How Desperate Are We To Sign a TE In The First Four Rounds?

[TruthSeeker]

Pretty desperate

Not drafting one of the top TE = forget SB

Gronk will not play all 16 regular season games and there is a chance he will not be available on the playoffs either because players tend to be banged up by the end of the season and he already is robocop.

Going to the playoffs with only mindget slot receivers again, I have seen this movie many times.

I'm pretty much satisfied with all the moves we've done so far in defense during this off season, there are still needs, but there will ever have needs, no team is absolutely complete in any given time. This defense is already a top 5 defense, comparing to what we had a few years ago. 2010/11 it was a freak show, you know when it's beyond sad that becomes funny.

And yet he had the best shot to win the SB those years with the 2 TE offense and jags WR (not counting Moss).

Bring the weapons for the offense in the first 4 rounds, then try some steals later in the draft and I'm happy. WR/TE/OL/RB it is.

I couldn't agree more. This offense only hums when we have an above average pass catching TE. Now, we aren't going to get a Gronk, he's a freak, but if we can get a TE that gives us 35-50 catches a year, and a healthy Gronk gives us 50-65 catches a year, this offense will be unstoppable. It will open up so much room for our slot receivers, as well as for guys like Dobson or maybe another draftee. IF we dont' draft a good pass catching TE, our offense will struggle in the playoffs once again.

 

[patchick]

Just search after the data and you get them, ASJ had a pro day, fine one infact. At 6-foot-6 and 271 pounds, he ran a blazing 4.56 in the 40-yard dash with a 37.5-inch vertical jump, NFL scout Dave-Te’ Thomas told Packer Report on Saturday

Might want to take your own advice about searching.... Sefarian-Jenkins did NOT have a pro day workout.

The numbers you're repeating are just a rumor, supposedly leaked from a private workout with an individual team, and if so presumably leaked by ASJ & his agent to make him look good.

 

[varjao]

I have seen many mocks pointing the Packers as a team willing to reach for a TE.

Considering Ebron gone in the top 17, by the end of 1st round could only be available ASJ or Amaro from the top 3. The other guys, CJF, Nicklas, seems to be tier 2 TE in this class.

I was down on Amaro after watching some film, my choice is ASJ, but if his gone by #29, IDK...tough call. Ideally a trade down and then getting Amaro more in his range in the 40's adding another píck in the process.

 

[patchick]

I couldn't agree more. This offense only hums when we have an above average pass catching TE. Now, we aren't going to get a Gronk, he's a freak, but if we can get a TE that gives us 35-50 catches a year, and a healthy Gronk gives us 50-65 catches a year, this offense will be unstoppable.

35-50 catches a year? So not just "an above average pass catching TE," but an above-average STARTER. That's a lot to ask of this draft class; throwing draft capital at the problem won't necessarily help. You can only draft the players who are available.

 

[Luxusdk]

Might want to take your own advice about searching.... Sefarian-Jenkins did NOT have a pro day workout.

The numbers you're repeating are just a rumor, supposedly leaked from a private workout with an individual team, and if so presumably leaked by ASJ & his agent to make him look good.

I dont think the number are crazy good so it could be a team leak, if hes agent wanted to leak numbers they would be much better i think. That sayed, you got a point anyway.

 

[doesntmatter1]

BB doesn't really need a reason to draft a tight end. Drafting a te is what brings BB happiness, more so than drafting a db lol. im iffy on this class too. What is amaro and is he redundant w/ amendola and edel? Niklas would probably intrigue bb with his blocking alone kind of like lee smith years ago. asj seems like a fit but reports about his personality makes him sound anti-pat. CJ seems equal to hooman and u dont get a hooman early.

so through the process of elimination, niklas seems like the only option early. i expect a training camp battle w/ every udfa te we can get our hands on.

