2019 Mock Drafts

[manxman2601]

No two draft boards are the same. Anybody can ride and anybody can slide.

That’s why I Like the Fanspeak machine of all of them. You can try out different boards and therefore different scenarios.

 

[JerseyShore99]

First post free agency mock:

32. Noah Fant TE
56. Deebo Samuel WR
64. Riley Ridley WR
73. D'Andre Walker EDGE
97. Amani Hooker S
101. Trysten Hill DL
134. Damien Harris RB
205. Ryan Finley QB
239. Jalen Hurd WR
243. Jonathan Ledbetter EDGE
246. Ryan Connelly LB
252. Paul Adams OT

The Draft Network

Addresses quite a bit (WR, TE, DE, S) but Ridley is likely a Day 3er now (would still like him), Hurd has upside at WR as well and I love Ledbetter, great fit

 

[manxman2601]

Decided to have a go at a Fanspeak mock (Matt Miller board with trades).

29. Traded up from 32, trading away 97 and getting a 5th rounder back.

29. TJ Hockenson

Quite often Hockenson goes to the Packers at 30 so I had to jump ahead. Not much else needs to be said.

56. Deebo Samuel

Dexter Lawrence is usually my choice here but the Mike Pennel pick has reduced the priority. For me, Samuel is perfect for the McDaniels offense.

64. Zach Allen

The next two picks are entirely about the Greg Schiano defense which I've been reading about. It's about stopping the run and letting the linebackers flow to the football. PFF grades Allen very highly as a run stopper and actually mock him at 32 to the Pats. Ever since PFF were really high on Trey Flowers coming out, I've learned to pay attention to their grading.

73. Gerald Willis

Another pick with Schiano in mind. Willis is a 1-gapping run stopper with 16.5 tfl's last year. I see him as a very nice compliment to Pennel.

97. Traded in first round trade up.

101. Amani Hooker.

I do think we need to look at safeties and I'm a fan of Hooker. Another aspect of the Schiano defense is takeaways and Hooker had four picks last year. I think he could play any role at safety but I like him as a future Chung replacement. And smart players are always a good bet in a Pats mock.

134. Terry McLaurin

WR4 this year and possibly WR3 next? Excellent speed and decent, but not great, agility drills at the combine but he does offer a deep threat option in the passing game and works as a special teams gunner when Slater inevitably suffers an injury. Sorry Matt.

167. Sione Takitaki.


Did I draft him because of a great name or because I saw an excellent twitter thread which highlighted some excellent and intriguing plays? You decide.

205. Daylon Mack

Not sure why Matt Miller had him falling this far, but I'll take it. Took him as BPA here and offers some backup and upside at the DT position. Dexter Lawrence lite. (well, at 336lbs, not so lite).

Trade Up. Traded 239, 246 and 252 to move up into the top half of the 7th.

219. Penny Hart.

Binky time and I was getting worried that he wouldn't fall to the end of the 7th. And as I'm not good on the later round prospects this year, I didn't feel like guessing at a bunch of 7th round picks. Love Hart's film. He's a feisty guy with very good quickness on film. Sounds like someone...can't think who.

243. Khari Willis

Not especially athletic safety from Michigan St. He is, however, supposed to be an outstanding individual character wise and when in doubt, go with the smart upstanding prospect.

I'd appreciate your thoughts.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

Decided to have a go at a Fanspeak mock (Matt Miller board with trades).

29. Traded up from 32, trading away 97 and getting a 5th rounder back.

29. TJ Hockenson

Quite often Hockenson goes to the Packers at 30 so I had to jump ahead. Not much else needs to be said.

56. Deebo Samuel

Dexter Lawrence is usually my choice here but the Mike Pennel pick has reduced the priority. For me, Samuel is perfect for the McDaniels offense.

64. Zach Allen

The next two picks are entirely about the Greg Schiano defense which I've been reading about. It's about stopping the run and letting the linebackers flow to the football. PFF grades Allen very highly as a run stopper and actually mock him at 32 to the Pats. Ever since PFF were really high on Trey Flowers coming out, I've learned to pay attention to their grading.

