2a - Kyle Rudolph. Don't be shy, I'm ready to get blasted for this. Crumpler has a year left, we can carry 4 TE and this sets us up with Gronk & Rudolph as true TE with Hernandez in his move TE role.
One scenario I could see happening is Bill picking up another TE in the draft as a part of a offensive transitioning. Use more 2 TE sets and and diminish the slot receivers part in the offense. I'm not certain Welker will be here in 2012, because Bill doesn't see as much value in the slot receiver anymore, and let Edelman take on that role. And from the 2 TE sets essentially use the TEs as short/intermediate inside the numbers options and the WRs as more deep/outside the numbers options. Maybe one play you spread the left TE out and the next the right TE, so the defense gets a harder time scheming?
Tell me I'm not completely crazy?
Assuming his health checks out, I'm not against this move. I would like it better if Crumpler were cut (hate to lose his locker room presence) so that Rudolph would get the reps he needs. Rudolph, as an all-around TE, is clearly the best in this draft class and you rarely regret getting guys like that.
WOW.
I am amazed, shocked, and
impressed that there is so much sympathy for drafting
Kyle Rudolph!! :rocker:
***
Don't get me wrong: I would
not.
But it's not because I'm
down on Rudolph, who I think is AWESOME, thank you.
It's because I'm targeting
other players for that gig.
***
As I've bloviated, before, I believe that Coach Bill the Mad Genius has tore a
fresh hole in the ranks of our 31 Rivals with the accession of Alge Crumpler, Rob Gronkowski, and Aaron Hernandez, no less than 3 Hybrids that can provide
substantial threats both as Blockers
and as Receivers.
Of course both Crumpler and Hernandez were used predominantly in one way or the other, but their ability to perform both ~ though certainly not equally ~ expanded our options and, thus, made us appreciably more dangerous.
This Strategic Shift was especially effective in this Era of Faster + Smaller Defenses.
***
I say:
Let's exploit this Breach in the Enemies' Front.
Let's haul in
more Super Hybrids ~
true Dual Threats ~ and open up
Triple Tight End Formations!!
Prospects on My Wish List
Tight Ends ~ Alge Crumper
Will Yeatman ~ 6.6/275 ~ Free Agent
Will Yeatman is my favorite, here: an ADP Free Agent who I have us drafting in the 7th, in my current Mock. He's a formerly devout LaCrosse player. 6.6/275. He is an exceptional athlete, and raw as ALL get out, but has IMMENSE potential not only as an All Pro Blocker, but as a pretty good receiver, as well. Wes Bunting has suggested that he might be better served converting to O Tackle, a la my 2010 Super Binkie and current Patriot,
Steve Maneri.
I'm not so sure that it's the best way to go: I place great value on a Tight End who can ~ potentially ~ develop into the weapon that I believe Yeatman could. And there're some exceptional O Tackles coming on line, next year, to say nothing of my current Super Binkie,
Willie Smith, who is, amazingly, still looking at an ADP of the 5th or 6th round. But considering that Yeatman only just recently got off the LaCrosse ~ where I presume he needed to aggressively keep the pounds off ~ and is already currently listed at 275, it strikes me that he might much more naturally put on another 30 pounds than, say, Steven Maneri, himself.
Maneri was listed at about 265 last year, currently at 290. And while that number's been up there for a while, giving me hope that it's up beyond 300, where it seems that it needs to be...I have my doubts as to whether he's going to be able to project the violent, explosive blocking he produced, as a college Tight End, to an equally violent and explosive Pro O Tackle. Mind you: Steve Maneri actually made a point to
target us, last Autumn, and that is certainly encouraging.
Lee Smith ~ 6.6/265 ~ 7th Round
Lee Smith carries the same concerns in my eyes, being 6.6/265, the same weight as Maneri, a year ago. To get to 305, Maneri or Smith would have to increase their body mass by a full 15 PERCENT. I am just very skeptical that either will be able to do so in a way that will allow them to retain the explosiveness and violence that rocketed them both up my Boards in the first place. In any case, Lee Smith, one of my very first Binkies in this year's Draft, back in Autumn, remains on my list, and even gets a bump up, with Crumpler's serious concerns.
I should also add, though, that if the Rosters do not get expanded to 60 ~ and there is little reason, at this point, to think that they will be ~ I might prefer to reduce or eliminate the presence of the predominantly blocking ~ Alge Crumpler ~ Tight End from the roster, in favor of expanding the other two roles. It seems to me that a Tight End who is an equally serious threat to Block OR Receive ~ the Rob Gronkowski "Wing Back" position ~ is FAR more menacing than a guy, like Crumpler, who is almost certainly going to be blocking, on any given play.
Wing Backs ~ Rob Gronkowski
Jordan Cameron ~ 6.5/255 ~ 3rd Round
Jordan Cameron is FLYING up the boards, of course, which is a damned shame, because he was looking phenomenal as a Deep Late Rounder. Now, his current ADP is the 3rd. Even there, however, he'd be a bargain, for he has an INTOXICATING receiving skill set, and the perfect frame to become an exceptional Blocker in time. Now he is a VERY recent BasketBall conversion ~ just caught his first pass just this past year!! ~ so he is raw as hell...But he is catching on RAPIDLY, and carries unmistakable Star Potential.
Brett Brackett ~ 6.6/240 ~ Free Agent
Brackett is currently lighter than you would like for Wing Back, though he's certainly got the frame to put on another 20 pounds. He's a former high school Quarter Back and college Wide Receiver, and he's not too fast, either. Even so, I think the kid is a really natural, instinctive route runner and receiver who could be very effective in the short passing game. And his unusual resume should be of great help in mastering those aspects of the game. Best of all, though, is his well earned reputation as a violent, passionate, and FEROCIOUS blocker.
Wing Ends ~ Aaron Hernandez
Lance Kendricks ~ 6.3/243 ~ 3rd Round
Lance Kendricks is a kid I am just flat out CRAZY about ~ a true
Priority Binky. His size makes him a Wing End, not a Wing Back, but this guy is an absolutely FEROCIOUS Blocker. Everything I read about him lauds LAVISH praise about his tenacity, his passion, his technique, and his FEROCITY as a Blocker. And as a Receiver, he is DEADLY: Good Burst, superior Navigational Skills, excellent Speed, and soft hands, but what makes him truly dangerous are his INSTINCTS. I'd see him as more of a 60/40 Receiver/Blocker than Hernandez ~ my
Alpha Priority Super Binkie, last year ~ making him much more of an Hybrid, and, therefore, much more
dangerous.
Julius Thomas ~ 6.5/245 ~ 5th Round
Julius Thomas has a startlingly similar story to Jordan Cameron: A BasketBall conversion who didn't catch his first pass until just this past year. High Upside. Raw as hell, but learning VERY rapidly. He doesn't quite have the size or speed that Cameron has, though. And he's rawer. Even so, the size + speed combo is very intriguing.
o
