Super Early 53-Man Roster Predictions

[Chuck Walden]

I get there's no point to doing these this early into the season, but they're fun discussion pieces
A Way-Too-Early New England Patriots 53-Man Roster Projection: Offense - Last Word on Pro Football

 

[Clonamery]

I get there's no point to doing these this early into the season, but they're fun discussion pieces
A Way-Too-Early New England Patriots 53-Man Roster Projection: Offense - Last Word on Pro Football

Fun? Sorry but you have the wrong team.

 

[Hyped]

Dunno….disagree with the following:

Gillislee>Hill
Rowe not making the roster
Elandon Roberts not making it

 

[Chuck Walden]

Dunno….disagree with the following:

Gillislee>Hill
Rowe not making the roster
Elandon Roberts not making it

Gillislee and Hill we be close all preseason. I don’t know how much you can bank on Hill playing like 2014. And Roberts and Bentley are probably fighting for the same job too
Agree on Rowe, he probably makes it

 

[jah]

Here's mine:

QB (2): Brady, Hoyer*
RB (5): Michel, Burkhead, White, Bolden, Develin
WR (5): Hogan, Matthews, Mitchell, Patterson, Slater
TE (3): Gronkowski, Allen, Hollister*
OL (9): Brown, Thuney, Andrews, Mason, Cannon, Wynn, Karras*, Waddle*, Croston*
DL (5): Brown, Shelton, Guy, Valentine*, Butler*
EDGE (5): Flowers, Clayborn, Wise, Lee*, Rivers*
LB (5): Hightower, Van Noy, Flowers, Roberts*, Sam*
CB (5): Gilmore, McCourty, Rowe*, J. Jones, Dawson
S (6): McCourty, Chung, Harmon, Richards*, Ebner, King
ST (3): Gostkowski, Allen*, Cardona

* = I could definitely see this player not making it

Hard to leave out a 6th (really 5th or even 4th depending on how you feel about Patterson) WR but I don't think the value is there over the 53rd guy, who in this case was Rivers.

And of course Richards doesn't deserve his spot but this team needs more than 3 players who can "play" safety (quotes because of Richards) and the upgrade is not yet on this roster.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Dunno….disagree with the following:

Gillislee>Hill
Rowe not making the roster
Elandon Roberts not making it

Gillislee and Hill we be close all preseason. I don’t know how much you can bank on Hill playing like 2014. And Roberts and Bentley are probably fighting for the same job too
Agree on Rowe, he probably makes it

Rowe is already off to a bad start by getting beat badly in practice. He's a stiff and it won't shock me when he doesn't make it.

As for the RB's, Hill will easily make it over Gilislee as Hill has shown he can take on that role. The author may want to do a little research and he'll find the answer as to why Hill struggled after his promising rookie year. He's been dealing with ankle injuries which he put off surgery so he wouldn't miss time. When the team decided to feature Joe Mixon is when he shut himself down.

Gillisee is a good back but he's not a power back or short yardage back. Never was and never will be. If he's not useful on special teams, he will not make the team even though its a shame Bolden continues to make the team.

I think Hill and Michel will be the primary backs with Burkhead and White doing their usual thing.

 

[Chuck Walden]

Rowe is already off to a bad start by getting beat badly in practice. He's a stiff and it won't shock me when he doesn't make it.

As for the RB's, Hill will easily make it over Gilislee as Hill has shown he can take on that role. The author may want to do a little research and he'll find the answer as to why Hill struggled after his promising rookie year. He's been dealing with ankle injuries which he put off surgery so he wouldn't miss time. When the team decided to feature Joe Mixon is when he shut himself down.

Gillisee is a good back but he's not a power back or short yardage back. Never was and never will be. If he's not useful on special teams, he will not make the team even though its a shame Bolden continues to make the team.

I think Hill and Michel will be the primary backs with Burkhead and White doing their usual thing.

