The Pats' offensive skill positions

[ivanvamp]

Heading into the draft, here's how I'd grade their offensive skill position players.

QB (C+ as a group)
Mac: solid B. Not an A (though an A for a rookie, but that's grading on a steep curve), but not a C either. A solid B. Good player, not great. Yet. Happy to have him as my QB.

Hoyer: D-. He's not very good, even as a backup. At least he does have experience.

Stidham: F. Just gives you basically nothing.


RB (B as a group)
Harris: B. Good player. That fumble vs Miami in game 1 was killer. Needs to be better in the pass game, but I like him a lot.

Stevenson: B. Didn't get as many touches, but when he does get them, he's a beast.

White: B+. Good runner. Great receiver. Good blocker in blitz pickup.

Taylor: C+. Not good as a blocker. Not quite as effective as a receiver as I thought he'd be. Good runner, nice change of pace guy.

Montgomery: C. Good backup, versatile, but no longer a dynamic player. Definitely useful.


TE (B- as a group)
Henry: B+. Really solid TE. He's not elite, but that's ok. He's reliable and skilled.

Smith: C. Should be better this year. Has worlds of talent. Needs to step it up to get a higher grade.

Asiasi: D-. I've expected more out of him, to be honest.


WR (B as a group)
Bourne: A-. He's not elite, but he's damned good. He can run, catch, block a little. Quality NFL wide receiver.

Meyers: B+. Good possession receiver. Big. Can take a hit over the middle. Can block. Good hands. Not a burner, but reliable catcher of the football.

Agholor: B-. I like him better than most around here. He's not GREAT, but he's solid. The contract is what sets the expectations too high, IMO. Solid player.

Parker: B. Another quality receiver. Not a world-beater, but a really nice player if he can stay healthy.

Wilkerson: D. That's ok, he's barely above a practice squad guy. I'd like this spot improved.


I think they have legit talent at the skill positions, but not much top-end talent. There's nothing wrong with fielding a team of just really good, solid football players, but it sure would be nice to have one or two elite players. My picks for guys who are most likely to vault into elite status:

RB Stevenson - I think this guy can be an absolute monster
WR Bourne - I think he's ready for a massive breakout season
QB Mac - hard to break into the elite QB room in the NFL because there's so many great QBs right now, but I think Mac can be a 4,300 yard, 33 td, 10 int kind of player; would that make him "elite"? Maybe not given how many great QBs there are, but that would make him pretty damned great, and I think he can get there.

 

[mgteich]

Heading into the draft, here's how I'd grade their offensive skill position players.

QB (C+ as a group)
Mac: solid B. Not an A (though an A for a rookie, but that's grading on a steep curve), but not a C either. A solid B. Good player, not great. Yet. Happy to have him as my QB.

Hoyer: D-. He's not very good, even as a backup. At least he does have experience.

Stidham: F. Just gives you basically nothing.


RB (B as a group)
Harris: B. Good player. That fumble vs Miami in game 1 was killer. Needs to be better in the pass game, but I like him a lot.

Stevenson: B. Didn't get as many touches, but when he does get them, he's a beast.

White: B+. Good runner. Great receiver. Good blocker in blitz pickup.

Taylor: C+. Not good as a blocker. Not quite as effective as a receiver as I thought he'd be. Good runner, nice change of pace guy.

Montgomery: C. Good backup, versatile, but no longer a dynamic player. Definitely useful.


TE (B- as a group)
Henry: B+. Really solid TE. He's not elite, but that's ok. He's reliable and skilled.

Smith: C. Should be better this year. Has worlds of talent. Needs to step it up to get a higher grade.

Asiasi: D-. I've expected more out of him, to be honest.


WR (B as a group)
Bourne: A-. He's not elite, but he's damned good. He can run, catch, block a little. Quality NFL wide receiver.

Meyers: B+. Good possession receiver. Big. Can take a hit over the middle. Can block. Good hands. Not a burner, but reliable catcher of the football.

Agholor: B-. I like him better than most around here. He's not GREAT, but he's solid. The contract is what sets the expectations too high, IMO. Solid player.

Parker: B. Another quality receiver. Not a world-beater, but a really nice player if he can stay healthy.

Wilkerson: D. That's ok, he's barely above a practice squad guy. I'd like this spot improved.


I think they have legit talent at the skill positions, but not much top-end talent. There's nothing wrong with fielding a team of just really good, solid football players, but it sure would be nice to have one or two elite players. My picks for guys who are most likely to vault into elite status:

RB Stevenson - I think this guy can be an absolute monster
WR Bourne - I think he's ready for a massive breakout season
QB Mac - hard to break into the elite QB room in the NFL because there's so many great QBs right now, but I think Mac can be a 4,300 yard, 33 td, 10 int kind of player; would that make him "elite"? Maybe not given how many great QBs there are, but that would make him pretty damned great, and I think he can get there.

