Kenbrell Thompkins

[Brady6]

Wow. I'm always looking for good comps - like Sudfeld is basically equal to Zach Ertz athletically.

Main difference between Thompkins and Blackmon is Thompkins seems to have put his problems behind him - Blackmon does have 15 pounds on him but, still.

I'm sure they've had Thompkins working hard in the weight room to add a little weight and improve on his only real weakness which was the 8 reps on the bench.

It is also worth noting Thompkins results were from the NFL combine and Blackmon's were from a pro day, generally the combine results are held to a higher standard.

 

[Brady6]

The best, homer, Thompkins comparison IMO is Chad Johnson. Posters, as well as a reporter, have brought this up.

Johnson:

6'1
192 LBs
40 Yard Dash: 4.57 (official)
20 Yard: 2.65
10 Yard: 1.56
Vertical: 33"
Broad: 10'01"
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.14
3-Cone: 7.51

Thompkins:

6'1
193 LBs
40 Yard Dash: 4.54 (official)
20 Yard: 2.55
10 Yard: 1.56'
Vertical: 33.5"
Broad: 9'
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.21
3-Cone: 6.88

Almost identical.

Johnson's 3-cone was really poor huh?

 

[primetime]

Dobson scares me because he can't beat a jam and was getting outmuscled by corners half his size last night, while Amendola may be the first receiver in NFL history with 150 catches this year. He's never leaving the field unless he gets hurt. Thompkins might end up being the next most productive guy.

 

[BelichickFan]

The best, homer, Thompkins comparison IMO is Chad Johnson. Posters, as well as a reporter, have brought this up.

Johnson:

3-Cone: 7.51

Thompkins:

3-Cone: 6.88

Almost identical.

Almost identical except for the one that isn't which is the most important one to the Patriots. I can't stress enough how very good that 6.88 number is for a WR who seems to "get it". Combine Thompkins' addition with Dobson's size and Boyce's even better athleticism (6.68 3 cone) and the grand experiment of taking the league's top scoring team, swapping out all WR other than Edelman and continuing on as if nothing happened seems to have a decent chance to work.

 

[patsinthesnow]

Johnson's 3-cone was really poor huh?

Lol. I'm not a big combine guy but that's terrible right? He probably was goofing off.

 

[patsfaninpa]

Lol. I'm not a big combine guy but that's terrible right? Probably was goofing off.

I'm guessing he had trouble counting the cones.

 

[TyronePoole]

Almost identical except for the one that isn't which is the most important one to the Patriots. I can't stress enough how very good that 6.88 number is for a WR who seems to "get it". Combine Thompkins' addition with Dobson's size and Boyce's even better athleticism (6.68 3 cone) and the grand experiment of taking the league's top scoring team, swapping out all WR other than Edelman and continuing on as if nothing happened seems to have a decent chance to work.

And in a perfect world right as teams start to adjust Gronk comes back.

I really think Vereen is going to be the single most important offensive weapon next to Amendola this year too.

 

[Brady6]

I'm guessing he had trouble counting the cones.

:lol2:

The thing I loved about Thompkins his he was really physical working against the DB's; Johnson was only physical with his girlfriends :violent:

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Armistead may solve the problem, but if he isn't ready, he should be PUPed. I'd save the retrievable IR for a more critical player lost to injury.

Until he practices, he's eligible for in-season PUP. Using the "Designated-for-return" IR on him would be, as you suggest, a waste.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I don't think he's going to be unseated by Dobson or anyone. After reading a bit it seems like he was undrafted because of a combination of his legal problems as a teenager and circumstances outside of his control that hurt his production (similar to how Brady in college was slowed down by things he couldn't control).

And unlike Hernandope he seems to have actually learned some maturity.

Key fact: Thompkins is one of the older rookies in the NFL, at 25.

Hernandez was the youngest player in the entire NFL his rookie season (and GRONK the third-youngest), and still, IIRC, the youngest Patriot in 2011.

 

[spacecrime]

do you really think they are going to bench a 7.5 million dollar a year player?

I dunno. Let's ask Drew Bledsoe.

 

[spacecrime]

Amendola extremely injury prone and it'd be best to save him for the playoffs

You should stop listening to Gary Tanguay and look at season ending injuries rather than games missed. Amendola and Welker have each had one season ending injury. Welker's happened week 17. Had it happened week one, welker would have missed a whole season.

