Patriots 53 man roster post draft

Obviously some things here are going to change between now and the final roster, but it would be nice to just get a look at things. * is added a new player.

QB 3 - Brady Hoyer Stidham

Clearly Brady is a lock as is Stidham being a 4th round pick. Hoyer should be the veteran back up unless they really love Etling. Keeping 4 is possible but unlikely so I think these 3 are a safe projection.

RB/FB 6 - Michel White Harris Burkead Bolden Develin

Not much interesting here. Michel White, Harris, Burkhead and Bolden are all locks. Bolden due mostly to his contract. Unless Develin decides to hang them in camp he should be back. Burkhead being cut would cost 2M and keeping him would cost 3. So he sticks too.

TE 3 - Watson* LaCosse ASJ

Unless the Pats sign another TE I see them going light here. LaCosse got a 500K signing bonus which is almost half his cap hit, so clearly the see a design for him and should be a lock. As for the other player(s) it will be anyone's guess. I'll go with ASJ due to his track record. They could keep a 3rd if they believe Anderson or Izzo are NFL caliber guys.

WR 4 - Edelman Harry Dorsett Thomas

Edelman Harry and Dorset are all locks. For all the questions about Thomas, he's at least played in the NFL and has been productive. If he looks anything like his 2018 self he'll stick. Depending on what happens with Gordon I could see Meyers making a run and maybe Berrios. My UDFA bet is on Meyers right now. I could see the Pats going 6 WRs here eventually once/if Gordon comes back as they may want another pass catcher to help the Gronk-less offense.

OL 9 - Wynn Thuney Andrews Mason Cannon Cajuste Froholdt Veldheer* Karras

This will be an interesting position to watch. As of now the 5 starters along with both 4th round draft picks are locks. Croston probably should hold on a depth OT spot but it isn't certain. The interior will be a vicious fight. Karras, Schwenke, & Ferentz could all make a run at it. I went with Karras due to his versatility but it could go either way. They could also potentially carry 10 but I don't see them keeping 6 IOL men and I don't see a potential 5th emergency tackle right now.

25 total offense.

DE 4 - Bennett Wise Winovich Simon

Bennett, Wise, Winovich and Simons are all locks. Simons due to his contract situation. Even if he has a bad camp they will hope he turns it around and becomes the player he did last year. Rivers could be cut, but about half of his cap hit would become dead money. Maybe Davis or Cowart take a spot but I see them going light on the DL.

DT - 4 Guy Butler Pennel Parry

Guy Butler and Pennel are all locks. This spot could use a signing. Parry a JAG till proven otherwise. Cowart could again fill in as a pass rush DT but there aren't a lot of options besides. This will be an interesting spot to watch going forward. They could also just go Guy Butler and Pennel here and keep a 5th DE to rotate in as a lite DT.

LB - 5 Van Noy Hightower Roberts Bentley King

The first four should be locks. Bentley could be a surprise cut but I don't think so. King should make it due to STs but a cut there is possible. Maybe anther guy is kept instead. Sam and Hall are worth keeping an eye on. Hall is another UDFA who could stick.

CB 6 - Gilmore McCourty Jackson Williams Jones Dawson

I think all of these guys are locks. The only one I could potentially see them cutting is Dawson but you don't tend to give up on a 2nd round pick in his 2nd year. That would be very odd. Crossen is the odd man out and maybe gets on the PS. It makes sense. Without a guy like Tyreek Hill to defend the need for a player like Crossen less. A trade of Dawson to someone else opens this up and could be a move they make.

S 5 - McCourty Chung Harmon Ebner Brooks

Again, all 5 are locks. Brooks is a lock due to his contract situation and STs ability. Not much else to say. I don't see any other safety having a realistic shot here.

Defense 24

STs 4 - Gost, Allen, Cardona Slater

Overall my thoughts are these. This will be a fairly unexciting camp. Most of the positions seems locked down already.

QB, RB, LB, CB, S are all pretty much locked. As for IOL, DL, WR and TE it isn't too exciting. While the 9th OL spot is interesting it's hard to really be concerned about it. For the DL unless a signing happens I could see that final spot being changed a few times over the course of the year. TE without a signing will just be the best of the bad options and debating on who is barely above JAG value.

WR will be interesting as the Thomas and Gordon story lines will be there and I think Meyers will excite people, yet he probably won't see the field much in reality unless the Thomas signing goes down in flames and Gordon can't play again. This is a spot that I'll be looking at a bit to see how those things shake out. If Thomas comes in and looks like his 2018 self that's good news but it makes the WR depth battle a moot point. The Gordon story will be interesting all year though just because of how impactful he can be.

I think you pretty much nailed this.

I think Bailey unseats Allen though.

and 4th DT spot goes to Shelton/Bailey

Nice work / Too early

BobDigital said:

Bentley could be a surprise cut

Click to expand...

Short of him coming in out of shape and having a "don't give a ****" attitude absolutely no chance. Guy was wearing the green dot in the first month of the season his rookie year before he got injured.

