How would you rate the 2018 draft for Pats?!

[A Defiant Goose]

D for disappointing

 

[BobDigital]

Redoing this post. I'll grade every move and then give the overall grade. I won't worry about moves made before draft day.

#23 - Isaiah Wynn - OT/OG - It's hard to hate this pick. I don't think he would have been there at 31 and it helps get a solution at LT potentially. This guy preformed well against top college talent and there is every reason to think he has a chance to be our new LT or will at least make his job easier but upgrading OG. He should be a day 1 starter somewhere. Grade A

#31 - Sony Michel - RB - knowing what we know now about Derrius Guice causes this pick to make more sense. I think Guice being a head case shot up Sony's value. IMO Chubb is a step below Michel and Jones probably while about as good wouldn't fit as well in our offense. I still don't like RBs in the first round often but at this point there were no LB worth taking and CBs were falling as were DL. He can be an impact player and will be the best RB we have day 1 at a need position. I just don't value that position as much as others but a good pick up. Grade B+

#43 - Trade down to #51 and #117 - I don't mind this move. They passed on some decent talent but not much and the value here was decent IMO. However it does depend also on how well they do with pick 51. So that grade effects this one. Grade B-

#51 - Trade to the Bears for their 2nd next year and 105. Yes it's great value in general but the Brady window is closing fast. If this move doesn't help you get the next QB it feels like a waste. Most guy take 1 year to become an impact player. Sometimes winning the trade isn't all that matters. I think they are not gaining a ton of talent with this move. Lots of guys who were there at 51 were great value and the guy next year at pick 40 or so won't be much better. Grade C-

#56 - Trading up with 63 and 117 - Duke Dawson - SCB - I like the player but I wonder if the trade up was needed. I honestly think not. Even if he is taken would it causing a guy like Isaiah Oliver or Cartlon Davis to be there at 63 be so bad? Yes they aren't pure slot guys but they would help your DBs none the less. Not to mention Reid was on the board. Personally I would have either had them pick him at 51 if they were so worried. The unneeded trade hurts it. Grade B

#95 - Traded for Trent Brown and 143. I know this isn't the order it happened but I'm going in pick order. Personally I am okay with the trade. Take a shot on a need position and not a ton of great value at 95 anyway. Grade B+

#105 - Traded for 114 and 178. Why not. I like minor trades down for value. Grade B

#114 - Traded for a 2019 Lions 3rd. You're gaining substancial ground doing this but i don't like it. There was a lot of very interesting talent on the board that had a chance to help you this year. With good home run options like Maurice Hurst and Okoronkwo I can't give a high grade while remembering Brady's window. Grade C

#143 - Ja'whaun Bentley - LB - An okay role player perhaps but other options had more upside and I don't think he is so good at his role to guaranteed his spot. Also the potential is limited. Grade C

#178 - Christian Sam - LB - A solid pick here. He has good upside and can potentially do more for you in today's game which is pass oriented. Maybe a guy you hit on who can become a good 3 down player. Grade A-

#198 - Traded to KC for 233 and 243. A good trade. 2 lottery tickets instead of 1. I don't know why team every year give the Pats this trade. It seems silly. Grade A+

#210 - Braxton Berrios - WR - A kid with a very specific skill set that he excels at as well as underrated athleticism. He may be able to find a niche in the NFL and on this team. It is a nice find for the Pats at this late spot. Grade A-

#219 - Danny Etling - QB - Why not? Take a QB for a camp arm and give him a try. I don't think he has a chance to develop from what I've seen but you never know. It was a need position so I'm glad they tried in any case. Grade B

#233 - Traded to Eagles for 250 and a 7th next year. Fine. Grade B.

#243 - Keion Crossen - CB - These are the kind of late picks I love. One of the most athletic CBs in this draft. More athletic than most of the CBs who went in rounds 1 and 2. He plays up to his great test scores on tape. Maybe he puts it together and maybe not. Still I see big upside for the undersized CB. The next Butler or the next JAG? He could honestly be either and that is all you want here. Grade A++*

#250 Ryan Izzo - TE - A blocking TE with soft hands. He doesn't seem like he can find a role though. He probably comes in as the 3rd best blocking TE on the team if that. Maybe he gets practice squad reps to give other guys a break but I don't see the upside here. Grade C

The worst thing was trading into 2019 in the 2nd. You need that value now, not next year. There were good players to be had. Also Looking at the DB talent; while Dawson was a great fit the lose of value trading up wasn't needed. I felt they let a lot of potential great talents in the 4th walk when they didn't have to and where they have been so successful.

Overall grade is a B-. I think what hurt the most were the multiple valuable trades into next year when that window is shutting fast. Getting 3 likely good starters is great but they had a chance for more and should have maximized this draft a more. Maybe 1 trade into the future but not 2.

