NEW ARTICLE: Patriots News 04-23, Draft Strategy Still Not Clear

[Lavictoire]

I think the great equalizer facing these scary QB's is a strong pass rush and pressure. It sends Mahomes and his ilk running for their life and making mistakes trying to force a play. Even Brady got rattled and seeing ghosts under that constant pressure. Nothing worse than watching Josh Allen stand there for 5 minutes deciding where to throw it. We wont need to match 30+ points every week to beat these guys with a strong defense. Our offense should be up to the job with some help on the o-line and competent coaching but concentrate on pressure/pass rush and some CB help.

 

[upstater1]

If history is any indication, Patriots fans will be generally disappointed by what the team does and who it selects. Count me among those conditioned not to hold my breath come Thursday.

That's later in the draft though. We've generally always been big fans of their early to mid picks

 

[upstater1]

I'm just assuming.... there will be a trade of some sorts.. I just sense that.. this year I have absolutely no inclination what the team will actually draft.. we need CB, OL, WR, are the most glaring..

Listened to the Bills GM this week. He said there are less bonafide 1st rounders this year than ever and that everyone is trying to trade up higher in the draft.

Dont know what benefit there is for him in saying that, so I take it at face value.

While there will likely be quite a premium paid by teams to trade into the Patriots spot, any drop down will result in drafting a 2nd round level player.

 

[Tunescribe]

That's later in the draft though. We've generally always been big fans of their early to mid picks

Maybe well after the fact. Usually it's something like, "Why did they take him THERE? They could've taken [so and so] and got THAT guy later!"

 

[Real fan 02]

Listened to the Bills GM this week. He said there are less bonafide 1st rounders this year than ever and that everyone is trying to trade up higher in the draft.

Dont what benefit there is for him in saying that, so I take it at face value.

While there will likely be quite a premium paid by teams to trade into the Patriots spot, any drop down will result in drafting a 2nd round level player.

Yeah.. I've also heard that as well as ESPN had a segment on that as well. As far as our team.. we have great complimentary talent But We need elite talent. Guys that get the opposing teams attention offensively and defensively.

It's going to be a wonder what they actually do..

 

[upstater1]

Maybe well after the fact. Usually it's something like, "Why did they take him THERE? They could've taken [so and so] and got THAT guy later!"

I don't know; I remember this board being thrilled by Wilfork, Chandler Jones, Hightower, Mayo, Seymour. We were generally maybe dubious about Ty Warren.

 

[Real fan 02]

I think the great equalizer facing these scary QB's is a strong pass rush and pressure. It sends Mahomes and his ilk running for their life and making mistakes trying to force a play. Even Brady got rattled and seeing ghosts under that constant pressure. Nothing worse than watching Josh Allen stand there for 5 minutes deciding where to throw it. We wont need to match 30+ points every week to beat these guys with a strong defense. Our offense should be up to the job with some help on the o-line and competent coaching but concentrate on pressure/pass rush and some CB help.

Highly agree, we have a potent pass rush.. and pretty decent coverage guys.. however our pressure we get up front aids the secondary. However we need to score points.. we need to become a balanced team.. our defense and improved special teams this season should allow the offense and defense great field positions.

We also have a dam good back in Rham who does it all..

 

[Lavictoire]

Highly agree, we have a potent pass rush.. and pretty decent coverage guys.. however our pressure we get up front aids the secondary. However we need to score points.. we need to become a balanced team.. our defense and improved special teams this season should allow the offense and defense great field positions.

We also have a dam good back in Rham who does it all..

They sabotaged the offense last season, people will be surprised how good our offense really is. My point is we dont have to try to win by shootout, but instead we should add to the defensive pressure as it is a thing to behold to watch the elite QB's thrown off their game and be brought down the earth. As you point out, the pressure will aid the secondary so we should add even more to interior and edge pressure.

 

[Real fan 02]

They sabotaged the offense last season, people will be surprised how good our offense really is. My point is we dont have to try to win by shootout, but instead we should add to the defensive pressure as it is a thing to behold to watch the elite QB's thrown off their game and be brought down the earth. As you point out, the pressure will aid the secondary so we should add even more to interior and edge pressure.

That's right, under the same offense all be it under a real coordinator Mac's rookie season we were 6th in points and I think near the top in the red zone.. we can very easily be that team again.. last season is where BB had one the worst coaching seasons, as 2020 was one of his best!

I like the idea of having as many guys to attack the QB as possible.. I'd like a nice rotation this season so guys are fresher down the stretch.. speaking of defense..

We definitely need some depth in the secondary..

 

[StrawHatPatriot]

Obviously the Pats were never going to tank.

But picking 14th this year is rough, as the best tackles might be gone by then, and also the receivers.

I'd prefer Bill gets his corners undrafted... he's genuinely great at that. His rate of picking corners early in the draft isn't as good...

