Instant Reaction: Your Patriots 2023 Draft Grade

[Joey007]

Double post. Delete

 

[pazrul72]

I voted a B with the only reason it doesn’t get an A being no OT or TE being drafted. Looking at each pick individually I like/love all of them with the overall emphasis on athletes that can fly. There seems to be a clear change in philosophy that they want guys with great RAS scores over team captains with position flexibility.

It’s hard to complain about a draft where you get some real potential players that just don’t happen to be at the position you hoped for. I don’t question the guys who look at these prospects for 8-12 hours a day, knowing more then we do, and having legit reasons for liking some unheard of whodat from podunk university over the media consensus names. The thing about taking positions over prospects is it’s better to get a starter at say guard then it is to draft an OT that busts, cuz now you still need to draft OT again next year. For whatever reason they liked the interior guys better than the outside guys and I agree with the philosophy of taking 3 guys hoping at least one pans out.

Similarly in the 4th, I would rather take the best player at a less impactful position like K then the 20th ranked WR. Just simple math you are more likely to get a hit on the player. I mean there is an argument to be made that getting a Diggs is huge over a Justin Tucker, but the odds of it in that round are so low. I would rather take the higher odds of getting an all pro, even at K, then some guy everyone except the die hard fans will forget in a year or two. So I’m fine with getting their guy, even with a small trade up.

By the time you get to the 6th round it’s literally a lottery ticket so the head case WR with elite skills, but injured and poor production is perfect. He gets his head on strait in the disciplined NE environment, great what a pick, most likely he continues to be a dipshit and you cut him in camp nothing of real value lost. A small school shifty water bug that might need a year or two of development? Wonderful.

Overall reading up on each prospect I see a role and a legit path for them to add to the team. I’m genuinely excited for camp to see how it all plays out. I think they might have gotten 2-4 starting caliber players which is damn good for any draft. My only knock is one of those players isn’t the position I wish it was.

 

[SlowGettingUp]

I really don't understand the folks that complain we traded up for a kicker. Only two decent kickers in the draft and one was gone already very early. So we really needed to make sure we get our guy, or we are likely looking at a cast-off from some other team for one of the most important positions in terms of expected points gained or lost. Just because the draft mavens think you can get some kicker in the 5th doesn't mean he'll actually be there in the 5th.

Grading a draft by comparing where we got a guy compared to some consensus of draft experts is nuts. Many of the guys we took they actually got to have a close look at in their coaching - they have a way better handle on them than folks just looking at college tapes.

Edit: I note Bedard grumbles about a pick everyone else likes because we got it later than projections. That was White in the second round. Bedard feels that it's a crowded position and he'll be behind Wise and somehow the pick shows Belichick is behind the times. That makes no sense to me personally and maybe he's just being contrarian.

 

[mgteich]

The only thing I can think of is they believe that Steuber has phenomenal upside and plan to use him more this year . Nothing else makes any sense. So it's more of reif holding on for few games before Steuber picks it up.

???
We have Brown, Reiff, and Anderson. Both the additions were guaranteed at least $4M.
McDermott was re-signed and will again be mentored by Klemm.
And, we still have the often injured Cajuste.

That's FIVE without Steuber who you think that they will be counting on. IMO, he is #6 on the depth chart at this point. And yes, he may very well get on of the 3 or 4 OT roster spots.

 

[50-yard-line]

I believe that both Reiff and Anderson were guaranteed $4M. He should be our swing OT, but I could see Reiff in that role. The bottom line is that Belichick used free agency to get his OT rotation. He even brought back McDermott to compete with Cajuste to compete for the 4th OT spot.

But, yes, I also expect Reiff to start.

You are correct - that might well be the starting tackle combination this year. They can save $10m+ cutting/trading Trent Brown. He had better come to camp ready to win his job.

 

[50-yard-line]

They drafted Pierre Strong last year to be their next receiving back, and it usually takes those players a couple of seasons to work into that role full time. They also have Stevenson, who’s decent receiver out of the backfield.

Don't sleep on Robinson. He was an excellent receiving back before he got hurt - and he's not old.

 

[sb1]

I really can’t get behind that kicker pick. I just have no way to rationalize trading up for a guy that you don’t need to trade up for, let alone a kicker. He needs to beat out Folk in camp, win the job and be good otherwise I just see it as a total head scratcher. Might as well have taken a shot at an offensive skill player or tackle.

I think the 2022 season finale in Buffalo showed us what can go wrong when your aging kicker doesn’t have the kickoff leg anymore to reach the end zone and get a touchback. With Bailey gone I’m ok with drafting a replacement.