 

[Betterthanmost]

I think it is 'un-ratedable'. Kind of remind me of the draft class that brought Edelman, Ron Brace, Darius Butler, Vollmer, Tate, Mckenzie, Ohrnberger, George Bussey, Jake Ingram, Pryor, Daryl Richards.
That was a some players enh?

 

[manxman2601]

B+ for me based on day one (love the Wynn and Michel picks) and the trades we picked up next year. Day two was a little meh and day three was good with some picks I liked but those picks are less likely to make serious contributions. I do think Sam can be important and I liked the Bentley pick - he seems to a Hightower/Brandon Spikes type and they’re fun albeit less important in today’s NFL.

 

[chasa]

it was no infinity war, but with trades we came out with a new o-line, which is good.

the lack of defense in the early rounds makes me sad.

we won't know about some of the picks for a couple of years.

 

[PWRxWLF]

I wouldn't care if they had won the ****ing SB. Now every decision gets picked apart. D+ for picking more injury prone players in the wrong positions.

Who was injury prone?

 

[DW Toys]

F

F is about right. But D Because Thursday was fair. We got a decent OT and a RB we did not need.

We traded up to #56 in the second to get a fourth/fifth round rated DB (who plays Safety! whoa......) whom we could have had at #63 anyway.

But we did get a #2 for 2019 Friday.

Then I guess the personnel staff took the day off today. By the way, who is the director of college coaching?

If BB hated this Draft so much he should have traded the days picks all for perhaps a third in 2019 and saved signing money.

The good news? Now we can go sign Vacarro, Navarro Bowman and sign Dez. Let's see if we can trade for Paxton Lynch and Mychal Kendrick and start thinking about the 2018 season.
Not one of the players today can help us in 2018 unless we need bodies for Pre-Season games.
DW Toys

 

[manxman2601]

A grade from Chad Reuter at NFL.com


New England Patriots
Draft picks: Georgia OT Isaiah Wynn (No. 23 overall), Georgia RB Sony Michel (No. 31 overall), Florida CB Duke Dawson (No. 56 overall), Purdue LB Ja'Whaun Bentley (No. 143 overall), Arizona State LB Christian Sam (No. 178 overall), Miami WR Braxton Berrios (No. 210 overall), LSU QB Danny Etling (No. 219 overall), Western Carolina DB Keion Crossen (No. 243 overall), Florida State TE Ryan Izzo (No. 250 overall).
Day 1 grade: A
Day 2 grade: A
Day 3 grade: A
Overall grade: A
The skinny: There's not many sub-6-foot-3 tackles in the NFL. But Wynn's length and athleticism allowed him to excel at the position with the Bulldogs, and there's no reason to think he can't be a solid player there in the NFL. He also plays with a nasty streak. Just another four-year, high-character player for Bill Belichick. His college teammate, running back Michel, will join him in Foxboro. Michel has the versatility to be a star in the Patriots' system, working as a receiver and slashing through defenses as a runner. On Day 2, the Patriots made only one pick, but moved down a couple of times to get fourth-round picks and Chicago's 2019 second-round pick. They also swapped third- and fifth-round picks for 49ers right tackle Trenton Brown. They did select Dawson, a slot corner and trouble-maker for receivers, trading away a fourth-round pick to Tampa Bay to select him. He'll contribute right away. New England traded out of the fourth round to pick up a 2019 third-round pick. Bentley and Sam were picks the Patriots needed to make to aid the second level of their defense. Berrios was the perfect New England pick on Day 3. He's a quick slot receiver who will fight for passes from Tom Brady. Picking Etling in the seventh round based on his physical traits made sense, though his college resume was not spectacular

2018 NFL Draft: Final quick-snap grades for all 32 teams

 

[fxmallon]

We traded up to #56 in the second to get a fourth/fifth round rated DB (who plays Safety! whoa......) whom we could have had at #63 anyway. DW-Toys

Yup. I think this was the worse move. Giving up a 4th round pick to move up seven spots for someone I doubt any other team had interest in.

For the rest, it was mighty boring until maybe the last hour or so, when we actually made picks (of course, by this time all interest had faded). It may have been a fairly effective draft, but it held little excitement for the Pats fans (day one a partial exception, I guess)

 

[scott99]

I give it a D. Only because they had FIVE picks in the top 5, and came away with 3 picks. The choice to ignore the top prospects available, and have your chance to improve your team (especially defensively and at QB) is an epic fail.

That being said

1) Sony Michel A+ favorite player in the whole draft, perfect replacement for Lewis. I can imagine 10-15 touches a game as a rookie, then 15-20 in year 2 and thereafter. So shocked we took him.

