The 2013 Prospect Thread

[DaBruinz]

With the 2013 year looking like a great year for the D-line, I can easily see the Pats going that way for NT/DT and a DE/DT with the 1st two picks. Then, I see the Pats looking at the interior of the O-line, though I think that Nick McDonald will be playing in one of the 3 interior spots as a starter. This is, of course, as long as Vollmer's healthy. If Vollmer isn't healthy, then all bets are off.

 

[mayoclinic]

With the 2013 year looking like a great year for the D-line, I can easily see the Pats going that way for NT/DT and a DE/DT with the 1st two picks. Then, I see the Pats looking at the interior of the O-line, though I think that Nick McDonald will be playing in one of the 3 interior spots as a starter. This is, of course, as long as Vollmer's healthy. If Vollmer isn't healthy, then all bets are off.

Vollmer's health and long term contract status will certainly be something to monitor, though with Gallery and Cannon I think the Pats have options at RT. The interior OL needs an infusion of youth. Like you, I have great hopes for Nick McDonald evolving as a starting center, but I'm certainly keeping an eye on prospects with the ability to play multiple interior line positions well.

 

[Marqui]

Vollmer's health and long term contract status will certainly be something to monitor, though with Gallery and Cannon I think the Pats have options at RT. The interior OL needs an infusion of youth. Like you, I have great hopes for Nick McDonald evolving as a starting center, but I'm certainly keeping an eye on prospects with the ability to play multiple interior line positions well.

What's the deal with this McDonald guy, what are his strengths/weaknesses? I never focused on him rewatching games and I deleted the only 2 games he started a while ago...

 

[mayoclinic]

What's the deal with this McDonald guy, what are his strengths/weaknesses? I never focused on him rewatching games and I deleted the only 2 games he started a while ago...

McDonald was a Division II prospect from Grand Valley State University (GVSU), so he hadn't played against top competition when he was signed by Green Bay as a UDFA in 2010. He has nice size at 6'4" 310#. He failed Patchick's "vertical" test, with a vertical of 27" prior to the 2010 draft, so he may not have been quite as explosive as a typical Pats interior lineman.

During his rookie year with Green Bay, Mike McCarthy had this to say about McDonald:

"That kid's going to be a good player," coach Mike McCarthy said. "I think Nick McDonald will be on my team for a long time. I think that kid's coming fast."

McDonald, 6 feet 4 inches and 310 pounds, started at right guard for Grand Valley State in 2008 and at left tackle in '09. The Packers played him at guard for most of training camp although he also played some center for the first time in his life. Since the regular season started, McDonald has played center almost exclusively. He's 23, six years younger than Scott Wells. It's possible McDonald is being groomed to be Wells' successor.

"Center, or even a guard," McCarthy said. "He's a square, tough (expletive). Smart. Has good feet. Those guys coming from small schools, it just takes them a little longer to get over that hurdle. Once they do, man . . . you never have enough of those guys."

McCarthy high on rookie offensive lineman McDonald - JSOnline

As I said above, McDonald was cut in a numbers crunch similar to what happened to Ted Larsen with the Pats, not because Green Bay wasn't high on him. As far as I can tell, his main "weakness" is his small school background and lack of experience. His main strengths seem to be toughness, work ethic, agility and smarts.

Tom Brady, Matt Light and Brian Waters both some interesting comments when Waters started at center against Indianapolis. Waters helped McDonald with the silent snap count because of his lack of experience. Light commented:

"I think a difficult thing to do is to step in and understand our offense in that year time frame, especially as a rookie or a guy coming in off the streets," left tackle Matt Light said. "He's done a great job, and he's got a lot of confidence when he goes out there and plays. I think it's showed in his ability to step in and do what he's done so far. We'll need it."

Nick McDonald Receives Help From Brian Waters During Lesser-Used Tactic on Silent Snap Count - New England Patriots - NESN.com

Waters lauded McDonald's preparation:

“Nick did really well. He really did. He stepped up big time this week,” said fellow offensive lineman Brian Waters. “He didn’t fully know what would happen, but he stepped up big time.He’s done a great job all season of making sure he knows what’s going on, and today was just to show that you never know when your time is coming and you have to be prepared."