 

[Real fan 02]

I have not voted yet, I am not sure how to. Gonzalez is a spectacular pick, the 4th round is meh, and the late rounds have boom or bust potential, except in the 6th, with the best punter available.

On the criticism the team's gotten on not picking enough offensive players I don't buy to much into that.. they identified some WRs they saw late and drafted them. However this season we have enough on offense with a proven OC&QBs coach in BOB to have some good play calling and design to Mac and everyone else's strengths. I'm actually looking forward to seeing how the offense looks in camp. Gonzalez in my opinion will be a great fit for the defense mayo is already raving about the kid.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

Don't sleep on Robinson. He was an excellent receiving back before he got hurt - and he's not old.

If Robinson can return to form, he's a better back than Strong. Is Ty Montgomery still on the roster?

 

[Steve102]

On the criticism the team's gotten on not picking enough offensive players I don't buy to much into that.. they identified some WRs they saw late and drafted them. However this season we have enough on offense with a proven OC&QBs coach in BOB to have some good play calling and design to Mac and everyone else's strengths. I'm actually looking forward to seeing how the offense looks in camp. Gonzalez in my opinion will be a great fit for the defense mayo is already raving about the kid.

I love the Gonzalez pick, and I knew they were not going to pick a WR in the 2nd or 3rd. This was very typical of a Bill type draft, impact players 1-2, swing for the fences late on a boom or bust pick like Boutte late. I would like to feel better about the middle rounds, but we will have to wait and see. They certainly put a lot of stock in the Shrine Bowl guys.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

You are correct - that might well be the starting tackle combination this year. They can save $10m+ cutting/trading Trent Brown. He had better come to camp ready to win his job.

I think Trent is a lock, though it could be at RT. Rieff is guaranteed $4.5m I believe. He can also play both LT and RT. I don't think Anderson has much guaranteed.

 

[Since1960]

Top of the draft gives you hope and leads to an overall “B-“ rating. Just wish I wasn’t more excited about the potential of the first pick in the 6th round than any other selection after round 2. If the Pats truly were disappointed with the available players in this draft I can’t understand why they didn’t use their draft “capital” (4 4th & 4 6th round picks to move further up into rounds 2 or 3 and at least take a few picks to further address the OT, WR, & TE positions even if they had to red-shirt for a year. There were a bunch of these types of moves being made and thought we could have made one or two.

 

[Real fan 02]

I think the 2022 season finale in Buffalo showed us what can go wrong when your aging kicker doesn’t have the kickoff leg anymore to reach the end zone and get a touchback. With Bailey gone I’m ok with drafting a replacement.

And to add to that.. we were depleted on STs Cody Davis was a huge loss. I'm expecting a resurgence with the STs

 

[Real fan 02]

I love the Gonzalez pick, and I knew they were not going to pick a WR in the 2nd or 3rd. This was very typical of a Bill type draft, impact players 1-2, swing for the fences late on a boom or bust pick like Boutte late. I would like to feel better about the middle rounds, but we will have to wait and see. They certainly put a lot of stock in the Shrine Bowl guys.

Agreed!! Yes the Gonzalez pick was absolutely the right one. This defense was sorely lacking a player like Gonzalez.. as good as we were we just couldn't make the plays on defense in crunch time Gonzalez should solve our Diggs problem.. your right it's a wait n see

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

And to add to that.. we were depleted on STs Cody Davis was a huge loss. I'm expecting a resurgence with the STs

I think the last two picks are Broad copies for STs.

 

[duc359]

The Sow pick was very strange. Mediocre scouting report and sub 6 grade.
Are you telling me there were no better players on the board at that point in the draft? And then doubling down and taking the guy from UCLA in the next round who has even worse scouting reports on him. I feel like they missed out on a lot of talent thst coukd step right in.

117. Patriots: Sidy Sow, OG, Eastern Michigan​

CBS: Grade: A

Ultra-experienced, big, balanced, athleticism specimen at guard who's rarely out of position or off balanced. Combo-blocking machine. Hand work is good. Hard to find a flaw to his game.

PFBN: Grade: A-

One of the most talented interior linemen left on the board, Sidy Sow comes with a bevy of experience from his time at Eastern Michigan. A five-year starter for the Eagles, Sow is strong with both his hands and his lower-half footwork. He’s equally impressive in pass protection as he is on the move in the run game.

Herald: Grade B-

Sow stands at 6-foot-4 and 323 pounds. He is one of the draft's most athletic and experienced offensive lineman with 55 career starts. Sow started 44 games at left guard the last four seasons after taking 11 at left tackle in 2018.

