DRAFT Cole Strange-Welcome to the Pats

[Ring 6]

I'm not freaking out about this pick, it's typical BB, but being 24 means that he's finished growing so won't get a physical bump from that...

So? That is baked in to the evaluation.
And there is little growing going on between 22 and 24 and a 24 year old had every bit as much opportunity to add muscle and strength as a 22 year old.

 

[PWRxWLF]

"It’s not meaningless. Unless he is gonna be one of those late bloomers (which he could be) then you’re limited by how much he can grow. Coach him up? Sure, but an older guy is going to be more of what you see is what you get." is what you posted.

I will be more clear. Strange is in absolutely no way limited because he is 24 years old, rather than the 22 of many players.

You’re right. No difference between young guys that are performing at the same level of a guy that’s several yrs older.

I disagree. Strange can turn out to be a great player for us, but age does play a role.

 

[Ring 6]

Strange is N'Keal Harry 2.0. BB has lost too much trust with his draft reaches over the past decade. It feels like the gem of the Mac Jones 2021 draft is sandwiched by the turds of N'Keal Harry and now Cole Strange in 2022.

How much evaluation have you done on Strange?
What strengths and weaknesses did you assess on film?
How did the background check and interview process go?

 

[VJCPatriot]

How much evaluation have you done on Strange?
What strengths and weaknesses did you assess on film?
How did the background check and interview process go?

 

[KDPPatsfan85]

 

[PWRxWLF]

Your argument about age just isn’t right. Why would being 26 or 28 at the time your contract is up matter? OL play well into their 30s. Why is it better to have your player become a free agent at 26 vs 28? Both will see the end of the second contract if they are worthy of it.

And yes, I understand you disagree with Belichick. I will choose to believe that he
a) did more evaluation of the player than you
b) did more evaluation of the other potential choices that you
c) is more capable of making a good evaluation even with only the same amount of work as you
d) employs a staff of professionals who also did a,b and c

So I will expect that he is more likely to be correct than you, unless you wish to frame it as Strange vs whoever turns out to be the best of all of the players who were on the board ending up being your pick.

Frame the age thing however you want. I’m not making a big deal out of it, and quite frankly it’s not a deal breaker and I really don’t give a ****. It’s a negative. Absolutely. You don’t agree with that? Cool. We won’t see a middle ground here. I’m not saying he’s going to be trash because of it. Simply stated that your take on it being meaningless was something I disagreed with.

Thank you for pointing out all of the differences between a fan on a message board posting and the greatest coach of all-time. I’m glad that you still have your whits about you and are not confused about where you are.

Belichick is not a god. He has made many bad picks. He’s also made many great ones. It doesn’t mean that myself and others cannot have reasonable takes as to why we agree or disagree with them.

 

[n1997y]

Strange is N'Keal Harry 2.0. BB has lost too much trust with his draft reaches over the past decade. It feels like the gem of the Mac Jones 2021 draft is sandwiched by the turds of N'Keal Harry and now Cole Strange in 2022.

It’s been a couple of hours since the pick, he hasn’t signed a contract yet, let alone seen the field, and you’re already sure he’s a turd?

that tells me all I need to know about you and your knowledge base.

 

[DaBruinz]

I noted that Zion Johnson and Treylon Burks were picked directly in front of us, so... Maybe we were just beaten to the punch.

Clearly, Belichick did not think much of Lloyd, Dean, Elam, Johnson and Wyatt.

Looking at all 5 of these guys, none of the fit the Patriots mold except for Johnson.

Why claim that BB didn't think much of Lloyd, Dean, Elam, Johnson or Wyatt? Because BB traded down? What if BB felt that having the extra 3rd and 4th would bring players almost as talented those 5 and, thus, would give the Patriots much needed depth that they haven't had at CB, Edge and LB. One of the biggest things I heard was that many felt that the talent between 30-90 was very similar. It's also why there no consensus about the top picks.