73. Gerald Willis

Another pick with Schiano in mind. Willis is a 1-gapping run stopper with 16.5 tfl's last year. I see him as a very nice compliment to Pennel.

97. Traded in first round trade up.

101. Amani Hooker.

I do think we need to look at safeties and I'm a fan of Hooker. Another aspect of the Schiano defense is takeaways and Hooker had four picks last year. I think he could play any role at safety but I like him as a future Chung replacement. And smart players are always a good bet in a Pats mock.

134. Terry McLaurin

WR4 this year and possibly WR3 next? Excellent speed and decent, but not great, agility drills at the combine but he does offer a deep threat option in the passing game and works as a special teams gunner when Slater inevitably suffers an injury. Sorry Matt.

167. Sione Takitaki.


Did I draft him because of a great name or because I saw an excellent twitter thread which highlighted some excellent and intriguing plays? You decide.

205. Daylon Mack

Not sure why Matt Miller had him falling this far, but I'll take it. Took him as BPA here and offers some backup and upside at the DT position. Dexter Lawrence lite. (well, at 336lbs, not so lite).

Trade Up. Traded 239, 246 and 252 to move up into the top half of the 7th.

219. Penny Hart.

Binky time and I was getting worried that he wouldn't fall to the end of the 7th. And as I'm not good on the later round prospects this year, I didn't feel like guessing at a bunch of 7th round picks. Love Hart's film. He's a feisty guy with very good quickness on film. Sounds like someone...can't think who.

243. Khari Willis

Not especially athletic safety from Michigan St. He is, however, supposed to be an outstanding individual character wise and when in doubt, go with the smart upstanding prospect.

I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Nicely thought out. Like your explanations. My thoughts: light on OL. There are quite a few later round IOL players I could see us showing some interest in acquiring, and at least a few mid-late round tackles who seem to show enough technique that I imagine they're on the radar. I'm a big believer in Wynn, but I still think a swing tackle is smart business. Waddle can be upgraded. A general purpose C/G would be nice to groom, too.

 

[manxman2601]

Nicely thought out. Like your explanations. My thoughts: light on OL. There are quite a few later round IOL players I could see us showing some interest in acquiring, and at least a few mid-late round tackles who seem to show enough technique that I imagine they're on the radar. I'm a big believer in Wynn, but I still think a swing tackle is smart business. Waddle can be upgraded. A general purpose C/G would be nice to groom, too.

That’s fair but to be honest I haven’t done much work in that area. Had my eye on Scharping at 167 but he went a few picks before. I’m banking on them bringing back Ghost, Allen and Waddle.

 

[Love The Drake]

 

[Love The Drake]

I would run to the podium for each of these picks.
The Patriots would rule the draft with a sick haul like this.

 

[manxman2601]

I would run to the podium for each of these picks.
The Patriots would rule the draft with a sick haul like this.

Right, but a completely unrealistic mock doesn't really help. Fant in the mid-second? Hooker in the 7th?

 

[Love The Drake]

Right, but a completely unrealistic mock doesn't really help. Fant in the mid-second? Hooker in the 7th?

We can dream

 

[manxman2601]

We can dream

Unfortunately, that's all it is

 

[Love The Drake]

Unfortunately, that's all it is

Very true I still feel the Patriots can work wonders this draft or trade into the next one.

 

[manxman2601]

Very true I still feel the Patriots can work wonders this draft or trade into the next one.

I think this draft is really good for filling out depth and good strong (but not flashy) starters. Just the type of players the Pats like on their roster.

 

[miloofcroton]

I went with Matt Miller's rankings because he seemed the most legit of the options.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The biggest reach was for Hall in round 3, but I was feeling pretty desperate for not having gotten a WR by that point. I just searched among the top 10 or 15 available, and he was my favorite.



Quick summaries of the players....


Little: 6'6" 330 tackles with athleticism don't grow on trees. He could fill in for Brown at LT or wait a bit and eventually replace Cannon at RT. He's a bit of an underachiever thus far, but I'm banking on the potential. OL is the most important position in the game! Need to invest.

