The last 3 Patriot's drafts......

[TruthSeeker]

2013

2nd Jamie Collins LB- Incredibly physically talented LB, already getting raves at camp.
2nd Aaron Dobson WR- Ditto, getting rave reviews at camp already, smart, big, talented.
3rd Logan Ryan CB- Depth CB at this moment, could be a good one.
3rd Duron Harmon S- Typical BB head scratcher, not too fond of this pick, buried in safety depth.
4th Josh Boyce WR- Also having a great camp, has all the tools to be a starting outside WR or Slot receiver.
7th Michael Buchanon DE- Love this pick, could turn out to be a steal.
7th Steve Beauharnis ILB- Big physical smart ILB, could be another steal

2012

1st Chandler Jones DE- Could turn into one of the best DEs in football, looking to make that 2nd yesr jump.
1st Dont'a Hightower LB- Same as Jones, but very versatile. Could play all 3 LB positions plus rush the passer from DE spot
2nd Tavon Wilson S- Typical BB head scratcher, not too fond of this pick, buried in safety depth, though he did play some as a rookie.
3rd Jake Bequette DE- Last year was his redshirt season, hoping for a big jump from year 1 to year 2.
6th Nate Ebner S- Special Teams demon, we shall see if he makes the final cut this year.
7th Alphonso Dennard CB- GREAT pick, IF he can stay out of prison. So far has played great in this year's camp.
7th Jeremy Ebert WR- I'm guessing he had trouble learning the playbook. Seemed to be an excellent pick at the time, looked like a really good slot receiver in college, and ran a 4.35. Hopefully he gets a chance with the Jags.

2011

1st Nate Solder T- Excellent pick, he is out LT for the next 10 years, would not be surprised if some of them are of the Pro Bowl variety.
2nd Ras-I-Dowling DB- Jury is out on this one, was very good as a rookie and started the 1st 2 games of the season, wound up on IR in both seasons.
2nd Shane Vereen RB- An explosive receiving RB, also impressive when running the ball. Redshirted his first season basically.
3rd Stevan Ridley RB- already a 1200 yard rusher in the NFL, only complaint is his fumbling
5th Marcus Cannon OL- A steal due to having cancer, he's a future star, should get his chance to start this season.
5thLee Smith TE- Never made it out of his first training camp.
6th Mrkell Carter LB- Looked like he was going to make it in his 2nd season, got some nice reviews from BB, and then was consequently cut.
7th Malcom Williams DB- Bounced around the Pats and the league the last two season.

What I really wanted to show in this thread, is how the Pats, despite some dislike of their picks from the fans (me especially), really do know how to draft. Just the last three drafts, the Pats have rebuilt their WR, RB, LB, DL and OL. Amazing picks. BB is amazing. 2010 was also a fine draft rebuilding the TE position, and adding McCourty in the 1st round and Jermaine Cunningham in the 3rd. AND you can also add in some excellent UDFA signings the last few seasons as well.

 

[Gronkandez]

I would say the jury is in on Ras-I. He's presumably a decent player but he can't stay out of the tub. I think people tend to overrate his ability when/if healthy.

I guess we'll see about Vereen.He should finally get some consistent playing time this year.


Left out Vanilla Ice. (Mallett)

 

[manxman2601]

I would say the jury is in on Ras-I. He's presumably a decent player but he can't stay out of the tub. I think people tend to overrate his ability when/if healthy.

I guess we'll see about Vereen.He should finally get some consistent playing time this year.


Left out Vanilla Ice. (Mallett)

I can't remember who it was, but I saw a comment about Dowling yesterday about how his length really helps him in that even if he is half a step further behind a receiver than he would have liked, his length still allows him to be in a position to make a play on the ball. Found that interesting.

 

[Uncle Rico]

I can't remember who it was, but I saw a comment about Dowling yesterday about how his length really helps him in that even if he is half a step further behind a receiver than he would have liked, his length still allows him to be in a position to make a play on the ball. Found that interesting.

That was Yates, Reiss's colleague.

