Pats Eye Welker (Reiss)

[Keegs]

It might be worth it to trade for Wes but for selfish reasons i kinda don't want them too.

It will suck watching the draft after the first round b/c we won't have a pick until the 3rd... like i said... selfish reasons...

I guess i don't care either way. I usually have strong opinions but for this one i think everyone should just see what BB and co. do.

They'll do the right thing.

 

[zippo59]

Welker would be a terrific addition, especially considering the fairly strong possibility that Brown will retire.

Is he worth a second round pick? Of course, and here's why: he's proven himself, which is more than any second round pick (or even first round pick) can say. We KNOW he's good. And wouldn't it be nice if he were on our side the next time we played Miami?

Is he the big time #1 receiver we'd all like? No. But no one in free agency really fills that bill exactly, except perhaps for Randy Moss, who brings with him more baggage than Cleopatra. Welker is a number 3, but solid as a rock, and he is an excellent kick returner as well.

Yeah we do know what we are getting wiht Welker, which is a good but not great receiver. At least with draft picks they have the potential to be more than that.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Yeah we do know what we are getting wiht Welker, which is a good but not great receiver. At least with draft picks they have the potential to be more than that.

And the potential to be a bust

 

[Pat_Nasty]

Re: Reiss Blog: Patriots to meet with WR Wes Welker

I cited Dillon. The recent years.

The guys I mentioned weren't all that long ago, though.

Assuming the jury is still out on Chad Jackson, BB + SP have picked only two real "busts" in the 2nd round (Marquise Hill, Bethel Johnson), while also landing solid starters like Light, Wilson and Branch. Throw Dillon in there and you have a 2-1 hit/miss ratio... which is actually pretty damn good for the 2nd round.

 

[zippo59]

And the potential to be a bust

I just think we have enough number three receivers and it'd be better to try our luck at an impact receiver in the draft. With the depth at WR this year, there will still be some good ones available in the second. There also could be some good ILB, which is still a need.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Re: Reiss Blog: Patriots to meet with WR Wes Welker

The guys I mentioned weren't all that long ago, though.

Assuming the jury is still out on Chad Jackson, BB + SP have picked only two real "busts" in the 2nd round (Marquise Hill, Bethel Johnson), while also landing solid starters like Light, Wilson and Branch. Throw Dillon in there and you have a 2-1 hit/miss ratio... which is actually pretty damn good for the 2nd round.

Point being that Dillon was a proven commodity like Welker who is versitile. If you know anything about BB you know he values versitility and ST play.

His last drafts of wideouts have been busts.

 

[cstjohn17]

This is getting more and more surreal. I guess with 12+ picks in the draft we can make some moves like this.

2007 WR - Gaffney, Caldwell, Welker, Jackson and add a draft pick of your choice: (Meachum, Jarrett, Ginn, Rice, Bowe, Gonzales, Hill, Higgins, Allison, Clowney, Williams, Walker, Newtown, etc.)

or even, heaven forbid, Randy Moss

All of a sudden the unit goes from being among the worst in the league to an above average to very good unit.

 

[holyredeemer]

Here is the link from nfl.com regarding Welkers stats.

http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/493735

One thing I found extremely intriguing is that Welker actually converted a FG and also avg. 52 yds. in KO his first yr. in the league. What a stud.

So, we would be getting a wr,kr,pr, and kicker in one fell swoop. Teach him to play a little DB and I think we have troys replacement. Welker is worth the 2nd round pick IMO, easily. Name one player for me who is worth our low 2nd that you know for a FACT is going to be there when we draft. You cant, no one can, becuz those players are all unknown commodities.

If we can pull off the coup of welker, we'll be adding another great locker room prescence, a very verstaile player and hurting the dolphins at the same time. I mean, it's getting so hard for rookies to make this team and contribute anyways, why not use one on a guy that knows the NFL?

 

[Jimke]

The Pats would get a known quantity. If they draft a wide receiver with their

second round pick, he would probably be no use to them in 2007.

 

[patchick]

I'm not under the impression that this is anything special as a draft.

Agreed, it's not nearly as deep as last year's.

As for Welker...WR is a notoriously hard position to draft. Last year's top rookie WR was a 7th rounder, and 1st-round washouts are common (paging Detroit Lions!) Spending a low second on a guy who's a proven weapon in the return game as well as a productive receiver seems pretty reasonable.

If this should come to pass, I'd bet on the Pats trading back from one of their 1st-round picks to avoid the big gap in the 2nd.

 

[PatDaPatriot]

Re: Reiss Blog: Patriots to meet with WR Wes Welker

Welker at the cost of a late second round pick wouldn't necessarily be a bad investment. He's young, he's productive, he's a terrific route runner, he's tough over the middle, and he's durable. He doesn't have to be developed. It's definitely not a given that they could do better at #60. Plus, they have enormous flexability with two first rounders...

Miami would have the right to match any offer sheet. Granted, if the Pats really want him, they can add a poison pill to the offer sheet...