Lawrence: What I just said about big athletic OTs; ditto here. Lawrence is just a mammoth inside that demands double teams. He has the strength of a bear and will just manhandle any blockers that take him on one on one. True NTs are hard to find, let alone ones with as much athleticism as Lawrence has. I'm surprised he lasted this long. This feels like a steal.

Oruwariye: Great ball skills and competitiveness. Good press corner with tons of range. We lost Eric Rowe to free agency, not that he was ever great, but this is at minimum a replacement for him. Long term, I see him opposite Gilmore with Jackson in the slot. My fav corner in the draft.

Savage: One of my favorite players in the draft. True free safeties are about as rare as good quarterbacks, and Savage is a true free safety. We now have a succession plan for Devin McCourtney. He can also back up nickel and play next to McCourtney in a pinch. Ya, I know we have Dawson still, but I think Dawson is a corner, not a safety.

Bryant: This was BPA and a need fill, since we lost Flowers and Wise hasn't improved since his rookie year. I liked Bryant more than Ferrell on the edge at Clemson, and I think he's a pretty solid player. Great length, good run stopping, and a decent ability at bending the corner. A true DE, not a DE/OLB tweener.

Hall: Reminds me of a Keenan Cole or a Giants WR type of guy. Has great quickness in his routes, a large catching radius, and speed to threaten deep. He's a bit of a sleeper.

Finley: At the moment, this is the QB I'm targeting in the draft. I'm lucky to get him this late. I think he's ready to play right away, but obviously that would not be the preference. Lots to like about him, from accuracy to maturity and intelligence. The bottom line is that we can run our offense with him at QB.

Moreau: I kept searching for my TE, and everyone was pretty disappointing. I passed on several guys in earlier rounds, including Sternberger, Warring, Oliver, Mack, Wesco, Wilson, Sample, Blanton, and Kaden Smith. Finally, I settled on Moreau who tested well at the combine and really showed up on tape as a *great* blocker. I don't know much about his receiving ability to be honest, but I know he can contribute as a blocker and he has better size and athleticism than most other TEs in the draft, leading me to believe he has potential as a receiver.

Ingold: Woo! This was a personal fav, and I'm psyched to get him. I'm all about old school football, and you need a fullback for that. We have a good one, but he'll be 31 this year. Ingold seems like a good dude. Great blocker from a great pro style program at Wisconsin. Also, a pretty good athlete, runner, and receiver for a fullback. If Develin stays this year, maybe Ingold contributes on special teams to make the team.

Boykin: I went back and forth with this. I think it is a big boom/bust pick. I thought he was a bit slow in some games that I watched, but then I saw him in one game (I think it was his bowl game this year) be extremely explosive. He has great suddenness off the line, which tells me he's going to be great running those short routes. He has a fantastic catch radius at 6'3" 225 with a 40+ vertical, and you can see him in games catch just about everything.

Keke: Explosive interior DL player with good hand usage. This was BPA for sure, but I think we easily have room for another talented DT.

Tracy: I wanted to take Eric Dungey, but he wasn't even in my draft options (I checked at the start, so it's not like someone else took him). You can pretend I did take Dungey here, giving us two rookie QBs to check out and potentially keep for a year, getting double the mentorship value out of Brady. That being said, I went with Tracy who broke records as a kicker in college. Pretty solid range, good accuracy, and clutchness. I'm assuming we have to replace Gostowski.


edit: I didn't realize it, but I took the WRs with the top two vertical leaps at the combine, Boykin and Hall. Both at 43.5" verts. Pretty damn impressive.

 

[miloofcroton]

The next two picks are entirely about the Greg Schiano defense which I've been reading about.

Where were you reading about it? I didn't know of any plans to change the D.

 

[manxman2601]

Where were you reading about it? I didn't know of any plans to change the D.

Schiano’s defensive game plan focuses on: stopping the run, limiting big plays, and creating takeaways. That’s basically the Patriots’ strategy. New England just likes to be flexible with their alignments in order to accomplish those three goals.

