Greg Bedard: Time for Patriots to draft an impact receiver

[Claremonster]

Pats fans are setting themselves up for disappointment, the Patriots will draft a guard with the 29th overall pick.

Nope. Tight end is a bit thin though.

 

[Deus Irae]

I wouldn't mind Hunter over Wheaton gimme the tall guys :singing:

Hunter's the 3rd WR in my trio, and I don't really have them ranked. If I know I'm picking 2 of them, I decide between Woods/Hunter first, and I make Wheaton the 2nd selection, because I look at him as the 'gamble' player with the high upside and I want Hunter or Woods as the so-called 'safer' pick.

 

[jmt57]

Some more food for thought from the original article:

Time for Patriots to draft an impact receiver - Patriots - Boston.com

The Patriots’ last and best chance to add a contributing weapon ended when the Steelers matched the third-round offer sheet to Emmanuel Sanders. A return by the mercurial Brandon Lloyd seems very much a long shot — he was that much of a problem to deal with — but desperate times call for desperate measures, so it can’t be ruled out.

That leaves the draft.

Most years, the Patriots would be content to bide their time and take a receiver in the second or third round. It certainly lessens the risk at one of the most bust-able positions in the draft. But with the advent of the rookie cap in the new CBA, the risk is minimal drafting any position. The days of paying long-term for draft errors — especially late in the first round — are largely gone.

And the fact is, the longer a team waits to draft a receiver, the less chance that player has of contributing as a rookie, according to a study done by Tom Pelissero of 1500-ESPN Twin Cities.

Since 1991, there have been 83 receivers taken in the first round. Of those, 21 (25.3 percent) caught at least 50 passes as a rookie.

There have been 88 receivers taken in the second round. Only 10 (11.4 percent) caught at least 50 passes as a rookie.

And this is a year when the Patriots need instant impact. Welker and Lloyd are gone. At tight end, Rob Gronkowski’s health is a question mark, Aaron Hernandez has yet to stay healthy for a full season, and Jake Ballard and Brad Herman are coming back from serious injuries.

The recent signings at receiver — Amendola, Edelman, Donald Jones, and Mike Jenkins — look adequate on paper, but all have had injury issues.​

Though I will add, that as was pointed out previously, we should be hesitant to lump all players from a single round into one group. Where the Pats are drafting is virtually an early second round pick, even though it bears the title of a first round selection.

 

[patfanken]

Along with picking a WR with their first pick, the other common wisdom thought out there is that they are likely to trade down with their first pick. And while that makes eminent sense, I doubt it will happen simply because it seems EVERYONE is looking to trade down this year. That means not only will be harder to get a deal done, the buyers market might make getting decent value more difficult as well. All the more reason why I think the Pats will be "stuck" with their pick.

No folks, the only think that going to make tonight interesting if you are a Pats fan, would be if the Pats pull of a Ryan Mallet trade.

 

[Deus Irae]

Maryland wide receiver Kevin Dorsey conducted a private workout for the New England Patriots on Wednesday, per a school source

https://twitter.com/RavensInsider/statuses/327481632674172928

 

[primetime]

What point is there in a wonderlic style test if there are scores that aren't legit?

There is no point to the Wonderlic test. It doesn't correlate to on-field performance in any way. Intelligence tests are all more voodoo than science, but they make less than no sense when evaluating a football player.

 

[Avenger]

There is no point to the Wonderlic test. It doesn't correlate to on-field performance in any way. Intelligence tests are all more voodoo than science, but they make less than no sense when evaluating a football player.

It does have it's purpose if evaluated right. Branch had a 26, Tate and Price both had scores in the high teens

 

[Kontradiction]

There is no point to the Wonderlic test. It doesn't correlate to on-field performance in any way. Intelligence tests are all more voodoo than science, but they make less than no sense when evaluating a football player.

For our offense, the Wonderlic is important. This is one of the hardest offenses to absorb in the NFL. Further, you're expected to absorb it to the point where you can run one of the most rapidly paced no huddles in the league with the GOAT at quarterback.

 

[Brady2Moss]

Hunter's the 3rd WR in my trio, and I don't really have them ranked. If I know I'm picking 2 of them, I decide between Woods/Hunter first, and I make Wheaton the 2nd selection, because I look at him as the 'gamble' player with the high upside and I want Hunter or Woods as the so-called 'safer' pick.