Rowe’s got a better track record than he’s given credit for. He was a good #3 in 2016, and actually had a good Super Bowl once he stopped covering Alshon Jeffery.
Hill’s gotta prove that he’s actually healthy to me. It’s one thing to say he is, but I’ll believe it once he’s showing it in game action. Part of Gillislee’s struggles last year were due to a very predictable usage. He only caught one pass all season (week 16) and faced more stacked boxes than just about any other running back. If we use him more creatively, I could see his production rising

 

[TheRainMaker]

Rowe’s got a better track record than he’s given credit for. He was a good #3 in 2016, and actually had a good Super Bowl once he stopped covering Alshon Jeffery.
Hill’s gotta prove that he’s actually healthy to me. It’s one thing to say he is, but I’ll believe it once he’s showing it in game action. Part of Gillislee’s struggles last year were due to a very predictable usage. He only caught one pass all season (week 16) and faced more stacked boxes than just about any other running back. If we use him more creatively, I could see his production rising

Last year, Rowe was graded out as either one of the worst or worst CB in the NFL last year. This was talked about during Super Bowl week and whether the Eagles were going to exploit that weakness. He did play player once Gilmore erased Jeffery.

I agree with Hill, it's time to put your money where your mouth is.

 

[BlueThunder]

Here's mine:

QB (2): Brady, Hoyer*
RB (5): Michel, Burkhead, White, Bolden, Develin
WR (5): Hogan, Matthews, Mitchell, Patterson, Slater
TE (3): Gronkowski, Allen, Hollister*
OL (9): Brown, Thuney, Andrews, Mason, Cannon, Wynn, Karras*, Waddle*, Croston*
DL (5): Brown, Shelton, Guy, Valentine*, Butler*
EDGE (5): Flowers, Clayborn, Wise, Lee*, Rivers*
LB (5): Hightower, Van Noy, Flowers, Roberts*, Sam*
CB (5): Gilmore, McCourty, Rowe*, J. Jones, Dawson
S (6): McCourty, Chung, Harmon, Richards*, Ebner, King
ST (3): Gostkowski, Allen*, Cardona

* = I could definitely see this player not making it

Who gets the axe when Jules returns?

 

[Chuck Walden]

Last year, Rowe was graded out as either one of the worst or worst CB in the NFL last year. This was talked about during Super Bowl week and whether the Eagles were going to exploit that weakness. He did play player once Gilmore erased Jeffery.

I agree with Hill, it's time to put your money where your mouth is.

Rowe did grade out poorly, but there's a bit more to it than that. He was terrible in September, but everyone was awful in September, so it's hard to put too much blame on him. Something was just off in the first month.
He got hurt week four and didn't play again until September. So really he didn't have as much time to cancel out his bad September. We'd be in trouble if he's a starter, but he's a capable backup IMO

 

[jah]

Who gets the axe when Jules returns?

Maybe one of those linebackers.

 

[Brick27]

Saying that Richards might not make the team is reasonable, but saying that if he makes it that he’d be “buried on a talented safety depth chart” is interesting. The idea seems to be that if he does make the team it’s because BB would see little other options in filling the backup SS responsibilities.

I guess the author thinks Ebner and King would suffice? Idk. Another case of “cut Richards” talk, without addressing the alternative options (which is where the fun and intrigue is).

 

[mgteich]

1) One more RB will make the 53, presumably either Gillislie or Hill.
2) One fewer defensive front 6 player will make it, so I would lose wither Lee or Sam.
3) My gut says that Britt will be on the 53 instead of Mitchell.
4) Finally, I expected Hollister to be beaten out.
5) Who Edelman will replace not the roster depends on health more than anything else.
6) You don't have the required UDFA; it's hard to know who will make it.

