everlong
Veteran Starter w/Big Long Term Deal
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2007
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1. With 6 WRs who I actually think deserve to be on the roster (Edelman, Amendola, Lafell, Dobson, Thompkins and Boyce) plus another talented guy in Mark Harrison, I really don't see room for a rookie WR. There's not enough of an upgrade to take a WR early, and I think it's a long shot that any day 3 guy would make the roster over guys who have already had a year to learn the system and work on their rapport with Brady. For that reason, I've left WRs off of my top 75 list (indicated in red). I do have a separate WR ranking list, and I expect a bunch of talented guys to slip through the cracks, and I would grab a bunch of UDFA WRs for roster competition, but I wouldn't spend a draft pick on the position.
Amendola is probably gone after this year and there's nothing certain about the futures of Thompkins, Boyce and to a lesser extent Dobson but the foot injury does concern me. The Patriots continue to contact WRs including high ones like Marquise Lee. 75 is just a number. If the Patriots like more than that it will become there board. Rumor is one year there board was 32 players. I don't think you throw out WRs. If something crazy like Donte Moncrief dropping to the 4th round happens and you have a 7.5 grade on him you draft the player.
2. I wouldn't spend a day 1 or 2 draft pick on a pure CB given all that we have invested in the position and how much depth we have, so I haven't included guys like Darqueze Dennard, Justin Gilbert, Bradley Robey, Jason Verrett, etc. (indicated in blue) My first pure CBs are guys like Phillip Gaines and Bashaud Breeland who I consider day 2 talents that could slip to day 3. My other DBs are guys who I think could play a hybrid CB/S role, or pure SS candidates. I have Kyle Fuller rated so high because of his versatility, and the fact that he played a LB role at times.
Same as the WRs you still slot the position. If for some strange reason Kyle Fuller is on the board at 62 you draft the beast not knowing if Revis will be back next year. Your post citing Phillip Gaines as this year's DJ Hayden was spot on. The kid will go in the second round and perhaps the top half of the round.
3. I'm assuming with the FA changes in the secondary that we'll generally be playing with a single high safety (Cover 1, Cover 3 or Cover 7) and very little Cover 2 with 2 deep safeties. What I'm looking for in a SS is very different depending on which role I'm looking to fill. Guys like Hasean Clinton-Dix, Lamarcus Joyner and Jimmy Ward are very good in coverage and fit well as deep safeties, but if we're playing mostly single high safety with McCourty as the deep guy then I want a more physical SS who can excel in the underneath zone coverage and run support activities. That's caused me to favor safeties like Deone Bucannon and Calvin Pryor, CB/S hybrids like Kyle Fuller, Antone Exum and Keith McGill, and LB/S hybrids like Kevin Pierre-Louis and Telvin Smith. My rankings would have been very different if I expected the Pats to play more Cover 2. I should probably have included Stanley Jean-Baptiste as well. (Indicated in green)
I see Kyle Fuller as a potential shutdown press corner. I would rather safeties who can cover and take good angles.
4. I didn't include any tackles who I didn't also project to interior line (indicated in purple). I like Jake Mewhort, and he could possibly move inside - I struggled with whether to include him, and left him off for now. Morgan Moses and Antonio Richardson are more pure RTs to me, and I wouldn't consider that position before day 3.
I really don't like any of the Patriots swing tackles. Cannon belongs at guard and the rest are Jags. I don't trust Vollmer to stay healthy so if Solder gets hurt they're screwed. I probably don't draft a pure tackle either but I put them in the list because again you never know. A guy like Moses drops to the 3rd and that's great value.
5. For interior linemen, I currently rank Brandon Thomas, Joel Bitonio, Marcus Martin and Weston Richburg as my top guys after Zach Martin. I actually like Trai Turner the most of the interior line prospects after those guys. I think that David Yankey and Xavier Su'a Filo are overrated, and ranked them in the next tier along with guys like Billy Turner.
It's fun to compare lists.
I meant to include Turner and missed him.
Great discussion.