Travis Hunter

[mike_usagisan]

I think Graham is the guy they can count to produce long term. Not Vince Wilfork, but a really good DT who can disrupt the QB and give Vrabel the kind of line he wants to run. If Barmore does return they could run a 3 man front of Barmore and Graham on the ends and Godchaux in the middle, with White going back and forth between hand on the ground and a pass rushing end.

I am really starting to think Vrabel and company are going to take the top-4 prospect with the highest floor. I think there's an argument that they don't want to miss with a guy who might be a WR or might be a CB or an Edge who might not have the strength to contain the run.

 

[Force Zero Boomer]

I think Vrabel and company are going to do what Bill did and build the trenches first. That means the most Seymour-like player. A guy who is a HOF anchor for us.

I was watching some tape of Seymour a few days ago. What a player: big, strong, fast, intelligent, intimidating and competitive. HoF traits.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Pats don't need another CB but have to pick him if he is there at #4??

 

[PWRxWLF]

The Tyquan Thornton of pass rushers?

I was talking about Hunters light frane. Abdul Carter worries me because he’s a one year wonder. Did he figure it out or did they finally start using him right? Definitely not a sure thing.

 

[Love The Drake]

Abdul Carter is the pick in my opinion if he’s there.
I trust Vrabel on this one though.

 

[Patsfan1645]

I was talking about Hunters light frane. Abdul Carter worries me because he’s a one year wonder. Did he figure it out or did they finally start using him right? Definitely not a sure thing.

I dont know if anyone should ever be considered a sure thing coming out of college. Trevor Lawrence coming out was labeled a generational qb. Now I will admit he is on a turd team but I haven't seen anything from him that makes me believe he has lived up to the hype.

 

[upstater1]

Hunter will be mainly a WR in the NFL.

Book it.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

I think Vrabel and company are going to do what Bill did and build the trenches first. That means the most Seymour-like player. A guy who is a HOF anchor for us.

I’d love to read Ron Borges’s take on skipping Hunter or McMillen for someone like Graham….

 

[Hammer of Thor]

I hope the FO realizes while the GB model of draft/develop can work, you need to have pretty high floor for it. We need to try to get to that floor via FA.

You posted that in the draft forum recently and I absolutely love it. Free agency is about filling up all your holes so you at least have NFL capable players at every position, and no broken links that can be completely exploited by another team. And from there, the draft can be used to add the best available players that fit the scheme. I feel the Pats too often recently — both under Belichick and under Wolf — went into the draft targeting a specific position because they didn’t address it in free agency. And I think that tends to hurt a team in the long run.

 

[Grogan14]

If he is indeed the best prospect in the draft, he won't be available at 4.

Jalen Carter was the best prospect in 23 draft and he went #9

 

[Betterthanmost]

He's the best prospect in the draft. He should go number 1 so if he's available at 4 absolutely take him.

We need to use free agency to fill our most urgent needs. Number 4 won't fill of all them anyway and we can't really afford to wait on a rookie to develop in some of these spots.

No. He is a luxury player. We need to build the foundation. Plus there are some red flags with him for me.

 

[farn]

The Browns have such a nightmare going with this Watson contract.

This sentence needn't go past the word "going"...

 

[signbabybrady]

No. He is a luxury player. We need to build the foundation. Plus there are some red flags with him for me.

Hunter and Gonzo seems like a foundation to me.

Supposedly Tenn is considering Hunter despite their need at QB. Call it dumb, call it a weak QB class, but I think it speaks to the kind of Prospect Hunter is.

I honestly don't think he goes any further than 3. He'll be the first non-QB to be picked. I don't know if Sanders will go top 5 and I assume Ward will wind up going number 1.

Don't let the fact that he's a 2 position player make you think he's getting over drafted or is some sort of gimmick because he's truly the best prospect at either position at the same time.

 

[patfanken]

haven't we done this topic already (and won't we do it many times more over the next 3 months. ) ?? BUT since I'm here I might as well opine what I think (which is likely to change several times before the actual draft.)

Drafting #4 when you don't need a QB is a luxury. You are in a position where at least one QB is likely to be taken before you pick, so you know you are going to be able to get a "blue chip" position player.

