Who is your "safety valve" at #29?

[patchick]

Let's say pick 29 is about to be on the clock. So far, you've caught no breaks. E.g.:

Aaron Donald is a Cowboy.
Ra'Shede Hageman is a Raven.
Ryan Shazier is a Packer.
Dee Ford is a Saint.
Absolutely everybody is trying to trade down for more picks, so you can't find a trading partner. (An all-too-realistic possibility, according to current chatter.)

Who is your fallback plan, the player who you feel pretty confident will be available at #29 if you have to take them?

 

[Big-T]

With all those names gone then it'd have to be Tuitt.

 

[CheeseMonkeys]

Jimmie Ward may be a safe pick if he's there. Also, I believe they should grab CJ mosley if he's around at #29 due to their lack of depth at LB. Kyle Van Noy is pehaps a safer bet at 29 though.

This is my actual Patriots mock... (trades, but I figured I'd post it anyway)
(#29 traded for 2nd/4th. 5th traded for 4th next year)
2. LB Jeremiah Attaochu
2. TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins
3. DT ANTHONY JOHNSON
4. FS ED REYNOLDS
4. C Travis Swanson
4. RB Tyler Gaffney
6. QB ZACH METTENBERGER
6. WR CODY LATIMER
7. DT BRUCE GASTON

 

[BelichickFan]

I'd be OK with Bitonio, Tuitt, Nix, Crichton in that order.

And seeing CheeseMonkeys' list, I like Attaochu a lot too but he's more of an upsisde shot for me than a Safety Value pick. As I have pass rush and starter quality DE at our top need, I would be fine with him too.

 

[Wilfork#75]

David Yankey

 

[everlong]

Assuming the medical comes back good and the interviews went well ASJ. Ward would have to get consideration as well. The Pats still seem interested in a WR so Cooks, Lee and Beckham. If we hadn't picked up Revis and Browner my answer would 100% be Kyle Fuller although I have a feeling he's going to be gone a lot higher than people think.

 

[BobDigital]

So I went to CBS draft and just threw out the first 35 names and picked.

Tuitt - DT/DE & Murphy - DE,

Overall though in this case go with the best overall prospect which is Tuitt by far.

I am not a fan of Ward and think we can can an as good/better safety later. I do like ASJ but I believe D should be first.

(A rule I will only violate for Ebron & Lee if they somehow fall to us... Lee is looking possible but unlikely).

 

[mayoclinic]

Dominique Easley.

To be clear, I want Aaron Donald AND Dominique Easley, and I would pretty much trade everything else to get both of them. I think that they would give the Pats the most disruptive DL in the NFL, and, combined with our secondary, would be the greatest way to improve the team. But I recognize that Donald may be out of reach. Realistically, I would kill or any 2 out of Donald, Easley and Stephon Tuitt.

For more details see:

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england.../13/1097184-my-blueprint-defense-page92.html (post #918)

I think getting both Easley and Tuitt is quite feasible.

 

[manxman2601]

Tuitt, ASJ, Ward or Fuller for me. All four are worthy first rounders for us in any other year.

 

[patchick]

I asked this question because I'm really struggling with it myself.

Su'a-Filo and Yankey don't feel realistic to me. They're good football players, but when the Patriots have used a high pick on OLs (Solder, Mankins, Vollmer) they've been elite athletes. The two guards just aren't that.

Tuitt, I'm just not sure. I keep watching him and seeing 5-tech. I'm not as confident as some here in projecting him to the Patriots' defense, and lacking a workout and measurables isn't helping in that regard. Whispers about his effort and conditioning don't help, either.

I don't rate Scott Crichton as high as some of you do. Louis Nix, to me, is born to play 3-4 NT. Hearing ASJ described as "a pain in the butt" isn't encouraging. Etc.

Still pondering...

 

[everlong]

I don't rate Scott Crichton as high as some of you do. Louis Nix, to me, is born to play 3-4 NT. Hearing ASJ described as "a pain in the butt" isn't encouraging. Etc.

I like Crichton and I wouldn't pull the trigger on him before pick 50-ish.

I agree on Nix.

That's why I put the disclaimer in about ASJ. The talent to me isn't the question.

 

[everlong]

To be clear, I want Aaron Donald AND Dominique Easley.

Somebody must have hacked Mayo's account.

 

[manxman2601]

I asked this question because I'm really struggling with it myself.

Su'a-Filo and Yankey don't feel realistic to me. They're good football players, but when the Patriots have used a high pick on OLs (Solder, Mankins, Vollmer) they've been elite athletes. The two guards just aren't that.

Tuitt, I'm just not sure. I keep watching him and seeing 5-tech. I'm not as confident as some here in projecting him to the Patriots' defense, and lacking a workout and measurables isn't helping in that regard. Whispers about his effort and conditioning don't help, either.

I don't rate Scott Crichton as high as some of you do. Louis Nix, to me, is born to play 3-4 NT. Hearing ASJ described as "a pain in the butt" isn't encouraging. Etc.

Still pondering...