Observations from 4th practice - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

 

[borg]

2013

2nd Jamie Collins LB- Incredibly physically talented LB, already getting raves at camp.
2nd Aaron Dobson WR- Ditto, getting rave reviews at camp already, smart, big, talented.
3rd Logan Ryan CB- Depth CB at this moment, could be a good one.
3rd Duron Harmon S- Typical BB head scratcher, not too fond of this pick, buried in safety depth.
4th Josh Boyce WR- Also having a great camp, has all the tools to be a starting outside WR or Slot receiver.
7th Michael Buchanon DE- Love this pick, could turn out to be a steal.
7th Steve Beauharnis ILB- Big physical smart ILB, could be another steal

2012

1st Chandler Jones DE- Could turn into one of the best DEs in football, looking to make that 2nd yesr jump.
1st Dont'a Hightower LB- Same as Jones, but very versatile. Could play all 3 LB positions plus rush the passer from DE spot
2nd Tavon Wilson S- Typical BB head scratcher, not too fond of this pick, buried in safety depth, though he did play some as a rookie.
3rd Jake Bequette DE- Last year was his redshirt season, hoping for a big jump from year 1 to year 2.
6th Nate Ebner S- Special Teams demon, we shall see if he makes the final cut this year.
7th Alphonso Dennard CB- GREAT pick, IF he can stay out of prison. So far has played great in this year's camp.
7th Jeremy Ebert WR- I'm guessing he had trouble learning the playbook. Seemed to be an excellent pick at the time, looked like a really good slot receiver in college, and ran a 4.35. Hopefully he gets a chance with the Jags.

2011

1st Nate Solder T- Excellent pick, he is out LT for the next 10 years, would not be surprised if some of them are of the Pro Bowl variety.
2nd Ras-I-Dowling DB- Jury is out on this one, was very good as a rookie and started the 1st 2 games of the season, wound up on IR in both seasons.
2nd Shane Vereen RB- An explosive receiving RB, also impressive when running the ball. Redshirted his first season basically.
3rd Stevan Ridley RB- already a 1200 yard rusher in the NFL, only complaint is his fumbling
5th Marcus Cannon OL- A steal due to having cancer, he's a future star, should get his chance to start this season.
5thLee Smith TE- Never made it out of his first training camp.
6th Mrkell Carter LB- Looked like he was going to make it in his 2nd season, got some nice reviews from BB, and then was consequently cut.
7th Malcom Williams DB- Bounced around the Pats and the league the last two season.

What I really wanted to show in this thread, is how the Pats, despite some dislike of their picks from the fans (me especially), really do know how to draft. Just the last three drafts, the Pats have rebuilt their WR, RB, LB, DL and OL. Amazing picks. BB is amazing. 2010 was also a fine draft rebuilding the TE position, and adding McCourty in the 1st round and Jermaine Cunningham in the 3rd. AND you can also add in some excellent UDFA signings the last few seasons as well.

The 2013 draft class has never played an NFL game.....but you have them in the win column already? The blinding power of the blue uniform. You obviously have high expectations for the Rutgers North crew

 

[TruthSeeker]

The 2013 draft class has never played an NFL game.....but you have them in the win column already? The blinding power of the blue uniform. You obviously have high expectations for the Rutgers North crew

Not really, I didn't like the Harmon pick. And Beauharnis was picked in the 7th round for a reason. BUT, I think like Dennard in the 2012 draft, Buchanon was a steal in the 7th round. Ryan was rated anywhere between a 1st and a 2nd round pick, so excellent pick.

 

[manxman2601]

Not really, I didn't like the Harmon pick. And Beauharnis was picked in the 7th round for a reason. BUT, I think like Dennard in the 2012 draft, Buchanon was a steal in the 7th round. Ryan was rated anywhere between a 1st and a 2nd round pick, so excellent pick.

Why? What was it about his play that you didn't like?

 

[AzPatsFan]

The picks as delineated prove that the Draftniks who peruse droppings from Kiper, and watch a couple of You tube highlight, don'ts know anywhere as much as BB and his Scouts.

Unrecognized in all this is that BB tore down the old Superbowl club and has been totally rebuilding it the last four years.

The national media's view is clouded, but so isview of the local media and the "knowledgeable fans", because he hasn't produced typical 5-11 rebuilding records; but has won with 11-5 records or better, amidst all the the rebuilding.

