- Joined
- Sep 13, 2004
- Messages
- 15,208
- Reaction score
- 12,977
I mentioned this in another thread, but I think it's a core issue of this draft. If the Patriots have had one consistent element to their draft approach in the past, it was what they did before the draft. They would plug any obvious holes with adequate veterans, so they could enter the draft with a more or less complete roster. That gave them maximum flexibility to take advantage of opportunities, either for players or trades. On the rare occasion that they entered the draft with a hole in the starting lineup, they'd move aggressively to fill it--e.g. "reaching" for Logan Mankins to be their day 1 LG.
This year, they didn't pull it off. Their many reported attempts to land a starting-quality WR via trade and free agency failed. Gronk retired. They're entering the draft with a depleted receiving corps that could honestly use four new contributors. And as it happens, receiving is the one area where the Patriots have struggled with rookie impact. No rookie has ever put up 600 yards with Brady. (Leaguewide, 50 different rookies have reached that number with other teams in the last decade.) In recent years, they've essentially given up on trying, focusing on veterans instead.
So now we're in an unprecedented situation, going into the draft with multiple starting positions open and presumably relying on rookies to carry a significant burden in the passing game. How does that affect draft strategy? E.g. when it comes to WR and TE, should we be looking less at ceiling, and more at floor?
This year, they didn't pull it off. Their many reported attempts to land a starting-quality WR via trade and free agency failed. Gronk retired. They're entering the draft with a depleted receiving corps that could honestly use four new contributors. And as it happens, receiving is the one area where the Patriots have struggled with rookie impact. No rookie has ever put up 600 yards with Brady. (Leaguewide, 50 different rookies have reached that number with other teams in the last decade.) In recent years, they've essentially given up on trying, focusing on veterans instead.
So now we're in an unprecedented situation, going into the draft with multiple starting positions open and presumably relying on rookies to carry a significant burden in the passing game. How does that affect draft strategy? E.g. when it comes to WR and TE, should we be looking less at ceiling, and more at floor?