2022 Draft Class of WRs

[Triumph]

You think that it's stupid not to draft a WR. To be mild, I strongly, strongly disagree, as much as when folks wanted Terrell instead of Seymour.

Mac is not Brady.

Finding WRs off the streets and winning rings is what Brady was all about.

 

[Boston Boxer]

I think this cuts both ways. Brady seemed to freeze guys out pretty quickly. He earned that and you can’t argue with his judgment on it given his insane level of success.

With Mac, he doesn’t have the same luxury so he will have to be more flexible with the guys he has. We saw some good chemistry this year with Bourne, Meyers, and Henry, but not with Agholar or Smith, and Harry is obviously a complete disaster. The most talented of that group IMHO is Henry. Thats why even though I am hoping they go in a different direction, if they do go WR early I’m going to be optimistic about their alignment with Mac.

There are probably a dozen guys I could see doing very well with Mac from the group that seems to be considered in the top tier of this years class.

i think Mac builds chemistry with his WRs and is more flexible. When Wilkerson got in the game, he scored twice and seemed to mesh well with Mac. Not sure why we never saw him again

 

[Username]

I could see us taking someone like Tre Turner in the mid to late rounds.


Had pretty poor QB play at VT, but has decent numbers. Used a lot on gadget plays, screens, end arounds etc. Can get deep too, but wasn't used that way very often. Pretty good hands. Good blocker and first tackle rarely brings him down. Leader in the locker room.

Had a very limited route tree, but seems to get open a lot. I'm surprised there hasn't been more buzz about him. Most folk seem to have him as a 5th-6th round prospect. I have him as a 3rd rounder.

 

[DaBruinz]

"The problem" is having adequate WR's, not the whole offense.
Bourne's running was the topic, not the entire running game.

Really? Did you watch the last 2 Buffalo games? Because they say differently.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

i think Mac builds chemistry with his WRs and is more flexible. When Wilkerson got in the game, he scored twice and seemed to mesh well with Mac. Not sure why we never saw him again

Why? That was just after the practice week when Josh finally taught the kid how veteran QBs freeze out wideouts.

 

[mgteich]

And if the Pats lose Jackson, they will most likely have a first round draft pick to replace him in a tag and trade deal. The Pats are not going to let the best CB in free agency go for a 3rd round compensatory pick compensation in 2023. Either he will be tagged and play for the Pats in 2022 or he will be tagged and traded or a very outside chance he gets a long term deal. And if he is tagged and traded, it will likely be to a team with multiple first round picks and all of them have multiple first rounders before 21. So the Pats will either have Jackson for 2022 or have drafted his replacement by their 21st pick.

Let's play this out.

The patriots franchise Jackson. He doesn't sign until July. Why should he? Then in July the patriots sign and trade him for a 2023 first. In the meantime the $17M counts against the 2022 cap. Of course the cap money would be available in July.

The best deal for Jackson is to sign a long-term deal as a free agent.

If he is franchised, there is no incentive to sign unit July. Clearly, he would get less if a team would need to shell out his compensation PLUS a first. He might as well take the $17M and get his big contract next year.
========
OR, are you in the dreamworld where someone offers us a 1st and Jackson a massive contract (say $20M a year with $60M guaranteed).

 

[upstater1]

Archer was drafted as a RB from Kent State. Do we include James White then? Vereen too?

You stated that NE spends 1/3 of their premium draft picks on WRs compared to Pitt. That is false. 53% is not 33%.

The Pats have spent 5 picks on WR ( 1,2,2,2,2 ) in the first 2 rounds to land 1 player - Branch.
The Steelers have spent 7 picks on WR ( 1,1, 2,2,2,2,2 ) in the first 2 rounds to land 5 players - Burress, Holmes, Randle El, JuJu and Claypool. And, truthfully, James Washington is a decent player.

The notion that the Steelers are spending so much more on WRs than NE is a myth.

???

You wrote a lot here that I did not write. Please go back and read what I wrote.

James White is a RB. Vereen is a RB. Dri Archer was drafted as a WR. I don't know why you're trying to change this. Everyone knows it. Deebo ran it a lot in college too. A lot of WRs did. It's irrelevant.

As for the 33%, it depends on when you look at it. I just came off another thread where we did this exact same comparison over the last 10 years. If you go back 20 years, it could be 50%. If you go back 10 years, it's around 33%.

But what is beyond belief is your contention that 50% more picks is not so much more! Holy cow, it's DOUBLE!!! How is that a myth? This is preposterous.

As for James Washington being a decent player, his 24 receptions this year during a fully healthy year were less than NKeal Harry's 33 in his only fully healthy year.