Broken bones generally are not indicative to injury prone. Repeated joint issues are IMO.

 

[tonyto3690]

You should stop listening to Gary Tanguay and look at season ending injuries rather than games missed. Amendola and Welker have each had one season ending injury. Welker's happened week 17. Had it happened week one, welker would have missed a whole season.

Broken bones generally are not indicative to injury prone. Repeated joint issues are IMO.

Really?

He's missed more games than he's started.

He is injury prone.

Don't be ridiculous. EVERY time he's been asked to carry an increased workload (significantly less than what welker has the past five years) he's gotten hurt. Pretending that he's suddenly going to not only match the increased workload he has never been able to handle in his career but increase it even further is just completely asinine.

 

[patchick]

Here's the conundrum that's bothered me for a while:

- We all know that rookie WRs seldom make a huge splash in the NFL. The position requires enormous adjustment from the college game, and thus time to develop.

- BUT...WRs who develop that precious mind meld with Tom Brady generally show it immediately. They either click in or they don't.

Welker and Moss, Gronkowski and HeWhoShallNotBeNamed had it right away; Price, Tate and the Chads never showed a glimmer of it. And the borderline cases, like Gaffney and Lloyd, generally remained just ok. We haven't seen a slow-but-steady development curve since David Givens.

At this early juncture, it looks like the Pats may have found two Brady "clicks" in Amendola and Thompkins, and three "ok" fits in Dobson, Boyce and Sudfeld, all in one offseason. That would be an absolutely spectacular yield. Crossing fingers and toes.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Welker and Moss, Gronkowski and HeWhoShallNotBeNamed had it right away

yup...and it seems so far thompkins and dobson are almost there. Ammendola is there

 

[patsfaninpa]

Here's the conundrum that's bothered me for a while:

- We all know that rookie WRs seldom make a huge splash in the NFL. The position requires enormous adjustment from the college game, and thus time to develop.

- BUT...WRs who develop that precious mind meld with Tom Brady generally show it immediately. They either click in or they don't.

Welker and Moss, Gronkowski and HeWhoShallNotBeNamed had it right away; Price, Tate and the Chads never showed a glimmer of it. And the borderline cases, like Gaffney and Lloyd, generally remained just ok. We haven't seen a slow-but-steady development curve since David Givens.

At this early juncture, it looks like the Pats may have found two Brady "clicks" in Amendola and Thompkins, and three "ok" fits in Dobson, Boyce and Sudfeld, all in one offseason. That would be an absolutely spectacular yield. Crossing fingers and toes.

Yup, Tom just has to have a little patience with these guys. Might not beat some teams 38-10 like we do quite often because of small mistakes. But, by the end of the year might be better suited to play against bigger, tougher defenses.

 

[Big-T]

Really?

He's missed more games than he's started.

He is injury prone.

Don't be ridiculous. EVERY time he's been asked to carry an increased workload (significantly less than what welker has the past five years) he's gotten hurt. Pretending that he's suddenly going to not only match the increased workload he has never been able to handle in his career but increase it even further is just completely asinine.

What if his injuries came from, oh, let's say utterly horrendous QB play with passes that just hung him out to dry - like I've seen some Rams fans suggest was the case?

How often does Brady lead a receiver straight into a monster bone crushing hit?

 

[Froob]

I dunno. Let's ask Drew Bledsoe.

While true, I think Amendola has unique skills that the rest of the core don't really have. Guy can catch anything thrown his way. Don't know why people would think he'd get benched.

 

[Sciz]

Reminder: Amendola and Welker have had the same number of season-ending injuries. Amendola had his week 1; Welker had his week 17. That skews games played a ton.

 

[BelichickFan]

Yup, Tom just has to have a little patience with these guys.

I'm sure Bill has reminded Tom to take the long road approach here. Things could be a little spotty the first half of the season with Gronk likely out and the rookies making good and bad plays. But they're getting a ton of time now and by midseason we'll have 87 back and the WR will likely be where they need to be. Due to the lack of competition in the division, a 4-4 start would leave us in good shape and we should be clicking in the second half assuming no more than league average injuries.

The other positive "side effect" is none of these WR or Gronk will be FA until at least 2017 or so. I think Tom came in realizing that patience and positive reinforcement will help later this season and set him up with a consistent group of skill guys until he's 40.