Welcome to the Patriots Hjalte Froholdt

DaBruinz said:

BB has always tried to prepare for a player leaving. Especially after the Branch debacle..

It's not just Thuney who is a FA next year. Karras, Ferentz, and Schwenke are also free agents. So the addition of Froholdt is in preparation of losing more than one of them.

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And given Karras' performance in spot duty last season, I wouldn't be surprised if the Pats just concluded that they needed an upgrade there anyway, regardless of whether Thuney stays or leaves. The odds of one of your guards being injured in any given season are reasonably high, and ideally the next guy up performs better than Karras did. I know PFF says Karras performed pretty well, but that wasn't the impression I got.

BradyFTW! said:

And given Karras' performance in spot duty last season, I wouldn't be surprised if the Pats just concluded that they needed an upgrade there anyway, regardless of whether Thuney stays or leaves. The odds of one of your guards being injured in any given season are reasonably high, and ideally the next guy up performs better than Karras did. I know PFF says Karras performed pretty well, but that wasn't the impression I got.

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I got the impression he was more than adequate, though I could see the Patriots trading him if Froholdt and Tyler Gauthier outplay him.

Teams are always looking for cheap back-up help on the interior.

I believe we will carry 9 OL so Karras still has a good chance at making the final 53.

I'm sure that @captain stone will be happy that the likelihood that Ferentz's days of being with the team are numbered with the addition of Froholdt and Gauthier.

I was a fan of Lindstrom and would happily have taken him at 32 but there’s not a huge difference between him an Froholdt/Allegretti here.

DanishPatFan said:

Finally a Danish player In The NFL and NEP

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Hope he can emulate our last European offensive lineman import, Sea Bass.

DaBruinz said:

I'm sure that @captain stone will be happy that the likelihood that Ferentz's days of being with the team are numbered with the addition of Froholdt and Gauthier.

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Ferentz's experience might just carry the day.

BradyFTW! said:

And given Karras' performance in spot duty last season, I wouldn't be surprised if the Pats just concluded that they needed an upgrade there anyway, regardless of whether Thuney stays or leaves. The odds of one of your guards being injured in any given season are reasonably high, and ideally the next guy up performs better than Karras did. I know PFF says Karras performed pretty well, but that wasn't the impression I got.

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I’m a bit surprised to read this. I thought that Karras was progressing here, and was an adequate backup worthy of spot starting. It will be interesting to see what happens, but he’s still likely to make the team in my opinion.

SBLIII said:

I believe we will carry 9 OL so Karras still has a good chance at making the final 53.

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I would guess that you’re right. 9 is a very reasonable number. They’ve gone light with 8 before, but with Karras and Thuney hitting free agency, the two new OL, and some injury history with Wynn, Cajuste, and Cannon, there’s little reason to think it would be anything less than 9.

supafly said:

I’m a bit surprised to read this. I thought that Karras was progressing here, and was an adequate backup worthy of spot starting. It will be interesting to see what happens, but he’s still likely to make the team in my opinion.

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Not to jump the gun, but only to state the obvious:

If Karras gets cut in New England, he's got several likely options for a landing spot.

supafly said:

I would guess that you’re right. 9 is a very reasonable number. They’ve gone light with 8 before, but with Karras and Thuney hitting free agency, the two new OL, and some injury history with Wynn, Cajuste, and Cannon, there’s little reason to think it would be anything less than 9.

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It's not just Karras and Thuney. Remember that Schwenke and Ferentz are also free agents.

The Patriots actually carried 10 OL for the longest time. Particularly when they were having issues with both OTs getting injured. It's only been the past few years that they've been at 9 and sometimes 8.

Cannon, Mason, Thuney, Andrews, Wynn, Cajuste, Froholdt are your 7 who should make the team in all likelihood

The rest will come from Karras, Schwenke, Croston, Lang, Anderson, Gauthier, Eldrencamp, Skipper, Lang, and Mathews.

"A source in Denmark said the Patriots view fourth-round pick Hjalte Froholdt as a center first and a guard second. The Chiefs and Dolphins also liked him as a center in the predraft process."

Early verdict on Patriots’ draft: It looks solid

patchick said:

"A source in Denmark said the Patriots view fourth-round pick Hjalte Froholdt as a center first and a guard second. The Chiefs and Dolphins also liked him as a center in the predraft process."

Early verdict on Patriots’ draft: It looks solid

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If that's the case combined with the interest in Ragnow last year it looks like they deem Andrews as replaceable.

SBLIII said:

If that's the case combined with the interest in Ragnow last year it looks like they deem Andrews as replaceable.

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I think they've always been looking for a physical talent upgrade at C even though you couldn't ask for a better mental game from Andrews. I still see Froholdt getting more opportunities at guard than at center in the near future though.

SBLIII said:

If that's the case combined with the interest in Ragnow last year it looks like they deem Andrews as replaceable.

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No. I think it says they deem Karras and Ferentz replaceable and want someone who could replace Andrews in the event he was hurt..

DaBruinz said:

No. I think it says they deem Karras and Ferentz replaceable and want someone who could replace Andrews in the event he was hurt..

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Froholdt can play C and G so good pick.

This is a nice concise, well-rounded tape with just the right, slight Danish bias
Well worth the watch for those less familiar with Hjalte.

And since its a Dane analysis (in english) you get the pronunciation first hand..

SBLIII said:

If that's the case combined with the interest in Ragnow last year it looks like they deem Andrews as replaceable.

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"A source in Denmark....." ??? Was Volin extradited to Scandinavia?

long distance said:

This is a nice concise, well-rounded tape with just the right, slight Danish bias
Well worth the watch for those less familiar with Hjalte.

And since its a Dane analysis (in english) you get the pronunciation first hand..

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Good post but I have already watched enough video on this guy. I like him a lot. He’s got the talent to be a solid NFL starter with a ceiling of a consistent top 5 G or C. Love the pick. I’ll put my pompoms away now.

patchick said:

"A source in Denmark said the Patriots view fourth-round pick Hjalte Froholdt as a center first and a guard second. The Chiefs and Dolphins also liked him as a center in the predraft process."

Early verdict on Patriots’ draft: It looks solid

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That report is not true, they view him as a guard first