Malcolm Williams took the long road to the NFL

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Patriots Draftee Malcolm Williams Took Long Road to NFL | Sports Dallas Fort-Worth

 

[captain stone]

And he'll be taking the short road out of the NFL, too.

What a complete waste of a precious draft pick. He's barely a poor man's Matt Slater,
which I never thought could be possible. And to think that a real man like Mark Herzlich,
who at least has a chance to actually contribute in this league, was ignored in favor
of this UFL-caliber JAG. If Bill wanted him, then he should've waited to sign him as a UDFA,
as befitting the 730th-ranked (as per NFLDraftscout) player in the draft.

 

[Oswlek]

And he'll be taking the short road out of the NFL, too.

What a complete waste of a precious draft pick. He's barely a poor man's Matt Slater,
which I never thought could be possible. And to think that a real man like Mark Herzlich,
who at least has a chance to actually contribute in this league, was ignored in favor
of this UFL-caliber JAG. If Bill wanted him, then he should've waited to sign him as a UDFA,
as befitting the 730th-ranked (as per NFLDraftscout) player in the draft.

Oh no! A 7th round draft pick might not make it on a 14-2 team! The agony!

 

[Spiral]

And he'll be taking the short road out of the NFL, too.

What a complete waste of a precious draft pick. He's barely a poor man's Matt Slater,
which I never thought could be possible. And to think that a real man like Mark Herzlich,
who at least has a chance to actually contribute in this league, was ignored in favor
of this UFL-caliber JAG. If Bill wanted him, then he should've waited to sign him as a UDFA,
as befitting the 730th-ranked (as per NFLDraftscout) player in the draft.

I wonder where nfldraftscout had Matt Cassell ranked.

 

[MaineMan]

I wonder where nfldraftscout had Matt Cassell ranked.

#40 out of 99 QBs

Precious draft pick. Huh. Seventh rounders are basically used on UDFAs that a team is sufficiently interested enough in to want to secure their rights rather than bid on them afterward. Something like the 25-cent slot machine in the lobby of a cheap Vegas motel.

Otherwise they're used for making change.

 

[patchick]

I wonder where nfldraftscout had Matt Cassell ranked.

The fury on this board after that "waste of a pick" that was just "BB's arrogance run amok" was quite memorable. But at least it dissipated once folks actually saw Cassel in training camp. No such luck for poor Matt Slater, who despite making the gameday 45 week after week, year after year somehow remains the subject of seething anger as the worst possible late-round draft pick. :confused2:

 

[MaineMan]

The fury on this board after that "waste of a pick" that was just "BB's arrogance run amok" was quite memorable. But at least it dissipated once folks actually saw Cassel in training camp. No such luck for poor Matt Slater, who despite making the gameday 45 week after week, year after year somehow remains the subject of seething anger as the worst possible late-round draft pick. :confused2:

Special teamers are ridiculously unimportant and a dime-a-dozen. Even guys who are very good at returning punts are easy to come by and we shouldn't worry about hanging on to them if they can't be solid starters at their scrimmage positions. Such guys can easily/readily be picked up as UDFA since we have free choice of the best UDFAs without fear of other teams competing to sign them.

So, there's no earthly reason to waste precious 7th-round draft picks on such guys when those draft picks could and SHOULD be used on binkies who are clearly poised to become superstars/future HoFers.

[/SNARK]

 

[Ochmed Jones]

What a complete waste of a precious draft pick. He's barely a poor man's Matt Slater.

The first thing I thought of when he was drafted is that Slater has got some serious competition. I say let's see who wants it the most.

 

[MaineMan]

The first thing I thought of when he was drafted is that Slater has got some serious competition. I say let's see who wants it the most.

Or, possibly, another name on the (fairly long) list of candidates to potentially replace Tracy White - who is still a free agent, AFAIK. But that's only as far as his potential for special teams goes.

His Pro Day numbers (except for his short shuttle) were comparable to the Combine numbers of some of the first ten CBs drafted:

4.47/40 - 1.48/10yd - 16 reps - 40.0" vert - 10'06"brd - 4.39 20s - 6.90 3cone

Better athletic showing at about 12 pounds heftier than Brandon Harris who is the same height (5095), though not as good in agility drills. So, probably worth the 7th-round flyer, at least in the absence of the opportunity to sign UDFAs.

 

[patchick]

Belichick has a notable history of signing guys who weren't full-time starters for their college teams. Off the top of my head:

Randall Gay
Matt Cassel
Oscar Lua
Matt Slater
Tom Brady