Let's Play "This was the TE to take"

The one big complaint many have about this Patriots draft was the lack of a tight end. 13 TEs were drafted from pick #32 on, and doubtless a few will turn out to be good players who we'll wish we had.

But of course, you don't get to pick all 13 on draft day. You have to pick a particular guy.

Here's everybody's chance for future bragging (or grousing ) rights. If you think the Patriots made a mistake passing on the tight end class, name the TE you think they should have picked, and which actual draftee he would have replaced. E.g. "Irv Smith instead of Joejuan Williams."

I think it’s clear BB didn’t want a pass catching only TE who, after all, are just bigger, slower WRs. So, for me, Drew Sample on day three, but of course he was long gone by then. I liked him but not to the same degree the Bungals did.

Hard to say what TE would have panned out. Pats obviously did not love the tight ends after the top 2 of Hockensen and Fant were gone. I also felt the TE class was top heavy and the WR class was much deeper.

Pats got value this draft by getting a WR in N'Keal Harry they felt was a 1st rounder at 32.

I would have liked a 7th round flier on Parham simply because of his size and athleticism. A 6'8 TE who plays like a power forward on offense? But he reportedly signed with the Lions as a UDFA.

Outside of Irv Smith Jr., whom we passed on, it's hard for me to say there's anyone that could have made an impact that doesn't have serious weaknesses.

Hoping we get Rudolph after cuts on a 1 year deal. Still not convinced by ASJ yet so I hope we get an insurance policy in case he doesn't pan out.

Thought the pick would be Sternberger because he seemed like a combo te, then I thought it would be Warring because of his athleticism and raw potential. Then I thought they had a late round grade on someone and after everything they sent with the udfa.

Very apparent they are either satisfied with what they got with Jenkins plus other 2. Also went bigger at receiver because they are changing it up a bit probably.

Wesco, Knox, Moreau, Warring all were guys that could block & had potential there. Along w upside as a rec threat.

Sweeney to a lesser extent.

Moreau seemed liked the best combination of value, blocking, and athleticism. I thought there was a decent chance that he might be the pick, but I'm not too worried that they went in a different direction. Overall I was extremely pleased with the players selected. Very hopeful for this class (and our returning injured 2018 rookies).

Funny how no one wants to follow the directions of the question and name one player they would have drafted with one pick.
I guess it’s easier to be right when you are non-committal.

I wouldn't change any pick in the first 4 rounds.

And I don't believe any of the TE's after Hock and Fant are better than what's already on the roster.

I'd say Kaden Smith or Isaac Nuata late, but they traded their 7th rounders to move up.

When I was running simulators, I kept discounting any possibility they'd get Fant or Hock. Maybe Irv Smith in the second instead of Joejuan?

After that, I couldn't begin to separate the others - just a jumble of names when I read about this guy or that guy.

AndyJohnson said:

Funny how no one wants to follow the directions of the question and name one player they would have drafted with one pick.
I guess it’s easier to be right when you are non-committal.

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And your choice? I thought they would take Irv Smith Jr, but BB has a plan we're not privy to.

After that first two off the board wasn’t in love with the rest of the class.

That being said, I would’ve kept 134 and selected Moreau.

No reason to draft a TE who won't be an upgrade over ASJ or Izzo. Izzo already has a year in the system and was drafted in the 7th round. So why would another TE drafted in rounds 5 to 7 provide a guaranteed upgrade?

Let's wait and see what mid season looks like before claiming the Pats made a fault not drafting a TE just to draft a TE.

I think LaCosse will surprise some people. Izzo might not even make the roster and appears to be solid.

Fant and Hockenson would have been great picks but after that I'm happy we ignored the position for OL and RB.

gobesmug said:

No reason to draft a TE who won't be an upgrade over ASJ or Izzo. Izzo already has a year in the system and was drafted in the 7th round. So why would another TE drafted in rounds 5 to 7 provide a guaranteed upgrade?

Let's wait and see what mid season looks like before claiming the Pats made a fault not drafting a TE just to draft a TE.

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Or Matt LaCosse.

LaCosse is one letter short of Lacrosse. He's making the team on that alone.

I would bet that BB doesn't see any of the TE's (after the first round) to be upgrades to ASJ, Anderson, Izzo, and Lacrosse.

I think Sternberger will turn out to be pretty good, and if we look back on anyone as a missed opportunity I suspect it'll be him. But I'm fine with the Patriots not getting him since he went a few picks before Winovich, so we would have had to trade up from his spot, and I think Winovich will be a good player for us at a position of need in his own right. I'm curious if we would have taken him if he'd lasted a couple more picks, but ultimately it really doesn't matter.

In general, I think the whole idea of replacing Gronk is misguided, because nobody was ever going to. We're not going to get a TE who offers even a half-decent approximation of him, because that guy simply doesn't exist. Or more accurately, if he does exist in this draft then we would have had to trade up to the top of the first to get him. No matter who the Pats picked we were going to be having this conversation at at least one or two positions, you can't fix every hole in the draft. I'm happy with who they picked.

AndyJohnson said:

Funny how no one wants to follow the directions of the question and name one player they would have drafted with one pick.
I guess it’s easier to be right when you are non-committal.

Click to expand...

Or maybe the simple explanation is that we don’t have one.

gobesmug said:

No reason to draft a TE who won't be an upgrade over ASJ or Izzo. Izzo already has a year in the system and was drafted in the 7th round. So why would another TE drafted in rounds 5 to 7 provide a guaranteed upgrade?

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That's increasingly my thought as well. If you wanted an inline blocker like Trevon Wesco, that's Ryan Izzo. If you want a big target with a reliable all-around skill set but no special athletic traits like Kaden Smith, that's Matt LaCosse. The one missing element is a boom-or-bust developmental prospect with major athletic upside, but there's no guarantee that guy even makes the roster.

IOW there's clear room for a upgrade, but an upgrade wasn't obviously available. I can't complain that they went for quality at another position vs. quantity at TE.

I just mentioned this in another thread but the PFW boys seriously intimated on the day 3 draft show that they had inside knowledge that Bill wanted Kahale Warring but the Texans jumped on him in the 3rd. Think we took Harris the pick after.

Obviously no other opportunities presented themselves.

reamer said:

Moreau seemed liked the best combination of value, blocking, and athleticism. I thought there was a decent chance that he might be the pick, but I'm not too worried that they went in a different direction. Overall I was extremely pleased with the players selected. Very hopeful for this class (and our returning injured 2018 rookies).

Click to expand...

AndyJohnson said:

Funny how no one wants to follow the directions of the question and name one player they would have drafted with one pick.
I guess it’s easier to be right when you are non-committal.

Click to expand...

Ras-IR Dowling said:

After that first two off the board wasn’t in love with the rest of the class.

That being said, I would’ve kept 134 and selected Moreau.

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Two of us did, at least. I forgot to mention the pick, but I went into day 3 thinking any of the 4th rounders were a solid spot for him. I agree I'd have kept 134 and taken Moreau. We'll see if that turns out to be a good choice or not.