So if you're adding Washington to the Steelers total of hits, add NKeal Harry to the Patriots total of hits.

 

[goheels22002]

Edelman was a 7th and Branch was a 2nd. 2 guys in 20 + years.. I'll stand by my comment.

Yeah, but let's look at the receiving corps and who is there for a second season with Mac Jones.

I like the Hunter Henry - Jonnu Smith combination at TE. Bourne and Meyers are fine at the 2-3 WR spots. Agholor is the wild card and right now he looks vastly overpaid. James White and Brandon Bolden (41 receptions - 405 yds receiving in 21-22!) is good out of the backfield.

They need Agholor to have a good year or find one other player. I like Meyers out of the slot but he does not have that interior quickness to be a true slot receiver like Welker, Edelman, Troy Brown, even Amendola.

They only have six picks this year. I wouldn't waste one on a receiver. They need OL help and contributors at each level of the defense. Free agency at WR seems like the answer.

 

[Hawaiipatsfan2]

I’m not sure yet if a 1st on a WR is the right call. Well have to see how the cards fall leading up to the draft. I just know I really want Kyle Phillips from UCLA. We need someone who can move the chains and get open often, which he can. Mac did not have that last year, and it showed.

 

[Rob0729]

Let's play this out.

The patriots franchise Jackson. He doesn't sign until July. Why should he? Then in July the patriots sign and trade him for a 2023 first. In the meantime the $17M counts against the 2022 cap. Of course the cap money would be available in July.

The best deal for Jackson is to sign a long-term deal as a free agent.

If he is franchised, there is no incentive to sign unit July. Clearly, he would get less if a team would need to shell out his compensation PLUS a first. He might as well take the $17M and get his big contract next year.
========
OR, are you in the dreamworld where someone offers us a 1st and Jackson a massive contract (say $20M a year with $60M guaranteed).

Why would the Pats wait until July to trade him? If they tag and trade him, he will likely be on a new team the first day of the new NFL year or shortly after that. Of course there is incentive to sign before then. JC Jackson wants the best deal he can get and that will be at the start of free agency, not after it is over and camp is about to start. If JC Jackson is on the Patriots roster come July, he is going to be a Patriot for 2022.

JC Jackson doesn't want to play for the franchise tag. If he is not signed to a long term deal by mid July, he has to play for the franchise tag number and no team is going to give the Pats value then. If Jackson knows the Pats want to sign and trade him, he will definitely push to get the trade done immediately before teams spend most of their free agent money and has to settle for the best deal offered rather than pitting teams against each other for his services.

JC Jackson will be gone from the Pats by the end of March or on the opening day roster in September. Those are really the only two options. And the Pats are not going to just let him walk in free agency because even if they don't want him, he has far more trade value than what the compensatory pick would be. If they tag and trade him, the Pats will have the option to get a 2022 pick. They may opt to take a 2023 pick to get more value though.

 

[goheels22002]

Cooper Kupp is an outlier. Few 3rd round picks at any position end up being remotely as good a football player as Kupp.

Brady was drafted in the 6th round. Should other teams be judging their six round QB busts to Tom Brady as if you can get a franchise QB in the sixth round who will be winning Super Bowls for 20 plus years?

Joe Montana says hi.

 

[Clieb]

And if the Pats lose Jackson, they will most likely have a first round draft pick to replace him in a tag and trade deal. The Pats are not going to let the best CB in free agency go for a 3rd round compensatory pick compensation in 2023. Either he will be tagged and play for the Pats in 2022 or he will be tagged and traded or a very outside chance he gets a long term deal. And if he is tagged and traded, it will likely be to a team with multiple first round picks and all of them have multiple first rounders before 21. So the Pats will either have Jackson for 2022 or have drafted his replacement by their 21st pick.

Yeah, don’t get too attached to the idea of the pats getting a 1st for JC- I don’t see the tag and trade option happening. His price tag would be too high for a team to part with a draft pick higher than a third. JC will be happy to play out a year on the franchise tag, take his guaranteed $17.5M, and hit FA next year and grab another bag.

I think the only way he plays for the Pats next year is if they transition tag him and his best offer is either cap friendly for the pats to match, or lower than he hoped and he stays…Pats *might* then sign him for $15M per year… otherwise, get ready for that 3rd rd comp pick

 

[Rob0729]

Yeah, don’t get too attached to the idea of the pats getting a 1st for JC- I don’t see the tag and trade option happening. His price tag would be too high for a team to part with a draft pick higher than a third. JC will be happy to play out a year on the franchise tag, take his guaranteed $17.5M, and hit FA next year and grab another bag.

