Young LBs

[Box_O_Rocks]

Watching my recording of the Rutgers bowl victory over UCF, the OLB name to look at is Rutgers DE George Johnson. He got some consistent pressure on the UCF Redshirt Senior QB, including one to help force a pick six. NFL Draft Scout has him projected as a 7th/UDFA in the draft and reports him as 6'4 1/8" 265.

 

[satz]

Listening to Ted Johnson it was his take that the LB we have in the middle are more suited to play in 4-3. He says some of the struggles we are having is Mayo is a great a weak LB but not the SILB he is now playing.
Him and guyton to no rush the gaurds and like to engage them.

what we are lagging is a true nasty big 260 ILB who can rush gaurds and load the line at LOS.He will not be fast but needs to free up mayo so he can again get to his rookie of the year form .

If we get a thumper and mayo in the middle with another ILB in rotation i would move guyton to play on the weak side so he can pick up RB and engage TE.He is a OLB in 4-3 and even now struggles in ILB.With his speed he can rush the passer over the TE or RT and in shallow routes cover them.

So what need are 1 ILB. a big ,obviously slow thumper.A OLB who is big and can rush the passer.then move banta to the other side and rotate with guyton.

 

[Brarrell]

They the Pats will simply trade their 1st round pick for a 2nd round this year and a 3rd the following year thats value. You know you don't have to pay signing bonus cash.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Listening to Ted Johnson it was his take that the LB we have in the middle are more suited to play in 4-3. He says some of the struggles we are having is Mayo is a great a weak LB but not the SILB he is now playing.
Him and guyton to no rush the gaurds and like to engage them.

what we are lagging is a true nasty big 260 ILB who can rush gaurds and load the line at LOS.He will not be fast but needs to free up mayo so he can again get to his rookie of the year form .

If we get a thumper and mayo in the middle with another ILB in rotation i would move guyton to play on the weak side so he can pick up RB and engage TE.He is a OLB in 4-3 and even now struggles in ILB.With his speed he can rush the passer over the TE or RT and in shallow routes cover them.

So what need are 1 ILB. a big ,obviously slow thumper.A OLB who is big and can rush the passer.then move banta to the other side and rotate with guyton.

Two options for a big ILB are trading up and drafting ILB McClain from Alabama or moving Thomas back to SILB, which is where I think he should have stayed for his entire career in New England.

As for pass rushing,there is no Ware in this draft. The best BB can do is to draft a kid with a few warts and "coach him up" for a year or two and then we should have something special as an OLB pass rusher.

For the short term however,BB's best bet is to sign a free agent in the offseason.

 

[Deus Irae]

Listening to Ted Johnson it was his take that the LB we have in the middle are more suited to play in 4-3. He says some of the struggles we are having is Mayo is a great a weak LB but not the SILB he is now playing.
Him and guyton to no rush the gaurds and like to engage them.

what we are lagging is a true nasty big 260 ILB who can rush gaurds and load the line at LOS.He will not be fast but needs to free up mayo so he can again get to his rookie of the year form .

If we get a thumper and mayo in the middle with another ILB in rotation i would move guyton to play on the weak side so he can pick up RB and engage TE.He is a OLB in 4-3 and even now struggles in ILB.With his speed he can rush the passer over the TE or RT and in shallow routes cover them.

So what need are 1 ILB. a big ,obviously slow thumper.A OLB who is big and can rush the passer.then move banta to the other side and rotate with guyton.

Interesting take from TJ. It needs to be noted in response, though, that Mayo looked better last season in the 3-4 than he has this year in 4-3 packages. How much of that is learning curve, how much is injury and how much is better fit are things for the coaches to figure out.

 

[mayoclinic]

Two options for a big ILB are trading up and drafting ILB McClain from Alabama or moving Thomas back to SILB, which is where I think he should have stayed for his entire career in New England.

Bingo. Direct hit.

Guyton and Mayo are both WILB's. Mayo is fine as a 4-3 MLB or as a 3-4 WILB, but he's really not suited to be a 3-4 SILB. It doesn't play to his strengths or use him most effectively. A true SILB to anchor the middle would do wonders for this defense.

Thomas was a terrific SILB, and I agree that he should have stayed inside. I Thomas and Mayo would have been an extremely solid middle, and I never thought Thomas was good enough outside to warrant depleting the middle. But BB was forced to move Thomas outside because he failed to develop an effective OLB pipeline through the draft.