Schiano credits Belichick for much of his coaching lessons, such as ‘how to tackle a player’, so there’s a natural synergy. And there’s actually a lot of similarities in how they scheme on defense.

Schiano’s played a lot of man coverage at Ohio State, but he also has an extensive history of playing zone. He’s used a single-high safety, similar to what the Patriots do with Devin McCourty or Duron Harmon, because of the athleticism and talent at Ohio State. His ability to coach both man and zone is exactly what the Patriots need for their secondary.

Schiano’s defenses typically use a one-gap defensive front, which is different from Belichick’s favored two-gap front. That’s not to say the Patriots don’t play one-gap (the Patriots played one-gap to stop the Los Angeles Rams rushing attack in the Super Bowl), but Belichick prefers to have his defensive tackles eat up two blockers and the linebackers are responsible for making the plays.

Where Schiano’s use of linebackers could benefit the Patriots is how aggressively he deploys them. When the defensive front is playing one-gap, they can just make their reads and attack, which could free up Dont’a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy to make a lot more plays at or behind the line of scrimmage. And, of course, Schiano will adjust and incorporate more of Belichick’s style of defense

5 thoughts on the Patriots naming Greg Schiano the new defensive coordinator

 

[miloofcroton]

5 thoughts on the Patriots naming Greg Schiano the new defensive coordinator

Not to shoot the messenger, but that seems like pure speculation. Hopefully Schiano continues using what's working instead of reverting to Patricia's signature Bend 'n' Break style of defense.

 

[manxman2601]

Not to shoot the messenger, but that seems like pure speculation. Hopefully Schiano continues using what's working instead of reverting to Patricia's signature Bend 'n' Break style of defense.

Not the only thing I read that said the same.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Two QBs is spicy.

 

[Wilfork#75]

I didn't use a simulator for this but I thought I'd give it a go

Trade 1(32) to Ari for QB Josh Rosen
This one has been discussed a lot, I would be all in for Josh Rosen. Some expert think it may only take a 3rd round pick to make this trade but I can’t see that happening. I would trade #32 all day long for Rosen. I think he is a potential future franchise QB, he fits the system well and he is dirt cheap for the next 3 years to sit and learn behind the GOAT. I think this is the perfect succession plan to continue the dynasty for another decade.

Trade 2(64) to Atl for 3(79) + 4(117)

Trade 4(117) to Cle for (5(144) + 5(155)
I like the depth in the middle rounds of the draft so a trade down or two to grab a couple of extra picks would be nice

Trade QB- Brian Hoyer for 2020 7th
Adding Rosen would make Hoyer expendable and we would save over $2mil in cap space.

Free Agency
Re-sign K- Gostkowski and P- Ryan Allen
Sign FA veteran swing OT
Sign FA TE Jake Fisher (former 2nd round OT, reinventing himself as a blocking TE)

Draft

2(56). DE- Charles Omenihu- Texas
Omenihu fits the prototype of Patriots DE’s. He is big, long and athletic with the ability to set the edge and play the run first before getting up the field and after the QB. While losing Flowers is a massive loss, adding someone like Omenihu will help soften the blow.

3(73). DB- Amani Hooker- Iowa
A versatile, intelligent and athletic DB, Hooker is exactly the kind of player the Pats love. He has experience at both CB and S and I think he could potentially take over from Patrick Chung

3(79). TE- Kahale Warring- San Diego State
This was a toss up between Warring and Jace Sternberger from Texas A&M. While Sternberger is certainly the better vertical receiver at the moment and more likely to make an immediate impact, I eventually went with Warring who is a better athlete and more well rounded. He might be a bit more raw but I think he has a higher upside (I would love both though).

3(97). NT- Daylon Mack- Texas A&M
My favorite player in the draft, Mack is short, stout and explosive. He is very strong at the point of attack being able to hold up against double teams in the middle. But where I love him is his explosive first step and ability to knife into the backfield to make a play when given the opportunity.

