What draft grade would you give the Patriots so far?

[Joker]

is there a uniform NFL draft grading system?

yeah..uh..I don't think so...anyway..here's how I saw it

no first round pick...automatically, for me, starts off this draft with the best possible grade being a B+....

Jamie Collins...despite all the negativity and unfounded criticism surrounding his heart for the game, THIS is the player I wanted most of all in this draft. I know others wanted an all pro WR and I understand that completely. I wanted a player that can lower the eyes of a QB like Flacco in a big playoff game. A player that can hit the gawk as he stands there in the pocket and get him to look at the rush instead of just casually setting up a friggin' table and ordering a 7 course meal while waiting for his big receivers to get downfield. Collins has the size, speed, strength and heart to be THAT player. ...B+

Aaron Dobson...big receiver...like that...sub 4.4 speed...like that...plays slower in game..do not like that...catches everything near his hands..like that...picked over a numnvber of other touted WR's...unsure at best...having been burned so many time before by Patriots WR picks, I understand the pick but I'm not blown away...B+ moves down to a B..

Logan Ryan...“He’s a good football player in a good program,” Belichick said of Ryan. “He’s been very productive. He’s one of the most productive corners in the draft. Smart; been productive. He’s been in a very good system. He’s been well coached, knows his techniques well, he’s an instinctive player. He’s had a lot of production. He’s tough, he’s a good tackler.”....unimpressed.I have no doubt that this player could have been taken much lower. I always defer to the Pats braintrust but for me this pick makes the draft go from B down to C.

Duron Harmon..."This one has everyone scratching their heads. Harmon wasn’t invited to the NFL combine, and most draft sites don’t even have a player profile on the Rutgers safety. Chances are he would have been around after all 254 picks in the draft, but the Patriots went ahead and took him 91st overall.

When the pick was made, NFL Network and ESPN were left scrambling; no one had any footage of Harmon."...they weren't the only ones. Really, what the hell is behind THIS pick????...that C goes down to a generous C minus. In fact , if tHIS was all the picks they made, I grade the draft a D...and I'm an admitted homer.

Josh Boyce, Wide Receiver...led TCU in all things receiving...very strong ,very fast...I smell a steal....C minus goes up to a C+, given the previous selection of Dobson making TWO WR's of value.

7th Round (#226 Overall) – Michael Buchanan, DE/OLB, Illinois
7th Round (#235 Overall) – Steve Beauharnais, LB, Rutgers

These are the wild card players that can INCREASE my marks for this draft. They cannot decrease what I perceive as a solid C...but Buchanan alone has the possibility, for me anyway, of raising this draft into the solid B territory.

As it stands now, I'll give this draft a C+...all things considered.

 

[ausbacker]

Yeah, at the very least, you have to love the Dobson and Boyce picks just because it was such a need.

I voted a solid B because the Patriots addressed almost every need they had outside of OL and DT depth that I had identified pre-draft. I was chuffed the team doubled up at WR and with two players who appear to offer different skill sets yet service a similar need.

 

[RobAllan]

I desperately want to rate this a B, especially considering we addressed positions that needed filling fairly well. With that said, who we used picks on, and moreso when, leave me about a C. That said, my gut keeps telling me we got a receiver that's going to be a stud, so that'll make this a successful draft regardless of the execution if it proves to be true.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

I love the position selection, honestly could not have gone any better than what I had wanted. The player selection of course remains to be seen, some of us are happy some aren't but the important thing is we went after everything we needed:

Multiple picks on WR
Multiple pass rushers
Multiple DB's

Great plan, let's hope they hit on a few. Based upon the last few drafts I believe this will prove to be a great draft in 3 years.

 

[Rob0729]

And yet again, I think this is an useless exercise to do at this point in time, but I will do it anyway. I would say the Pats get a B/B+.

My #1 need for the Pats was to improve the pass rush and they addressed that with their first pick. I know some people think Collins is addressing the need of a coverage LB over a pass rushing DE (which I am sure he will do at times), I still think he will be lining up at DE in sub packages. The LDE on this team in subpackages needs to be a jack of all trades which Collins can be.

I know there are questions about his motor, but this could be another Randy Moss situation where Collins saw all his teammates quit and found it hard to stay motivated himself. It is my understanding Collins always brought it last year against the top teams. Buchanon brings more depth.

Obviously, WR was the other top need and they addressed it twice in the first four rounds. I like what I see of Dobson on film. He looks to be a Lloyd replacement without the off the field baggage. Boyce may actually make more of an impact than Dobson early. Like Collins, his 2012 production may have hidden some of his true talent due to circumstances out of his control since he went from a very good college QB in Dalton to a God-awful QB who couldn't hit the side of a barn standing two feet in front of it.