 

[BradyManny]

Agreed, it's not nearly as deep as last year's.

As for Welker...WR is a notoriously hard position to draft. Last year's top rookie WR was a 7th rounder, and 1st-round washouts are common (paging Detroit Lions!) Spending a low second on a guy who's a proven weapon in the return game as well as a productive receiver seems pretty reasonable.

If this should come to pass, I'd bet on the Pats trading back from one of their 1st-round picks to avoid the big gap in the 2nd.

I've never had a post change my mind so quickly. I now want this deal to occur when forty-five seconds ago I didn't. Good post.

 

[tombonneau]

I'd be all for a 2nd for Welker. He one of those assassin types (like Dallas Clark) who always seems to make the big play.

Plus he would HUGELY upgrade our return game.

Easily worth a late 2nd. Smart GMs make moves like this -- let some other team invest in a WR, let them eat the 2-3 year learning curve, then you scoop up and grab them. I'd much rather spend a 2nd on a experienced 4yr WR than draft a rookie who might not ever materialize, and if he does it could take at least 2 seasons.

Clearly with these rapid FA moves, BB feels like he is in a 2-3 year window to make another run and is pulling out all the stops. I'm all for that.

 

[BelichickFan]

The bottom line is if we did this we'd improve our team and use a #2 pick to do it. Is it the highest upside use of the pick ? No. But the team would be better so it wouldn't be disasterous either.

 

[primetime]

I just think we have enough number three receivers and it'd be better to try our luck at an impact receiver in the draft.

Funny. If I'm not mistaken, we built a dynasty on second/third receivers. Troy Brown, David Givens, David Patten. Deion Branch was the only guy who you could make an argument was a premier receiver, and he didn't really show that in Seattle this year. Sure, the Colts won the Super Bowl with Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison, but the Chargers had Keenan McCardell and Eric Parker... it's clearly not a necessity.

We also drafted our impact receiver last year. His name's Chad Jackson. You may have heard of him? Unfortunately he is hurt now, and may never develop into what he could have, but you never know. Maybe we should see how that turns out instead of blowing a first day draft pick on a receiver again. Welker is a young, but proven commodity who is a great special teams player and caught 67 passes last year. That would have made him the top receiver on the Patriots.

 

[Pat_Nasty]

Yeah we do know what we are getting wiht Welker, which is a good but not great receiver. At least with draft picks they have the potential to be more than that.

We might know that he'll never be Randy Moss-type burner, but to say he doesn't have the potential to be a "great receiver" after he's played 2 years of WR for the Dolphins is absurd. He's got good hands, runs good routes and reads defenses well, but is more quick than fast, and, at 5'9", isn't going to win too many jump balls. Basically, he sounds like Deion Branch minus the injury history, and for less than half the price.

And considering that he's logged two years in the NFL at WR, he has a better opportunity to contribute right away than a rookie.

 

[Deus Irae]

Agreed, it's not nearly as deep as last year's.

As for Welker...WR is a notoriously hard position to draft. Last year's top rookie WR was a 7th rounder, and 1st-round washouts are common (paging Detroit Lions!) Spending a low second on a guy who's a proven weapon in the return game as well as a productive receiver seems pretty reasonable.

If this should come to pass, I'd bet on the Pats trading back from one of their 1st-round picks to avoid the big gap in the 2nd.

I think it also bears repeating that Welker would become the replacement for Troy Brown. They both play the same sort of "jack of all trades" sort of games, based around the idea of being a waterbug and not a greyhound. And, as far as what round pick is given up, it's not a first, so why does it matter? The team is still playing with house money this year because of the Branch situation.

 

[Lampshade]

Here is the link from nfl.com regarding Welkers stats.

http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/493735

One thing I found extremely intriguing is that Welker actually converted a FG and also avg. 52 yds. in KO his first yr. in the league. What a stud.

That FG was at Foxboro too. I didn't even realise until after the game that it wasn't Mare kicking.

 

[holyredeemer]

Yeah we do know what we are getting wiht Welker, which is a good but not great receiver. At least with draft picks they have the potential to be more than that.

How do we know that Welker isnt going to be an 80-90 catch guy someday? He has done nothing but improve every yr. and is only going to be getting better. He would be a good plug for us as we lose troy and wait for Jackson to return. Look who Welker had throwing to him in Mia. He didn't have ****, and he was playing opposite of a very inconsistent Chambers this yr. Brady could do alot with a young guy like welker.

Look how good gaffney and caldwell looked in comparison to their previous yrs. Our system just makes so-so players that much better. Besides, for all of the crying in regards to the need of "IMPACT" receivers, we sure did get pretty far in the playoffs with the ones weve currently got.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

The Pats would get a known quantity. If they draft a wide receiver with their

second round pick, he would probably be no use to them in 2007.

Exactly.
We'd have to endure a years worth of posts making inane excuses why a WR can't contribute much her 1st year.
The Chad Jackson nightmare all over again. No thanks!