People have criticized everything from a poor Defense, to too much over reliance on Welker and not enough elsewhere, but that happens while the roster talent is sparser during a rebuild.

Going into the fourth year of rebuilding, the roster is resuming looking like a winning club with new young talent distributed everywhere. As an example we now have 5 playable CBs with 2 Stars, and 5 playable Safeties with 2 stars there now, including real Safeties like developing reserves Tavon and Duran. There are now 6 or 8 playable linebackers, with 3 or 4 stars there, instead of just Mayo,a few short years ago. Even the weakest position, the D-line has acceptable starters everywhere, and at minimum 3 stars there. There are even potentially good alternatives to the starters at DE, if not at interior DL, yet. It wasn't long ago, we were simply looking to find some starters at all to play with Wilfork.

On Offense, the O-line has been comprehensively rebuilt tackle to tackle, and could field a Probowler everywhere including TE. The depth is being augmented this off season with experiencd ex-starter reserves in Svitek and Green, as well as the developmental youngsters. The RBs and TEs positions are now deep, even with the loss of APerp. BB is now totally "retooling" the WRs with youngsters, long an annual patch and fill job with aging and limited veterans.

The 2013 team may start slow, but this roster is potentially capable of equaling the 2007 edition, soon.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Why? What was it about his play that you didn't like?

He's got good size, but he seems really slow, and not much of a ballhawk (compared to the year before). I thought he was better in 2011.

 

[manxman2601]

He's got good size, but he seems really slow, and not much of a ballhawk (compared to the year before). I thought he was better in 2011.

You can't be a ballhawk if people aren't throwing the ball anywhere near you.

 

[mgteich]

Some would pick on some of the picks. The draft is a crapshoot. We've done very well. Also, to all those who think of value first, Belichick filled holes 3 years in a row: 2010 (TE), 2011 (LT, RB), 2012 (front 7; DB).

As has been said, add our UDFA's and Belichick has done very well indeed.

2010
STARTERS: Gronkowski, Hernandez, McCourty, Spikes, Mesko
BACKUPS: Cunningham, Deaderick, Larsen (for someone else)

2011
STARTERS: Solder, Ridley, Vereen, Cannon (this year or next)
BACKUPS: Mallet, Dowling, Smith (for someone else)

2012
STARTERS: Jones, Hightower, Dennard
BACKUPS: T Wilson, Bequette, Ebner

2013
We'll see. Maybe we'll have 3-5 starters and 3 backups, or maybe not.

 

[Rob0729]

Although the 2013 draft picks are shining in training camp right now (at least Collins, Dobson, and Boyce), we have no idea how that class will turn out at all at this point.

At this point, it looks like the Pats have gotten three starters out of the other two drafts with at least a few of them with the potential to be breakout stars. So you gotta say those drafts are good. 2010 was still arguably one of the best drafts of the Belichick era even with Hernandez turning from steal to a good pick (I think he was still a good draft pick based on his draft position and what he gave the Pats over his first three years, but a mistake to re-sign).

The Pats haven't had a bad draft since 2009.

 

[JMC00]

I'll save more of the doom and gloom crowd from posting (I see borg already has)



This doesn't reflect my views.

 

[goheels22002]

Nice to see the last two drafts produce so much talent on both sides of the ball. the 2013 class cannot be expected to produce nearly the depth as those other classes without even one #1 pick.

Having seen some of these guys in action on Sunday, I do not remember a thing about Duron Harmon nor Logan Ryan, the two DBs from Rutgers. It may have been because they were over on the far practice field most of the morning. Neither one caught my eye with significant screw-ups or outstanding plays.

Odd how things have changed. In 2012, there was no depth at defensive back. In 2013, there's quality depth at both safety and cornerback. Neither of the Rutgers guys come with the questions like we had for Tavon Wilson to play a key role.

Also neither one was somebody I had checked off on my list to be sure to see like Dowling (un-remarkable), Kelly, Dennard, Boyce and Dobson, and Adrian Wilson.

 

[BradyFTW!]