Ryan should provide some good depth in the secondary. Harmon is a head scratcher, but Tavon Wilson performed better than most expected last year (although has a long ways to go to be a starter). Maybe Harmon will work out.

In the end, who really knows. All these draft grades that Kiper, McShay, and Mayock will be handing out over the next 24 hours mean nothing. I guarantee you at least one of the teams who got universal A grades will ultimately find out they had a bad draft and a team getting mediocre or failing grades today will find out they got a couple of perennial Pro Bowls over the last three days. That is how the draft works.

 

[Ring 6]

I would give this draft a C

2) Collins LB- C : Great measurables, amazing Combine numbers, 10 sacks, then why was this guy rated a 4th or 5th round pick ? Could be because there are valid questions about this kid's motor, seems like he has the body of Tarzan but sometimes plays like Jane. This was a reach by BB, but maybe BB can reach this kid and rev up his motor.

2) Dobson WR- B: Love this pick, was a big fan of Dobson after seeing him play in the Beef O Brady Bowl. Big, physical, fast receiver with great hands !!. So called better receivers were still available, but a lot of them dropped big time (Patton and Rogers).

3) Ryan CB- B: Very solid value pick, rated 2nd round pick at worst. Adds good depth, and depending how he works out, possible Talib replacement in 2014.

3) Harmon S- F: All I can say is , "Huh ? Who ?" Rated at best a 7th round pick, most had him as an UDFA, yet BB wastes a 3rd round pick on him. Maybe the worst pick in the draft by any team. Only thing to like about him is his size, 6'1" 200.

4) Boyce WR- B: Once again, so called better receivers were still available. BUT, speed kills, what's not to like with a guy who runs a 4.38 with a broken toe ? Also, decent size at 5'11" 205. More explosive than Dobson in both speed and moves, though doesn't separate as well as Dobson. Has made some drops on easy catches, and made some insane catches. Has return ability. Our receivers are bigger, stronger, faster and younger. Like this pick a lot, Boyce has excellent intelligence as well.

7) Buchanon DE/OLB- B+: Love this pick, a grea value pick, most experts had him slated for the 3rd or 4 th round. Another pass rusher for the young Pats defense. Has room to grow, decent speed, non stop motor. Had a better season in 2011 opposite Mercilus. Still an excellent pick at this time.

7) Beauharnais ILB- C: I guess BB wanted to give Patsfans a last talking point and give us more reason to call our team Rutgers North. Nothing wrong with this pick, he was rated a 7th rounder, and that's where we got him. Kind of an undersized ILB, but at one time, a top rated high school prep LB. Like the 5 sacks in 2011, like that he was voted Defensive MVP by the Rutgers players. We shall see. Everybody passed on WR Da'Rick Rogers, but would have liked to see BB swing for the fences with Rogers on this pick.


Overall, this draft addressed some needs, we were desperate for talent in the WR department, and it's obvious that BB cares as much about talent as he does about intelligence, with Dobson and Boyce. Could be why he passed on Patterson, Hunter, Wheaton, Allen, etc.

Pass rush depth was addressed, as well as some depth in the secondary. BUT, there seemed to be questions about whether they reached on a few of the picks, hence my grade of C.

What I will never understand is why do people base their opinions on whether guys who can't get a job in the NFL guessed right or wrong about where the guys paid to draft players would take them?


"Great value pick in the 7th was rated as a 3rd or 4th rounder" Really? Do you really think that writers guessing wrong about where he would be picked makes him a better player?
Once no one drafted him in the 3rd or 4th he didn't get better, it just meant the writers guessed poorly, and he is a 7th rounder.
Somehow the thinking has become the guess indicates who the player is and the actual drafting is the facade.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

No. It makes me question my sanity for spending money on draft guides.

People actually get folks to spend money for that crap?

That settles it. I'm finally going to put the Brooklyn Bridge on the market this week. I've owned it for years, you see.

You strike me as someone who might be savvy enough to buy it. I'll give you a special Draft Weekend price if you act before the end of the day today.

Cash only. First come first served. I'll throw in the traffic cones at no extra charge!

 

[PatsFanSince74]

The only fair grade at this point is "Incomplete," for the obvious reasons, but it's now officially the dead, dead, dead period between Draft Day and camps, so I'll bite.

If an A is for drafting to fill your biggest needs plus at least one pick that makes every knowledgeable fan go "Wow! I can't wait for him to start playing"... and...

If a C is not drafting to your biggest needs...and...

If a D is not drafting to your biggest needs plus picking a few bums... and...

If an F is drafting like the Jets, then...