Sow was voted to the MAC all-conference first team each of the past two seasons. He is regarded as a powerful run-blocker with strong football intelligence and versatility. He only committed one penalty last season, per The Athletic.

SI:

"On film, Sow is a big framed guard, with a strong lower half," SI Draft Bible writes. "His play strength was very solid and it was evident in the run game, where he put defenders in the dirt often. Sow is able to drive defenders backward when he plays low on man blocking concepts. An experienced player, Sow has very good football IQ. His ability to handle stunts and twists was fantastic.

NBC:

"Sow doesn't hail from a Power Five program, but he tested like an NFL-caliber athlete. He recorded excellent jumps in Indy this year, with a 32-inch vertical (91st percentile) and a 9-foot-2 broad (90th).

"He also clocked a quick 40 time with a 5.07-second run (90th). His three-cone (7.62 seconds) and short shuttle (4.69 seconds) weren't elite, but they were above average."

Summary/Prediction:

Popovitch (former Pats Asst) had him last year (oops, wrong that was Andrews as pointed out). He's making the roster, and has a very good shot at being the starting RG in '24 if Owenu is gone.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

We have so many OG's & OT's now, I'm not sure how this logjam will play out. There's 5 OT's: Brown, Rieff, Anderson, Cajuste, Steuber. There's 4 guards: Strange, Onwenu, Sow, Mafi. There's also 3 centers: D Andrews, Russey, and J Andrews. Ferentz will be gone, and I guess Russey will be gone, and probably Cajuste will be gone, but that still leaves 10 OL.

We have two good starting guards in Strange and Onwenu. BB is on record as saying that Onwenu is more suited to G than T, and I haven't heard any serious conversation about moving Strange to OT. Now we draft both Sow and Mafi in the 4th & 5th rounds.

It's starting to look like they're going to trade Onwenu this summer, replace him with Mafi, and move Sow to OT. In that case they'd cut or trade Anderson, and Steuber goes back to the practice squad, to get us down to 8.

 

[Toofy]

We have so many OG's & OT's now, I'm not sure how this logjam will play out. There's 5 OT's: Brown, Rieff, Anderson, Cajuste, Steuber. There's 4 guards: Strange, Onwenu, Sow, Mafi. There's also 3 centers: D Andrews, Russey, and J Andrews. Ferentz will be gone, and I guess Russey will be gone, and probably Cajuste will be gone, but that still leaves 10 OL.

We have two good starting guards in Strange and Onwenu. BB is on record as saying that Onwenu is more suited to G than T, and I haven't heard any serious conversation about moving Strange to OT. Now we draft both Sow and Mafi in the 4th & 5th rounds.

It's starting to look like they're going to trade Onwenu this summer, replace him with Mafi, and move Sow to OT. In that case they'd cut or trade Anderson, and Steuber goes back to the practice squad, to get us down to 8.

Onwenu for Jeudy and 3rd round pick next year ? They get a solid person to beef up the line for Wilson help the run game more.

 

[SlowGettingUp]

but that still leaves 10 OL.

We often carry 9 or 10. In 2021 it was 10:

• David Andrews
• Shaq Mason
• Michael Onwenu
• Trent Brown
• Isaiah Wynn
• Ted Karras
• William Sherman
• James Ferentz
• Alex Redmond
• Yodny Cajuste

 

[Hammer of Thor]

I love the Gonzalez pick, and I knew they were not going to pick a WR in the 2nd or 3rd. This was very typical of a Bill type draft, impact players 1-2, swing for the fences late on a boom or bust pick like Boutte late. I would like to feel better about the middle rounds, but we will have to wait and see. They certainly put a lot of stock in the Shrine Bowl guys.

I think Mafi and Douglas were the Shrine Bowl guys. Looks like Bill’s motivation tactic paid dividends, and he was able to judge some of their mental toughness…..

"After the practice sessions, I was speaking with Scott Matlock, an IDL (interior defensive lineman) for Boise State," Froton recalled. "He told me a story about how before Day 3, they're in the locker room -- the Patriots-coached team -- and Bill comes in right before they're about to walk out and just sort of calls a huddle and steps in. And these were all kids that are going to try to be NFL players.

He steps in and says, 'I just want to let you all know before we step out on that field, I haven't seen one single player here that could beat out the worst player on our team. You're terrible, you don't belong here, and you better get out there and show us something or you're never gonna make the NFL.' And he walked right out the door and went to practice. Classic Bill right there.”

Belichick gave legendary speech to players at Shrine Bowl

Scott Matlock himself was drafted by the Chargers in the 6th round.