What’s our plan at Wide Receiver?

[JohnJH]

****! Just saw the tee news. So guess aiyuk is the last trade option for now.

Olave might become available if the saints take mcmillan but hes a risk with the concussions.

Not looking good at all on the wr front unless hunter falls to us or we can land a 2nd tier guy that hits and we all know how that story has gone here in rd 2.

Wouldn't give up anything more than a 4th Round Pick for Aiyuk and S.F. has to take part of his salary. Don't want Olave as he's had a scary number of just confirmed concussions (how many unconfirmed ones has he had in addition?).

 

[JayNM]

We should sign all remaining WR for 1 year deal, hold them out under contract until the 1st cuts of camp and keep the best

 

[JohnJH]

I'd make a strong run at Amari Cooper.

He's going to be 31 this year. Older, but not ancient.

Just the season before this past one he had arguably the best year of his career with CLE so you don't have to turn back the block too far for a productive season.

No argument that he wasn't good last year. But he spent the first half of the year with a trainwreck CLE team. Tried to do some research and I read a reddit post from 5 months ago while he was still with CLE that 45% of his targets qualified as "off target". No way to vet if that's true, but affirms what I think we all know about his CLE situation. He got traded midyear to BUF where it was a new offense for him, unlike any system and he had a wrist injury a couple of weeks into his tenure.

I'm not saying there aren't red flags or concerns but at this stage of the offseason that's what you get. We currently have zero starting caliber WRs right now unless you're high on Boutte and/or Douglas making leaps this year or think Bourne can turn the clock all the way back to pre injury or have blind faith that Polk/Baker are actually good despite looking awful last year. And even then, hard to think any would be confident that any of them are better than low end starters anyway.

I feel the same way about signing Cam Robinson at LT. Red flags, concerns, all that. These are premium positions, our depth chart is terrible, neither are ancient, neither is that far removed from being solid options, and we have mountains of cap space.

Robinson on a 2 Year Deal (which is really a 1 Year Deal if they decide to let him go after this coming season). Cooper, the same. At least it would theoretically give us a 1 year stop-gap to hopefully help Maye until we can replace them with younger and hopefully much better options.

 

[JohnJH]

Yeah, though I think in a less demanding role he can come back and be productive. He’s still fast, and they need some speed. Already knows the offense.

Cooks + Cooper + Pop would likely be OK. Cut Bourne to recoup some cap and make room. If Hollins, Polk, Baker or Boutte earn a top spot then good for them. Still draft Hunter if he’s there.

So, I'm not the only one in the "Cut Bourne Camp". Nice!

 

[TheRainMaker]

You expected Cooks to be Randy Moss? Seriously?

I never said I did. I said NE did. Josh McDaniels constantly called plays to throw bombs to Cooks which isn't his game. He looked pretty frustrated all season.

 

[Lansdowne]

The thing to remember with Amari Cooper is that he suffered a wrist injury that effected his performance down the stretch. He injured it with Buffalo against the Seahawks. Doctors advised him to get surgery on it but he decided to play through it with a cast on instead. He looked good in his Bills debut the week prior to that (4-66-1 on 5 targets) considering he was playing for the Browns a week prior but was only heavily involved once since the injury. He was excellent in 2023 (72-1250-5) in a season where the Browns were carried by their defense and saw them start 5 different QB's.

It's more likely that Cooper has reached the cliff in his career, but it's possible that there is a buy low opportunity for a career resurgence. Keenan Allen was written off after his down 2022 season only to have arguably his best season at age 31 in 2023. Allen was on pace for 141-1625-9 in 17 games but a heel injury took him out for the final 4 games. Allen in his prime was one of the best WRs of his generation, and I'd put prime Cooper in a tier below that, but Cooper had 7 seasons over 1000 yards before age 30 which is nothing to sneeze at.

Mike Vrabel mentioned in an earlier press conference that in free agency you'll have a tier of players that will be high in demand and looking to make the money work, and then after that it's all about selling opportunities. Cooper may fall under the category of opportunity. But the smart play is probably to wait and see what the draft has to offer.

