Laughably Early 53 Man Roster Projection

[WazzuWheatfarmer]

Yeah, it's way too early to try to do this, but I thought it would be fun to try to guess the roster now and see how far off I am by week 1. For now I'll stick with what we know as of today, being that Brady will be suspended for 4 weeks. That could definitely change between now and week 1 (hopefully!), but I'll operate under that assumption for now.

QB (2). Jimmy, Brissett
RB (5). Lewis, Bolden, Brown, Blount, Foster
TE. (4). Gronk, Bennett, Harbor, Michael Williams
WR. (5). Edelman, Mitchell, Martin, Hogan, Washington
OL. (8). Solder, Thuney, Andrews, Cooper, Vollmer, Mason, Waddle, Cannon
DT (4). Brown, Branch, Knighton, Valentine
DE. (6). Nink, Sheard, Long, Flowers, Grisson, Rufus
LB. (5). Collins, Hightower, McClellin, KGH, E. Roberts
S. (4). Chung, DMC, Richards, King
CB. (5). Butler, Ryan, Cyrus, Coleman, J. Jones
CB/S. (1). Darryl Roberts
ST. (4). Ghost, Allen, Cardonna, Slater

PUP: Tre Jackson, Amendola, White

Traded: Harmon, Stork

PS: Karras, Chris Barker, Lucien, Derby, LeBlanc, Bentley, Woodrow, Carter, Bryce Williams, misc QB

 

[BobDigital]

QB 3 - Brady Jimmy Brissett - Will put 3 for now cause that makes is harder and Brady might get a stay.
RB 5 - Lewis Bolden Blount White Foster - Develin is a tough cut but last years injury matters and Brown is borderline perhaps replacing White depending on how camp goes. Foster is too good to let off the 53.
TE 3 - Gronk Bennett Derby - Harbor is another tough cut but Derby has more upside and is cheaper.
WR 5 - Edelman Mitchell Amendola Hogan Martin - Washinton and Dobson are notable cuts.
OL 9 - Solder Thuney Stork Cooper Vollmer Mason Waddle Cannon Andrews - This is really murky though

Offense - 25

DT 4 - Brown Branch Knighton Valentine - I don't see a 5th DT worth keeping on the active roster
DE 5 - Nink Sheard Long Grissom Flowers - All 5 virtual locks i think.
LB 5 - Collins Hightower McClellin Freeney GHK - The last 2 here are very up in the air
S 4 - Chung McCourty Harmon Richards - King is a tough STs cut and Ebner is gone for this year i think.
CB 6 - Butler Ryan C Jones Coleman J. Jones Roberts - Good CBs force their way on.

Defense - 24

STs 4 - Ghost Allen Cardonna Slater

 

[WazzuWheatfarmer]

QB 3 - Brady Jimmy Brissett - Will put 3 for now cause that makes is harder and Brady might get a stay.
RB 5 - Lewis Bolden Blount White Foster - Develin is a tough cut but last years injury matters and Brown is borderline perhaps replacing White depending on how camp goes. Foster is too good to let off the 53.
TE 3 - Gronk Bennett Derby - Harbor is another tough cut but Derby has more upside and is cheaper.
WR 5 - Edelman Mitchell Amendola Hogan Martin - Washinton and Dobson are notable cuts.
OL 9 - Solder Thuney Stork Cooper Vollmer Mason Waddle Cannon Andrews - This is really murky though

Offense - 25

DT 4 - Brown Branch Knighton Valentine - I don't see a 4th DT worth keeeping on the active roster
DE 5 - Nink Sheard Long Grissom Flowers - All 5 virtual locks i think.
LB 5 - Collins Hightower McClellin Freeney GHK - The last 2 here are very up in the air
S 4 - Chung McCourty Harmon Richards - King is a tough STs cut and Ebner is gone for this year i think.
CB 6 - Butler Ryan C Jones Coleman J. Jones Roberts - Good CBs force their way on.

Defense - 24

STs 4 - Ghost Allen Cardonna Slater

Nice. I too thought about putting Derby in over Harbor, but Harbor's contract makes him tough to cut. We agree on Ebner

 

[The Gr8est]

Nice. I too thought about putting Derby in over Harbor, but Harbor's contract makes him tough to cut. We agree on Ebner

Here is my concern with Derby. (Full disclosure, he is a binky). He has the physical skills to be a top notch TE, and as a former QB he is obviously smart and understands the whole offense.

He has had a year to stay healthy/get healthier, and observe/study which is his weakest area due to his inexperience at TE.

In a league screaming for viable TEs, if Derby shows well in camp, then like Lee Smith and Will Yeatman, he won't make it to the practice squad.

 

[Ross12]

Here is my concern with Derby. (Full disclosure, he is a binky). He has the physical skills to be a top notch TE, and as a former QB he is obviously smart and understands the whole offense.

He has had a year to stay healthy/get healthier, and observe/study which is his weakest area due to his inexperience at TE.

In a league screaming for viable TEs, if Derby shows well in camp, then like Lee Smith and Will Yeatman, he won't make it to the practice squad.

Agree on Derby but also agree on Harbor. It would be great if Derby showed well and they kept all of Gronk, Bennett, Harbor and Derby on the roster. If they're planning to run a 2TE-centric offense this year it may be wise to do so anyway.

 

[BlueThunder]

Williams is the wildcard,,,TE/OT is a nice combo....

