess with Maroney. He has to learn to pick up the blitz before he'll even see any significant PT. And then because he runs kind of high and shows too much chest, he's a candidate for future injuries or maybe develop a bit of fumbleitis early in his career.

 

[Ring 6]

I see Brady and Seymour as the only all pros.

IF Mankins makes a tremendous leap in year 2, he has an outside chance somewhere down the line.

At this time last year, I was thinking Wilson could be pro bowl material. He really seemed to have a nose for the ball and great anticipation.
But then we lost a ton of CBs very early and then Rodney went down and Wilson's game suffered.
I'm hoping he rededicates himself and really picks his game up a couple of levels in 2006.

It's too early to even guess with Maroney. He has to learn to pick up the blitz before he'll even see any significant PT. And then because he runs kind of high and shows too much chest, he's a candidate for future injuries or maybe develop a bit of fumbleitis early in his career.

My point wasnt who is an all-pro now, but which players have the potential to be.
Of course it is too early to judge Maroney. I wasnt saying guess whether he will be or not, but do you believe he has the potential to be. Same with Mankins. Big jump to be there this year, but potentially there is no reason he can not eventually play at an All-Pro level

 

[Kdo5]

For youngsters,

Watson, Wilson, Branch, Hobbs(can be a shut down corner) and potentially Samuel if he REALLY steps up in the next few seasons. I dont want to bet too quickly on Maroney or Jackson because they havent played a snap in the NFL yet.