 

[VJCPatriot]

The Pats always find good DB talent late so I question taking a CB at 14 unless he is the next Revis or Ty Law. Even then you have a player of that caliber for 3 years at best before money becomes a problem. Seems like CBs and WRs are the biggest problems when they are outperforming their contracts.

It's a good problem to have though. The better problem is to worry about paying a good player that you drafted rather than throwing up your hands and saying, oh no, we drafted another N'Keal Harry DUD, there goes BB off the reservation again on draft day!!!

Ask yourself, would you rather be saying, darn we got ourselves the next Ty Law, we've got to pay this guy some major coin OR would you rather say, damn that guy we just drafted is the next Bethel Johnson, the next Slowjuan Johnson, or the next Duke Dawson, etc.?

 

[VJCPatriot]

Obviously the Pats were never going to tank.

But picking 14th this year is rough, as the best tackles might be gone by then, and also the receivers.

I'd prefer Bill gets his corners undrafted... he's genuinely great at that. His rate of picking corners early in the draft isn't as good...

They didn't need to tank because the defense was still very good, pulling out clutch wins and scoring points of their own even while the offense was trying its best to sabotage their chances of winning each week by picking up as few points as possible!

 

[Real fan 02]

They didn't need to tank because the defense was still very good, pulling out clutch wins and scoring points of their own even while the offense was trying its best to sabotage their chances of winning each week by picking up as few points as possible!

Looking back it it.. you'd almost think BB was trying to tank when he asked MP and judge to run the offense.. knowing they're not going to say no. If we can have a balanced team we'd be in the mix

Top 10 in offense, top 5 in defense.. is a realistic feat

 

[VJCPatriot]

My draft strategy. Make a list of 256 players ranked in order of preference and then select the highest player left every time you pick. If you really, really like a player, trade up and get him. If you think you can get the same or more value later, then trade down.

That's pretty much what the Patriots do. The issue is that they stack their draft board differently from every other team in the league.

And the real problem is that sometimes they just outsmart themselves. One draft the analysts will say the defensive tackles are the deepest we've seen in years, the Patriots won't take a single DT, despite BB's self-proclaimed planet sized person rule, and instead 'zag' to a different position and pick up a dud because they're 'smarter than everyone else'.

BB has also shown a tendency to overrule his own scouts that ends up burning the Patriots. Just look at guys like N'Keal Harry, Ras-I Dowling, Bethel Johnson, etc. etc. The list goes on and on.

Draft Day is often a nightmare over the past decade because the fans are more wondering, will we get yet another trade down out of the 1st, making everyone wait a whole day just to draft yet ANOTHER prospect in the 2nd round that nobody has heard of, and then watch that guy wash out of the league in a couple of years, or will even WORSE we stay in the 1st round and draft another N'Keal Harry instead. The possibilities are endless, but the past decade of BB drafts have mostly just ended up with failures.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Looking back it it.. you'd almost think BB was trying to tank when he asked MP and judge to run the offense.. knowing they're not going to say no. If we can have a balanced team we'd be in the mix

Top 10 in offense, top 5 in defense.. is a realistic feat

Yeah the problem was that he was "tanking" for the middle of the draft rather than the top of the draft, which essentially makes it a useless strategy. LOL

 

[Real fan 02]

Yeah the problem was that he was "tanking" for the middle of the draft rather than the top of the draft, which essentially makes it a useless strategy. LOL

Lol that's funny.. !! Isn't It odd.. we are #14 for the 2023 draft and Mac was taken at #15.. boy this is an interesting draft I'll say

 

[StrawHatPatriot]

They didn't need to tank because the defense was still very good, pulling out clutch wins and scoring points of their own even while the offense was trying its best to sabotage their chances of winning each week by picking up as few points as possible!

Playing backup QBs helped (or didn't help). If anything, it may have done more harm for the Pats to have a moral victory and go 8-9 rather than just being 6-11 if Tua and Kyler don't get hurt. (And if the Jets benched Zach Wilson earlier.)

The draft is in 4 days... boy oh boy I have no clue what they'll do.

 

[PatsFan2]

My Julian Edelman/Welker/DA from this Draft is Purdue's Charlie Jones he screams Patriot Slot WR.

 

[Joker]

NFLN panel have a consensus at 14 for the Pats...Van Ness from Iowa....fine by me...no corners!!!

 

[DaBruinz]

Darnell Wright...him on one side..Trent Brown at the other tackle...Mac gets the protective cocoon he needs to stand in the pocket and read the defense...but yeah...let's take a cornerback...jeezus...it's gotta be "Sauce Derangement Syndrome"...if we stay at 14 and Wright is there it's an absolute no brainer...just hope O'B has some say in this

Gonna disagree with you here. It has nothing to do with Sauce Gardner and everything to do with getting a #1 Lock-Down corner for essentially 7 years. You can get a starting tackle in the 2nd round. Pats have done it at least twice. And there's a very good chance that Wright falls into the 2nd round,.