Excellent class this year. I wanted to try to break them down a bit more in detail, particularly given the difference in skillset that the players exhibit. My assumption is that there are premium players the Patriots won't have a shot at drafting (Garrett, Allen, Barnett, Thomas, etc), but the depth of this class should provide us with numerous options on all three days of the draft.
I may miscategorize players or pigeonhole them. I've also skipped a lot of prospects, because I've tried to focus on players that would do well in New England's scheme as I understand it (base 43 but with a lot of responsibilities and formations that still borrow from the 34; we also play a TON of nickel and dime packages and need players who can run stuff, pass rush, and drop). I'm looking at well rounded guys who are ideally starters or at least can play multiple downs (all around players), designated pass rushers (DPR), early down DEs who shift inside for 3rd down or pass situations (inside/outside), and coverage OLB types (hybrids).
In addition, I'm mostly avoiding pure defensive tackle players, although quite a few players could certainly end up lining up in the interior. I'm not really looking for nose tackle discussions, but I won't chase you out of the thread if you want to go that route, either. Primarily I'm focusing on pass rushers, including a few 3 techs who could slide outside for running downs. Mostly I'm looking at edge rushers, but I assume that if a player wants to be a full time starter in the Patriots scheme, then he had better be able to play the run, too.
I'm not giving out precise draft grades just yet. I'm loosely attaching rounds to groups of players to get a feel for who might be available when, and who might help the team. Don't get too hung up on where I put them, unless you want to sell us on one player over another -- I love when people are passionate about their guy!
To kick things off, I'm just going to group them by perceived draft value -- this is a rough aggregate of where I've seen them ranked or mocked, as well as some of my own input. I'll come back through and do more thorough analysis in the coming days and weeks. Ideally, I'd like to break down one prospect per post in the future. I'll edit this post to include a link to the player's breakdown.
Top Twenty:
All around:
Myles Garrett Texas A&M Jr 6-4 268
Derek Barnett Tennessee Jr 6-3 265
Inside/outside DL:
Jonathan Allen Alabama Sr 6-3 291
Solomon Thomas Stanford rSo 6-2 275
1st round:
All around:
Evaluation:
Taco Charlton Michigan Sr 6-5 272
Inside/outside:
DeMarcus Walker Florida State Sr 6-2 273
Chris Wormley Michigan rSr 6-5 302
Malik McDowell Michigan State Jr 6-5 276
DPR:
Charles Harris Missouri rJr 6-3 255
Takkarist McKinley UCLA Sr 6-2 258
Hybrid:
Ryan Anderson Alabama rSr 6-2 253
Evaluation:
Haason Reddick Temple rSr 6-1 230
2nd round:
All around:
Evaluation:
Jordan Willis Kansas State Sr 6-5 258
Daeshon Hall Texas A&M Sr 6-5 270
Interior rushers:
Jaleel Johnson Iowa Sr 6-4 311
Davon Godchaux LSU Jr 6-4 293
Montravius Adams Auburn Sr 6-3 309
DPR:
Dawuane Smoot Illinois Sr 6-3 255
Carl Lawson Auburn rJr 6-2 253
3rd round:
All around:
Tarell Basham Ohio Sr 6-4 262
Inside/outside:
Deatrich Wise Jr. Arkansas rSr 6-5 271
Tanoh Kpassagnon Villanova Sr 6-6 285
DPR:
Tim Williams Alabama Sr 6-3 252
Devonte Fields Louisville rSr 6-3 242
Garrett Sickels Penn State rJr 6-4 250
Corey Vereen Tennessee Sr 6-2 250
Hybrid:
T.J. Watt Wisconsin rJr 6-4 243
Carroll Phillips Illinois Sr 6-3 240
4th round:
All around:
Trey Hendrickson Florida Atlantic Sr 6-4 270
Keionta Davis Chattanooga rSr 6-3 270
Josh Carraway TCU rSr 6-3 250
5th round:
All around:
Derek Rivers Youngstown State Sr 6-4 250
DPR:
Darius English South Carolina rSr 6-5 245
Hunter Dimick Utah rSr 6-3 272