JMC00 said:

Short of him coming in out of shape and having a "don't give a ****" attitude absolutely no chance. Guy was wearing the green dot in the first month of the season his rookie year before he got injured.

Click to expand...

I have a better chance winning the lottery than Bentley getting cut.

It does look clearer than usual, which doubtless means we're in for some huge surprises.

My biggest disagreement is on Burkhead, who I think is on the outside looking in at this point. He would project to a weekly inactive, and in case of emergency Bolden would always be available on the 45. So I'd cut one from the RB corps and make room for a ST + developmental potential prospect like Malik Gant.

Not a ton of disagreement from me. Here's what I came up with immediately after the draft:

QB (3): 12 Brady, 2 Hoyer, Stidham
RB (5): 26 Michel, 28 White, 34 Burkhead, Harris, 38 Bolden
FB (1): 46 Develin
WR (5): 11 Edelman, Thomas, 13 Dorsett, Ellington, Harry
TE (3): Seferian-Jenkins, LaCosse, 85 Izzo
OL (8): 76 Wynn, 62 Thuney, 60 Andrews, 69 Mason, 61 Cannon, 75 Karras, Cajuste, Froholdt
DL (4): 93 Guy, Pennel, 70 Butler, 97 Kamalu
EDGE (4): Bennett, 91 Wise, 55 Simon, Winovich
LB (4): 54 Hightower, 53 Van Noy, 51 Bentley, 52 Roberts
CB (5): 24 Gilmore, 30 McCourty, 31 Jones, 27 Jackson, Williams
S (5): 32 McCourty, 23 Chung, 21 Harmon, 22 Melifonwu, Brooks
ST (6): 3 Gostkowski, 6 Allen, 49 Cardona, 18 Slater, 36 King, 43 Ebner
Suspended (1): 10 Gordon

• It would certainly be nice if Stidham made Hoyer redundant.
• There's absolutely no room for another RB to make it. We might even trade one away.
• WR will be interesting because we don't know if we'll have Gordon or Thomas to start the year. I give Ellington the spot vacated by Gordon for now but I like Harris too.
• I can't see us going into the season without a blocking TE on the roster, and I'm penciling Izzo as that guy right now.
• OL is a bit thin the way my 53 turned out; Karras is the only backup with NFL experience. Croston might grab a spot.
• Kamalu is really more of a placeholder for whichever DT emerges as the best 4th option. I chose him because he played a bit for us last year and looked decent.
• The CB room is just about as crowded as the RB room. I don't see how either of the 2018 draft picks (Dawson, Crossen) hang on right now. Injuries/other factors will probably get at least Crossen on the team when it's all said and done though.
• Melifonwu doesn't seem good enough to deserve a spot, but without him on the team, there's literally no safety depth when you consider Harmon a starter (which he absolutely is).
• You'd like to think Bailey has a good chance to supplant Allen.

I had almost the exact same.

I initially didn't have Rex Burkhead making the 53 but then I looked up and he has a pretty sizable dead cap. I didn't remember the Patriots giving Burkhead that much money. I don't think we should carry 5 RBs so I'd like a trade but I don't think anyone is interested in Burkhead so we should expect 5 RBs + 1 FB.

I have Bruce Ellington making the team but that's whatever.

I actually think Belichick will try to trade some players (despite what I'm assuming to be zero interest). Dawson, Rivers, Burkhead should be considered first given their dead cap.

Here's a wild prediction: We trade Rex to Oakland before the start of the season

JayNM said:

Here's a wild prediction: We trade Rex to Oakland before the start of the season

Click to expand...

Isn't there deadcap with a trade?

SBLIII said:

Isn't there deadcap with a trade?

Click to expand...

After June, it would cost 1M in 19, 1M in 20, so a 2M save for this year

Still, in this case, i don't think Salary is the main reason: He's just expendable

JayNM said:

Here's a wild prediction: We trade Rex to Oakland before the start of the season

Click to expand...

They did just lose a RB for the year. I could see something like that happening. Injuries -- whether the Patriots or other teams -- should bring more clarity to the 53. Unfortunately.

patchick said:

It does look clearer than usual, which doubtless means we're in for some huge surprises.

My biggest disagreement is on Burkhead, who I think is on the outside looking in at this point. He would project to a weekly inactive, and in case of emergency Bolden would always be available on the 45. So I'd cut one from the RB corps and make room for a ST + developmental potential prospect like Malik Gant.

Click to expand...

Rex has value in that he can run & catch and play STs. BB values that. However, I think you are right PC from the standpoint Rex in 2 years with the Patriots hasn't come close to finishing a season (if you can't stay on the field then your value plummets). Yet when he's fully healthy he's played pretty well. Which leads to, 'who do we have who can fill in the multi role back?;. Sony so far very largely just runs. White seems purely the 3rd down guy. Harris is a newby and therefore an unknown, and I believe wasn't known for receiving in college. Right now (until Harris can prove himself) I think Rex is the guy who fills in for Sony if he goes down and fills in for White when he goes down.

