Urgent
In the Starting Line-Up
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2005
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I still can't figure out why they wasted a 6th on Tom Frigging Brady, any draftnik could have told you that Giovanni Carmozzi was a much better prospect. Brady was the slowest QB ever at the Combine, and if you saw his picture there he looked more like one of those guys who criticize every draft than a player. Christ, what a waste, they had Micheal Bishop and Bledsoe already and Bishop had an absolute cannon and could run a 3.84 40.
So the Patriots drafted Tom Brady in the sixth round.
Is this brilliant move, then, prove that the Patriots cannot make bad drafting decisions? When they depart from the conventionally-rated prospects, does the drafting of Tom Brady prove the Patriots are smarter than everyone else?
I'm not sure even the Brady pick, in the 6th, is at all controversial. That's about where he was rated. I think the point above would have been stronger had Brady been rated at that level, when the Pats took him in the second, endured the controversy, and then won three Super Bowls.
I think we can all agree, hard as that is sometimes, that Wilson in the second was a surprise. Most folks who follow the draft closely expected him two to four rounds later. There's a decent industry assessing the NFL draft, and while none of us have access to the exact ratings of the other 31 teams, the people paid for their analysis had Wilson much later.
There were glimmers of upside in the preseason. Wilson seemed very good covering tight ends in August.
Then came a couple injuries. Extensive playing time for second round picks is nothing out of the ordinary. Especially for players who are the top pick at the top area of need. Again, most of us would agree that the Patriots secondary was the top area of need last offseason. Wilson was the top pick in the secondary. Not surprising he got some playing time.
In my opinion, his results were about what would have been expected, having reviewed his college production. Consistent with a player rated as a 5th rounder or so. He benefitted from a couple tips early. And then he showed real struggles picking up coverage. None of the strong coverage over the middle showed up in real games. Anyone remember a game in Seattle?
Of course, the concern going forward is the second year plummet in the Patriots secondary. Butler, Wheatley, Wilhite, McCourty. Players who showed promise in their rookie year had awful second seasons. Chung took an extra season to drop. Dowling delivered two incompletes. Could Wilson be the first recent player to challenge this trend?
Let's hope so.
However, if Wilson is pencilled as the starting safety for 2013, I'm not counting that toward the improved column for the New England secondary.