Here's mine:

QB (2): Brady, Hoyer*
RB (5): Michel, Burkhead, White, Bolden, Develin
WR (5): Hogan, Matthews, Mitchell, Patterson, Slater
TE (3): Gronkowski, Allen, Hollister*
OL (9): Brown, Thuney, Andrews, Mason, Cannon, Wynn, Karras*, Waddle*, Croston*
DL (5): Brown, Shelton, Guy, Valentine*, Butler*
EDGE (5): Flowers, Clayborn, Wise, Lee*, Rivers*
LB (5): Hightower, Van Noy, Flowers, Roberts*, Sam*
CB (5): Gilmore, McCourty, Rowe*, J. Jones, Dawson
S (6): McCourty, Chung, Harmon, Richards*, Ebner, King
ST (3): Gostkowski, Allen*, Cardona

* = I could definitely see this player not making it

Hard to leave out a 6th (really 5th or even 4th depending on how you feel about Patterson) WR but I don't think the value is there over the 53rd guy, who in this case was Rivers.

And of course Richards doesn't deserve his spot but this team needs more than 3 players who can "play" safety (quotes because of Richards) and the upgrade is not yet on this roster.

 

[Ring 6]

1) One more RB will make the 53, presumably either Gillislie or Hill.

4 RB 1 FB 3 TE is kind of the norm. 5 RBS is rare.

2) One fewer defensive front 6 player will make it, so I would lose wither Lee or Sam.

I could see that number on the front 6.

3) My gut says that Britt will be on the 53 instead of Mitchell.

Depends on health.

4) Finally, I expected Hollister to be beaten out.

Hollister made it last year and was a key st player. All accounts say he has progressed during the off-season so it’s hard to imagine he will not make the squad, esp in favor of a game day inactive RB.

5) Who Edelman will replace not the roster depends on health more than anything else.
6) You don't have the required UDFA; it's hard to know who will make it.

4 weeks in its a long shot that someone who doesn’t need to be replaced at their own position will be going on IR.

Almost impossible to predict UDFA at this point.

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

Any chance J.C Jackson makes the team. Maybe he can impress.

 

[BobDigital]

In case you need a link.
Pats Picker 2017

This is my 53 to start the year so no Edelman.

QB (2) T.Brady, B.Hoyer
RB (6) S.Michel, R.Burkhead, J.Hill, J.White, J.Develin, B.Bolden
WR (5) C.Hogan, J.Matthews, K.Britt, C.Patterson, M.Slater
TE (3) R.Gronkowski, D.Allen, T.Niklas
C (2) D.Andrews, J.Ferentz
G (3) S.Mason, J.Thuney, T.Karras
T (4) M.Cannon, I.Wynn, T.Brown, L.Waddle
DE (5) T.Flowers, A.Clayborn, D.Wise, D.Rivers, L.Guy
DT (4) M.Brown, D.Shelton, V.Valentine, A.Butler
ILB(2) D.Hightower, C.Sam
OLB(3) K.VanNoy, M.Flowers, H.Langi
CB (6) S.Gilmore, J.McCourty, D.Dawson, E.Rowe, J.Jackson, J.Jones
SS (2) P.Chung, N.Ebner
FS (3) D.McCourty, D.Harmon, B.King
ST (3) S.Gostkowski, R.Allen, J.Cardona

Notes:

RB - in the end I went 6 here caue Devlin is a FB and Bolden is more of a STer. White and Burkhead aren't guys you want pounding the rock so you need someone else besides Sony at least for year 1.

WR - It suck to give up on Mitchell but in the end he just can't seem to stay on the field.

OL - The 9th guy is a guess. I do feel good about Karras, Waddle and Brown though.

LB - Total guess for the last spots. I like Langi, Flowers and Sam over Roberts and Bently but who can say for sure right now?

CB - Giving up on Cyrus Jones this soon would be surprising but not too surprising. I think Jackson will show too much to cut. Maybe they cut Rowe depending on how much they like their starting 3 and keep young guys in hopes by the end of the year they can be good options.

 

[jah]

1) One more RB will make the 53, presumably either Gillislie or Hill.
2) One fewer defensive front 6 player will make it, so I would lose wither Lee or Sam.
3) My gut says that Britt will be on the 53 instead of Mitchell.
4) Finally, I expected Hollister to be beaten out.
5) Who Edelman will replace not the roster depends on health more than anything else.
6) You don't have the required UDFA; it's hard to know who will make it.

I expect most of those things you said to happen but I'm not going to predict which of them yet. I always start out conservative.