Here's my updated take on who we should target

[Ochmed Jones]

I'd like to see:
Cameron Jordan or Allen Bailey or Cameron Heyward, a OLB such as Aldon Smith or Akeem Ayers, and OL such as DeMarcus Love, Nate Solder or Tyron Smith with one of top 3 picks

After watching Arkansas in the bowl game a few weeks ago, I have taken Love off my draft board. What a slouch. He was abused all game long and showed horrible technique and worse strength. Let Matt Millen draft him.

 

[SirApropos]

Wow..the Patriots FINALLY have the tight end roster of BB's long-time dreams, and you want to load up on fullbacks? I'm not seeing it. How many snaps can a true FB possibly expect in this offense, and what two other positions are you eliminating to make roster room?

With Marecic you actually get an ILB as well as a ST demon so he would be something other than FB. If they expand roster spots teams will have a few spots for very specialized players.

 

[sg14]

I wouldn't mind seeing a 240 lb back lined up next to Brady for blitz pick-up purposes.

With Marecic you actually get an ILB as well as a ST demon so he would be something other than FB. If they expand roster spots teams will have a few spots for very specialized players.

 

[bbell31]

wow corey liuget is a solid realistic target for us, never heard of him but watched him on youtube...add him to my list for five techs and early round two pick

 

[Sciz]

wow corey liuget is a solid realistic target for us, never heard of him but watched him on youtube...add him to my list for five techs and early round two pick

Yeah, I just heard about him a few minutes ago, actually. He played around 320 last year before cutting to below 300 this year and becoming more of a playmaker.

 

[Peachhead]

With Marecic you actually get an ILB as well as a ST demon so he would be something other than FB. If they expand roster spots teams will have a few spots for very specialized players.

If the league expands the roster it's to sign more OL and DL to get us through an 18 game season with enough healthy players to field a football team.

 

[MaineMan]

After watching Arkansas in the bowl game a few weeks ago, I have taken Love off my draft board. What a slouch. He was abused all game long and showed horrible technique and worse strength. Let Matt Millen draft him.

Agree about Love. Surprising to see him still ranked among the better OTs in this class after that non-performance. Originally, based on is size, I was thinking he might be a decent guard for us, but not even that now. IIRC, he'll be in the Senior Bowl. If so, I'll be reading his practice reports closely.

 

[Off The Grid]

You ARE aware that there is no 8th round in the NFL draft, right?

Yes, thank you.

I thought it was obvious that it's my term ~ one I've been using for awhile, though that's evidently escaped your attention ~ for UFA, seeing as how "UFA" is already taken, and "UDFA" makes me cringe.

But thanks for your help.

 

[Off The Grid]

~ 4th Rounder ~ Full Back Owen Marecic. BORN to don the Red White + Blue.

~ 5th Rounder ~ Full Back Henry Hynoski. BEAST.

Wow..the Patriots FINALLY have the tight end roster of BB's long-time dreams, and you want to load up on fullbacks? I'm not seeing it. How many snaps can a true FB possibly expect in this offense, and what two other positions are you eliminating to make roster room?

Please see my multiple posts, regarding my expectations of an expanded roster.

And it seems quite clear that no Coach in the world appreciates having a multitude of options as much as Coach Bill The Great: Clearly, the capacity to suddenly drop in a Full Back or two would expand our options, regardless of how often we do so. I seem to remember a play or two, Sunday, when a little extra protection might've been nice.

 

[Off The Grid]

He's delusional. What do you expect?

Yes, small minds that can't think beyond the end of their noses tend to lash out at creative thinkers and call them "delusional."

 

[mgteich]

Personally, I think that we should be carrying 5 running backs, each with designated roles. In that group of 5, there is room for a fullback who also plays special teams.

We need two starting quality running backs (thunder and lightning), and a 3rd down specialist. That leaves 2 positions. The roles for those positions include backing up at running back, backing up at 3rd down back, short yardage specialist, and blocker.

A true fullback would take more snaps than lots of others on our team. The number is somewhat like TE numbers. The number depends on who we have in the position. I don't have the reps for other teams, but someone might check the jets.

All this being said, I don't think the draft is where to find fullbacks. Fullbacks out of college have too much to learn about blocking and receiving. They are used to carrying the ball.

BOTTOM LINE
Belichick likes our pasing oriented team, with no emphasis on the running game. The running game does happen and we do well only when the run is set up by the pass. A fullback allows us more of a commitment to the run when game plan or game circumstances dictates that this is what we need to do.

We are passing team and should remain a passing team. That being said, we need to improve our running game.

Wow..the Patriots FINALLY have the tight end roster of BB's long-time dreams, and you want to load up on fullbacks? I'm not seeing it. How many snaps can a true FB possibly expect in this offense, and what two other positions are you eliminating to make roster room?

 

[BelichickFan]

As of this moment I would love to come out of the top two rounds with :

Jarvis Jenkins
Jeremy Beal
Mike Pouncey
Stefen Wisniewski

Change the names if you like but that gets us a 3-4 DE, pass rushing OLB with bulk, and a large part of the rebuild of the interior OL. We could trade down and bounce around a bit as all of these should be available at 1b so 1a could likely be traded down a little and a trade up from 2b may be needed to get them all.

And like others a 3rd or 4th round RB would be something I'd like to, a guy like Ridley or Bilal. Many of the other names are nice but we're picking 17th not 10th so some of the ones I would have been after can be assumed to be gone.

BTW, they're all Seniors and have all played 4 years which I do believe is a significant (though not definitive as shown by Wilfork) advantage in the eyes of Belichick.

 

[MaineMan]

Personally, I think that we should be carrying 5 running backs, each with designated roles. In that group of 5, there is room for a fullback who also plays special teams.

We need two starting quality running backs (thunder and lightning), and a 3rd down specialist. That leaves 2 positions. The roles for those positions include backing up at running back, backing up at 3rd down back, short yardage specialist, and blocker.

A true fullback would take more snaps than lots of others on our team. The number is somewhat like TE numbers. The number depends on who we have in the position. I don't have the reps for other teams, but someone might check the jets.

All this being said, I don't think the draft is where to find fullbacks. Fullbacks out of college have too much to learn about blocking and receiving. They are used to carrying the ball.

BOTTOM LINE
Belichick likes our pasing oriented team, with no emphasis on the running game. The running game does happen and we do well only when the run is set up by the pass. A fullback allows us more of a commitment to the run when game plan or game circumstances dictates that this is what we need to do.

We are passing team and should remain a passing team. That being said, we need to improve our running game.

The issue I have with this is that - unless we have that gifted RB who can consistently run with great effectiveness out of a 4-WR/1-RB set (and we don't currently have that guy), you can't really "use the pass to set up the run". If you have to use a FB and/or blocking TE to consistently run effectively (which we do, currently), you're down to a 2-3 WR set and can really only hope to use the run to set up the pass - and that's mostly effective when the TE and FB are both exceptional pass-catchers in their own right (we're part way there with Gronkowski). It's also helpful if the FB is also a very strong, consistent between the tackles runner and pass-blocker.