Rolando McClain would be my preferred alternative at this point, but it's not clear that even a trade up would be able to get him. If Thomas stays on, moving him to SILB is a great backup plan. Some other alternatives would include signing FA Karlos Dansby, who would make a great SILB but would be very expensive, or drafting Eric Norwood from South Carolina, who is probably the 2nd best SILB candidate in the draft (after McClain). But I like your 2 plans, along with drafting a couple of developmental OLBs and possibly bringing in a FA like Shawne Merriman, or Aaron Kampman.

 

[mgteich]

We have limited resources. I do not favor using two draft picks to trade up for a high-priced ILB. We have Mayo, Guyton and McKenzie. We also could sign a free agent if more help were needed. Moving Thomas over is an expensive option. His cost is about $5M of new money.

Thomas would never have been traded for to play inside. It is only his injuries that make it seem that he is better inside. If that is true, he probably should be waived. That was not an option before this season because of the cap hit.

As far as Thomas as an OLB, he sets the edge at least as well as Woods.

Bingo. Direct hit.

Guyton and Mayo are both WILB's. Mayo is fine as a 4-3 MLB or as a 3-4 WILB, but he's really not suited to be a 3-4 SILB. It doesn't play to his strengths or use him most effectively. A true SILB to anchor the middle would do wonders for this defense.

Thomas was a terrific SILB, and I agree that he should have stayed inside. I Thomas and Mayo would have been an extremely solid middle, and I never thought Thomas was good enough outside to warrant depleting the middle. But BB was forced to move Thomas outside because he failed to develop an effective OLB pipeline through the draft.

Rolando McClain would be my preferred alternative at this point, but it's not clear that even a trade up would be able to get him. If Thomas stays on, moving him to SILB is a great backup plan. Some other alternatives would include signing FA Karlos Dansby, who would make a great SILB but would be very expensive, or drafting Eric Norwood from South Carolina, who is probably the 2nd best SILB candidate in the draft (after McClain). But I like your 2 plans, along with drafting a couple of developmental OLBs and possibly bringing in a FA like Shawne Merriman, or Aaron Kampman.

 

[mayoclinic]

We have limited resources. I do not favor using two draft picks to trade up for a high-priced ILB. We have Mayo, Guyton and McKenzie. We also could sign a free agent if more help were needed. Moving Thomas over is an expensive option. His cost is about $5M of new money.

Thomas would never have been traded for to play inside. It is only his injuries that make it seem that he is better inside. If that is true, he probably should be waived. That was not an option before this season because of the cap hit.

As far as Thomas as an OLB, he sets the edge at least as well as Woods.

Thomas is an expensive option no matter what. His cost is at least $5M no matter what we do with him - cut him, trade him, play him at OLB, or play him at SILB. Why not use him for where he has the most value?

Yes, he is effective at setting the edge and dropping into coverage. But "he sets the edge at least as well as Woods" doesn't seem sufficient to me to justify his $5M cost. I'd rather move him inside and let him take a pounding to earn his $5M, freeing up Mayo to actually make plays as the WILB.

Thomas (who was signed as a FA, not traded for, BTW) was signed in large part because of his versatility. BB played him at SILB his first year because that is where he needed Thomas, and Thomas did well. I doubt BB would have any hesitation about playing Thomas at any position where he felt Thomas could make the most difference.

I'd rather draft McClain and plug him in, but the trade up cost might be prohibitive, and, as you say, we have limited resources. But I think a true playmaker at SILB in the middle to complement Mayo would do wonders for our defense, and would be well worth the cost.

 

[Deus Irae]

We have limited resources. I do not favor using two draft picks to trade up for a high-priced ILB. We have Mayo, Guyton and McKenzie. We also could sign a free agent if more help were needed. Moving Thomas over is an expensive option. His cost is about $5M of new money.

Everything is a limited resource. The Patriots have more of this particular resource than anyone else, and can afford to use some to move up. As for Guyton, he's a fine backup linebacker and can be helpful on passing downs.

Thomas would never have been traded for to play inside. It is only his injuries that make it seem that he is better inside. If that is true, he probably should be waived. That was not an option before this season because of the cap hit.

As far as Thomas as an OLB, he sets the edge at least as well as Woods.

Thomas was signed for his versatility. That included the ability to play ILB and OLB. While I agree that he has historically been better on the outside, he doesn't seem to have won over the coaching staff playing there. If he does return to the team, perhaps a shift to the inside will spark wanted change.

