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Do you mean that part which called the draft, aside from the trades, a disaster?
Premature? Possibly.
Harsh? Probably.
Ridiculous? Not so far. There's only Meriweather, Richardson and Lua remaining. I hope I'm wrong on those 3. I like to eat humble pie, too.
The "aside from the trades" bit doesn't really apply in this case, IMO. When a team aggressively trades out of the draft to the tune of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 7th-round picks, there is no "aside from the trades" -- the trades WERE the draft.
First off, Patchick pretty much nails it. However, to delve a little bit more deeply, take note of what people have been saying about this Patriots team for the past few years: it's a very deep team. Now, with the caveat that I'm relying on Wikipedia for the current status of the draftees, let's look at the drafting (not the trades, just the drafting) again:
2007 NFL DRAFT
1 24 (24) Brandon Meriweather S Miami (FL)
- Clearly still in the picture
4 28 (127) Kareem Brown DT Miami (FL)
-- Waived just this past week, picked up by Jets
5* 34 (171) Clint Oldenburg OL Colorado State University
-- Currently on the Jets practice squad
6 6 (180) Justin Rogers DE Southern Methodist University
-- Picked up by the Cowboys, a top 5 NFL team
6 28 (202) Mike Richardson CB Notre Dame
-- Still on team, on IR
6* 34 (208) Justise Hairston RB Central Connecticut State
-- Practice squad for the Colts
6* 35 (209) Corey Hilliard T Oklahoma State
-- On the Colts, a top 5 NFL team
7 1 (211) Oscar Lua ILB USC
-- Still on the team, on IR
7* 37 (247) Mike Elgin OL University of Iowa
-- Colts practice squad
Now, when you have a deep team, that means you have a situation where you're not going to find a lot of players in the bottom of the draft that are better than what's already on the team. Not surprisingly, therefore, guys like Mike Elgin aren't likely to beat out Stephen Neal or even Russ Hochstein.
However, every single one of the Patriots 2007 draft picks, IN A DRAFT THE TEAM CONSIDERED TO BE WEAK, is still either on an NFL roster or an NFL practice squad. Now, to 2006:
2006 NFL DRAFT
1 21 (21) Laurence Maroney, RB, Minnesota
-- Clearly still in the picture, he's the starting RB
2 4-d (36) Chad Jackson, WR, Florida
-- Injured in both seasons, but still on the team
3 22 (86) David Thomas, TE, Texas
-- Injured but still on the team (IR)
4 9-b (106) Garret Mills, TE, Tulsa
-- On the Minnesota Vikings
4 21 (118) Stephen Gostkowski, K, Memphis
-- The kicker for the Patriots
5 3-c (136) Ryan O'Callaghan , OT, California
-- Still on team, was competing for the starting RT position in training camp
6 22-* (191) Jeremy Mincey, OL/DE, Florida
-- On the Jacksonville Jaguars
6 36-* (205) Dan Stevenson, OL, Notre Dame
-- Currently not on any team or practice squad
6 37 (206) Le Kevin Smith, NT, Nebraska
-- Still on the Patriots
7 21 (209) Willie Andrews, CB/S, Baylor
-- Still on the Patriots
In other words, in the past two drafts, the Patriots have drafted 19 players, with 15 of them being drafted in the 4th round or lower. Of the 19 players, only 1 is not currently on an NFL roster or practice squad. The notion that this team has drafted poorly in the last two seasons is not only wrong, it's ludicrous. Let's look at that number set again:
2 draft classes
19 picks overall
4 first day picks
15 second day picks
15 players still on NFL rosters
3 players on NFL practice squads
1 player out of the league entirely
Let me give you a bit of a tip for your future reference. If National Sports Advisors says something about the Patriots, the odds are about 99% certain that you should go the opposite way if you want to be right.
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