We're on to the OFF-Season

[TheRainMaker]

JC Jackson only played in 5 games before going on season-ending IR. Comp picks are not awarded based solely on contract value. The player has to play up to that contract. As I said earlier, the Patriots had this happen with one of their free agents a few years ago.

You have to play a certain amount of time. It doesn’t matter how good or bad they are on their new team.

 

[venecol]

Can't argue with that. Just seemed like he had it under control when it came to his public meltdowns. Tomlin also wants nothing to do with AB anymore.

Lol, I thought you were joking. It was pretty funny.

 

[patsinthesnow]

An example of how much the pats could improve their team with the draft capital & cap space available to them this offseason:

• pats trade #14 for Jalen Ramsey, #37 & #70. Values ramsey at a mid-2nd round pick as the rams are set to blow it up with mcvay potentially leaving. ramsey has a 17 million cap hit for whoever trades for him.
• pats trade #47 for DeAndre Hopkins. An aging WR who is still a WR1 & should be able to play at a high level for years based on his play style. Hopkins has a 19.4 million cap hit for whoever trades for him.
• pats sign Mike McGlinchey to a 5 year $75 million deal. Longterm solution at RT with the goal of saving money elsewhere along the OL.
• pats restructure the players they traded for, cut trent brown, etc.
•draft best available OL, LB, S with #47, #70, #77, etc.

Jones

Hopkins
Parker/Thornton
Bourne
Henry
Stevenson/Strong

TBD
Strange
Andrews
Onwenu
McGlinchey

Uche
Godchaux
Barmore
Judon

Bentley
TBD

Ramsey
Jack Jones
Marcus Jones

Dugger
Phillips/Mills

The pats drafting has improved since 2020. They have young talent especially on defense. They have nobody with a $20 million cap hit on their team. That is unheard of & they need difference makers if they want to be a contender IMO. They should consider using their draft capital to acquire a WR1.

Alot of good offseason talk in BCG's thread with similar ways to spend their picks & cap space:

Content Post - Words on things I watched, read & heard II

i agree but who would you go for? The WR FA market sucks, our TE contracts are already league high, two OT i liked with jenkins and conklin signed contracts already and there will be teams overspending here on Brown for example who isn't worth the money. I don't want to trade a high pick either...

www.patsfans.com

This was an idea. Not married to any specific player. The point is team's go all in when a rookie QB enters the third year of their deal & the pats don't need a new roster like after the 2020 season.

 

[Ross12]

bedard throwing stuff on the wall to see if its sticks. God, no local media likes to see its coaches fired more than boston

What? Didn't he state pretty plainly he was returning 2 days ago?

 

[Lagaffe_07]

What? Didn't he state pretty plainly he was returning 2 days ago?

Yes but that was Bill talking. Probably because he has a contract next year and he wants to comeback but from what I heard the meeting between Bill and Kraft has not happened yet so I guess there is still a possibility that Kraft doesn’t like what he is hearing and decide to part way.

I think it’s highly unlikely though. I think it’s more probable that Mac Jones is not on the team next year than Bill is not coaching it

 

[SVN]

What? Didn't he state pretty plainly he was returning 2 days ago?

if you see the video its just pure speculation. he isnt even sure if kraft met with BB or not .

 

[DaBruinz]

So, I realized I talked about the Good and the Bad but only slightly mentioned the coaching changes needed,

Coaching Changes needed:
Get a new OC.
Get a new OL Coach.
Get a new QB Coach.
Get a new ST Coach.

Priority needs:
OT (Left or Right who can start immediately)
OT (Swing tackle who can eventually replace Brown).
OG/OC - Someone to eventually replace Andrews.. Maybe a person who can actually pay attention long enough to pick up the delayed A-Gap Blitzes
Free Safety - With DMac Likely Gone the Pats only have Dugger, Phillips and Bledsoe in the safety group. There was talk of Mills being the DMac replacement, but it's unknown if he can make the Secondary adjustments. Maybe Dugger or Phillips can do that, I don't know,.