I think the only way he plays for the Pats next year is if they transition tag him and his best offer is either cap friendly for the pats to match, or lower than he hoped and he stays…Pats *might* then sign him for $15M per year… otherwise, get ready for that 3rd rd comp pick

If a team believes Jackson is true shutdown CB, a first round pick is just their opening offer. At his age, he is the Holy Grail for teams if they think he is a CB who can lockdown one side of the field. His salary won't be too high. And a first round pick isn't too much. It might be too little.

Almost every team is desperate for a lockdown CB. Other than QB, there is probably no position more valued in this league.

Right now, Jackson is the best CB in free agency. Statistically, he is an elite CB. The question is whether teams believe that he is actually an elite CB. If they do, you could see multiple teams willing to give up a first round pick for an elite CB who is only 26 years old.

 

[Triumph]

Let's play this out.

The patriots franchise Jackson. He doesn't sign until July. Why should he? Then in July the patriots sign and trade him for a 2023 first. In the meantime the $17M counts against the 2022 cap. Of course the cap money would be available in July.

The best deal for Jackson is to sign a long-term deal as a free agent.

If he is franchised, there is no incentive to sign unit July. Clearly, he would get less if a team would need to shell out his compensation PLUS a first. He might as well take the $17M and get his big contract next year.
========
OR, are you in the dreamworld where someone offers us a 1st and Jackson a massive contract (say $20M a year with $60M guaranteed).

The best option for the Pats is to find a way to keep Jackson with the Franchise tag in tow.

Trading puts NE right back in a Jimmy Baby scenario where the Pats have to accept what they can get because every NFL team knows that BB needs the cap space. Teams that want Jackson will just lowball and wait the Pats out. Try to keep Jackson for the 22 season and make a last ditch effort at a SB run.

 

[Triumph]

???

You wrote a lot here that I did not write. Please go back and read what I wrote.

James White is a RB. Vereen is a RB. Dri Archer was drafted as a WR. I don't know why you're trying to change this. Everyone knows it. Deebo ran it a lot in college too. A lot of WRs did. It's irrelevant.

As for the 33%, it depends on when you look at it. I just came off another thread where we did this exact same comparison over the last 10 years. If you go back 20 years, it could be 50%. If you go back 10 years, it's around 33%.

But what is beyond belief is your contention that 50% more picks is not so much more! Holy cow, it's DOUBLE!!! How is that a myth? This is preposterous.

As for James Washington being a decent player, his 24 receptions this year during a fully healthy year were less than NKeal Harry's 33 in his only fully healthy year.

So if you're adding Washington to the Steelers total of hits, add NKeal Harry to the Patriots total of hits.

Go back and look at your post.

You stated that NE spends 1/3 or 33% of their premium draft picks on WR when compared to what Pitt does at WR.

Premium round 1 NE has spent 1 pick and Pitt 2 - NE is at 50%
Premium round 1 -2 NE has spent 5 picks and Pitt 7 - NE is at 71%
Premium round 1 - 3 NE has spent 7 picks and Pitt 13 - NE is at 53%

4.3 WR draft picks over the last 21 years is 1/3. The only round that 1/3 or 33% shows up is in round 6. NE Braxton Berrios and PITT Antonio Brown, Justin Brown, Lee Mays.

Sadly, NE expends 69% of WR draft capital compared to Pitt.

Dri Archer is classified as a RB on Wikipedia and Draft history. He has 40 rushing yards and 23 receiving yards. Just because Archer split out at WR that does not make him a WR. Vereen and James White dont line up in the backfield as well and nobody here is calling them WRs. Hernandez played H back, but was still a TE. Jonnu Smith was brought to NE to play that role. Smith has 40 rushing yards and 28 receiving yards and is still a TE.

 

[upstater1]

I did go back. I didn'tapecifGo back and look at your post.

You stated that NE spends 1/3 or 33% of their premium draft picks on WR when compared to what Pitt does at WR.

Premium round 1 NE has spent 1 pick and Pitt 2 - NE is at 50%
Premium round 1 -2 NE has spent 5 picks and Pitt 7 - NE is at 71%
Premium round 1 - 3 NE has spent 7 picks and Pitt 13 - NE is at 53%

4.3 WR draft picks over the last 21 years is 1/3. The only round that 1/3 or 33% shows up is in round 6. NE Braxton Berrios and PITT Antonio Brown, Justin Brown, Lee Mays.

Sadly, NE expends 69% of WR draft capital compared to Pitt.

Dri Archer is classified as a RB on Wikipedia and Draft history. He has 40 rushing yards and 23 receiving yards. Just because Archer split out at WR that does not make him a WR. Vereen and James White dont line up in the backfield as well and nobody here is calling them WRs. Hernandez played H back, but was still a TE. Jonnu Smith was brought to NE to play that role. Smith has 40 rushing yards and 28 receiving yards and is still a TE.