 

[BUSTAMOVE]

You mean the guy that I wanted in that draft and we could've traded up a few spots and gotten instead of T.T.? He's had the "Injury Bug" since being drafted, which is a shame because the guy has some serious talent.

I know. I haven’t followed him but I remember liking him in the draft
Other members have told me he is made of glass
So as they say “never mind”
How are you leaning in the draft at this point

 

[Ray Ray 717]

McMillan’s pro day has catapulted him back into the conversation. We could have him 4-5 years under cost control

 

[Ring 6]

I never said I did. I said NE did. Josh McDaniels constantly called plays to throw bombs to Cooks which isn't his game. He looked pretty frustrated all season.

You think they thought he was Randy Moss? My god.

 

[JohnJH]

I know. I haven’t followed him but I remember liking him in the draft
Other members have told me he is made of glass
So as they say “never mind”
How are you leaning in the draft at this point

That's a dang good question. 99% of the Mock Drafts that I see regarding the Patriots are HORRIFIC! And 99% of those looks like B.B. is still in charge of the Patriots Draft. I'm leaning in trading down, drafting Tyler Warren (or a similar Day 1 impact player), getting an extra 2nd Round Pick in this draft, and a pick or picks in the next draft as well. I'm NOT taking Membou at #4, #6, or anywhere in the Top 15. He's a dang RT!!! And he's maybe 6'3 (sounds like Isaiah Wynn all over again at best), and in the Top 15!!! NO!!! In and/or after the 2nd Round-Jayden Higgins? Yes! Omarion Hampton? Yes. Alfred Collins? Yes. Grey Zabel? Yes. Raheim Sanders? Yes. JJ Pegues (as a FB/Backup DL)? Yes. Tyleik Williams? Yes. Ozzy Trapilo? Yes. Josh Conerly Jr.? Yes. Jack Sawyer? Yes. Mason Taylor? Yes. There are others.

 

[TommyD4207]

McMillan’s pro day has catapulted him back into the conversation. We could have him 4-5 years under cost control

There's a better chance he'll be out of the league before his rookie contract is up.

 

[imahobgoblin]

McMillan’s pro day has catapulted him back into the conversation. We could have him 4-5 years under cost control

Nope, it hasn't done any such think. Vrabel didn't throw out what he said about building trenches over a literal tenths of a second. Tet will go exactly where he was rated yesterday. His film is the same. The only WR going at #4 is Hunter if available. He is a blue chip. Tet is not.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

I say that if Hunter is there at 4, take him. Otherwise trade down and let some sucker take Campbell or Abdul Carter. The Patriots have a lot of holes to fill so a trade down is the way to go.

 

[PatsFan2]

Nope, it hasn't done any such think. Vrabel didn't throw out what he said about building trenches over a literal tenths of a second. Tet will go exactly where he was rated yesterday. His film is the same. The only WR going at #4 is Hunter if available. He is a blue chip. Tet is not.

It's very hard to get WR's these days: you have to Draft and Develop your own; it's between Hunter and Tetaroi McMillan now. I'm fine with either.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Nope, it hasn't done any such think. Vrabel didn't throw out what he said about building trenches over a literal tenths of a second. Tet will go exactly where he was rated yesterday. His film is the same. The only WR going at #4 is Hunter if available. He is a blue chip. Tet is not.

Had Harry not ran a 4.5 time, he would’ve been a 2nd round pick and gone after Metcalf, Brown and Samuel. 40 times have fooled teams to ignore film for years.

 

[Grogan14]

I say that if Hunter is there at 4, take him. Otherwise trade down and let some sucker take Campbell or Abdul Carter. The Patriots have a lot of holes to fill so a trade down is the way to

Does Mike Vrabel seem like a guy who would take Tet over Campbell at 4?
I did not think so

 

[Hugepatsfan]

Does Mike Vrabel seem like a guy who would take Tet over Campbell at 4?
I did not think so

He's mentioned many times now that he doesn't want to be pigeon holed into one position in the draft and cited how important he thinks it is to get high end receivers through the draft. I very much think he's the type of guy who would take Tet over Campbell if he thought Tet was a better football player because he seems to understand that building a good football team requires talent all over. I don't think his vision is to build a team that spends all of it's money on receivers and throws the ball 60 times a game but that hardly means that he doesn't understand the important of the WR position even within an offense designed to play with physicality.