Pats only have 3 WR signed in Parker, Bourne and Thornton. Before a decision can be made here, they need to figure out whether their base will be 11 or 12. If they go with the 11, then you need to trade Smith post June 1st to free up a chuck of cap space. They would also need to find someone a TE who is an above average blocker, but who can catch the ball well enough to be a weapon in the Red Zone,.
If they go 12, then they need to make sure they are getting plays in for both TEs and still add a 3rd TE who pick up part of the slack if one of the top 2 get injured.

TE: The TEs were badly misused in 2022. Henry looks live an average signing and Smith a bust. If the Pats move on from Smith, it's likely they do so after June 1st so they split the Cap hit and save 11M this season. . A 2nd or 3rd round TE would be nice. Or adding an under-used vet like a Jesse James, Dan Arnold or Josh Oliver. Maybe even Foster Moreau. It all depends on the OC and whether or not they go with the 11 or 12 base.

WR: Unless there are some Veteran cuts, this WR Free Agency class is underwhelming. You have 2nd tier guys like Meyers, Smith-Schuster, Lazard, Mack Hollins and Shepard. You have a ton of Named Vets who are pretty much done in AJ Green, Julio Jones, Marvin Jones, and TY Hilton. Then you have a bunch of guys who have been Hit or Miss type players. Scantling, Hardman, Campbell, R. Higgins.

If Meyers were to leave, I'd look at Scott Miller from Tampa as a replacement. Miller was buried in Tampa and never really got a shot. Mack Hollins would be another guy for the slot I'd look at for the short term. Long term would probably be someone from the draft. That is, of course, unless they think that Tre Nixon or Kristian Wilkerson can handle the duty.

LB: With the Pats playing a 4-2 Base, they need a LB who can be an all around guy. The hope was that McMillan could be that. I don't know that we say McMillan's best as he returned from his ACL. I hope they bring him back on a 1 year deal, Tremaine Edmunds is the big name that people like here. I like him as well. Getting him would help us and hurt the Bills. Win-Win. The question, though, is whether or not the Bills put a Transition tag on him. I don't think they Franchise him, but I could be wrong.

CB: There are several veteran outside guys available who would instantly improve the Defense. Marcus Peters. Patrick Peterson. There are others whom I'm not sure are a fit. Guys like Jamal Dean, Cameron Sutton, Fabian Moreau, Byron Murphy or Chandon Sullivan. Point being that there IS veterans available who can fill the leadership void if McCourty leaves.

S: Not having DMac in the Secondary is going to be weird. The question is who replaces him. Does Josh Bledsoe finally step up? Do they look look for another vet? Someone like Terrell Edmunds from the Steelers? Jordan Poyer from the Bills? Taylor Rapp from the Rams? Chauncey Gardner-Johnson could be a good addition. Of course, you also have the draft, but I haven't looked at possible 3rd/4th/5th round Safeties who might be able to step in.


UNKNOWNS:
Hines - Is he the OC/OG we're looking for to replace Ferentz
Russey - Is he the OC/OG we're looking for to replace Ferentz
Steuber - Is he the OT/OG we're looking for to take one of the 3 open OT spots
Josh Bledsoe - is he the FS to replace McCorty? Or is he more in the box guy? Or is he a Cody Davis replacement?
Perkins - Can he make the transition to Standing LB and be another edge guy that we need while staying healthy.

 

[DaBruinz]

I think we lost our comp pick for Jackson when he went out after 5 games. I'm pretty sure the comp pick formula includes performance. It's not simply contract $$. We lost a comp pick for this before... though I can't remember who it was right now.

You don't lose the comp pick. It may get reduced. Possibly a 4th now instead of a 3rd. But we should get 3 unless Bolden doesn't make the cut-off. Which is I stated I don't count them because we don't know yet. Also, we could get a pick for Mayo if he goes somewhere else and get's a HC or DC title.

 

[DaBruinz]

Both picks were Reach picks where they were taken. Boney T could have waited until the Third.

JFC. No. Thornton wouldn't have been there in the third. This was confirmed. Just like it was confirmed that Strange was going to be off the board by the 10th pick of the 2nd round.

You're attempt to re-write history is ridiculous.