Some view the draft as primarily for the future, with some contributions in Year One.

From that perspective (a 2023 roster perspective, with likely free agents in parentheses)

QB: we need a #2; Both Hoyer and Stidham should be gone.

WR: we need a #3 and #4 (Agholor and Meyers)

RB we need a #2 and a 3rd down back (White, Harris)

TE (not an issue for 2023)

 

[UrbanCowboy]

It will be interesting to see if our balanced middle class roster can beat a mix of stars and jags. It looked like it for a good part of last year till those buffalo muggings at the end.

 

[ivanvamp]

It will be interesting to see if our balanced middle class roster can beat a mix of stars and jags. It looked like it for a good part of last year till those buffalo muggings at the end.

The stars and jags works great when the team remains healthy. But when a couple of key injuries happen, those teams tend to be sunk. The Rams were healthy last year down the stretch - Kupp, OBJ (until the SB and then they looked in real danger), Stafford, Donald, Ramsey - they all were healthy down the stretch for them. But they lose Kupp, and forget it.

If the Patriots lose Bourne, yeah it stinks, but it's not remotely the same as losing Kupp, obviously. The Pats would be far less affected by an injury than these other teams.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

You left out Harry, you know the guy they drafted instead of Samuel, Metcalf, or basically any other guy not named Slowjuan drafted between picks 32-64 that year.

 

[ivanvamp]

You left out Harry, you know the guy they drafted instead of Samuel, Metcalf, or basically any other guy not named Slowjuan drafted between picks 32-64 that year.

Yep. I'd give him a D.

 

[cupofjoe1962]

Heading into the draft, here's how I'd grade their offensive skill position players.

QB (C+ as a group)
Mac: solid B. Not an A (though an A for a rookie, but that's grading on a steep curve), but not a C either. A solid B. Good player, not great. Yet. Happy to have him as my QB.

Hoyer: D-. He's not very good, even as a backup. At least he does have experience.

Stidham: F. Just gives you basically nothing.


RB (B as a group)
Harris: B. Good player. That fumble vs Miami in game 1 was killer. Needs to be better in the pass game, but I like him a lot.

Stevenson: B. Didn't get as many touches, but when he does get them, he's a beast.

White: B+. Good runner. Great receiver. Good blocker in blitz pickup.

Taylor: C+. Not good as a blocker. Not quite as effective as a receiver as I thought he'd be. Good runner, nice change of pace guy.

Montgomery: C. Good backup, versatile, but no longer a dynamic player. Definitely useful.


TE (B- as a group)
Henry: B+. Really solid TE. He's not elite, but that's ok. He's reliable and skilled.

Smith: C. Should be better this year. Has worlds of talent. Needs to step it up to get a higher grade.

Asiasi: D-. I've expected more out of him, to be honest.


WR (B as a group)
Bourne: A-. He's not elite, but he's damned good. He can run, catch, block a little. Quality NFL wide receiver.

Meyers: B+. Good possession receiver. Big. Can take a hit over the middle. Can block. Good hands. Not a burner, but reliable catcher of the football.

Agholor: B-. I like him better than most around here. He's not GREAT, but he's solid. The contract is what sets the expectations too high, IMO. Solid player.

Parker: B. Another quality receiver. Not a world-beater, but a really nice player if he can stay healthy.

Wilkerson: D. That's ok, he's barely above a practice squad guy. I'd like this spot improved.


I think they have legit talent at the skill positions, but not much top-end talent. There's nothing wrong with fielding a team of just really good, solid football players, but it sure would be nice to have one or two elite players. My picks for guys who are most likely to vault into elite status:

RB Stevenson - I think this guy can be an absolute monster
WR Bourne - I think he's ready for a massive breakout season
QB Mac - hard to break into the elite QB room in the NFL because there's so many great QBs right now, but I think Mac can be a 4,300 yard, 33 td, 10 int kind of player; would that make him "elite"? Maybe not given how many great QBs there are, but that would make him pretty damned great, and I think he can get there.

Meyers may be a B+ for an UDFA, but anything more than a C is a stretch for Meyers compared to other NFL WR

His 2.7 YAC is 120th in the NFL
He has scored 2 touchdowns in 3 seasons.

Grading system B+ Is 87% to 89%
Meyers is no B+

Just for laughs, I had my son look up
Last years Madden ratings & they had him
As a 79%.