Brady noted:

“It’s really a credit to Nick and the work that he put in last week,” Brady told WEEI on Monday morning. “Taking care of the football starts with the center-quarterback exchange. You’ve got to execute the most basic play in football, getting the ball from the center to the quarterback. We spent a lot of time last week trying to be able to do that. To be forced into that situation, where basically Nick’s been on the practice squad and then to elevate him the roster and have him step in was really a great job by him.”

It Is What It Is » Nick McDonald happy to get his first NFL start under his belt

It sounds from all of this like McDonald is a smart kid and a really quick study. He had never played center until signed by Green Bay, but was good enough to be discussed as a possible successor to Scott Wells his rookie season. And he managed to learn the Pats' system his first season well enough to step in and play productively in 2 games as a starter. Combine that with his size and reported "quick feet", and he sounds like a guy with a lot of upside as a possible future starting center.

 

[mayoclinic]

Here's an interview with McDonald after the Indy game:

MediaPage & ArticleSidebar 4:3 Single Video

He sure sounds like a Patriot.

 

[NinjaZX6R]

An early profile of Illinois DE/OLB Michael Buchanon:

Seahawks Scouting Report: Michael Buchanan, DE/OLB Illinois - Field Gulls

It's a good read. Buchanon played the "bandit" role in Vic Koenning's defense, previously played by DeMarcus Ware and Gaines Adams when Koenning was at Troy and Clemson, which requires the DE to stand up a lot.

Again, someone to keep an eye on.

And he did drop a lot into coverage last season.

 

[DaBruinz]

In October we could see William Gholston go against Taylor Lewan.

Last year Gholston had his facemask grabbed by Lewan who dragged him to the ground. The Detroit native, unstoppable in the bowl game against Georgia, came up swinging.

It should be interesting. Gholston is now 285-290 with lots of growth potential. A real 6' 7" guy with incredible strength.

If Gholston is in the 290-300 range by the time of the draft, teams will be looking at him for the 5-Tech..

 

[DaBruinz]

I'm hoping that Chandler Jones and Jake Bequette will keep the Pats out of the DE market for 2013. But if you're looking for DEs with length and ridiculous movement skills, these guys stand out:

Neither Jones nor Beqquette are 3-4 DEs. They are 4-3 DEs/3-4 OLBs.. The Pats still need to add a young RDE/5-Tech guy to the team..


For the RDE, look for someone 6'4 or taller and 295+ who can occasionally pressure the pocket, but can handle the 2 Gap system.

I'm liking Gholston and Hunt so far.

 

[DaBruinz]

NE Patriots Draft looks at 2013 prospects from the Georgia-Michigan St. Outback Bowl game:



Scouting the 2013 NFL Draft: Georgia vs Michigan State | NEPatriotsDraft.com - 2013 NFL Draft

FWIW. Just based on their comments from this 1 game, John Jenkins sounds like the most intriguing guy to me. A space eater who chews up double teams with good hustle, footwork and athleticism. They aren't nearly as high on Baccari Rambo as ZoisKing, to put it mildly. Cornelius Washington sounds more to BB's taste than Jarvis Jones, but neither really fits with the current approach.

Jenkins reminds me of a former LDE that we had by the name of Ty Warren. But, as mentioned, he's more of a NT prospect. Which is good. He could develop behind Wilfork.

 

[DaBruinz]

Haven't seen him mentioned yet but I'd keep an eye on junior WR Marquess Wilson from WSU. Had 86 rec 1388 yds and 12 tds last year. I imagine he can't have any worse numbers with WSU now running the pirate offense. 6'3" probably needs to add another 15-20lbs.

Marquess Wilson 2011 Highlights - YouTube

WR will definitely be a position of interest. If the Pats are forced to Franchise Welker again, they will also have Lloyd. Beyond that, who knows. Gaffney is on a 2 year deal, but has to make the team first. Ebert is on a 4 year deal, but, again, has to make the team first. Edelman will be a UFA unless he's been traded before this season starts. All the other WRs on the team will also be UFA.

 

[DaBruinz]

I was well aware of who the author was and his age ... but I was wondering when someone would point that out.

