Thursday, April 11th
As usual, we’ll concentrate on Sanders as a player and his potential impact on the field. In my most recent podcast reviewing team needs I highlighted the Patriots’ No. 1 issue as wide receiver. When the team goes into the year with Vikings cast off Michael Jenkins and oft-injured slot man Danny Amendola as likely starters you start to have visions of three tight end sets becoming the norm. So, from a need standpoint trying to get a WR makes sense, but is Sanders worth a third-rounder (assuming that a long-term deal is already in a sealed envelope), and does his ability complement New England’s existing talent?
The first thing to note is that of players running more than 200 routes Amendola was in the Top 10, with 80% run from the slot — Sanders was Top 20 with 67% (65% in 2011). So have they just ended up with two slot guys, and is that what they want?
Secondly, for someone who played 740 snaps, the majority of which were with a top flight QB, he didn’t really ‘wow’ anyone. He played perfectly well, grading +1.1 as a receiver, but if you are going to throw a third-round pick at your problem perhaps you want more than a receiver who had three times as many picks as touchdowns thrown his way, and nearly as many drops (3) as forced missed tackles (5).
I’m not totally down on the ploy because I do see potential in Sanders (I even highlighted him as a potential breakout player for 2012), but unfortunately my abiding memory of him in 2012 was the catch he dropped when wide open in the middle of the field against the Redskins.