OP's outlook on the last three drafts is about the most optimistic of all possible outlooks. Nothing wrong with that, per se, but here's my take:

2013 - it's borderline useless to speculate at this point, but I'll at least give my impressions to this point, acknowledging the whole way that they mean almost nothing:

2nd Jamie Collins LB- If he can cover, line up all over the field, and rush the passer as needed, then he could be the perfect compliment to Hightower. Two guys who can play all over the front seven open up a ton of possibilities for confusing the offensive line and bringing the pass rush from unexpected locations. Could see some Rex Ryan-style overload blitzes on 3rd and long (where the defense has traditionally struggled) if Belichick decided that that was a useful tool to bring to the defensive arsenal

2nd Aaron Dobson WR- Loved the pick when it happened, and liking the reviews that he's getting so far. I'm really hoping that his struggles in getting off the line against press coverage were either overreported or are something that he can fix quickly, because if not he probably won't contribute much this year.

3rd Logan Ryan CB- When he was picked, I assumed that he was going to compete with Wilson for safety snaps, because he doesn't play like a man-to-man press corner, in the mold of Talib, Dennard, or even Dowling. The Harmon pick suggests that the Pats see him as a CB, though, which makes me wonder how he fits.

3rd Duron Harmon S- Who knows. I'm sure that Belichick had his reasons for making this pick, but I clearly don't know what they are.

4th Josh Boyce WR- Intrigued. When I went back and watched some footage of him, the #1 thing that jumped out was how absolutely terrible his quarterback was the last couple of years. His numbers really suffered, and it pretty clearly wasn't his fault. I think you have to look at his numbers with Andy Dalton to get a real baseline of his ability, and then project forward from there. Hopefully that means he'll fly in under the radar and show that he was a great value pick; the Pats could certainly use it.

7th Michael Buchanon DE- I also love this pick.

7th Steve Beauharnis ILB- Don't feel as strongly about this pick as others, probably because the Pats have never really had a shortage of big, physical ILBs who can't cover at all. I don't really see the point of having him on the roster when Spikes is here, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him spend the year on the practice squad, then become a depth linebacker next year if Spikes is gone.

2012

1st Chandler Jones DE- I expect him to be an elite pass rusher this year. Huge fan

1st Dont'a Hightower LB- My biggest hope in his second year is that his coverage improves to 'passable'. That would make him a true jack-of-all trades threat, and I expect that he'll have 7-10 sacks this year as well. Optimistically, I'm seeing the defense make a major improvement, driven largely by Jones and Hightower.

2nd Tavon Wilson S- He produced early last season, but he kept making the same mistakes, and Belichick showed how much tolerance he has for that by basically benching Tavon for the rest of the season and then drafting another safety to compete with him. I'd love for him to come back as a smarter player in his second year, because he has the physical tools to get it done, but I'm not assuming anything until it shows up on the field.

3rd Jake Bequette DE- The list of players who have become meaningful contributors after doing literally nothing their rookie year is very small. I don't think that he'll amount to anything as a pro, but if he could become a rotational DE, then that would be great..

6th Nate Ebner S- No expectations, we'll see.

7th Alphonso Dennard CB- Big fan, love the guy. I worry more about his health than prison, to be honest. Would hate for him to be a guy with constant hamstring problems, although oftentimes that's a conditioning issue.

7th Jeremy Ebert WR- 7th round flyer, didn't work out. No big deal.

2011

1st Nate Solder T- The pick was a little puzzling at the time, but with Vollmer's ongoing injury issues and Light retiring when he did, it looks fantastic in hindsight.

2nd Ras-I-Dowling DB- Let's just say that this pick hasn't paid off, and probably won't. I can see why they made the pick when they did, but if we're evaluating it honestly, then to date it has to be considered a miss.

2nd Shane Vereen RB- His body of work is still pretty minimal, so I'm not at all comfortable calling this pick a hit on par with Ridley, but I do really like what he can potentially bring to the table. I worry that he'll continue to be injury-prone, but hopefully he can shake that in his third season.

3rd Stevan Ridley RB- The whole fumbling issue is overblown - his fumble rate is well within the acceptable range for a starting running back. Not much else to say about this pick - he's a real weapon on offense, and this was an excellent value pick. If he continues to improve his pass blocking and catching out of the backfield (which he did from his rookie season to year 2), then he could become a legitimate three-down back.