 

[The Intimidator]

Some thoughts on your earlier post:

1. I agree about Cameron Heyward at 3-4 DE. I think he's the best draft-eligible 5-technique prospect, including Ndamukong Suh, and could be another Richard Seymour. Rumor is he's leaning towards going back to Ohio St., in which case he will be a possible top 10 pick for 2011, but even if he comes out I think your 2nd round estimate is generous. Several people think he could end up top 15-20 this year, and I'd be thrilled to get him with our late 1st round pick. I think he's someone I would definitely consider a 1st round value (along with ILB Rolando McClain and CB Joe Haden), whereas there are so many pass rushers that I'm not sure any one stands out enough to be a clear first round value over the others.

2. I agree with your assessment about potentially picking up 2 DE/OLB pass rushers in the first 2 rounds. Given the likely depth I'm not sure we need to use our first 2 picks, but it's certainly a possibility.

3. I also like Greg Hardy a lot, but his injury history is a major concern. It's too early to tell where his stock will end up. He was a top 20 (possibly top 15) prospect at one time, but right now he could go anywhere in the first 2 rounds. Some people think he could drop out of the first 2 rounds altogether. I think that's unlikely, but I'm less eager to target him until I get a better sense of his injury history, and I'm not sure it would take a trade up.

4. Given BB's history of liking "big" 3-4 OLBs (6'4"-6'6" guys in the 260 lb. + range) with the strength and technique to set the edge and take on linemen, I favor athletic DEs like Hardy, Jason Pierre-Paul, Greg Romeus, Austen Lane and Jeremy Beal over speed rushers like Von Miller, Jerry Hughes, Sergio Kindle and Ricky Sapp. I agree that Miller and Hughes are probably the most interesting 2 in this latter group. I just don't see them being strong enough against the run and setting the edge to be 3-down players. I'd love to get 2 of that first group of players, but I could see BB combining one of each group for complementary skills. My personal preference would be to see Austen Lane (who I think has the best athletic skill set to play in space and could become another DeMarcus Ware) along with one of Hardy, Romeus or Pierre-Paul. I vary daily (if not more often) on which of those 3 guys I prefer the most.

5. I tend to think that Derrick Morgan and Brandon Graham are more 4-3 DE's right now, without the agility to play well in space, but I'd like to give them a better look. Carlos Dunlap is in a class by himself - I'm not sure where he fits, and that combined with his inconsistency and off-field issues scares me off.

Where are you seeing inconsistency with Dunlap? Besides his injury prone freshman season he has put up 36 tackles 7 sacks in 2008 and 32 tackles 9 sacks in his Junior year. I don't see any pattern of inconsistency here at all. He is 6’6 - 290 lbs with outstanding speed and strength. He also comes from the toughest conference in the SEC. With his recent off the field issues, he will be probably drop, however I wouldn't be scared off enough to take him in the low to mid 20's. This kid is a super athlete and could bring us that pass rush that we desperately need. If we could some how nab him or Hardy in the first round, and then go out and get a Lane or Pierre Paul in the 2nd round it would be a very productive draft.

 

[mayoclinic]

Where are you seeing inconsistency with Dunlap? Besides his injury prone freshman season he has put up 36 tackles 7 sacks in 2008 and 32 tackles 9 sacks in his Junior year. I don't see any pattern of inconsistency here at all. He is 6’6 - 290 lbs with outstanding speed and strength. He also comes from the toughest conference in the SEC. With his recent off the field issues, he will be probably drop, however I wouldn't be scared off enough to take him in the low to mid 20's. This kid is a super athlete and could bring us that pass rush that we desperately need. If we could some how nab him or Hardy in the first round, and then go out and get a Lane or Pierre Paul in the 2nd round it would be a very productive draft.

I'd be fine with a Dunlap, Hardy or Greg Romeus along with a Lane or Pierre-Paul. The first 3 guys would probably play the strongside, with the latter two playing the weak side. Exactly how high those guys end up being valued is an open question to me at this time.

Dunlap has disappeared for large stretches, even when he's playing in the game as opposed to being inactive because of off-field issues. BB values consistency, and it's something that I could see being a major factor in taking a guy like Dunlap in the 1st round. He may be worth it because of his upside, but I'm not 100% convinced the FO would see it that way.

 

[mgteich]

This analysis simply is not true, or at best very misleading. All the bonus money paid to Thomas is long gone. Some is yet to hit the cap.

