DRAFT Pick 91, Patriots Select TE Devin Asiasi (trade up)

[TheRainMaker]

I love Nick Chubb.

He singlehandedly gave us the W last year.

And I can’t remember one game Sony took over.

Anyone who says with a straight face they’d rather have Michele over Chubb are lying.

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

And I can’t remember one game Sony took over.

Anyone who says with a straight face they’d rather have Michele over Chubb are lying.

I said I would take Chubb over Michel.

Now to your first part, just watch the 2018 3 games to glory. 6 rushing tds, averaging over 100 yards on 20 or so carries. He showed up on the most important stage. I don’t think anyone would deny that.

 

[Wozzy]

And I can’t remember one game Sony took over.

How about the 2018 playoffs?

He led the entire NFL in postseason yards, yards per game, TD's and 1st downs.

 

[TheRainMaker]

I said I would take Chubb over Michel.

Now to your first part, just watch the 2018 3 games to glory. 6 rushing tds, averaging over 100 yards on 20 or so carries. He showed up on the most important stage. I don’t think anyone would deny that.

How about the 2018 playoffs?

He led the entire NFL in postseason yards, yards per game, TD's and 1st downs.

I was referring to last season.

 

[Mack Herron]

The Sony Michel discussions remind me a bit of some early impressions of James White: small, slow, can't break tackles, etc. Sony was less efficient last year, but so was the entire offense. I expect him to bounce back this season. Doesn't mean he's better than Chubb, but I think some of the criticism is misdirected.

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

I was referring to last season.

Then you need to make that clear in your post.

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

The Sony Michel discussions remind me a bit of some early impressions of James White: small, slow, can't break tackles, etc. Sony was less efficient last year, but so was the entire offense. I expect him to bounce back this season. Doesn't mean he's better than Chubb, but I think some of the criticism is misdirected.

Our entire run game should bounce back with an improved healthy OL. Stats wise I expect the training wheels to come off Harris and eat into the other RBs carries.

 

[Bradybranch]

And I can’t remember one game Sony took over.

Anyone who says with a straight face they’d rather have Michele over Chubb are lying.

No appreciation for the guys who helped us win the Super Bowl...Nice.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

In other news, multiple reports call Asiasi the best blocker at TE in the draft plus the possibly best one at breaking tackles after the catch.

 

[Wozzy]

I was referring to last season.

Barry Sanders is about the only RB I've seen in my lifetime who could produce good stats with poor blocking. And even he had to rip them off in big chunks when he wasn't getting nailed in his own backfield.

The blocking for Sony last season was an abomination, especially as the workhorse on early downs and early in the game.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

I rewatched Michel's 2018 tape. He NEEDED Devlin for almost all his good runs or TDs. In single back formation he was not good. His ypc with a fullback is probably double compared to him running in single back formation. Devlin in retrospect was hugely underrated for his vision and blocking, Michel followed Devlin on the way to huge holes. Without Devlin even in 2018 Michel was not good running without a fullback leading.

.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

I don't know how to link a Twitter but someone posted that in 2019, Sony was second to last among all RBs with 100 or more carries:
"
Bottom-5 RBs in yards after contact per rush in 2019 [minimum 100 carries]:

42. Todd Gurley (1.68)
43. David Montgomery (1.62)
44. Devonta Freeman (1.59)
45. Sony Michel (1.58)
46. Tevin Coleman (1.39)
"

 

[Simpelton]

In his rookie year Michel knocked 3 different defensive players out of the game. Forget what the team was, but he was just devastating people...

I think it's pretty clear that Develin had something to do with that. Still, Michel is a competent RB.

 

[captain stone]

No appreciation for the guys who helped us win the Super Bowl...Nice.

Soreknee didn't really do anything even that year that Nick Chubb could not also have done here...and then some...

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

I don't know how to link a Twitter but someone posted that in 2019, Sony was second to last among all RBs with 100 or more carries:
"
Bottom-5 RBs in yards after contact per rush in 2019 [minimum 100 carries]:

42. Todd Gurley (1.68)
43. David Montgomery (1.62)
44. Devonta Freeman (1.59)
45. Sony Michel (1.58)
46. Tevin Coleman (1.39)
"

The disappointing thing about Michel is that he does not have elite speed when given some space. He has decent speed, but not breakaway speed. Also the stats running backs depends a lot their block and their injury status. All RBs play injured to some extent but we do not know how badly he has been injured.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

As far as Aisasi, I love his speed. He is a big galoot, but he can move. This looks like a really, really good pick in a very strong draft for the Patriots.