A 79% is a C+

 

[ivanvamp]

You can grade him however you want. Those were my grades.

 

[ashley]

Meyers may be a B+ for an UDFA, but anything more than a C is a stretch for Meyers compared to other NFL WR

His 2.7 YAC is 120th in the NFL
He has scored 2 touchdowns in 3 seasons.

Grading system B+ Is 87% to 89%
Meyers is no B+

Just for laughs, I had my son look up
Last years Madden ratings & they had him
As a 79%.

A 79% is a C+

Personally I would lean toward a B....not an elite player(a reliable number 3), but not a bum either...He had 83 catches for 866 yards last year...not too shabby, especially for a UFA.

 

[50-yard-line]

You can grade him however you want. Those were my grades.

Well done, I say.

Although I'd give TE a bit higher a grade. Just a bit. I feel the same about Asiasi, but I'd like to see him given a chance at least.

 

[BTTA]

You left out Harry, you know the guy they drafted instead of Samuel, Metcalf, or basically any other guy not named Slowjuan drafted between picks 32-64 that year.

There is a list of a handful of WR's on the roster that will need to surprise everyone to make the team. There's no need to mention them in the OP's list because he isn't listing the entire roster.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Group ratings:

QB: B. Mac is smart and a competent thrower, but has a lot to work on physically. Hoyer is the worst backup in the league.
RB: B+. Harris would've cracked 1,000 had he not missed a couple of games. Ran for 15 TD's. His fumbling is overblown like many RB's before him. Stevenson will break out this year. I think White's best days are over.
WR: D. I'm being generous here. Meyers headlining your WR group is a recipe for disaster. Meyers is extremely inefficient for the amount of times he was targeted (can't separate, horrible YAC, yards per target are very low, yards per reception are pedestrian and he's allergic to the end zone). He's a 3rd or 4th WR at best and very comparable to Jabar Gaffney. Bourne was a nice addition last year. Agholor just doesn't fit in NE. Parker can't be trusted, but is worth a shot. Ty Montgomery is the type of guy you cut in camp. Harry will be gone soon. WR will be drafted by day 2.
TE: B-. These guys are Hall of Famers compared to what the Pats had in 2019 and 2020.

 

[cupofjoe1962]

Personally I would lean toward a B....not an elite player(a reliable number 3), but not a bum either...He had 83 catches for 866 yards last year...not too shabby, especially for a UFA.

I think your partially right, but I don’t see enough talent in Meyers to expect any major improvement to his stats. Although it wouldn’t be tough
To bypass his touchdown total.

When I look at other teams receivers, I see a lot of young guys who I expect to get better.

I don’t think Meyers has the talent to be a starting receiver for a Super Bowl contender.

I would be fine with him as a #4 or #5 receiver off the bench.

I don’t want Meyers as a starter

 

[Ochmed Jones]

We are one stud receiver and one left guard from a vicious offense.

 

[Patriot Missile]

Meyers is a solid C in my book. Definitely a try hard who works at his game. I’d guess he’s not the primary focus of opposing defensive coordinators.

 

[Bourne Again Christian]

We are one stud receiver and one left guard from a vicious offense.

I like Dotson if he was 6ft tall he’d be a top 3 receiver in this draft.

 

[ivanvamp]

Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes would throw for 5,000 yards with this group of pass-catchers the Patriots have. There's no single STUD, but as a group they're solid. Mac isn't at that level, obviously, but I still expect a 4,000+ yard season from him this coming year.

 

[EMpats]

In 2020 Meyers was near the top of the league in Yards/Target with Cam Newton as his quarterback, any notion that he is inefficient is objectively false. It went down last year partly because of Mac's rookie growing pains. Of course, he should not be a #1 receiver but he's being underrated by some on this board. he absolutely can be a #3 on a championship team.

Agree with OP on Bourne, I think he is a breakout waiting to happen. Very underrated and can make plays from virtually any alignment at WR.

 

[jdlboot14]

I agree that it seems Bourne is the most talented, breakout-ready, WR we have. I'm not sure what to expect from Parker, he actually reminds me of Sanu - I just hope he can catch on and provide something. My main gripe with our WR's is that the top 3 are all somewhat similar. Agholor could be that shifty speed guy, but he didn't really excel at that last year. We clearly need a true Pats Slot guy (and no, for the last time, Meyers and Bourne are not Brown/Edelman type slot guys)

 

[mgteich]

Meyers is a solid C in my book. Definitely a try hard who works at his game. I’d guess he’s not the primary focus of opposing defensive coordinators.

OK for a #4 WR