1) Isaiah Wynn B+. A real road grader. Kinda hoped for a more textbook LT.

2) Duke Dawson B. Decent pick. Rated 3rd or 4th round, so not a terrible reach.

5) Ja’Whaun Bentley D. A thumper, nothing much else as a player

6) Christian Sam B+. Very good pick at this spot. Talented player who is a tackling machine.

6) Braxton Berrios B+. Another very good pick at this spot in the draft, but he has hardly any chance to make the team. Already 10 receivers on the roster.

7) Danny Etling D. Big meh on this one.

7) Keion Crossen C. Very interesting pick at that spot, incredible measurables, the next Jonathon Jones ?

7) Ryan Izzo D. Has no shot of making the team.

 

[Patriot Missile]

I'll just take the easy way out and give it a incomplete. We're all just kidding ourselves if we think we can put an appropriate grade on players who haven't played a down in the NFL. That's including all the Kipers and Borges in the world. So many variables and situations involved. Player A could of been a perfect fit for this team under this coach or qb, but instead player b gets stuck behind a probowler or ****ty coaching that never gets a chance to showcase.

 

[manxman2601]

We traded up to #56 in the second to get a fourth/fifth round rated DB (who plays Safety! whoa......) whom we could have had at #63 anyway. DW-Toys

Yup. I think this was the worse move. Giving up a 4th round pick to move up seven spots for someone I doubt any other team had interest in.

For the rest, it was mighty boring until maybe the last hour or so, when we actually made picks (of course, by this time all interest had faded). It may have been a fairly effective draft, but it held little excitement for the Pats fans (day one a partial exception, I guess)

The other two leading nickel corners in the draft went within three picks before Dawson. They obviously felt they couldn’t leave him dangling out there. And you doubt any other team had interest in Duke Dawson, one of the leading nickel corners in the draft and from Florida? OK. Did you look at a lot of other teams boards?

 

[Huckleberry1]

We traded up to #56 in the second to get a fourth/fifth round rated DB (who plays Safety! whoa......) whom we could have had at #63 anyway. DW-Toys

Yup. I think this was the worse move. Giving up a 4th round pick to move up seven spots for someone I doubt any other team had interest in.

For the rest, it was mighty boring until maybe the last hour or so, when we actually made picks (of course, by this time all interest had faded). It may have been a fairly effective draft, but it held little excitement for the Pats fans (day one a partial exception, I guess)

Now now, quoting DW isn’t fair, he’s still angry they didn’t ship that pick to Houston for JJ Watt and Jadaveon Clowney.

Belichick sucks like that, he’s always passing up Julio Jones and Watt and Bradley Chubb. It’s like he doesn’t care.

 

[zipster9]

C at best.

Defense still suspect. Weak pass rush (aka: SB against Eagles) will be the failure for 2018 season, if not addressed via trades & FA.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

I like it, I predict we'll field 3-4 solid contributors in more than just special teams (not including the Trent Brown trade) from this draft which is about as good as you can ask in a single draft most of the time.

We also accumulated a 2nd and 3rd rounder for next year (a 4th too i believe?). 2nd rounder is from a team who should be pretty bad next year so thats a big one.

If my predication in the first point comes true it's an A+ as we stockpiled picks into next year at the same time.

 

[Dexter]

BTW, if we are judging the draft (way too soon as Caserio well explained during his press conference), let's not forget that we also acquired players using the 2018 draft picks (Trent Brown, Patterson, Eric Rowe, J.McCourty, Marquis Flowers), most of them way before the draft.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Who was injury prone?

The running back blew out his knee!

 

[Gator Mike]

The other two leading nickel corners in the draft went within three picks before Dawson. They obviously felt they couldn’t leave him dangling out there. And you doubt any other team had interest in Duke Dawson, one of the leading nickel corners in the draft and from Florida? OK. Did you look at a lot of other teams boards?

Probably worth noting that the Pats traded up in front of Atlanta who not only took a CB, but who has close ties to Florida's program and already has a couple of UF defensive backs on the roster.

 

[PWRxWLF]

The running back blew out his knee!

When did this happen?

 

[mgteich]

A

Loved it.

except for the lack of a backup quarterback, I agree. Belichick checked all the boxes.

We started with 5 picks and checked 6 boxes plus sent a 2nd and 3rd into 2019.
OT
OG
RB
DB
ILB
TE (blocking TE)

Our first 3 picks are starter quality.
Sam should challenge Roberts or Langi for a roster spot
Izzo could make the team as a blocking TE
and we acquired another veteran to compete for an OT roster spot

YES, we still acquire more players through trade or free agency, but this team is ready to play, win a division and an AFC championship yet again.

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