I give this a B: they drafted to fill their biggest needs and all the picks look reasonable on paper. In other words, "In BB I trust."

 

[NEPettyOfficer72]

This is honestly the most talent out of a draft as far as quality in quantity that I've seen in a long time. I would say an A ..

 

[Wilfork#75]

I can only grade it based on my personal evaluation of players, but I would give it a C. I loved the trade down from 29, I thought it was a great move. I liked the Collins pick, I think he offers a ton of potential and upside off the edge and improves the athleticism of our LBers. I liked WR at 59 although I still had a number of WRs rated ahead of Dobson. I wasn't his biggest fan on tape but the Patsfans spin has started to bring me around on him. But still would have preferred a number of other players. I have mixed feeling on the Logan Ryan pick, I think he is really solid and will contribute but has limited upside. Its just not a 'sexy' pick. I absolutely hated the Harmon pick and won't say any more about that.

Day 3 I would have preferred a trade down in the 4th to accumulate a few extra picks. I also would have preferred a number of other players available at that point at a number of positions. In the 7th round I thought they were both solid players, although I would have preferred not to take Beauharnais simply because of the fact that I now hate Rutgers .

Overall I give it a C because of the positions addressed more than the players. I liked double dipping at WR although I think there were better players at both spot. I like the athletic edge guy that can rush and drop into coverage. I like the CB depth and the developmental DE and MLB in the 7th round. I'm not going to take into account the Safety pick because I'm not smart enough to comprehend the reasoning behind it. I do also love the TJ Moe UDFA signing and think he has a real shot at making the team, especially if we get some injuries in camp.

 

[patsfan13]

Well the draft is just a part of the roster building process.

Depending on injuries this is most like one of the top 2-3 rosters in the NFL possibly the best depending on the development of the 2nd year players.

On that basis I give tit an A.

BTW with the revamping of the WR corps the team has been essentially rebuilt and is positioned for a few more SB runs and hopefully a couple of more Lombardis.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

B-

Should've gotten Da'Rick Rogers

He signed with the Bills. Add in Woods and Goodwin and they upgraded their receiving corps ......At least they gave EJ Manuel some weapons......


Da'Rick Rogers: How Will Buffalo's Newest WR Fare in the Pros? | Bleacher Report

 

[Horace's Ivories]

I'd say A - purely based on converting the 29th into multiple picks. The choices seem to address needs. I trust the Pats resources towards draft eval and scouting - $$, personnel & analysis is far greater than any one "scouting expert", the "informed" fan draftnick, and the like. I know, just like every team, there will be misses. Supposed "reaches" don't bother me as they are only evaluated as such against a paradigm that the Pats clearly don't buy into.

 

[Ivan]

Well the draft is just a part of the roster building process.

Depending on injuries this is most like one of the top 2-3 rosters in the NFL possibly the best depending on the development of the 2nd year players.

On that basis I give tit an A.

BTW with the revamping of the WR corps the team has been essentially rebuilt and is positioned for a few more SB runs and hopefully a couple of more Lombardis.

This is exactly how i see it. This is a part of a long term building process and in the Patriots case it has been continuous process from their dynasty teams of the early 2000's through their almost perfect season in 2007 and their last SB team that lost to the Giants. Over that time Belichick has had to completely rebuild the team several times, and now they have reached a point where the only player remaining from their first Super Bowl Championship is Brady, and if they win it all again while he is here they may well become the only team in history to completely rebuild a roster around one key player and win it all again. It's a constant process but looking at the past 5 years it appears that Belichick has systematically gone about rebuilding the roster in a way that has them set up perfectly to be one of the 3-4 best teams in the league for the remainder of Brady's career, especially if Belichick hit on these 2 WR's. And despite the neverending criticism from the omnipotent draft gurus Belichick has actually done something that may be unprecedented in NFL history, as he has managed to accomplish this without ever dropping out of contention. They still have to win another Lombardi to accomplish the feat but if they do so then Belichick is the GOAT, and if someone can make an argument as to how and why that isn't the case i would love to see it.

I can understand that people want different prospects and get frustrated with Belichick's value based approach but the idea that he isn't a great GM is pure garbage, only a great GM can accomplish what he has done with this team over the past 12 years. It never ceases to amaze me that so many Patriot fans cannot grasp just how exceptional this feat is, and the criticism that because they have not won their past two SB attempts Belichick is not a great GM is as wrongheaded as it gets and is no different than suggesting that if Kaepernick completes his final attempt in the last SB then that would somehow have made Ozzzie Newsome a bad GM. In short it is a ridiculous argument, a GM can only put his team in position to win Championships, the players have to seal the deal.