The open question is whether to spend AN ADDITIONAL $5M in salary and workout bonus to have the services of Thomas for 2010 and then $6M for his services in 2011 (if we were to choose to retain his services).

I am certainly open to Belichick deciding that Thomas is worth $5M a year of NEW MONEY. I just don't expect this to happen if 2010 is an uncapped year.

Thomas is an expensive option no matter what. His cost is at least $5M no matter what we do with him - cut him, trade him, play him at OLB, or play him at SILB. Why not use him for where he has the most value?

Yes, he is effective at setting the edge and dropping into coverage. But "he sets the edge at least as well as Woods" doesn't seem sufficient to me to justify his $5M cost. I'd rather move him inside and let him take a pounding to earn his $5M, freeing up Mayo to actually make plays as the WILB.

Thomas (who was signed as a FA, not traded for, BTW) was signed in large part because of his versatility. BB played him at SILB his first year because that is where he needed Thomas, and Thomas did well. I doubt BB would have any hesitation about playing Thomas at any position where he felt Thomas could make the most difference.

I'd rather draft McClain and plug him in, but the trade up cost might be prohibitive, and, as you say, we have limited resources. But I think a true playmaker at SILB in the middle to complement Mayo would do wonders for our defense, and would be well worth the cost.

 

[The Intimidator]

I'd be fine with a Dunlap, Hardy or Greg Romeus along with a Lane or Pierre-Paul. The first 3 guys would probably play the strongside, with the latter two playing the weak side. Exactly how high those guys end up being valued is an open question to me at this time.

Dunlap has disappeared for large stretches, even when he's playing in the game as opposed to being inactive because of off-field issues. BB values consistency, and it's something that I could see being a major factor in taking a guy like Dunlap in the 1st round. He may be worth it because of his upside, but I'm not 100% convinced the FO would see it that way.

Do you watch Florida's games? I watched every single one this year and he is always putting pressure on the QB. He doesn't disappear for long stretches during games at all. You see Florida's defense without him on the field for long stretches and they're totally totally different. Where are you getting this observation from? Because I haven't seen this at all. If he was there in the low to mid 20's I think the front office would be druling to get a guy like this. I dont think a DUI charge will change how they think of him. He is one of the best prospects in the country and frankly is the best suited to come here. I disagree slightly with you're overall point about him.

 

[Boots Electric]

I have been looking at the draft order and possible top 10 draft picks for the past 2 hours to try and see how the Patriots could possible get Rolando McClain. This is all based on if he chooses to enter in the Draft which quite frankly, I don't see how since he had such a tremendous Junior year and might not want to risk missing out on millions by going back.

Currently, the draft order goes like this (Top 15 plus the Patriots pick):

1. St. Louis (1-13)
2. Detroit (2-12)
3. Tampa Bay (2-12)
4. Cleveland (3-11)
5. Kansas City (3-11)
6. Washington (4-10)
7. Buffalo (5-9)
8. Seattle (5-9)
9. Denver - from Chicago (5-9)
10. Oakland (5-9)
11. San Francisco (6-8)
12. San Francisco - from Carolina (6-8)
13. Jacksonville (7-7)
14. Pittsburgh (7-7)
15. Houston (7-7)

27. New England

Now, forget about trading with Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Detroit, and St. Louis for their obvious needs. And if things continue like this, you can also forget about San Francisco, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, and Houston because McClain will be taken in the top 10. Forget about Denver as well because Denver will get McClain if he is still available and Chicago continues their trend. That leaves possible trades with Kansas City, Buffalo, Washington, and Seattle (and possibly Oakland if they lose out).

 

[mayoclinic]

I have been looking at the draft order and possible top 10 draft picks for the past 2 hours to try and see how the Patriots could possible get Rolando McClain. This is all based on if he chooses to enter in the Draft which quite frankly, I don't see how since he had such a tremendous Junior year and might not want to risk missing out on millions by going back.

Currently, the draft order goes like this (Top 15 plus the Patriots pick):

1. St. Louis (1-13)
2. Detroit (2-12)
3. Tampa Bay (2-12)
4. Cleveland (3-11)
5. Kansas City (3-11)
6. Washington (4-10)
7. Buffalo (5-9)
8. Seattle (5-9)
9. Denver - from Chicago (5-9)
10. Oakland (5-9)
11. San Francisco (6-8)
12. San Francisco - from Carolina (6-8)
13. Jacksonville (7-7)
14. Pittsburgh (7-7)
15. Houston (7-7)

27. New England

Now, forget about trading with Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Detroit, and St. Louis for their obvious needs. And if things continue like this, you can also forget about San Francisco, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, and Houston because McClain will be taken in the top 10. Forget about Denver as well because Denver will get McClain if he is still available and Chicago continues their trend. That leaves possible trades with Kansas City, Buffalo, Washington, and Seattle (and possibly Oakland if they lose out).