 

[TheRainMaker]

I rewatched Michel's 2018 tape. He NEEDED Devlin for almost all his good runs or TDs. In single back formation he was not good. His ypc with a fullback is probably double compared to him running in single back formation. Devlin in retrospect was hugely underrated for his vision and blocking, Michel followed Devlin on the way to huge holes. Without Devlin even in 2018 Michel was not good running without a fullback leading.

.

A hard truth Michelle backers ignore. And it wasn’t only Devlin. Gronk was like having an extra tackle. Allen was also providing good blocks.

Their offensive line were put on an island last year and got exposed without an elite TE and FB helping out. Injuries to LT and C didn’t help.

The Devilin injury was devastating yet it was hilarious how many on the board slept on it.

I have no idea who Vitale is, but if he is like Johnson last year and these TE’s can’t block, expect a similar year for Michelle.

 

[captain stone]

...I have no idea who Vitale is, but if he is like Johnson last year and these TE’s can’t block, expect a similar year for Michelle.

Vitale's pretty good, nothing at all like publicity stunt Yake Yohnson...he & Adrian Phillips were Bill's best signings this offseason...

 

[Ring 6]

I don't know how to link a Twitter but someone posted that in 2019, Sony was second to last among all RBs with 100 or more carries:
"
Bottom-5 RBs in yards after contact per rush in 2019 [minimum 100 carries]:

42. Todd Gurley (1.68)
43. David Montgomery (1.62)
44. Devonta Freeman (1.59)
45. Sony Michel (1.58)
46. Tevin Coleman (1.39)
"

That happens when you get hit by 3 guys at the los

 

[BTTA]

Very positive article about Aisasi in The Athletic. Remarkably versatile, team-first guy with an NFL athleticism. He only had a single year focused solely on TE and thus was a bit of a projection for the NFL. He could be sneaky good.

Devin Asiasi's story: How the Patriots became convinced he's...

A sample:
That’s part of Asiasi’s selfless nature, instilled by his family and conveyed throughout his life. And it wasn’t the only example of that attribute during the call with the high schoolers.

Alumbaugh couldn’t help but share his favorite Asiasi story. De La Salle needed a third-and-5 conversion to run out the clock in the 2015 state championship with a 28-21 lead against Corona Centennial, which had the most prolific offense in California history, and Alumbaugh’s staff was scrambling for the right play call when Asiasi made a proclamation.

“Devin walked over,” Alumbaugh recalled, “and was like, ‘Coach, you want to win the game?’ I go, ‘Uh, yeah.’ He goes, ‘Run 18 Veer right behind me.’”

It was De La Salle’s most basic triple-option play, and it required Asiasi to seal off the defensive end to procure a running lane. Asiasi had been one of the west coast’s most highly decorated recruits and an offensive force who played every position except guard and center – not that he was incapable, but because the interior line positions required a jersey change.

But Asiasi didn’t want the ball and the individual spotlight. On the final play of his high school career, Asiasi wanted the block and the team glory.

“(Asiasi) goes, ‘Run it right behind me, and I guarantee we’ll win.’ He was so convinced and so fired up about it,” Alumbaugh said. “All of the linemen, you could just see them light up. Everybody knew right then and there we were going to win. We ran it, and he literally picked up the (defensive end) and drove him 9 yards. We got a 9-yard gain. Our runner tripped on the pile that he created. He looked over at the sideline and all of us, and it was like, man, that was great.”

Now, along with fellow third-round pick Dalton Keene, Asiasi has a chance to anchor the next generation of Patriots tight ends. Listed at 6’3″ and 257 lbs, Asiasi is massive and freakishly athletic, and he has been lauded throughout his career for his team-first commitment.

That’s why the Patriots made him the second tight end off the board last month with the 91st overall pick. With an extended dose of consistency to refine his game, the 22-year-old has a combination of attributes that could lead to a special career in the NFL.