 

[Joey007]

Why is Harmon traded?

 

[WazzuWheatfarmer]

Here is my concern with Derby. (Full disclosure, he is a binky). He has the physical skills to be a top notch TE, and as a former QB he is obviously smart and understands the whole offense.

He has had a year to stay healthy/get healthier, and observe/study which is his weakest area due to his inexperience at TE.

In a league screaming for viable TEs, if Derby shows well in camp, then like Lee Smith and Will Yeatman, he won't make it to the practice squad.

Legitimate point. Promising NE TEs have been known to get poached in the past. In my scenario, I could switch Derby in for Michael Williams if Derby shows well. Williams is a great blocking TE, though, and I think BB really values that. Tough call.

 

[The Gr8est]

Legitimate point. Promising NE TEs have been known to get poached in the past. In my scenario, I could switch Derby in for Michael Williams if Derby shows well. Williams is a great blocking TE, though, and I think BB really values that. Tough call.

Maybe the solution is to develop Williams as a an OT, who can also catch passes. The Pats really need more help at OT anyway as depth is a relative weakness.

 

[Miguel]

PUP: Tre Jackson, Amendola, White

Why are Tre Jackson and James White on PUP?

 

[WazzuWheatfarmer]

Why is Harmon traded?

Great question. For one, he's in his contract year and probably not a priority to resign after 2016. He's a good Safety in a league that is starved for solid S play, but NE looks pretty good at the position for now, IF they believe in Richards, which I'm betting they do. Chung, DMC, and Ruchards make a solid top 3, while King is a valued ST player with upside at S/LB. I also think they have young athletic DBs who might see some time at Safety in Darryl Roberts and J. Jones. Even Brock Vereen is a candidate to steal a spot. In short, the likelihood of Harmon being traded really isn't that great. He'll probably play 2016 in NE, but for the reasons that I listed I believe he is a candidate to be traded.

 

[WazzuWheatfarmer]

Why are Tre Jackson and James White on PUP?

I'm not sure if Jackson's knees are ready to go. Somewhere I read that he had a minor operation done. As for White, I just kind of see him as the odd man out if Foster impresses. If he gets dinged at all before Camp, maybe they could stash him on PUP or even IR him. Just a thought

 

[mgteich]

Apparently, Foster has had had some really incredible football outings between the draft an now. How is possible that an UDFA is now a MUST for the 53.

 

[WazzuWheatfarmer]

Apparently, Foster has had had some really incredible football outings between the draft an now. How is possible that an UDFA is now a MUST for the 53.

I'm not sure if he is a "must," but I do like his potential and his chances to make the team.

 

[Mack Herron]

Apparently, Foster has had had some really incredible football outings between the draft an now. How is possible that an UDFA is now a MUST for the 53.

All the question marks at RB?

 

[mgteich]

All the question marks at RB?

I didn't say that Foster doesn't have a chance. I just have no reason to believe that he will make the roster when we have Blount, Lewis, White, Bolden, Brown, Develin and Iosefa. He certainly MIGHT. He seems to be one of the two most likely UDFA's at this point.

 

[Joey007]

Great question. For one, he's in his contract year and probably not a priority to resign after 2016. He's a good Safety in a league that is starved for solid S play, but NE looks pretty good at the position for now, IF they believe in Richards, which I'm betting they do. Chung, DMC, and Ruchards make a solid top 3, while King is a valued ST player with upside at S/LB. I also think they have young athletic DBs who might see some time at Safety in Darryl Roberts and J. Jones. Even Brock Vereen is a candidate to steal a spot. In short, the likelihood of Harmon being traded really isn't that great. He'll probably play 2016 in NE, but for the reasons that I listed I believe he is a candidate to be traded.

Where would he go to?

 

[WazzuWheatfarmer]

Maybe an NFC team who needs safety help. Harmon is good enough to start for some teams. How about Harmon to Chicago for a 4th?

 

[mgteich]

OFFENSE (24)

QB (3) - Brady, Garappolo, Brissett
RB (4) - Blount, Lewis, Brown, White
FB (1) - Develin
WR (4) - Edelman, Hogan, Mitchell, Martin
TE (3) - Gronkowski, Bennett, Harbor
OT (3) - Solder, Vollmer, Cannon/Waddle
G/C (5) - Mason, Cooper, Stork, Jackson, Andrews (Kline will likely make the 53 because of injury)
G/T (1) - Thuney
PUP - Amendola

DEFENSE (23)
DE (5) - Ninkovich, Sheard, Long, Flowers, Grissom
DT (4) - Knighton, Brown, Branch, Valentine
LB (5) - Collins, Hightower, McClellan, Freeny, KGH/Johnson
CB (5) - Butler, Ryan, Jones, Coleman, Roberts/Jones
S (4) - McCourty, Chung, Harmon, Richards
IMHO, there aren't many decisions here.

SPECIAL TEAMS (6)
Spec (3) - Gostkowski, Allen, Cardona/Yount
ST (3) - Slater, King, Bolden
Exemption - Ebner

NEXT MAN UP
If Brady is out, then Foster seems worth a spot for awhile.

 

[Joey007]

Maybe an NFC team who needs safety help. Harmon is good enough to start for some teams. How about Harmon to Chicago for a 4th?

Initially it sounds like a good idea, but I think you're underestimating Harmons role in this defense.