5th Marcus Cannon OL- I dunno if he's a star, but he's a solid player, and was well worth the gamble in the fifth round. At this point, he could end up being anywhere from a good-value to exceptional-value pick.

5th Lee Smith TE- 5th round flyer, didn't work out. Not a huge deal, I get what they were going for when they picked him.

6th Markell Carter LB- A textbook case in why you should never take Belichick's training camp reviews as a sure sign of anything. 6th round flier on a stacked team, not a huge miss by any means.

7th Malcom Williams DB- 7th round flyer - if you draft a dozen of these guys and end up with one Dennard, you're getting good value. He was one of the other eleven.


Bottom line: during the Pats' dry stretch in drafting, there were plenty of picks that I didn't like even as they were being made: Brace, Chung, Meriweather, O'Connell, and Wheatley were the big ones. There aren't so many of those anymore - even when picks don't work out, I'm still fine with them at the time that they're made. The only real exceptions to that in the past couple of years have been Mallett and Logan Ryan/Duron Harmon (I'd have been okay with Ryan as a safety conversion, don't get what they're going for with him as a CB).

The Pats have definitely been drafting well lately, but let's not start handing out awards for the 2013 class after 3 days of training camp, or start projecting guys with minimal bodies of work into becoming all pros this year.

 

[BradyFTW!]

The picks as delineated prove that the Draftniks who peruse droppings from Kiper, and watch a couple of You tube highlight, don'ts know anywhere as much as BB and his Scouts.

Unrecognized in all this is that BB tore down the old Superbowl club and has been totally rebuilding it the last four years.

The national media's view is clouded, but so isview of the local media and the "knowledgeable fans", because he hasn't produced typical 5-11 rebuilding records; but has won with 11-5 records or better, amidst all the the rebuilding.

People have criticized everything from a poor Defense, to too much over reliance on Welker and not enough elsewhere, but that happens while the roster talent is sparser during a rebuild.

Going into the fourth year of rebuilding, the roster is resuming looking like a winning club with new young talent distributed everywhere. As an example we now have 5 playable CBs with 2 Stars, and 5 playable Safeties with 2 stars there now, including real Safeties like developing reserves Tavon and Duran. There are now 6 or 8 playable linebackers, with 3 or 4 stars there, instead of just Mayo,a few short years ago. Even the weakest position, the D-line has acceptable starters everywhere, and at minimum 3 stars there. There are even potentially good alternatives to the starters at DE, if not at interior DL, yet. It wasn't long ago, we were simply looking to find some starters at all to play with Wilfork.

On Offense, the O-line has been comprehensively rebuilt tackle to tackle, and could field a Probowler everywhere including TE. The depth is being augmented this off season with experiencd ex-starter reserves in Svitek and Green, as well as the developmental youngsters. The RBs and TEs positions are now deep, even with the loss of APerp. BB is now totally "retooling" the WRs with youngsters, long an annual patch and fill job with aging and limited veterans.

The 2013 team may start slow, but this roster is potentially capable of equaling the 2007 edition, soon.

I'll agree that McCourty is a star S. One of the best in the NFL, IMO. But who is the second? Adrian Wilson wasn't that good last year - if you're banking on him going back to being a star at age 33, then that's probably not wise. Personally, I'm just hoping that he can be solid.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Given that the are always among the last to draft in every round and their ability to stay at the top of the league year in and year out the Patriots have been among the best drafting teams in the league throughout Belichick's tenure, despite some problems drafting DB's and WR's over the years, however I do think that they have been better at drafting with Caserio there instead of Pioli, especially towards the end of his time in NE. They have been exceptional the past three years imo.

 

[patriotsdynasty12189]

Undrafted free agents win championships, fact.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

first of all, the OP assumes that this year's draft class will be a good one. You can't say anything about the 2013 draft until next year so let's leave that aside. And not many people are criticizing the patriots drafting from the last few years. It's the draft from 2006-2009 that hasn't really produced much other than jerod mayo and vollmer. that has what has crippled this team, especially on defense.

 

[ausbacker]

Whichever way you look at it, the Patriots appear to be stocking the roster with extremely athletic young players. Whether that transitions to NFL dominance is the next question.