 

[Ivan]

There were some leaked results from his junior pro day, which should be treated with caution of course, that showed ASJ has good athleticism. And to be frank, he looks more athletic on tape, particularly his 2012 tape. I believe he's got starter upside, not that far behind Gronk. I have always been a big fan of ASJ though. On the other hand, CJ, who I like and am predicting as our pick, is a plus Jake Ballard.

I think TE is the number one priority for them going into this draft, and that would be the case even if they signed Keller. I say take ASJ in the first if he is there and get it done with. He has starter capabilities imo and they need that given Gronk's health history and Brady's success with TE's. If they don't sign Keller and don't intend to then I hope they take 2 over the course of the draft.

 

[cstjohn17]

I am in the minority in thinking the two TE offense was possible because two elite talents were on the roster (Gronk and that other guy). This happens once a decade or less and is not something you can hang your hat on.

Similar to last year they will run a lot of 3 WR sets and a few with 2 backs in the backfield and wait for Gronk to come back.

The TE class is not that good, maybe they look at a player slipping into the 3rd or take a developmental \ special teams player on the last day of the draft.

 

[Gator Mike]

I'm telling you guys... Mark Harrison.

Athletically, he's more gifted than Tim Wright and Jordan Reed, two fairly successful "move" tight ends last year

 

[patchick]

I'm telling you guys... Mark Harrison.

Athletically, he's more gifted than Tim Wright and Jordan Reed, two fairly successful "move" tight ends last year

I love the idea, but realistically all the talk circulating about the Patriots considering converting Harrison to TE comes solely from Mike Reiss speculating about whether they might consider it. (In the world of internet news, a reporter musing over the idea quickly turned into "rumors that the Patriots are planning..." )

Harrison didn't have a reputation as a good blocker even as a WR, but if you want to dream, compare Harrison's measurables to the two most athletic small TEs in this year's draft. (Hint: he's a much, much better raw athlete than Kelvin Benjamin or Brandon Coleman, though a fair bit shorter.)

Harrison 6'3" 231 4.39(1.59) 17 38.5" 10'09" 4.33 6.99 (and 35" arms!)
Annen 6'4" 247 4.41(1.61) 25 34" 10'00 4.30 7.19
Lyerla 6'4" 242 4.56(1.61) 15 39" 10'08" ?? ??

 

[joepatsfan]

I don't really think we need to reach at one early. We just need a big body that can spread the field down the seam and be a legit red zone threat.

I'm not big on ASJ, Amaro, Niklas or Fiedoro...

I would take Niklas if I had to. Besides them, I think a Kelvin Benjamin would be a better option. 6'5 240. Big boy. creates a mismatch. we don't need a TE, we NEED a mismatch guy. KB has height of a TE but speed of a WR.

Also, there could be some better 'move' TEs later in the draft... Crockett Gilmore, AC Leonard, Trey Burton

 

[patchick]

FWIW, I'm more and more intrigued by Larry Webster at TE (and not DE). He has a downfield burst you don't usually see on a long-limbed 6'6" 250 guy.

 

[mgteich]

FWIW, I'm more and more intrigued by Larry Webster at TE (and not DE). He has a downfield burst you don't usually see on a long-limbed 6'6" 250 guy.

He's pretty raw, and played in a very weak conference. I guess there have been a couple of players from Bloomsberg University. He should be available in the late 4th, where we have two picks.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Not to throw cold water on the whole CJF thing, because I've actually liked him for several years now, but, a little known fact about him is that his position coach at Wisconsin is Aaron Hernandez's brother. Not to say that he should be penalized for that, neither should, but the comfort level becomes a factor.

Also, his athleticism was never a question. He was a very highly recruited player because of it. His, development, however was slow, and he never really lived up to all the hype surrounding him early.

I doubt the Patriots are going to do guilt by second-level association.

 

[Brady6]

It seems likely that the TE's generally rated in the top 5 will be severely overdrafted. Sure, we could pick a TE in the 6th, but he would compete with Hooman or Williams.

How many TE's do you all still have with 2nd round grades? Do you have any first round grades?

My gut feel is that if we were to sign Keller in the next couple of days, a early TE might be unlikely.