 

[Rhodey]

I don't watch much college football; do not follow all of the picks. So, I have no right to judge players- particularly before they get on the (NFL) field. However, as a Pats fan, I have learned this: Wait and see who is on the team/field for the season.

Remember when Mankins was drafted? People whined. Remember when Mayo was drafted? People whined. Remember when Brady was drafted? Nobody noticed. The list goes on...

Consider that Talib was part of this draft's bounty. And, the Blount trade also factors in. Injuries are part of the game. Perhaps, Blount will end up being the Pats main RB this season?

As far as how the Pats have positioned themselves for the upcoming season, they appear to have done a fine job. Many of the defensive holes have been filled. Adding Wilson and Kelly was big.

Ultimately, when the new guy can be evaluated, everyone is talking about the next draft. It's so easy to speculate and criticize when one knows that their offering(s) will not treated in the same fashion. The irony is that many of the pessimists hope to wrong.

 

[Ivan]

I don't watch much college football; do not follow all of the picks. So, I have no right to judge players- particularly before they get on the (NFL) field. However, as a Pats fan, I have learned this: Wait and see who is on the team/field for the season.

Remember when Mankins was drafted? People whined. Remember when Mayo was drafted? People whined. Remember when Brady was drafted? Nobody noticed. The list goes on...

Consider that Talib was part of this draft's bounty. And, the Blount trade also factors in. Injuries are part of the game. Perhaps, Blount will end up being the Pats main RB this season?

As far as how the Pats have positioned themselves for the upcoming season, they appear to have done a fine job. Many of the defensive holes have been filled. Adding Wilson and Kelly was big.

Ultimately, when the new guy can be evaluated, everyone is talking about the next draft. It's so easy to speculate and criticize when one knows that their offering(s) will not treated in the same fashion. The irony is that many of the pessimists hope to wrong.

Great point on Talib, it may or not be short term but that is definitely what they spent their 4th on. The critics love to claim that trading a pick for a player isn't a draft pick but it is clearly how they spent the pick so the claim is nonsense.

 

[BTTA]

This thread is just a continuation of the echo chamber that is the TV analysis.

How many people in this entire country:
- know enough football to be an expert in all (or even most) positions
- watch enough tape of all of the college players with pro potential
- aren't compromised by commercial, competitive, or school affiliation pressures
- are publishing their findings (i. e. not working for a pro team)

Are any of those folks posting here?

 

[Ivan]

This thread is just a continuation of the echo chamber that is the TV analysis.

How many people in this entire country:
- know enough football to be an expert in all (or even most) positions
- watch enough tape of all of the college players with pro potential
- aren't compromised by commercial, competitive, or school affiliation pressures
- are publishing their findings (i. e. not working for a pro team)

Are any of those folks posting here?

Obviously, just ask them.................

 

[PatsFanInVa]

On that basis I give tit an A.

heh heh. heh heh.

 

[Ivan]

This is exactly how i see it. This is a part of a long term building process and in the Patriots case it has been continuous process from their dynasty teams of the early 2000's through their almost perfect season in 2007 and their last SB team that lost to the Giants. Over that time Belichick has had to completely rebuild the team several times, and now they have reached a point where the only player remaining from their first Super Bowl Championship is Brady, and if they win it all again while he is here they may well become the only team in history to completely rebuild a roster around one key player and win it all again. It's a constant process but looking at the past 5 years it appears that Belichick has systematically gone about rebuilding the roster in a way that has them set up perfectly to be one of the 3-4 best teams in the league for the remainder of Brady's career, especially if Belichick hit on these 2 WR's. And despite the neverending criticism from the omnipotent draft gurus Belichick has actually done something that may be unprecedented in NFL history, as he has managed to accomplish this without ever dropping out of contention. They still have to win another Lombardi to accomplish the feat but if they do so then Belichick is the GOAT, and if someone can make an argument as to how and why that isn't the case i would love to see it.

I can understand that people want different prospects and get frustrated with Belichick's value based approach but the idea that he isn't a great GM is pure garbage, only a great GM can accomplish what he has done with this team over the past 12 years. It never ceases to amaze me that so many Patriot fans cannot grasp just how exceptional this feat is, and the criticism that because they have not won their past two SB attempts Belichick is not a great GM is as wrongheaded as it gets and is no different than suggesting that if Kaepernick completes his final attempt in the last SB then that would somehow have made Ozzzie Newsome a bad GM. In short it is a ridiculous argument, a GM can only put his team in position to win Championships, the players have to seal the deal.

I take it all back, Kiper just gave them a C-, so this draft sucked, frigging Belichick ruining Brady's legacy.............They should have taken Calvin Johnson when they had the chance.............