Player Signing Patriots expected to sign S John Saunders Jr

[yukon cornelius]

Sounds interesting but why isn't he playing now?

dolphins have a pretty solid safety group........but barring injury, dugger wasn't playing and was a poor scheme fit.......bringing in a backup who IS a better fit is an upgrade

 

[mgteich]

I guess they couldn't find anyone they liked at the Foxboro Walmart.

Google Search

 

[Family]

The Pats clearly have a plan, and a list of guys who Vrabel/Cowden know or have previously scouted. That puts them in a position to move quickly.

Look at the Caleb Murphy waiver claim, for example.

It wouldn't surprise me if they had identified Saunders as someone they could target if an opening arose.

This wasn't a case of trading Duggar and then saying, "oh yeah, we need a #3 safety now".

The opening was there for weeks. Saunders has been on Miami's practice squad all season. We only carried 52 players. Dugger was always on thin ice. Why not bring him in the system earlier and at least learn it if we thought he was a replacement?

This can't be their only move or its horrible management, even if he's a great UFA prospect who got called up once.

 

[Toofy]

Give this a read. He looks to be a pretty solid FS and great coverage skills with knack for interceptions. He is able to mirror receiver routes pretty well and I think reads coverages fast which should help him to react faster .

Looks like a sneaky pick like woodson.

https://nfldraftdiamonds.com/2024/09/john-saunders/

 

[Family]

Looks like a sneaky pick like woodson.

https://nfldraftdiamonds.com/2024/09/john-saunders/

Even Woodson who was a 4th round pick and here from day one struggled early.

What week is this?

 

[Toofy]

Even Woodson who was a 4th round pick and here from day one struggled early.

What week is this?

Woodson was not that bad and he was playing more than 50% of snaps from start. So for a fourth rounder he was a stud. Some lapses here and there , but don't think anyone complained about his play. He was an above average starter and considering where he was drafted , a home run pick actually considering our need and how much we spent either on draft assets or dollar value.

 

[Family]

Woodson was not that bad and he was playing more than 50% of snaps from start. So for a fourth rounder he was a stud. Some lapses here and there , but don't think anyone complained about his play. He was an above average starter and considering where he was drafted , a home run pick actually considering our need and how much we spent either on draft assets or dollar value.

His preseason was iffy.

Not bad for a rookie, but it was obvious he was still learning.

I'm not knocking Woodson. Just how is this kid ready for war before the season ends?

 

[patfanken]

That draft report paints a very positive picture of Saunders. BTW- I would have loved that he ran a 4.3 40, but I will remind people that Rodney ran a 4.8. A deep safety's range has a lot more to do with his anticipation and ability to read the play and the QB's eyes, than just raw speed. So, I'll wait to see how he looks on the field before I rely on a timed sprint on paper.

Like his size, and given that draft report, which was pretty positive, I'm surprise he wasn't drafted. At any rate, we need a S, we got a S. He cost nothing, now let's see how he looks on the field.

''

 

[DaBruinz]

This is an odd move.

They traded Dugger so there's a need for another safety, but nobody's seen this guy since preseason, and he was an UFA.

They're a contender. Yes, a young team, so there should be an eye for the future, but tying a roster spot for three weeks on a maybe with the current need at safety is strange.

They have Richie Grant on the Practice Squad as well whom they will likely rely upon until Saunders get's up to speed. Grant has 2 more elevations available.

 

[UGAPatsfan]

I’m going to give Vrabel and Cowden the benefit of the doubt because: I wasn’t excited about Tonga either and was dead wrong.

 

[Family]

They have Richie Grant on the Practice Squad as well whom they will likely rely upon until Saunders get's up to speed. Grant has 2 more elevations available.

They can get away with this, but they have to add something to the defense, or they are depth wise weaker from the Dugger move for this year.

And this was a mistake. They only carried 52 players for weeks, so if he's on the field help this year, they should have acted quicker. The safety situation has been ongoing.

What don't you agree with?

 

[upstater1]

I don't have a problem with young players at backup (actually like it) like Bryant at RT or Chism/Williams at WR, but they have been here all year.

Don't like an UFA who was cut from a bad team being more than a hail mary practice squad player.

It's also strange in the sense that Woodson is really learning on the job. I'm more than willing to have him do that at this point, but I can't pretend he's not making some pretty big blunders out there. Mostly I just see wrong reads and wrong angles.

He'll learn to leverage the field to help him cover.

 

[Betterthanmost]

They can get away with this, but they have to add something to the defense, or they are depth wise weaker from the Dugger move for this year.

And this was a mistake. They only carried 52 players for weeks, so if he's on the field help this year, they should have acted quicker. The safety situation has been ongoing.

What don't you agree with?

Hearing that Dugger started a lot of the games on first drives and then sat after. Wondering if any correlation…. I will verify .

 

[TommyD4207]

I guess they couldn't find anyone they liked at the Foxboro Walmart.

Johnny Foxboro won't be available until after Thanksgiving. Big matchup with Mansfield after all.

 

[TommyD4207]

His preseason was iffy.

Not bad for a rookie, but it was obvious he was still learning.

I'm not knocking Woodson. Just how is this kid ready for war before the season ends?

Getting 100% of the reps every week is the best trial-by-fire he's going to get.

 

[jmt57]

Looks like he was too slow to play CB, so he transitioned to Safety

 

[TheRainMaker]

I completely forgot his Dad died in 2016.

 

[captain stone]

from Dolphins practice squad

Problem solved now! Thanks, Collaboration!

 

[PatsFan2]

Sounds interesting but why isn't he playing now?

Looks like Tarzan plays Jane??

 

[WaterfallJumper]

Looks like he was too slow to play CB, so he transitioned to Safety

Pretty good numbers, actually. The 10 yard split is considerably below average, but the time between the 20 and 40 yard data points show he's gaining ground and has pretty good long speed. He basically hits an average CB number (which is plenty fast for a safety) by the end. Based on his jumping numbers, he's fairly explosive, so I'm guessing he just didn't have the best training on how to start a sprint. Chances are that he's just as fast as the average 4.48 - 4.5 player. Good instincts > raw speed most of the time, as long as the player isn't super slow, since the difference between a 4.5 and 4.6 is basically a step or two. Moving in the right direction sooner than your competitor will make up that difference. Anyway, I think there's untapped athletic potential here in addition to the apparent instincts. We could do worse for the practice squad.

I'd still put safety as a major need next draft, but in season our options are limited.