 

[Love The Drake]

JFC. No. Thornton wouldn't have been there in the third. This was confirmed. Just like it was confirmed that Strange was going to be off the board by the 10th pick of the 2nd round.

You're attempt to re-write history is ridiculous.

Supposedly both Steelers and Packers wanted Thornton.

Thornton was my second favorite receiver behind Jameson Williams coming out.
I’m going to stop suggesting receivers cause I loved the Chad Jackson pick and had him as my top receiver in that draft.

 

[DaBruinz]

JC Jackson only played in 5 games before going on season-ending IR. Comp picks are not awarded based solely on contract value. The player has to play up to that contract. As I said earlier, the Patriots had this happen with one of their free agents a few years ago.

The contract a few years ago was on a player who would have only gotten the Pats a 7th rounder. The downgrade moved it out.

Also, what you're failing to acknowledge is that the league CHANGED how they do the Comp Picks with the new CBA. So stats have a greater role in them. That being said, an injury at a 3rd round comp doesn't eliminate it. Don't believe me? Go ask at OTC or @Miguel

 

[DaBruinz]

Didn't the Pats lose a comp pick for Beau Allen when he was out for the entire year?

No. He still counted in the formula because it was an off-setting signing. So, he counted and they didn't receive an extra 7th because of it.
Different side of the equation and different set of Rules.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Supposedly both Steelers and Packers wanted Thornton.

Thornton was my second favorite receiver behind Jameson Williams coming out.
I’m going to stop suggesting receivers cause I loved the Chad Jackson pick and had him as my top receiver in that draft.

Maybe he still ends up a bust, but I would've liked to see how Chad Jackson did had he not been thrown out defending a on kick return in the 2006 AFCCG and tearing his ACL. Trading up for a guy and pulling that stunt was one of Billy's greatest blunders.

 

[Love The Drake]

Maybe he still ends up a bust, but I would've liked to see how Chad Jackson did had he not been thrown out defending a on kick return in the 2006 AFCCG and tearing his ACL. Trading up for a guy and pulling that stunt was one of Billy's greatest blunders.

I remember the team said he was very immature wasn’t he like drunk at a Christmas team charity benefit or something.

 

[TheRainMaker]

I remember the team said he was very immature wasn’t he like drunk at a Christmas team charity benefit or something.

I heard something like that too, but I heard from posters attending training camp that year that he was having a tough time.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Maybe he still ends up a bust, but I would've liked to see how Chad Jackson did had he not been thrown out defending a on kick return in the 2006 AFCCG and tearing his ACL. Trading up for a guy and pulling that stunt was one of Billy's greatest blunders.

So positional players who aren't producing in their role shouldn't play special teams? Serious?

 

[TheRainMaker]

So positional players who aren't producing in their role shouldn't play special teams? Serious?

He did show something in his very limited action when his hamstring wasn't acting up. You do remember he was battling that all year right? You don't trade up for a guy that high in the 2nd round to put him on special teams with a bad hammy when you're thin at WR. It wrecked his career as he said he couldn't cut after that. Sorry bro, there's no argument for that.

He did again with Sanu in 2019 putting him out on special teams to return a punt when he's fielded once in his career after trading a 2nd round pick with the WR's on life support. Threw him away like trash the following season.

 

[Brewskies]

So much to be done in the off-season with the Patriots. 1st coaching staff improvements especially with the offense. 2nd QB position, Mac Jones good for backup until it can be determined if he is a starter. They need a starter QB. 3rd they need to build a WR group, replacing those that leave like Meyers and those that should leave. 4th, they need to work on the offensive line 5th, work on the defensive line replacements.
Go Pats

 

[bresna]

Also, we could get a pick for Mayo if he goes somewhere else and get's a HC or DC title.

We'd actually get 2 3rd round comp picks if we lose Mayo to another team as a HC (or General Manager). One this year & another the year after.

 

[bresna]

You have to play a certain amount of time. It doesn’t matter how good or bad they are on their new team.

According to a story on the NFL's own website, comp picks are based on "a league formula that takes into account a player's average salary per year (APY), snap count and postseason awards".

You aren't making a Pro Bowl if you sucked.