THIS seems to be a THIN class of blue chippers with 3, maybe 4 available (Hunter, Carter, Graham, seem like the most sure-fire picks and at ONE of them should fall to us. AND even among those 3 there are some questions. Hunter, how much 2-way action can you realistically expect to get from him. AND if you could only play one way would be be worth the #4 pick at either position? Carter is an extraordinary athletic talent and did a spectacular job last season, BUT there are reasonable questions about his size and strength at thebm several directions.

The third is Graham, whom I see as the safest bet. His power, quickness, and athletic ability is SO rare at his position that I think it sets him above the rest at a position of need, especially if Baremore is going to be unavailable. And if he IS available, White, Baremore and Graham would be the start of one of the best DL's in the league for the next 5 years, and YES there is a definite correlation between the quality of the DL and the amount of wins you should get. A great DL will keep you in almost every game you play in.

I think you can instantaneously improve your OL and WR room through FA and enable it to get to "respectability' enough so you can at least contend for a play-off berth right away as you build your way back to compete for championships

 

[signbabybrady]

It'd be amazing if he turned out to be the Shoe Ohtani of the NFL for a few years. The injury exposure is too much to have him playing both sides of the ball for long.

I think he wants to try it and he might just be good enough for it. Realistically though it probably will be more full time at one spot and used situationally at the other.

 

[mike_usagisan]

haven't we done this topic already (and won't we do it many times more over the next 3 months. ) ?? BUT since I'm here I might as well opine what I think (which is likely to change several times before the actual draft.)

Drafting #4 when you don't need a QB is a luxury. You are in a position where at least one QB is likely to be taken before you pick, so you know you are going to be able to get a "blue chip" position player.

THIS seems to be a THIN class of blue chippers with 3, maybe 4 available (Hunter, Carter, Graham, seem like the most sure-fire picks and at ONE of them should fall to us. AND even among those 3 there are some questions. Hunter, how much 2-way action can you realistically expect to get from him. AND if you could only play one way would be be worth the #4 pick at either position? Carter is an extraordinary athletic talent and did a spectacular job last season, BUT there are reasonable questions about his size and strength at thebm several directions.

The third is Graham, whom I see as the safest bet. His power, quickness, and athletic ability is SO rare at his position that I think it sets him above the rest at a position of need, especially if Baremore is going to be unavailable. And if he IS available, White, Baremore and Graham would be the start of one of the best DL's in the league for the next 5 years, and YES there is a definite correlation between the quality of the DL and the amount of wins you should get. A great DL will keep you in almost every game you play in.

I think you can instantaneously improve your OL and WR room through FA and enable it to get to "respectability' enough so you can at least contend for a play-off berth right away as you build your way back to compete for championships

Our DC made his name based on the defensive line. Vrabel played as one of the front seven. These guys are going to base their D on the strength of the line to do everything, not on a possible second CB or a guy who is mainly a pass rusher.

 

[signbabybrady]

Jalen Carter was the best prospect in 23 draft and he went #9

Can we trade number 4 for him lol. He's been a beast this playoffs. Can he stop Mahomes?

 

[rochrist]

I think there is an extremely small possibility that 2 QBs and Carter go before Hunter. It shouldn't but obviously the 3 teams ahead of us need QBs one of them gets Ward, one of them overdrafts Sanders, and then all it takes is for one team to go Pass Rush instead of Hunter.

What I think happens is Ward, Carter, Hunter in some order and we miss both the best Rusher and Hunter. Leaving us with the choice of McMillan or trading down slightly and going OL. I'd go McMillan in this scenario but if someone wants to trade a 2025 first and we can still get the best OL then I'd consider it.

I think the Titans are taking Carter. The Giants, who the hell knows. Sadly, I think the prospects of any really decent trade down haul are virtually nil. No one is that enthusiastic about the QBs.

 

[PatsFan2]

I think the Titans are taking Carter. The Giants, who the hell knows. Sadly, I think the prospects of any really decent trade down haul are virtually nil. No one is that enthusiastic about the QBs.

The Giants have no choice unfortunately. I'm hoping Vegas come calling @ 4 for Shedeur Sanders.

 

[mike_usagisan]

I think the Titans are taking Carter. The Giants, who the hell knows. Sadly, I think the prospects of any really decent trade down haul are virtually nil. No one is that enthusiastic about the QBs.

The Titans are a mess, so it wouldn't surprise me anything that they do. The Browns might still be stuck on trying to improve Watson. The Giants HAVE to get a QB. If they go through another year without a decent QB or prospect, the fans are going to demand everyone in that franchise be fired.