As I said above, I think in any other year a lot of these 'other' prospects would be worthy of a Patriots pick at #29. Tuitt is an almost perfect 5-tech, and how often do we look for that, Fuller is both athletic and probably the best run defending corner I've seen; he's made for BB, Nix is the closest thing we've seen to Wilfork potentially available to us in the last few drafts. ASJ is Gronk part Deux (almost). We're spoilt this year for choice. I don't think we should overthink it....and we're probably not going to draft any of them anyway.

 

[patchick]

To be clear, I want Aaron Donald AND Dominique Easley, and I would pretty much trade everything else to get both of them.

The vogue right now is to mock Donald to the Giants at #12. To get ahead of them would presumably take #29 + #62 + next year's first. Easley would be a stretch then, but might be doable with most of the remaining value of your draft plus next year's second. You up for that?

 

[everlong]

and we're probably not going to draft any of them anyway.

That's what I said about Jamie Collins last year so even though I wanted him I never really pushed him thinking BB wouldn't do it. That selection really opened the doors this year to a lot of prospects I wouldn't have considered so I'll be more excited to be right this year (at least on a pick or two) than in the past.

 

[goheels22002]

OL Xavier Sua Filo from UCLA - top rated Guard per Walter Football who is a 2nd or early 3rd round pick. Most likely, this guy will be gone by the time the Pats pick in the 2nd round.

Xavier Su'a-Filo**, G, UCLA
Height: 6-4. Weight: 307.
40 Time: 5.04.
Projected Round (2014): 2-3.

3/16/14: Su'a-Filo started this season strongly. He did particularly well in the Bruins' comeback win over Nebraska. Su'a-Filo played well against Oregon and Stanford. He didn't play all that well against Arizona State, but bounced back against USC. Injuries forced Su'a-Filo to play some left tackle. He is a well-rounded blocker in the run game and pass protection. Su'a-Filo is a better fit at guard for the NFL. It wouldn't be surprising if his stock rise leading up to the 2014 NFL Draft.

Su'a-Filo had a strong Combine performance and moved really well in the field work. He also had one of the top 40 times for a guard.

Personal: Son of Paul and Candida Su'a-Filo. Xavier Su'a-Filo is a team captain and highly regarded for being a high-character individual.

 

[BelichickFan]

The vogue right now is to mock Donald to the Giants at #12. To get ahead of them would presumably take #29 + #62 + next year's first. Easley would be a stretch then, but might be doable with most of the remaining value of your draft plus next year's second. You up for that?

I could see Donald slipping lower than that based on his size but getting him and Easley seems like a serious pipe dream.

I'm fine with Easley at #29 as long as his knee looks good but two torn ACLs in his past is a major concern.

 

[dryheat44]

I could see Donald slipping lower than that based on his size but getting him and Easley seems like a serious pipe dream.

I'm fine with Easley at #29 as long as his knee looks good but two torn ACLs in his past is a major concern.

Yeah. The first round is not the place I want to be buying seriously damaged goods. It's hard to imagine all players being gone while at the same time not pushing down other good players -- somebody had to fall. Pryor? Ebron? Martin? Evans?

I guess for this exercise though, ASJ would be my least objectionable reach.

 

[mayoclinic]

The vogue right now is to mock Donald to the Giants at #12. To get ahead of them would presumably take #29 + #62 + next year's first. Easley would be a stretch then, but might be doable with most of the remaining value of your draft plus next year's second. You up for that?

No, I wouldn't trade my 1st and 2nd from 2015. I think I made my position on that issue fairly clear:

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...ng-future-picks-more-year-s-draft-page2.html (post #12)

I'm not worrying much about the "vogue" in mocks. To be clear:

1. I think that doubling up on the DL would be the most impactful thing that the team could do in the draft. Much more impactful than taking OL, TE, or a LB early.

2. I think that Donald and Easley are the two most disruptive defensive players in the draft. I would strongly go after them if feasible. Obviously, it may not be feasible to get both, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be a goal.

3. Easley should be available at 29, and probably later. How much is unclear. Tuitt will probably be available at 29, and probably later. I would use those guys as a "safety valve" plan for addressing the DL, and then go after Donald if the opportunity exists.

4. I think your trade ups are rather inflated. Last year San Francisco traded 31 + 74 to move up to 18 for Eric Reid. With so many teams reportedly wanting to trade down, I think that it may take less than book value to trade up. By book value, 29 (640 points) + 62 (284 points) gets you to around 17 (900-950 points); I think it may get further than that, but I certainly wouldn't add in a 2015 1st.

To that end, I would trade up for Donald IF the opportunity is there and the cost is within reason (29+62 is the furthest I would go, as I've said in other threads). Then I'd go after Easley if possible. If a Donald trade wasn't feasible, then I would take Easley at 29 as my "safety valve", or with a trade back if possible.

I don't expect to get both of those guys, but I would try, and I would want to get at least one. After that, I'd start looking at other positions.

 

[doesntmatter1]

After his little 4.6 40 stunt, Allen Robinson has to still be on the board and I would grab him in a heartbeat. And if everyone I like is gone, I go the solid but unspectacular route with Daquan Jones and Telvin Smith.