DRAFT Cole Strange-Welcome to the Pats

[zipster9]

Personally, I think the PLAYER sounds fantastic and something we needed. I think the problem is, as many have stated, that he could have been drafted lower... so why waste #29 on him... Why not wait till 2nd round and trade up for him ?

But, if he is a day 1 starter and a started at interior of line for years to come - that is exactly what the draft is for so I don't see any problem whatsoever. IF he turns into a Logan Mankins type at interior of line.... sign me up.

realistically, we need Dante BACK! He is the magician that we need.

 

[archstanton543]

There were six (I think) WRs off the board before 21.

And yeah, see my first post in this thread. The guy is a Pat, excited to be a Pat, and has all the tools to be really good. Crapping on him is absurd.

People are crapping on Bill, not the player.

 

[JMC00]

So, he bypassed a top LB, Dean, or Lloyd or Walker. Maybe Hightower comes back. But, they need to get YOUNG and FASTER.....

Love all the people ignoring McMillan (age 26) who was looking the part in camp before injury, McGrone (age 22) that slipped last year because of an injury and was viewed as a pick for 2023. Not to mention the trade for Mack Wilson (age 24) and the signing of Jabril Peppers (age 26). I mean take away Bentley and those 4 is completely different LB corp than last year. They got younger. Faster? We'll see but they've done moves to try to get younger and fast already. Just gotta see if it worked out.

and I really don't want to hear about how "none of those guys is a guarantee" because the same could be said for 3 LBs you listed.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

Personally, I think the PLAYER sounds fantastic and something we needed. I think the problem is, as many have stated, that he could have been drafted lower... so why waste #29 on him... Why not wait till 2nd round and trade up for him ?

But, if he is a day 1 starter and a started at interior of line for years to come - that is exactly what the draft is for so I don't see any problem whatsoever. IF he turns into a Logan Mankins type at interior of line.... sign me up.

Except Austin Peay and the Citadel aren't on the Pats schedule next year. He has never played against any NFL talent. It has taken Duggar three years just to get to "meh" status and you think this kid is going to start right away?


Why was last year's draft so successful? They took SEC and Big 12 guys, not guys from the Southern Conference.

 

[Clonamery]

People are crapping on Bill, not the player.

They always do.

 

[Patsgofor4]

‎The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL: 2022 Draft Night Special: Round 1 on Apple Podcasts

‎Show The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL, Ep 2022 Draft Night Special: Round 1 - Apr 28, 2022

podcasts.apple.com

Brugler is spot-on about the Patriots in particular and this draft in general. He loves Strange. Start listening at 3h:17m:30s. They circle back to Strange even after subsequent picks. are made.

 

[Patsgofor4]

Here's Brugler's scouting report for anyone who's interested...

The Beast - 2022 NFL Draft Guide - The Athletic

4. COLE STRANGE | Chattanooga 6047 | 307 lbs. | rSR. Knoxville, Tenn. (Farragut) 7/31/1998 (age 23.74) #69 BACKGROUND: Devin Cole Strange, who is the middle child of three, grew up in the Knoxville area and attended Farragut High School. He was a four-year letterman and played linebacker as a freshman and sophomore. As a junior captain, Strange led the team with 100 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss at middle linebacker to earn All-District honors. He moved to defensive end as a senior and was named the 2015 Conference Defensive Player of the Year with 103 tackles, 18.0 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and five passes defended. Strange, who also played tight end as a senior, earned All-State honors and led Farragut to a 10-2 record in 2015. A two-star recruit out of high school, Strange was the No. 193 weakside defensive end in the 2016 recruiting class and the No. 94 recruit in the state of Tennessee. He was recruited by several FCS programs such as East Tennessee and Western Carolina and verbally committed to Chattanooga the summer before his senior season. Air Force entered the picture, and Strange flipped his commitment on signing day for the chance to play at the FBS level. However, during the summer after high school graduation, he had a change of heart and realized he wanted to be closer to his family and transferred to Chattanooga. Strange also made a position change and transitioned to the offensive line, initially at tackle before moving to left guard as a freshman because of team need. He took advantage of the extra year of NCAA eligibility from the pandemic and returned for his sixth season in 2021. Strange graduated with his degree in psychology (December 2020) and is pursuing his master’s degree in engineering management. He accepted his invitation to the 2022 Senior Bowl (eighth player in school history to receive an invite). YEAR (GP/GS) POSITION NOTES

2016: Redshirted Transferred from Air Force; Was held out of practices with a broken wrist; Transitioned to OL Freshman All-American; Started the final six games (had never played guard before) Second Team All-Southern Second Team All-Southern; Played final game at center due to injuries Second Team All-Southern; Jacobs Blocking Award (top OL in Southern Conference) First Team All-American; First Team All-Southern; Jacobs Blocking Award; Team captain 2017: (10/6) 2018: (11/11) 2019: (12/12) 2020: (5/4) 2021: (11/11) Total: (49/44) LG LG 11 LG, 1 OC LG 10 LG, 1 LT 42 LG, 1 LT, 1 OC HT WT ARM HAND WING 40-YD 20-YD 10-YD VJ BJ SS 3C BP

COMBINE 6047 307 33 10 1/8 79 3/4 5.03 2.89 1.71 28 10’0” 4.50 7.44 31 PRO DAY 6051 305 32 3/4 10 80 7/8 - - - - - - - - (position drills only) STRENGTHS: Excellent quickness and pad level from snap to set-up ... flexible lower body and does an excellent job repositioning his feet at contact to stand up defenders ... has adequate length and active hands with a flexible coil ... his punch placement is sharp and consistent ... at his most confident in the run game ... naturally aggressive in everything he does on the football field ... embraces his rugged, mean blocking demeanor and prides himself on his quest to finish every play ... has zero bad weight on his frame ... his intelligence is clear on and off the field (3.71 GPA in college and was named Academic All-Conference all six years) ... named a senior captain with outstanding football character — football matters to him ... collected 44 total starts in three positions in college. WEAKNESSES: Has a lean-muscled frame and lacks ideal mass or thickness for the trenches ... reliant on his fundamentals and can get bullied or jostled when his technique gets off schedule ... is a challenge for him to anchor (or re-anchor) vs. power ... his reset quickness lags a bit because of his tendency to lean into blocks ... feet can get overexcited at times in his pass sets, and he must develop more disciplined footwork ... can do a better job establishing and trusting his body angles ...