Agreed I think its a must to come away with 2 receivers this draft, I doubt BB does it but at least get us one 1st round receiver.

Hunter is so intriguing with all his physical talent, I feel like the safest of the bunch is definitely Woods like you eluded to.

 

[primetime]

For our offense, the Wonderlic is important. This is one of the hardest offenses to absorb in the NFL. Further, you're expected to absorb it to the point where you can run one of the most rapidly paced no huddles in the league with the GOAT at quarterback.

The Wonderlic is a general IQ test and even if you believe in intelligence testing (you shouldn't), it offers no indication of a player's ability to understand the nuances of football. Players who score higher on the Wonderlic may have greater ability to digest a playbook... and they also may not.

 

[manxman2601]

It's not been mentioned before but Margus Hunt met with BB at the combine.

 

[Rob0729]

For our offense, the Wonderlic is important. This is one of the hardest offenses to absorb in the NFL. Further, you're expected to absorb it to the point where you can run one of the most rapidly paced no huddles in the league with the GOAT at quarterback.

Football intelligence is important. I don't know if the Wonderlic is though. It is one indicator of intelligence and how fast a player can process data, but I doubt the Pats use it as a primary measurement. Someone who completely bombs the Wonderlic might have a big black mark against them (since anyone who has a moderate amount of intelligence should do at least mediocre), but a mediocre score probably means nothing.

 

[primetime]

Football intelligence is important. I don't know if the Wonderlic is though. It is one indicator of intelligence and how fast a player can process data, but I doubt the Pats use it as a primary measurement. Someone who completely bombs the Wonderlic might have a big black mark against them (since anyone who has a moderate amount of intelligence should do at least mediocre), but a mediocre score probably means nothing.

Even general intelligence is an entirely subjective concept, though. When you think of intelligence, ask yourself what you think about. Your concept of intelligence can be close to or wildly different from someone standing right next to you, and it's largely a matter of experience and identity. The Wonderlic measures one subjective version of intelligence, and a test that measures intelligence but can have vastly different scores if a player studies for it isn't really measuring intelligence at all.

Teams have a lot more information than we do about a player's football intelligence and his ability to digest a playbook. I wouldn't worry too much about a WR with a low Wonderlic score, and nor would I praise them for drafting a WR with a high Wonderlic score.

 

[Kontradiction]

The Wonderlic is a general IQ test and even if you believe in intelligence testing (you shouldn't), it offers no indication of a player's ability to understand the nuances of football. Players who score higher on the Wonderlic may have greater ability to digest a playbook... and they also may not.

Football intelligence is important. I don't know if the Wonderlic is though. It is one indicator of intelligence and how fast a player can process data, but I doubt the Pats use it as a primary measurement. Someone who completely bombs the Wonderlic might have a big black mark against them (since anyone who has a moderate amount of intelligence should do at least mediocre), but a mediocre score probably means nothing.

In the dynasty years and even after, one of the things that you heard about the Patriots a lot is that they were among the smartest teams in the league. Simply put, it takes an intelligent player to digest this playbook, make reads on the fly, and put that data together in his brain so that he's on the same wavelength pre-snap as the quarterback. So, that being said, it makes sense to put some level of trust into an intelligence test. It's not the be-all, end-all of what the Pats look for in a draft pick, but they do look at it. If you like, I'd be able to offer up more detailed examples, should you ask. But I'm at work right now and am trying to finish up for the day.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

when do you guys think they will draft a WR? I say with their 2nd or 3rd pick in the draft...#1 is going to D

 

[Keyser Söze]

when do you guys think they will draft a WR? I say with their 2nd or 3rd pick in the draft...#1 is going to D

Wheaton in the 2nd. :singing:

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Wheaton in the 2nd. :singing:

so do you think it will be their first pick if they do in fact trade down and have 2 in the 2nd

 

[borg]

They are targeting Woods or Hopkins fyi

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

They are targeting Woods or Hopkins fyi

hopkins drops a lot of balls

and houston is looking into woods. I think woods will be gone by 29. but i still hope they go D

 

[yopats]

They are targeting Woods or Hopkins fyi

If I had to choose between the two.. I would choose Hopkins hands down.