I did go back. Thats why I posted that. Because I didn't have your 22 year timeline. I didn't specify a timeline. The stat was generated from a discussion in a another thread where looked back a decade.

I even stipulated to you it's 50% (if you include Dri Archer which you absolutely should since the NFL is never going to have a 145 pound running back) if you go back 22 years and 33% if you go back 10 years.

You're crazy if you think otherwise.

The Steelers spend double the amount that the Patriots do on premium picks at the position over 20 odd year, and triple that amount over the last 10 years (which is what we SHOULD be looking out because we're talking about the dearth of talent NOW, not 20 years ago).

This reinforces our entire points: the Steelers spend a lot more premium picks than the Patriots do. A lot. It's not a myth. It's not even close. 2x as many or 3x as many depending on the timeline is a whole heckuva lot.

Should we count Harry and Washington among the hits for both teams? If so throw in Berrios too!

 

[scott99]

Burks intrigues me because he seems like an athletic freak: Big, HUGE hands, but still athletic (not another Harry). He sounds to me like a Gronk-style at WR, though I'm obviously not going to assume he ends up as GOOD as Gronk. But if he "gets it" he could have that kind of mismatch impact.

I look at him as a bigger Deebo Samuel. Arkansas used him similarly, not as many carries as a RB obviously, but they moved him around a lot, and he’s got good speed and power. If he runs a 4.4 or under, he’ll be gone before we pick at 21.

 

[PatsFan2]

Not a WR. This WR. This guy is a top 5 pick, may be top 10 if he didn't blow out his ACL. This draft is supposed to be devoid of a lot of players who truly qualify as a first round pick and this guy is one of them. If the Pats see a top 5 pick value drop to 21 because of an ACL injury which at worst should cost him part of his rookie season, they should grab at it.

And this is nothing like Terrell vs. Seymour. This would be a top 5-10 draft prospect in what is considered to be a shallow draft in the first round at a position at need dropping to the Pats at 21 due to injury. In 2001, it was the Pats had the choice of two players ranked similarly and both being a position of need and the Pats selected the better player.

And if the Pats lose Jackson, they will most likely have a first round draft pick to replace him in a tag and trade deal. The Pats are not going to let the best CB in free agency go for a 3rd round compensatory pick compensation in 2023. Either he will be tagged and play for the Pats in 2022 or he will be tagged and traded or a very outside chance he gets a long term deal. And if he is tagged and traded, it will likely be to a team with multiple first round picks and all of them have multiple first rounders before 21. So the Pats will either have Jackson for 2022 or have drafted his replacement by their 21st pick.

First Round pick really?? JC Jackson is good but he's not Jalen Ramsey good I would take a Second Rounder in a sign and trade but BB might botch that with a ridiculous CB selection. The Pats need to hit on couple of Playmaker WR's for Mac or its going to be another long year. Josh Allen and Buffalo who played catch against us twice is in our Division.

 

[Rob0729]

First Round pick really?? JC Jackson is good but he's not Jalen Ramsey good I would take a Second Rounder in a sign and trade but BB might botch that with a ridiculous CB selection. The Pats need to hit on couple of Playmaker WR's for Mac or its going to be another long year. Josh Allen and Buffalo who played catch against us twice is in our Division.

Jalen Ramsey would command more than a first round pick. Again, elite CBs are a commodity in the NFL. If an average QB Carson Wentz can get a first and a third, Jackson can get a first.

Personally, I do not think he is an elite CB, but some do. If that is a GM of a team in need of an elite CB, they might give a first rounder.

 

[PatsFan2]

Yeah, but let's look at the receiving corps and who is there for a second season with Mac Jones.

I like the Hunter Henry - Jonnu Smith combination at TE. Bourne and Meyers are fine at the 2-3 WR spots. Agholor is the wild card and right now he looks vastly overpaid. James White and Brandon Bolden (41 receptions - 405 yds receiving in 21-22!) is good out of the backfield.

They need Agholor to have a good year or find one other player. I like Meyers out of the slot but he does not have that interior quickness to be a true slot receiver like Welker, Edelman, Troy Brown, even Amendola.

They only have six picks this year. I wouldn't waste one on a receiver. They need OL help and contributors at each level of the defense. Free agency at WR seems like the answer.

Really?? And how do expect this Team to compete?? No big play potential on O Brady isn't coming through that door. Mac will reflect the Talent we have on O which is not much currently. Harry is already done and Agholor is about to be yikes Mac ain't working miracles with any of those guys.