2013 Wide Receiver Watch

[MrNathanDrake]

This is going to be the year we take a WR in the first round. Our offense has a big redzone threat in Gronk, a versatile x-factor in AHern, a great slot receiver in Welker (who is a Free Agent anyways), and a possession guy in Lloyd.

What this offense is missing, and has been lacking since Moss was traded, is a speedy deep threat.


Da'Rick Rogers, another WR prospect that the Patriots should be looking at.

He plays in a west coast offense. Makes plays on short-intermediate routes, but can also go deep. Fearless going over the middle. Excellent body control. Plays with an edge/attitude. Gains a lot of yards after the catch. Big target for QBs. Doesn't play against the best competition in college though.

Da'Rick Rogers 2011 Highlights - YouTube

 

[manxman2601]

Re: Da'Rick Rogers

Woah! Deja-vu

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...-2013-prospect-thread-page89.html#post3202305

 

[MrNathanDrake]

Re: Da'Rick Rogers

Woah! Deja-vu

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...-2013-prospect-thread-page89.html#post3202305

As much as I like Rogers, I'm not sure he's a top 10 talent or a Julio Jones clone. Seems more like a taller Brandon Lloyd with better YAC ability.

 

[MrNathanDrake]

Re: Da'Rick Rogers

The other prospect I really like is Robert Woods. He's a lock for day 1. The only question is his size. Ive seen him listed as short as 5'11 at some places. He's also underweight for an NFL WR at just 180lbs, and doesn't have the frame to add much more bulk. As with all Wide outs, the Combine will determine his ultimate fate. I could see him falling a bit due to his lack of elite size. He could get drafted as high as 10 if he burns a 4.3 40 yard dash, but could drop a bit if he measures in shorter/lighter than expected and has a bad combine.

He's a Junior, but with Barkley leaving USC at the end of the year I'm sure Woods will follow.

Has great hands. Competitive drive. NFL ready. Track speed. Quick and finds soft spots in zone coverage. Gets good separation. Well rounded.

I think he's a better, more consistent version of DeSean Jackson. He'll likely be gone by the time we pick, but you never know.

 

[manxman2601]

You might be right on the WR question. Our scouts have been to Baylor three times so far and Terrance Williams is being considered a late first early second type talent so there's some symmetry there.

For me there's some very good later round talent and I think a first round pick on a WR is a little wasteful. Would make an exception for DeAndre Hopkins, Rogers and Robert Woods however. I do think however, that Stedman Bailey, Markus Wheaton are all excellent fits for our system whilst Quinton Patton is a good talent too.

Ultimately, It'll come down to Welker. If we re-sign him (and I hope we do considering how good he's been this year), no receiver we draft will get enough catches to warrant a first round pick. Not sure they will even if we let Welker go as they'll play second fiddle to Lloyd, Gronk and Hernandez.

 

[MrNathanDrake]

Ultimately, It'll come down to Welker. If we re-sign him (and I hope we do considering how good he's been this year), no receiver we draft will get enough catches to warrant a first round pick. Not sure they will even if we let Welker go as they'll play second fiddle to Lloyd, Gronk and Hernandez.

I disagree. Welker or not, we need a fast WR. Someone who can stretch the field a bit, and catch a deep ball. Age wise, Lloyd and Welker will be a year older and a year slower next year. Branch barely made the team this year, so don't count on him next year. Edelman is decent, but he's a Welker clone at best, and doesn't bring anything different to the table.


Look at our offense after Lloyd was injured against the Seahawks in the last minute.

We had ZERO deep threat. Our best chance at gaining big yardage last Sunday wouldve been screen pass to Danny Woodhead. Our offense is just too predictable in it's current state.

Meanwhile the Seahawks were throwing 50 yard bombs.

 

[manxman2601]

Justin Higdon puts the spotlight on one of my favourite receivers:

Through five games, talented Louisiana Tech wide receiver Quinton Patton had hauled in 34 receptions for 532 yards and five touchdowns. Then Saturday, in a shootout loss to Texas A&M, Patton caught 21 passes in the game for 233 yards and four TDs. Now a senior, Patton came to La. Tech by way of Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, Kansas. There, he earned the reputation as a hard worker and team leader, even during his redshirt season. As a junior at Louisiana Tech, Patton made an immediate impact with 78 catches for 1202 yards (15.4 yards per catch) and 11 touchdowns. He exhibits terrific body control and can make the tough catch, though he does let the ball get into his body on occasion. He is a physical receiver with good size (6’1 to 6’2 and close to 200 pounds) and strong hands. While he isn’t a burner, Patton is an excellent open field runner who can make people miss. Watching Patton brings to mind Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones, a darling in the NFL Draft community just last year. The two players have similar builds and athletic attributes, though Jones may be a step or two faster. Still Patton is a strong prospect with a skill set that makes him a viable target outside or in the slot. He is likely to be one of the most highly regarded senior receivers and has a good chance to be selected some time on Day Two of the draft.

2013 NFL Draft Stock Watch | AFC2NFC | Get Your Football Fix!

The Marvin Jones comparison is very interesting to me because he was a serious binky for me last year. Link below is to that 21 catch game.

Quinton Patton vs Texas A&M (2012) - YouTube

 

[Avenger]

Luke Tasker, WR, Cornell

recognize the last name? yes he is the son of Steve Tasker.