Wyatt fit the Pats mold, but the NEED isn't there because they already have a ton of 3/5 Tech guys starting with Barmore, Guy and Godchaux.

 

[Ring 6]

That’s what I figured.

 

[Kasmir]

I don’t love the pick. Feels like bad value. That being said most evaluators had him as the third best guard. Maybe 4th. The problem is that they all had a big drop off at the position after the top two guys.

Yeah they reached for a need, probably didn't think he would last 25 picks until 54. I wish they had traded up from 21 to get one of the higher rated guards, or moved up and got Strange tomorrow. But Strange was certainly a fast mover once his Senior Bowl performance validated him as being NFL ready. They probably had him as a high floor high ceiling guy given his athleticism. Claiming he'd be available at 54 is just speculative; BB had him at the top of his OG board and picked him at the end of the guard run based on need.

But it is a huge contrast with how he treated the Mac Jones pick last year -- with a much more dire need he took the substantial risk of someone else taking Mac. Maybe he had Mac and Mills rated pretty close and would have reached for Mills at 15 or after a trade down.

 

[KDPPatsfan85]

I had Cole Strange on my board as a 3rd rounder and had a star next to his name meaning I wanted the Pats to draft him in the 3rd. I think Strange will do well, he's a mauler...Mankins 2.0?

 

[n1997y]

Yeah they reached for a need, probably didn't think he would last 25 picks until 54. I wish they had traded up from 21 to get one of the higher rated guards, or moved up and got Strange tomorrow. But Strange was certainly a fast mover once his Senior Bowl performance validated him as being NFL ready. They probably had him as a high floor high ceiling guy given his athleticism. Claiming he'd be available at 54 is just speculative; BB had him at the top of his OG board and picked him at the end of the guard run based on need.

But it is a huge contrast with how he treated the Mac Jones pick last year -- with a much more dire need he took the substantial risk of someone else taking Mac. Maybe he had Mac and Mills rated pretty close and would have reached for Mills at 15 or after a trade down.

saw a claim that they would’ve taken Strange at 21 if they couldn’t trade down. Boy would that have made this board an even bigger **** show?!?!

So they traded down, added two pIcks and still got their guy.

as for trading up for a higher rated guard, could it be they didn’t have any other guard rated highly enough to justify the cost?

 

[DaBruinz]

Even the Homers got kicked in the nuts with this pick you can't spin it.

Only tools like you got kicked in the nuts. Me, I'm sitting here enjoying the show. Watching thousands of tweets/Posts go off about how BB is senile, too old or had lost his mojo. It's hilarious. It shows just who are the people who understand football and who are the ones who are just fantasy jocks.

Oh. And before you say anything. I have O-line as a potential in the first. No. I didn't have Strange. But BCG had Strange as a PTP player. And Strange fills a position that I had for Zion Johnson. Someone to play LG and then take over for Andrews. So, I feel I understand part of the thought process that went into the pick. And I learned a long time ago that learning THAT is more important.

BTW, Logan Mankins says HI and to enjoy his foot in your nuts..

 

[Ring 6]

Frame the age thing however you want. I’m not making a big deal out of it, and quite frankly it’s not a deal breaker and I really don’t give a ****. It’s a negative. Absolutely. You don’t agree with that? Cool. We won’t see a middle ground here. I’m not saying he’s going to be trash because of it. Simply stated that your take on it being meaningless was something I disagreed with.

Thank you for pointing out all of the differences between a fan on a message board posting and the greatest coach of all-time. I’m glad that you still have your whits about you and are not confused about where you are.

Belichick is not a god. He has made many bad picks. He’s also made many great ones. It doesn’t mean that myself and others cannot have reasonable takes as to why we agree or disagree with them.

Well typically when you disagree you state a reason. I’ve answered each of your reasons. That’s what a discussion is.