I think you're being too pessimistic.

First, the only LBs to go top 5 in the past decade have been LaVar Arrington, AJ Hawk, and Aaron Curry. And all of those guys posted off the charts numbers at the combine. Otherwise, LB's tend to slip a bit. The only other "pure" OLBs to go in the top 10 were Ernie Sims and Keith Rivers at #9 in 2006 and 2008. Terrell Suggs was a DE/OLB conversion who went #10 in 2003, similar to DeMarcus Ware and Shawne Merriman at #11 and #12 in 2005. The only other top 15 LBs this decade were Derrick Johnson and Brian Cushing at #15 in 2005 and 2009.

The only ILB/MLBs to be taken in the top 10 in the past decade were Brian Urlacher at #9 and Jerod Mayo at #10 in 2008. The only other top 15 ILBs were Dan Morgan and Patrick Willis at #11 in 2001 and 2007, and Jonathan Vilma at #12 in 2004.

Rolando McClain has fabulous size, instincts, strength and intangibles, but not top end speed. I don't see him blowing away the combine the way Hawk and Curry did. It's possible that Cleveland or KC takes him with a top 5 pick, but I think it's unlikely, and I think there's a better than average chance he slips to the 10-15 range because of his position and because he won't get to play against competition in the Senior Bowl and won't be a workout warrior.

I also wouldn't assume that teams like Denver and SF will automatically want McClain for themselves and won't be willing to trade. You never know what will happen. Mark Sanchez to Cleveland was a popular choice last spring, and if anyone had suggested that Cleveland would trade down to 17 for a bunch of fill-in players they would have been laughed out of town. You can't predict what will happen.

I think the odds of trading up for McClain aren't particularly great right now, but right now McClain is being hyped up because of Alabama's win over Florida and his Butkus award. He's suddenly a chic top 10 pick. A lot can happen between now and the draft. If he's on the board within 10 picks of where we draft, I hope we make a serious run at him.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I didn't realize new construction counted under the salary cap.

Seriously. If you spend to the cap regularly (as the Pats do,) the money issue does not explain why one's favorite player, or one's favorite position right now, was not drafted. With all this good info around it's embarassing to pile onto the obvious but hey, that's what I got on this subject. You can complain that you'd rather have heated seats than a mall/hall-of-fame type complex, but you can't complain that you'd rather have a linebacker.

 

[mgteich]

You might get up to McClain for our first, a high second and our fourth. That would give us McClain and two seconds in the first five rounds, a jets kind of draft. I'm not buying for an ILB.

I think you're being too pessimistic.

First, the only LBs to go top 5 in the past decade have been LaVar Arrington, AJ Hawk, and Aaron Curry. And all of those guys posted off the charts numbers at the combine. Otherwise, LB's tend to slip a bit. The only other "pure" OLBs to go in the top 10 were Ernie Sims and Keith Rivers at #9 in 2006 and 2008. Terrell Suggs was a DE/OLB conversion who went #10 in 2003, similar to DeMarcus Ware and Shawne Merriman at #11 and #12 in 2005. The only other top 15 LBs this decade were Derrick Johnson and Brian Cushing at #15 in 2005 and 2009.

The only ILB/MLBs to be taken in the top 10 in the past decade were Brian Urlacher at #9 and Jerod Mayo at #10 in 2008. The only other top 15 ILBs were Dan Morgan and Patrick Willis at #11 in 2001 and 2007, and Jonathan Vilma at #12 in 2004.

Rolando McClain has fabulous size, instincts, strength and intangibles, but not top end speed. I don't see him blowing away the combine the way Hawk and Curry did. It's possible that Cleveland or KC takes him with a top 5 pick, but I think it's unlikely, and I think there's a better than average chance he slips to the 10-15 range because of his position and because he won't get to play against competition in the Senior Bowl and won't be a workout warrior.