Luke Tasker | Cornell, WR : 2013 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile

He's putting up good numbers, 280 receiving yards in his last game. It's against lesser competition but I wouldn't mind a late round flyer on the guy, he's probably pretty good on special teams also.

 

[patsfaninpa]

Would love to get a Torrey Smith type wr this draft. Stretch the field with his speed the first year or two. Role expands as he learns the offense. May not have to use a first rounder to get that type of wr. A lot of good wr's are going after round 1.

My three concerns are;

1. Improve the pass rush. Keep going back and forther on whether we need an interior pass-rusher. Not a Kyle Love type. Or, a de. I keep thinking Hightower ends up at Ninko's spot because he'll be able to rush the passer and drop into coverage.

2. OLB who can play in space. Major weakness on this team. You don't want to go nickel all of the time. With a 2-deep safety pass defense. A guy who can run with a te or rb is what we are desperately lacking.

3. WR who can stretch the field.

 

[Avenger]

Would love to get a Torrey Smith type wr this draft. Stretch the field with his speed the first year or two. Role expands as he learns the offense. May not have to use a first rounder to get that type of wr. A lot of good wr's are going after round 1.

My three concerns are;

1. Improve the pass rush. Keep going back and forther on whether we need an interior pass-rusher. Not a Kyle Love type. Or, a de. I keep thinking Hightower ends up at Ninko's spot because he'll be able to rush the passer and drop into coverage.

2. OLB who can play in space. Major weakness on this team. You don't want to go nickel all of the time. With a 2-deep safety pass defense. A guy who can run with a te or rb is what we are desperately lacking.

3. WR who can stretch the field.

Hightower can run with running backs, in the joint practices with the Saints he was running with Sproles

 

[manxman2601]

Just a thought:


1. Kendall Wright is the leading rookie WR in the NFL

2. Josh Gordon is starting to catch fire at Cleveland

3. Terrance Williams is the leading WR in CFB.

4. Patriots have watched Baylor three times.


Perhaps the coaches at Baylor are excellent at coaching NFL receivers and the Pats recognise that fact.

 

[nekromantique]

Just a thought:


1. Kendall Wright is the leading rookie WR in the NFL

2. Josh Gordon is starting to catch fire at Cleveland

3. Terrance Williams is the leading WR in CFB.

4. Patriots have watched Baylor three times.


Perhaps the coaches at Baylor are excellent at coaching NFL receivers and the Pats recognise that fact.

having a guy like williams opposite lloyd with the tight ends controlling the middle (assuming welker is gone of course), would be ridiculous...if brady can reel in some deep throw accuracy.

2 outside threats, one deep (williams) one intermediate (lloyd)
2 middle/versatile threats
a good run game

cant find much more balance than that.

 

[manxman2601]

Terrance Williams against Texas.

Really starting to warm up to him now as a possible first rounder. Definitely has NFL athleticism and is a really nice fit for the system whilst giving us that deep speed. My only concern is that he body catches a fair bit - will need to see him in WR drills at the combine.

Watch the TD at 1:00, would give NFL defenses the jitters, not just Texas

Terrance Williams vs Texas (2012) - YouTube

 

[MrNathanDrake]

Stedman Bailey from WVU is another WR to keep an eye on.

5'10 195lbs.... Short but has great speed and would add some deep ball firepower to our short passing game. Could be a steal in the mid rounds.

 

[manxman2601]

Stedman Bailey from WVU is another WR to keep an eye on.

5'10 195lbs.... Short but has great speed and would add some deep ball firepower to our short passing game. Could be a steal in the mid rounds.

Yup, big fan of Bailey. If you get the chance, check out Markus Wheaton of Oregon State too - similar to Bailey.

 

[RodThePat]

For those of you who say that if we drafted a WR high he wouldn't have a lot of opportunities to play in this offense, I'd advise you to look at the number of snaps guys like Branch and Edelman have gotten when healthy this season.

 

[manxman2601]

For those of you who say that if we drafted a WR high he wouldn't have a lot of opportunities to play in this offense, I'd advise you to look at the number of snaps guys like Branch and Edelman have gotten when healthy this season.

How many snaps have Welker and Lloyd had? Welker might be on his way out and Lloyd will only have two more years on his contract.

 

[MrNathanDrake]

For those of you who say that if we drafted a WR high he wouldn't have a lot of opportunities to play in this offense, I'd advise you to look at the number of snaps guys like Branch and Edelman have gotten when healthy this season.

You have to take into consideration:

1. Welkers contract status is unknown. Its very possible that he might not be on the team next year.

2. Even if Welker is re-signed, he is in his 30s.

3. Lloyd is also in his 30s.

4. Neither Lloyd or Welker offer much as deep threats who can stretch the field.

5. Injuries happen. Having a good back up is a necessity on an offense heavy team.

 

[Merril Hoge's Tie Knot]

Even if they keep Welker I'd still like to see an outside receiver brought in through the draft. Sure one really good player would have to sit down when there's a back in the game but that's not a negative. We've seen what Green Bay does with loads of viable options and packages. It's hard to cover, it's hard to plan for, and it allows the team to lose a player to injury and not miss a beat.

 

[manxman2601]

This is hilarious. Watch Marcus Davies (Virginia Tech) trying to block. He's #7.

Marcus Davis Blocking - YouTube


I know Wilfork75 likes him. I'm not sure BB will if he's watched this.