I point out those differences because you seem to think you have a sufficient amount of knowledge and data to evaluate the pick. You don’t. You are guessing, and guessing with almost zero insight.

No he is not a God. And sure you can have whatever opinion you want, but at least own why you have it. It’s not because you have a knowledgeable opinion about the player. It’s because you read or heard things from people and you are placing more value in their ability to evaluate players than Belichicks which I would think woof make you ask who are they and what success have they had that creates such confidence in them from you.

Ultimately the best who has ever done it made a decision and you are relying on a bunch of wannabes to form a negative opinion about it.

The truth is, many picks fail. Many succeed, many are mediocre
But which it will be is more likely to confirm with bill belichick evaluation than the masses.

 

[State]

Perfect last name for this stupid pick "Strange" - The pick was so crap that the ONLY player not mentioned on the telecast or even had video of this guy was the Pats pick,every other player in the 1st round had video shown at least - Belichick continues his wacked out drafts..... no defensive player in the 1st round makes no sense to me - it used to be trust in Bill..Not so sure now

I agree. Filling the obvious hole at LG is much easier than finding a pass rusher or speedy corner.

I remember a free agent receiver for Buffalo last year continually running free of his Patriot defender.

We need impact players on the defense.

Now you watch us move up to try to get some and lose valuable slots.

Strange wasn’t going to be picked by anyone before the Patriots #54 selection.

Aren’t people familiar with opportunity cost?

 

[Ring 6]

saw a claim that they would’ve taken Strange at 21 if they couldn’t trade down. Boy would that have made this board an even bigger **** show?!?!

So they traded down, added two pIcks and still got their guy.

as for trading up for a higher rated guard, could it be they didn’t have any other guard rated highly enough to justify the cost?

Ultimately that’s it. They got there guy and picked up more picks.
The future will tells us if the guy they wanted was the right guy.

 

[Vindicate]

From the Zolak interview earlier:

You have the needs on one board, best available player in the draft left and maybe that best available player you didn’t think would be there when you pick for your need. How tough is that balance in making that pick?

“That’s a decision, for sure. I think the key thing, though, is you want to make sure the player that you take is good enough … he’s a good enough player. Because if he isn’t, then you haven’t really filled the need even if you have on paper. In the end, it’s not going to work out. So you want to make sure that the players are good enough to actually make your team and can contribute to your team if you take him.”

For those who are focused on the "value" of the pick, might be worthwhile to think about this quote. It gave me something to chew on for a lil bit.

 

[cupofjoe1962]

Indeed.

I suppose that you preferred ferentz at OG and backup center.

Bill wanted a starting guard (who could backup at center) and got the guy he wanted for 5 years at the end of the first round.

Please feel free to ignore the rest of the draft and free agency.

Still drinking the koolaid?

This was a horrible pick, plain and simple.

Do you really think this STRANGE would be gone before our next pick?

He will be 24 this season. He may retire before his 5th year option season

 

[DaBruinz]

Another in a series of very poor value picks. The Patriots have an objectively bad track record of drafting the past five years. They have few starters from their recent draft string. Very poor decisions in player evaluation. This appears to be more of the same.
Still an excellent game planning coach. But these poor draft decisions could be the issue that prevents Belichick from chasing down Shula.

*ROFLMAO* Yep. Poor Value. Just because YOU say so.. LOL . Get real. Unless you became Ms. Cleo overnight you're talking out your rear end when it comes to your statement regarding player evaluations.

 

[DaBruinz]

I mean offensively I can be optimistic. We have a lot of talent there. But they aren’t even trying with this defense. He wants us to suffer against Josh Allen.

This has to be one of your worst takes EVER.
This defense is no where close to being what will go into camp with, let alone the first game of the season. For you to make this take is downright laughable. I expect this sort of BS from Capt Stone, Patsfan2 and DKF. Not you. You typically have a head on your shoulders, know your football, and don't over-react.

edit: Corrected a couple spelling errors.