Pats select QB Kevin O'Connell with 94th overall pick

[Seymour93]

Trade bait? Yea sure, and Matt Cassel is going to be traded for a first round pick like all the dopes were saying last year and the year before. It was a wasted pick. If you're just throwing them away, you take someone with incredible upside like Manningham and see if he can produce. If Brady goes down, they're screwed. It doesn't matter if its O'Connell or Gutierrez or Cassel, or whoever. What a waste.

A third round QB should be ready to start in the NFL when called upon.

 

[D-cleater]

Good way to continue strengthening the team with solid depth. Defenses know how to get to brady now... the chances of him getting injured increased as soon as Graham was gone. Smart pick. I like the concept of showcasing him for trade bait as well. Day 2 players just aren't as likely to make the cut on this team any more. Why not strengthen an important position - backup QB?

 

[PatsFan37]

According to mike lombardi on NFLN this is a future trade bait. He thinks they will put him out in the preseason and if he looks great they will entice some team to give up their 2nd or 1st down the yrs for him
Similar to what ron wolf used to do with the packers.

I does seem like a head scratcher but looks more like "future vision" pick.

I don't buy it. They picked Cassel to groom him as the backup and possible successor. Now they pick a Cassel clone, so I have to believe, again, they have the same plan.

My one big fear, once again they pick a guy with no pocket sense. How do you learn that? Brady has great pocket sense and he couldn't seem to teach it to Cassel or Cassel never caught on (or he magically did since the last time we saw him play).

 

[Lampshade]

Mayock (who clearly has an in with BB) makes the point that Cassel (who he says BB still likes) is a FA at the end of the year. Give O'Connell a year to develop, so he'll be ready to be the #2.

Following on from 3 young defensive players, I can see the logic in that.

 

[amazinPats]

I love this pick! QB is one of the hardest positions to fill. You can never start too early in trying to find a good #2 QB w/ potential as #1 down the road. Arguably, the biggest team weakness was the thinness behind Tom Brady if he were to go down in a game.

Cassell is toast once his contract expires next year. O' Connell looks like a good prospect.

 

[stinkypete]

I don't get it. We've spent years bemoaning the fact that the team is screwed if Brady gets hurt because there isn't good backup here. Now they draft a good backup, and everyone's pissed? Good QBs need to be drafted in early rounds. Brady as a 6th is an exception, not the rule.

 

[Calciumee]

Well Cassell did gift Miami a TD last year!!!

 

[ATippett56]

Aggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Jonathan Goff was still on the board!

The New England Patriots need more young linebackers on the roster!

 

[PATSNUTme]

Good write up on him on ProFW draft guide. Considered to be a real riser- not a good set of receivers to throw to. Really a good back up prospect.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Interestingly enough, the analysts at ESPN think that, if anything, the Patriots might have gotten a steal with O'Connell. . . . They're still pikers, though.

 

[JoePats]

Insurance for your Aston Martin costs more than insurance for your dirt bike.

 

[fozziewazzi]

Does that mean the Matt Cassel experiment is over?

The only memory I have of Cassel in the Pats historic 2007 season is week 7 against Miami - 4Q, Pats up 42-14. In comes Cassel..incomplete pass, then a pick 6. 42-21. Out he goes, in steps Brady and 2:19 later its 49-21. If you can't even manage to be a caretaker QB in a laugher game, then your days are numbered.

 

[FulhamPatriot]

Jonathan Goff was still on the board!

Hate to state the obvious... but if BB/SP rated him as value with the pick, he'd be a Patriot. Cassel is a year away from being a FA (hopefully, we get someone to trade for him), O'Connell is an upgrade.

 

[Lampshade]

"Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had traveled to San Diego to privately work out O'Connell, so the Patriots had him in their crosshairs in the pre-draft process."

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/

 

[Watson's IQ]

I suppose if he was the guy they wanted.. But someone would have to try hard to convince me that he wouldn't have still been there when they picked in the 4th..

I'm still up in the air on this one, but clearly if Brady went down we'd be in trouble, and this kid does look a lot better than the other two guys.

 

[Patriot Missile]

I heard his name thrown out there alot the this last week. Very freakish athlete with alot of talent. For some reason Michael Bishop comes to mind with this pick. Hopefully he will come in,learn the system,read defenses etc and be ready when called upon. You never know how far a Qb's ceiling is until he does it under fire.

I don't think teams are foolish enough to give up first rounders for guys that show skills during pre season. I think they are way off base with that analogy. He would have to come in and play for an injured Tom Brady and do well for that to happen. And no Pat's fan wants that to happen. Especially me.

 

[patsox23]

"Might as well have taken a kicker with that pick."

"It was a wasted pick. If you're just throwing them away, you take someone with incredible upside like Manningham and see if he can produce. If Brady goes down, they're screwed. It doesn't matter if its O'Connell or Gutierrez or Cassel, or whoever. What a waste."

"I bet a small part of this was to keep him away from the Jets."

"This pick sucks ass. Im all for "In Bill We Trust", but WTFFFF!!!!!!!!"



HI, IDIOTS. Try following the draft and not just coming in here, posting BLIND. This is a phenomenal pick. Good LORD.

 

[patsox23]

I don't buy it. They picked Cassel to groom him as the backup and possible successor.

NO THEY DIDN'T. God, you people. PLEASE, step back from the keyboard.

 

[patsox23]

I suppose if he was the guy they wanted.. But someone would have to try hard to convince me that he wouldn't have still been there when they picked in the 4th..

I'm still up in the air on this one, but clearly if Brady went down we'd be in trouble, and this kid does look a lot better than the other two guys.

THERE IS NO WAY O'CONNELL WAS GOING TO BE THERE IN THE 4th. Some coaches had him with a 1st round grade. Seriously, people, please read up on the draft before coming in here with wild, baseless kneejerk speculation.

 

[LoganMankinsPancakeBlocks]

6'5, 230, strong arm and ran a 4.6 forty. This is a pretty intriguing prospect and pick, especially since taking him in the 3rd shows just how much BB/Pioli (and McDaniels, as he apparently made a private trip to work him out) like this kid. I like the pick, as it seems like a high risk/high reward type and I'm fine with that in the late 3rd and while I wouldn't have taken a QB this high, Pioli/BB doing so sells me on it.

If nothing else, pre-season football just got a lot more interesting.