Look at my post later in this thread. Brugler speaks about Strange at length in the Athletic rd 1 draft podcast. Gives good insight about not only the player but also how the Patriots approach their draft. would be very educational for many year.

 

[crawhammer]

Firstly Belichick traded out of #21 where he had several players available to fill one of many gapping holes on the defense. Then one-by-one they all go in succession... McDuffie, Elam, JJII, Quay Walker, Wyatt, Lloyd... any one of those players would have been reasonable at #21 so trading out of that spot made no sense. But then Belichick drafts Cole Strange who literally no one on Planet Earth had going in the 1st round. The pick is an F.

By contrast the Jets got the best CB in the draft, a stud WR, and a beast at DE. And they pick way before us in round 2. Oh and Buffalo took CB Kaiir Elam at #23... a big physical playmaking defensive back. Belichick took a creampuff OG who was literally laughed at by other teams because they could have taken him 60 picks later. Hell any of the three defensive players taken immediately after our nonstarter would have been worthwhile.

Great, we're accumulating later round picks so we can fill out our special teams. Hopefully at least with the 2nd round pick Belichick takes a player with actual 2nd round value. Is that too much to ask?

 

[Rob0729]

People are crapping on Bill, not the player.

Unfortunately, yesterday was like Christmas to the Belichick Haters Club. Whether they are part of the Brady over Patriots crowd or just think Bill lost it or whatever, they all were hoping that Bill would trade down and then reach for a player at a position that a majority of people don't see as one of the biggest priorities. A lot of this has nothing to do with the selection or the player and more about another chance to pile on Bill.

And before I am jumped on for this post, I am not saying everyone is piling on Bill today are part of this group, but the usual suspects are here and some are doing the most piling on.

 

[50-yard-line]

.

 

[Steve102]

Look at my post later in this thread. Brugler speaks about Strange at length in the Athletic rd 1 draft podcast. Gives good insight about not only the player but also how the Patriots approach their draft. would be very educational for many year.

I don't think anyone is off on the kid, just where he was picked.

 

[KDPPatsfan85]

The more I look into Cole Strange, the more I like this pick. My knee jerk reaction was similar to everyone else, but Cole could be Mankins 2.0

 

[Wax Frog]

So what position does this guy play exactly?

 

[dtbrks]

Why I shut the TV off after the trade back. Didn’t want to throw the remotes at the TV

 

[upstater1]

I understand it. I meant it to say later on after the rookie deal. I don't think he wants to invest in these guys for 4 years only to have them demand money Bill won't pay later on and he has to start over. A guard is never going to get the money that WR, CB, or edge players get.

I just disagree. We have signed a lot of guys to second contracts over the years. Sure, we've let some go, but our own players have signed lucrative contracts. I understand there's a new phenomenon with WRs right now asking for more. This is a new development. But it hasn't happened with DEs, DTs, LBs and CBs, which were the 4 positions most fans were looking at.

 

[Water Boy]

It will be interesting to see how Strange compares to the tackle Raimann. Pff projected that Raimann could play guard before transitioning to tackle. Would be nice to have a replacement for Wynn for the future.

 

[Sam Bam Cunningham]

Indefensible for where they picked him. Just once couldn't they trade up to get the guy they wanted? Lions traded up from 32 to 12 to get Jameson Williams.

 

[Nunchucks]

Unfortunately, yesterday was like Christmas to the Belichick Haters Club. Whether they are part of the Brady over Patriots crowd or just think Bill lost it or whatever, they all were hoping that Bill would trade down and then reach for a player at a position that a majority of people don't see as one of the biggest priorities. A lot of this has nothing to do with the selection or the player and more about another chance to pile on Bill.

And before I am jumped on for this post, I am not saying everyone is piling on Bill today are part of this group, but the usual suspects are here and some are doing the most piling on.

Nobody wants to watch the patriots defense play like dog shiznit because it has no talent. Watching the defense at the end of last year was painful.

 

[ashley]

Indefensible for where they picked him. Just once couldn't they trade up to get the guy they wanted? Lions traded up from 32 to 12 to get Jameson Williams.

 

[Patsgofor4]

But these same stats were used to compare guys who were already in the NFL. For instance, Ryan Bates scored just as high as Strange, similar numbers, both top 5 in the last decade. Bates was a backup G for the Bills, who were bad at running and bad at pass protect. He also just signed for Ted Karras money.

Nice try cherry-picking the player who fits your negative agenda. Classic tactic by the go-negative or go-home crew here.

NFL Draft 2022: Relative Athletic Score Standouts at Every Position

One of my favorite tools to use during the draft evaluation process is the Relative Athletic Score (RAS). This statistic is compiled by Kent Lee Platte

www.lineups.com

Marpet, Mathis, Thuney….I hear that those guys are/were decent.