First, my personal approach right now is to beat the bushes, so it doesn't matter how credible the source is. It's just a way of identifying guys to follow/watch in more detail.

With that in mind, I agree with you. Pantoja may be 15 but he is original and he does his homework. Pantoja did some video discussions before the last draft, and they were quite insightful.

I'd be interested to see how his predictions pan out on the players he did the video discussions about.,.

 

[DaBruinz]

NE Patriots' Draft profiles Texas A&M WR Ryan Swopes as a "possible Wes Welker successor" in 2013:



With Welker, Julian Edelman, Anthony Gonzalez and Jeremy Ebert currently under contract I'm not too focused on the slot right now. But obviously that could change.

Of the 4 you mentioned, only Ebert is under contract beyond the end of the 2012 season currently. Welker probably will be either through a 3 year deal or through the franchise tag.

Of the other WRs on the team, only Gaffney's contract goes beyond this upcoming season.

WR could be an area that the Pats look at or they will just use the recycle heap..

 

[DaBruinz]

Thanks for the info.

BTW, Phil Steele's also publishes a mid-season All-Conference and All-American list. Looking at their 2011 mid-season All-American list, who should show up on the 4th team at CB but Tavon Wilson. Trumaine Johnson, Alfonzo Dennard, Janoris Jenkins didn't make the list. In fact, not even Morris Claiborne made it. And Chandler Jones didn't make it - or the Big East All-Conference list - for the DEs. Phil Steele's also listed Wilson as 1st team All-Conference for the Big 10 at CB. These lists are subjective, but Wilson must have had SOME decent tape to make someone's list.

Phil Steele
Phil Steele

OMG.. I hope that STATE doesn't see that.. He'll have some choice words about Phil Steele if he does..

 

[DaBruinz]

What's the deal with this McDonald guy, what are his strengths/weaknesses? I never focused on him rewatching games and I deleted the only 2 games he started a while ago...

Nick more than held his own during his two starts. He didn't seem to need the help with the snap count the way that Connolly did. Granted it was against the Colts and the Redskins, but the Skins do have a very good D-line. I don't remember him letting up any major pressure or messing up in the run blocking.

In college, Nick actually played OT and OG, but he's picked up playing center like he's a natural.

What I thought was telling was that the Pats kept McDonald on the active roster, going with 10 O-linemen, rather than cut him and try to get him back to the PS.

From what I saw, he seems to have passed Wendell on the depth charts, imho.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

What I thought was telling was that the Pats kept McDonald on the active roster, going with 10 O-linemen, rather than cut him and try to get him back to the PS.

If they see him as a potential starting C (or G, for that matter) a year or two down the road, that makes a lot of sense.

 

[mayoclinic]

Of the 4 you mentioned, only Ebert is under contract beyond the end of the 2012 season currently. Welker probably will be either through a 3 year deal or through the franchise tag.

Of the other WRs on the team, only Gaffney's contract goes beyond this upcoming season.

WR could be an area that the Pats look at or they will just use the recycle heap..

You are absolutely correct. WR is totally up in the air going into 2013. Lloyd could be a stud, Gaffney could take up where he left off, Welker could get signed to a long term deal or one of the other guys could emerge ... or the whole position could be in disarray, and it could be a major focus for 2013.

I have a strong personal bias against WRs - I think they are generally over-valued in today's NFL, and tend to be one-dimensional in terms of what they add. I also believe that you can find very good ones in day 2, 3 and FA. So I personally tend to focus on other positions, and I'll leave most of the WR draft profiling to others. But that is just my personal bias, and I recognize that in today's NFL WR is a "premium" position. This is certainly a key area to follow over the next year.

 

[mayoclinic]

Charlie Campbell of Walter Football profiles Alabama OL Barrett Jones:

Skill-Set Summary: It is clear that Jones is a versatile athlete. He is an excellent technician. His hand placement and knee bend are picture perfect. There is no doubt that Jones has done a superb job of developing his technique.

As a run blocker, Jones has the strength to push defensive linemen around at the point of attack. He is a good drive blocker to be a power-man blocker with the mobility to hit blocks on the second level. Jones could fit as a zone blocker or in a power-man blocking scheme as a pro.