I am assuming you mean draft a TE in the first round. In which case I would say that the team is not desperate for any position, I think that the team has a board like it does every year and they will take the best player available off their board no matter the position.

If Keller signed much like the Smith signing, I do not think it would change the strategy for the draft. We are talking about two players (Smith and Keller) who have not played since 2012, Belichick would be negligent (which he is not) to alter his draft and team building strategy based on signing those players.

 

[Brady6]

He's pretty raw, and played in a very weak conference. I guess there have been a couple of players from Bloomsberg University. He should be available in the late 4th, where we have two picks.

He was actually a DE in college so his weak conference is not relevant, essentially drafting Webster would be based on his athletic ability, and what he showed in his workouts. He is a very interesting prospect who could end being an outright steal if he is able to develop as a TE.

 

[Brady6]

There were some leaked results from his junior pro day, which should be treated with caution of course, that showed ASJ has good athleticism. And to be frank, he looks more athletic on tape, particularly his 2012 tape. I believe he's got starter upside, not that far behind Gronk. I have always been a big fan of ASJ though. On the other hand, CJ, who I like and am predicting as our pick, is a plus Jake Ballard.

What I like about CJF is that he is an exceptional blocker and personally, I really liked what Mark Mulligan offered us in the running game last season, if CJF can give us that type of blocking while offering a receiving threat I think it would be an outstanding addition to the offense. I would use CJF at the Y-TE and then use Gronkowski as the flex-TE.

 

[manxman2601]

What I like about CJF is that he is an exceptional blocker and personally, I really liked what Mark Mulligan offered us in the running game last season, if CJF can give us that type of blocking while offering a receiving threat I think it would be an outstanding addition to the offense. I would use CJF at the Y-TE and then use Gronkowski as the flex-TE.

Well that's pretty much what i said with the Jake Ballard comparison. a very good inline blocker that can make some difference in the passing game. After all, Mulligan was brought in to replace Ballard (I think).

 

[manxman2601]

I think TE is the number one priority for them going into this draft, and that would be the case even if they signed Keller. I say take ASJ in the first if he is there and get it done with. He has starter capabilities imo and they need that given Gronk's health history and Brady's success with TE's. If they don't sign Keller and don't intend to then I hope they take 2 over the course of the draft.

I think this will come down to how ready to go Gronk is and what McDaniels plans to do with the offense. Experience says that McDaniels will emphasise three wide receivers which limits, to a degree, the desperate need for a Gronk compliment and puts more emphasis on a Gronk backup and occasional two TE set guy. I'm a massive ASJ fan and would be fine with drafting him at 29 but this is why I've leaned more towards the CJF pick.

 

[supafly]

I am in the minority in thinking the two TE offense was possible because two elite talents were on the roster (Gronk and that other guy). This happens once a decade or less and is not something you can hang your hat on.

I would respectfully disagree based on the fact that we can utilize the 2 TE offense very nicely, as long as the TE opposite Gronk can have some semblance of pass catching ability. Hooman/Mulligan obviously didn't have that last year, so we weren't fooling anyone. The opposition just didn't respect the thought of either one of them doing anything in the passing game.

With a halfway capable TE in the draft this year, we can go back to taking advantages of mismatches, running the hurry up with the capability to use both superior run blocking and/or the ability to add extra weapons in the passing game as well. The red zone inefficiency at times will obviously be addressed with this addition as well.

In other words, I'm not as sure that we'd need someone opposite Gronk who is an "elite talent" as you say, just as long as the are more capable than Hooman/Mulligan in the receiving aspect. One last thing to consider is that it's easier to develop a first year TE than a WR in our offense, so the thought of adding another semi-talented receiving option in the top several rounds may be best suited to the position of WR if we're expecting any kind of contribution this year. Last year's rookie WR numbers were obviously skewed due to the fact that we had both Thompkins/Dobson playing much more than they normally would in other years, and even then, they weren't anything that great in my opinion.