Honestly, if you want to build a physical football team I'd argue that the WR position is even more important than on a team designed to pass it because running formations and prioritizing that type of playcalling means that your scheme will be less about freeing up wide receivers and more about creating one on one matchups that they simply need to beat their man in. If you want to run big formation packages with multi TEs and a FB at times and a between the tackles runner and all that other "football guy" type of stuff, then you're not going to have the same flexibility to free guys up with different route concepts. You're going to need someone who can simply be better than the guy covering him. It's easier to get by with lesser receiving talent when you run spread and throw the ball 50 times because now you're able to scheme up room for them.

 

[imahobgoblin]

He's mentioned many times now that he doesn't want to be pigeon holed into one position in the draft and cited how important he thinks it is to get high end receivers through the draft. I very much think he's the type of guy who would take Tet over Campbell if he thought Tet was a better football player because he seems to understand that building a good football team requires talent all over. I don't think his vision is to build a team that spends all of it's money on receivers and throws the ball 60 times a game but that hardly means that he doesn't understand the important of the WR position even within an offense designed to play with physicality.

Honestly, if you want to build a physical football team I'd argue that the WR position is even more important than on a team designed to pass it because running formations and prioritizing that type of playcalling means that your scheme will be less about freeing up wide receivers and more about creating one on one matchups that they simply need to beat their man in. If you want to run big formation packages with multi TEs and a FB at times and a between the tackles runner and all that other "football guy" type of stuff, then you're not going to have the same flexibility to free guys up with different route concepts. You're going to need someone who can simply be better than the guy covering him. It's easier to get by with lesser receiving talent when you run spread and throw the ball 50 times because now you're able to scheme up room for them.

We literally have no starting left tackle. You don't think we are pigeonholed?

 

[Grogan14]

He's mentioned many times now that he doesn't want to be pigeon holed into one position in the draft and cited how important he thinks it is to get high end receivers through the draft. I very much think he's the type of guy who would take Tet over Campbell if he thought Tet was a better football player because he seems to understand that building a good football team requires talent all over. I don't think his vision is to build a team that spends all of it's money on receivers and throws the ball 60 times a game but that hardly means that he doesn't understand the important of the WR position even within an offense designed to play with physicality.

Honestly, if you want to build a physical football team I'd argue that the WR position is even more important than on a team designed to pass it because running formations and prioritizing that type of playcalling means that your scheme will be less about freeing up wide receivers and more about creating one on one matchups that they simply need to beat their man in. If you want to run big formation packages with multi TEs and a FB at times and a between the tackles runner and all that other "football guy" type of stuff, then you're not going to have the same flexibility to free guys up with different route concepts. You're going to need someone who can simply be better than the guy covering him. It's easier to get by with lesser receiving talent when you run spread and throw the ball 50 times because now you're able to scheme up room for them.

2 players with similar talent levels each with significant downsides
Ones a LT one is a WR
Both are positional needs, i think Vrabel would want to try to plug that giant LT hole first.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

We literally have no starting left tackle. You don't think we are pigeonholed?

And if we draft a player who isn't good enough to be a starting left tackle then we still don't have one. Drafting a player at a position doesn't fix that position unless the guy can play.

If they think that Campbell or any other LT prospect is going to be good there, then that should be the pick. But there are very real concerns about this OT class. Campbell and Banks are widely considered as guys who might need to move inside. Membou is a career RT who, even if he does end up a good LT, is likely going to be raw there so unlikely to be a day 1 fix that everyone wants anyway. Simmons will likely be a medical redshirt rookie so doesn't do anything to address the immediate need everyone wants to reach for anyway. The other guys are all considered day 2 prospects who could get pushed into round 1 because of desperation at the position, not because of their own individual merits.

You can't just manifest a starting LT. There's a very real chance none are out there in this class. You can't just bury your head in the sand on that. You know what's worse than having no starting LT? Not having a starting LT even after you used your top draft pick on one.