Jones is rock steady in pass protection. He is quick and shuffles his feet with speed rushers while having the powerful base to stand up bull rushers. Jones really did well at left tackle in 2011, and considering the need for the position in the NFL, some teams could consider him to be their blind-side protector.

With Jones' versatility, it isn't unreasonable to think that he could start at any of the five positions on the offensive line in the NFL, although it is hard to say what his best position would be right now.

Jones is a hard-working, team-first guy. Not only can his intelligence be seen in learning multiple positions, but he graduated with his degree in accounting in three years with a 4.0 grade-point average. Jones was getting his master's degree during his "junior" season of college football. Off the field, Jones also works with a charity that has prompted him to make multiple trips to Haiti to work with an orphanage.

2013 Draft Expectations: Jones should definitely be a first-round pick. He will have a four-year stack of good tape for NFL evaluators. The million dollar question is what his position will be in the NFL and which one he would fit best. If teams think he can play left tackle he could go in the top 16. If Jones is viewed as a center he could be a top 20 pick, but if he is looked at as a guard he'll probably go in the 20-32 range. As far as talent goes, Jones could be a top 10 pick. It is extremely rare to have an offensive lineman enter the NFL with the capacity to start at all five positions on the line.

WalterFootball.com: 2013 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Barrett Jones

The full report is worth a read.

 

[mayoclinic]

What I thought was telling was that the Pats kept McDonald on the active roster, going with 10 O-linemen, rather than cut him and try to get him back to the PS.

From what I saw, he seems to have passed Wendell on the depth charts, imho.

I agree, and I think that's a great thing. I don't see Wendell as much more than a JAG, whereas McDonald offers some real upside. I think of McDonald more as another Dan Connolly - another small school product - with perhaps even more upside. And in some ways McDonald reminds me a bit of Danny Woodhead - he seems really quick in his ability to digest the playbook and perform under pressure on short notice.

 

[Off The Grid]

McDonald was a Division II prospect from Grand Valley State University (GVSU), so he hadn't played against top competition when he was signed by Green Bay as a UDFA in 2010. He has nice size at 6'4" 310#. He failed Patchick's "vertical" test, with a vertical of 27" prior to the 2010 draft, so he may not have been quite as explosive as a typical Pats interior lineman.

During his rookie year with Green Bay, Mike McCarthy had this to say about McDonald:



McCarthy high on rookie offensive lineman McDonald - JSOnline

As I said above, McDonald was cut in a numbers crunch similar to what happened to Ted Larsen with the Pats, not because Green Bay wasn't high on him. As far as I can tell, his main "weakness" is his small school background and lack of experience. His main strengths seem to be toughness, work ethic, agility and smarts.

Tom Brady, Matt Light and Brian Waters both some interesting comments when Waters started at center against Indianapolis. Waters helped McDonald with the silent snap count because of his lack of experience. Light commented:



Nick McDonald Receives Help From Brian Waters During Lesser-Used Tactic on Silent Snap Count - New England Patriots - NESN.com

Waters lauded McDonald's preparation:



Brady noted:



It Is What It Is » Nick McDonald happy to get his first NFL start under his belt

It sounds from all of this like McDonald is a smart kid and a really quick study. He had never played center until signed by Green Bay, but was good enough to be discussed as a possible successor to Scott Wells his rookie season. And he managed to learn the Pats' system his first season well enough to step in and play productively in 2 games as a starter. Combine that with his size and reported "quick feet", and he sounds like a guy with a lot of upside as a possible future starting center.

Absolutely tremendous breakdown on McDonald, Brother Mayo!! :rocker:

I have come all the way around on this kid, and it's completely due to your Research. Props!!

 

[Off The Grid]

Charlie Campbell of Walter Football profiles Alabama OL Barrett Jones:



WalterFootball.com: 2013 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Barrett Jones

The full report is worth a read.

Gotta love Jones.

The best thing about Mad Bill's inexplicably persistent refusal to follow My Vision, each year, is that if he ever DID...I'd be hard put to find any reason to Pick ANYONE the next year!! Hah!!

As it is, I get to lust after Jones ~ in a strictly manly, NON Spike TV way, of course!! ~ for the next year!!