3(101). WR- Hunter Renfroe- Clemson
It seemed like Renfroe played college football for about a decade and that whole time people joked about him being a future Patriot because he is a short, white slot WR. Funnily enough he is actually perfect for this team. His agility and route running are ideal for this team and he would make an excellent understudy to Edelman. I also love how he came up biggest on the biggest stages, the guy is a baller.

4(134). WR- Keelan Doss- UC Davis
While there seem to be no shortage of slot WR available to us, its much more difficult finding outside WR to fit the system. I think Doss is as good a fit as anybody in this draft and he’ll be taken much later than he should be because he didn’t go to a big time school. Doss has decent size and athleticism but where he stands out and where he fits here is his route running and soft hands. I’ve seen him described as similar player to Keenan Allen and if his performance at the Senior Bowl is anything to go by he certainly isn’t any less of a player because he went to a smaller school.

5(144). OL- Lamont Gaillard- Georgia
One of the most underrated players in the draft, Gaillard is going to play in the NFL for a decade. He may never make a pro bowl or all pro, but he will also never let you down. He may be a little undersized but that doesn’t affect him. If you want toughness, leadership and intelligence with a nasty streak, this is your guy.


5(155). DL- Byron Cowart- Maryland
A former 5 star top recruit at Auburn, Cowart bounced around a little bit before eventually ending up in Maryland. While he never lived up to the hype coming out of high school and his production wasn’t overly impressive, he did start to flash his potentially his final year at Maryland. Cowart has the size and strength to play in the NFL and I think he is worth taking a chance on as an inside/outside pass rusher similar to an Allen Bailey.


6(205). LB- Terrill Hanks- New Mexico State
Hanks is going to be hurt by a really poor 40 time at the combine but I don’t really care. The tape shows the guy playing all over the field. He is fast, explosive and powerful. Worst case scenario you get an excellent core special teamer. Best case scenario you get an explosive playmaker that can set the tone of the defense.

7(240). OLB- Derick Roberson- Sam Houston State
Roberson has the size and athleticism to play in the NFL. He needs to refine his technique and adjust to a much higher level of competition but I really like his chances as a developmental edge guy. He absolutely dominated his final year at Sam Houston State.

7(243). OL- Zack Bailey- South Carolina
Bailey would have likely been a mid round pick if he didn’t break his leg his final season. He has versatility, having played C, G and RT at South Carolina, although he looks best suited at OG in the NFL. Bailey is athletic and powerful, moves well in space and is impressive in the run game. I wouldn’t be completely shocked if someone took him in the 4th round, I think he is going to play.

7(246). WR- Damion Jeanpierre- Nichols State
WR is obviously our biggest need and one we have had trouble filling through the draft in recent years. I would take a similar approach to last year and bring in a bunch of guys and see who sticks. After adding two guys I really like earlier that seem like great fits, Jeanpierre is a wild card. He is athletic, explosive and smooth. He dominated lesser competition and flashed when given the chance against bigger schools (Texas A&M). In the 7th round why not give him a chance and see if you can find something special.

7(252). DB- Adarius Pickett- UCLA
Another guy that should be a core special teamer. Pickett flies all over the field but is probably best suited as a box safety.


UDFA

WR- Emmanuel Butler- Northern Arizona
Butler is a big, physical red zone WR who never quite lived up to his talent because of injuries. He adds a different element than any of our other WR

QB- Taryn Christion- South Dakota State
While I don't think Christion is a great fit as a Pats QB, I think he is a perfect fit as a scout team QB for the modern NFL. I've seen him described as a poor mans Lamar Jackson and I think its pretty appropriate. I think he could have a lot of value as a camp guy and potentially a PS guy.

RB- Wes Hills- Slippery Rock
It can never hurt adding an UDFA running back, we always need depth. Hills is one of many guys that could fit here.

 

[manxman2601]

@Wilfork#75

Love those first 4 picks. Omenihu, Warring and Hooker are some of my favourite day two picks and Mack seems like really good insurance if we don’t take big Dexter. Very nice mock.