Austin Carr and Jacob Hollister

Do you guys feel these guys are the real deal or are they this year's version of Kenbrell Thompkins and Zach Sudfeld. I don't want to get my hopes up. Let's just hope noone calls Hollister "Baby Gronk". Has Hollister surpassed Lengel on the depth chart?

Can Hollister block? I can't imagine them retaining a move TE with a limited athletic profile who can't block on the 53. That TE3 spot usually goes to a third tackle type like Lengel. He's also competing against O'Shaughnessy, a veteran who they liked well enough to give up a pick for and is a core special teamer.

These guys looked good last night and Carr was at least playing against NFLers. The guys defending Hollister will be at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Week 1.

Hollister didn't look especially athletic for his size; he performed well tonight but against NFL combination I don't think he has the size/athleticism combo to have a definitive role. Could catch on as an end-of-the-roster guy, but I wouldn't bet on it. He seems like the kind of guy who's athletic enough to get the job done in the preseason but didn't really display any skills that suggest they would translate to the next level.

Carr was genuinely intriguing though. He worked the sidelines and made contested catches. That TD grab was beautiful: timed his jump perfectly, high-pointed the ball, made a clean catch, and absorbed the contact well. Of the two, I like his chances better. Our WR depth chart is crowded as is, but if he doesn't catch on here I bet he'll end up on someone's roster.

primetime said:

These guys looked good last night and Carr was at least playing against NFLers. The guys defending Hollister will be at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Week 1.

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What a coincidence...so will I!

Tread lightly with WR:

Thompkins
Tyms
Harper

They all performed better than Carr last night. I'm skeptical until he sees reps vs 1st teamers.

patsinthesnow said:

Tread lightly with WR:

Thompkins
Tyms
Harper

They all performed better than Carr last night. I'm skeptical until he sees reps vs 1st teamers.

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Showing up on the stat sheet and making tough, hard plays is two very different things. If Carr can consistently go after the ball the way he did in the end-zone, he'll be on the squad if he gets on the same page as Brady.

Difficult to judge against the Jaguars back ups, but in reality the whole Jax team is made up of back-ups...

I think the team will find a place for Carr. When it comes to Hollister, I'll have to see him at least play against actual NFL talent.

Every time Carr is interviewed he says how much fun he is having. Maybe an odd reaction to us, but he seems to love playing. And the game does not seem too big for him. Too much can be made of one game, but he is on the radar now for sure.

carr made some pretty good plays that were irrelevant to who was covering him and he goes exactly where he is supposed to go

he has the tools......if he can run the routes, he will be here......biggest knock on him is that he's not a special teamer

that said, the guy did lead the big 10 in yardage

bormio said:

Every time Carr is interviewed he says how much fun he is having. Maybe an odd reaction to us, but he seems to love playing. And the game does not seem too big for him. Too much can be made of one game, but he is on the radar now for sure.

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He high pointed that ball in the back of the end zone like a veteran. Rookies usually mistime a play like that. If he keeps making plays like that in practice and in the preseason, the team will find a way to keep him and develop him.

Galeb said:

Showing up on the stat sheet and making tough, hard plays is two very different things. If Carr can consistently go after the ball the way he did in the end-zone, he'll be on the squad if he gets on the same page as Brady.

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Don't think you remember the three of them well then because all three made great plays throughout their respective camps, preseason exhibitions and some even in regular season games. So far there is no reason to assume that Carr isn't just the new, shiny 2017 version of that. I didn't see any consistent separation he was able to gain against the second and third string defenders yesterday which is a red flag imho.

Hollister would have to have a Sudfeld-esque remaining 3 weeks and break out to have a shot at a roster spot. O'Shaughnessy and Lengel are less one-dimensional and provide additional value on ST and as inline blockers, respectively.

patsinthesnow said:

Tread lightly with WR:

Thompkins
Tyms
Harper

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Is that list is supposed to convince us that Carr won't make the Patriots? Because all three of those players DID play for the Patriots.

But yes, there's always a camp WR phenom, and few of them amount to much in the long run. In defense of the Carr fan club, he's coming in with a very different pedigree: a Biletnikoff finalist who led the Big Ten in receptions, yardage and touchdowns. Plus he's smart and is used to having to outwork everybody and prove himself.

A nice pre-draft profile, if anybody's interested: Austin Carr, Denver Broncos 2017 NFL Draft target?

IllegalContact said:

carr made some pretty good plays that were irrelevant to who was covering him and he goes exactly where he is supposed to go

he has the tools......if he can run the routes, he will be here......biggest knock on him is that he's not a special teamer

that said, the guy did lead the big 10 in yardage

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Can he return punts? Edelman never did before he got here. And if C. Jones is leaving ....

Devin Lucien showed me more than Carr did last night.

Had his man beat deep and got borderline interfered with and couldn't get to the ball which Garoppolo could have delivered a little bit better

Had his man completely deep that resulted in the guy just grabbing his arm

Then that deep ball from Brissett which yes it was out of bounds but he went up and got it over two defenders.

How come Carr did so well in college but was then undrafted?

K. Dog said:

How come Carr did so well in college but was then undrafted?

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Check out Patchick's link above. Summary:

- College walk on
- Barely played before his senior season
- Plays faster than his measurables (aka slow combine/pro day numbers)
- Viewed primarily as a slot guy for the NFL, even though he actually graded out well on deeper routes

Those guys might get drafted in the 7th round if they're lucky. Here's a recent sample of some of these types of players the Pats had:

- Troy Brown -- drafted in 8th round of 1993 draft (the spot for a 7th round comp pick today)
- Wes Welker - undrafted
- Julien Edelman - drafted 7th round
- Danny Amendola - undrafted
- TJ Moe - undrafted

Some of those are pure slot guys, some of them are much more versatile but still got that label anyway.

JMC00 said:

Devin Lucien showed me more than Carr did last night.

Had his man beat deep and got borderline interfered with and couldn't get to the ball which Garoppolo could have delivered a little bit better

Had his man completely deep that resulted in the guy just grabbing his arm

Then that deep ball from Brissett which yes it was out of bounds but he went up and got it over two defenders.

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I thought Devin could have played that better tbh. A vet at least gets a P.I. call in that situation imo.

Here's the thing on Carr; As good as he looks against 2nd and third teamers, it seems to me that he doesn't have the physical skills to gain separation from starting NFL DB's. He has "good" quickness, but not the great quickness we saw from Welker, and now Edelman. One the plus side, he runs diciplined routes and IS where he is supposed to be and has good hands On the TD catch he showed excellent virtical.

I see Carr as a possible roster pick IF there are a couple of injuries at WR, but I still think he's behind Lucien in the race to see who is the best WR who is going to get cut in September. I'm guessing the Pats will want to keep them on the PS, but I'm guessing one or both will wind up with the Jets.

BTW- another factor against Carr is that I'm not sure he's playing any role on ST's, which will make it harder for him to stick

Carr was excellent in college and looked decent but I need to see more. Actually the more encouraging aspect is that "Experts" are stating he has been very good in practice and that is a much larger sample size than a few reps in a pre-season game.