I also wouldn't assume that teams like Denver and SF will automatically want McClain for themselves and won't be willing to trade. You never know what will happen. Mark Sanchez to Cleveland was a popular choice last spring, and if anyone had suggested that Cleveland would trade down to 17 for a bunch of fill-in players they would have been laughed out of town. You can't predict what will happen.

I think the odds of trading up for McClain aren't particularly great right now, but right now McClain is being hyped up because of Alabama's win over Florida and his Butkus award. He's suddenly a chic top 10 pick. A lot can happen between now and the draft. If he's on the board within 10 picks of where we draft, I hope we make a serious run at him.

 

[Boots Electric]

I think you're being too pessimistic.

First, the only LBs to go top 5 in the past decade have been LaVar Arrington, AJ Hawk, and Aaron Curry. And all of those guys posted off the charts numbers at the combine. Otherwise, LB's tend to slip a bit. The only other "pure" OLBs to go in the top 10 were Ernie Sims and Keith Rivers at #9 in 2006 and 2008. Terrell Suggs was a DE/OLB conversion who went #10 in 2003, similar to DeMarcus Ware and Shawne Merriman at #11 and #12 in 2005. The only other top 15 LBs this decade were Derrick Johnson and Brian Cushing at #15 in 2005 and 2009.

The only ILB/MLBs to be taken in the top 10 in the past decade were Brian Urlacher at #9 and Jerod Mayo at #10 in 2008. The only other top 15 ILBs were Dan Morgan and Patrick Willis at #11 in 2001 and 2007, and Jonathan Vilma at #12 in 2004.

Rolando McClain has fabulous size, instincts, strength and intangibles, but not top end speed. I don't see him blowing away the combine the way Hawk and Curry did. It's possible that Cleveland or KC takes him with a top 5 pick, but I think it's unlikely, and I think there's a better than average chance he slips to the 10-15 range because of his position and because he won't get to play against competition in the Senior Bowl and won't be a workout warrior.

I also wouldn't assume that teams like Denver and SF will automatically want McClain for themselves and won't be willing to trade. You never know what will happen. Mark Sanchez to Cleveland was a popular choice last spring, and if anyone had suggested that Cleveland would trade down to 17 for a bunch of fill-in players they would have been laughed out of town. You can't predict what will happen.

I think the odds of trading up for McClain aren't particularly great right now, but right now McClain is being hyped up because of Alabama's win over Florida and his Butkus award. He's suddenly a chic top 10 pick. A lot can happen between now and the draft. If he's on the board within 10 picks of where we draft, I hope we make a serious run at him.

Oh no, it's not being pessimistic. I do think the Patriots have a shot to get McClain. The only teams I see that want McClain are the Chiefs and Broncos. The Browns may go for Eric Berry. The Chiefs are going to want to an O-lineman to help that pressing issue and may want a Safety. The Broncos as well may want McClain but I also believe they want a FS because of Dawkins age and may go for Taylor Mays.

The Patriots could trade with Buffalo or Seattle because I really don't see why they would want to keep those picks if the top prospects are taken given their issues. Like someone else posted, they could given them the 1st, one of the 2nd round (Pats have 3 picks there) and a one of the 2 5th round picks with Buffalo or Seattle or maybe even San Francisco.

It's not a long shot, but it will be pricey.

 

[mayoclinic]

You might get up to McClain for our first, a high second and our fourth. That would give us McClain and two seconds in the first five rounds, a jets kind of draft. I'm not buying for an ILB.

I wouldn't trade up for an ILB, either. But I would for McClain, and there's the rub.

 

[sbpatfan]

Oh no, it's not being pessimistic. I do think the Patriots have a shot to get McClain. The only teams I see that want McClain are the Chiefs and Broncos. The Browns may go for Eric Berry. The Chiefs are going to want to an O-lineman to help that pressing issue and may want a Safety. The Broncos as well may want McClain but I also believe they want a FS because of Dawkins age and may go for Taylor Mays.

The Patriots could trade with Buffalo or Seattle because I really don't see why they would want to keep those picks if the top prospects are taken given their issues. Like someone else posted, they could given them the 1st, one of the 2nd round (Pats have 3 picks there) and a one of the 2 5th round picks with Buffalo or Seattle or maybe even San Francisco.

It's not a long shot, but it will be pricey.

Only the Chiefs and Broncos want McClain.. are you kidding me? McClain is a one of a kind player, everyone wants him. The Dolphins would definitely take him. I'm sure the Steelers would too if he fell that far. Every NFL team probably has an interest in the kid.