Elijah said:

Not a ton of disagreement from me. Here's what I came up with immediately after the draft:

WR (5): 11 Edelman, Thomas, 13 Dorsett, Ellington, Harry

Click to expand...

IMO, people are sleeping on Ellington. He has always made plays against us in the past. Also, despite being injury riddled...he had 31 catches last year with two teams...by comparison..Hogan has only had between 34-36 catches a year for the last 2-3 years playing 15-16 games a year with more targets.

Hyped said:

IMO, people are sleeping on Ellington. He has always made plays against us in the past. Also, despite being injury riddled...he had 31 catches last year with two teams...by comparison..Hogan has only had between 34-36 catches a year for the last 2-3 years playing 15-16 games a year with more targets.

Click to expand...

He just seems like the type who would produce here.

patchick said:

It does look clearer than usual, which doubtless means we're in for some huge surprises.

My biggest disagreement is on Burkhead, who I think is on the outside looking in at this point. He would project to a weekly inactive, and in case of emergency Bolden would always be available on the 45. So I'd cut one from the RB corps and make room for a ST + developmental potential prospect like Malik Gant.

Click to expand...

The only reason I don't think that will happen is if White gets hurt Burkhead is the only guy who can kind of fill that role. Add in the fact he is due to make 3M and 2M is already locked in and I think he's a keeper. Cutting him would only save 1M and you won't get anyone better with just 1M. Even if he's inactive every game having him as a security blanket is better than having a much less talented player as a security blanket.

I could maybe see him being traded, but not cut.

BobDigital said:

Overall my thoughts are these. This will be a fairly unexciting camp. Most of the positions seems locked down already.

Click to expand...

You should send this to Foxboro. Solid chance it makes their bulletin board.
Then to the poor souls not included to save them the trouble..


#death&taxes&53predictionsinApril..

BobDigital said:

Obviously some things here are going to change between now and the final roster, but it would be nice to just get a look at things.

QB 3 - Brady Hoyer Stidham

Clearly Brady is a lock as is Stidham being a 4th round pick. Hoyer should be the veteran back up unless they really love Etling. Keeping 4 is possible but unlikely so I think these 3 are a safe projection.

RB/FB 6 - Michel White Harris Burkead Bolden Develin

Not much interesting here. Michel White, Harris, Burkhead and Bolden are all locks. Bolden due mostly to his contract. Unless Develin decides to hang them in camp he should be back. Burkhead being cut would cost 2M and keeping him would cost 3. So he sticks too.

TE 2 - LaCosse ASJ

Unless the Pats sign another TE I see them going light here. LaCosse got a 500K signing bonus which is almost half his cap hit, so clearly the see a design for him and should be a lock. As for the other player(s) it will be anyone's guess. I'll go with ASJ due to his track record. They could keep a 3rd if they believe Anderson or Izzo are NFL caliber guys.

WR 5 - Edelman Harry Dorsett Thomas Gord0n/Meyers

Edelman Harry and Dorset are all locks. For all the questions about Thomas, he's at least played in the NFL and has been productive. If he looks anything like his 2018 self he'll stick. Depending on what happens with Gordon I could see Meyers making a run and maybe Berrios. My UDFA bet is on Meyers right now. I could see the Pats going 6 WRs here eventually once/if Gordon comes back as they may want another pass catcher to help the Gronk-less offense.

OL 9 - Wynn Thuney Andrews Mason Cannon Cajuste Froholdt Croston Karras

This will be an interesting position to watch. As of now the 5 starters along with both 4th round draft picks are locks. Croston probably should hold on a depth OT spot but it isn't certain. The interior will be a vicious fight. Karras, Schwenke, & Ferentz could all make a run at it. I went with Karras due to his versatility but it could go either way. They could also potentially carry 10 but I don't see them keeping 6 IOL men and I don't see a potential 5th emergency tackle right now.

25 total offense.

DE 4 - Bennett Wise Winovich Simon

Bennett, Wise, Winovich and Simons are all locks. Simons due to his contract situation. Even if he has a bad camp they will hope he turns it around and becomes the player he did last year. Rivers could be cut, but about half of his cap hit would become dead money. Maybe Davis or Cowart take a spot but I see them going light on the DL.

DT - 4 Guy Butler Pennel Parry

Guy Butler and Pennel are all locks. This spot could use a signing. Parry a JAG till proven otherwise. Cowart could again fill in as a pass rush DT but there aren't a lot of options besides. This will be an interesting spot to watch going forward. They could also just go Guy Butler and Pennel here and keep a 5th DE to rotate in as a lite DT.

LB - 5 Van Noy Hightower Roberts Bentley King

The first four should be locks. Bentley could be a surprise cut but I don't think so. King should make it due to STs but a cut there is possible. Maybe anther guy is kept instead. Sam and Hall are worth keeping an eye on. Hall is another UDFA who could stick.

CB 6 - Gilmore McCourty Jackson Williams Jones Dawson

I think all of these guys are locks. The only one I could potentially see them cutting is Dawson but you don't tend to give up on a 2nd round pick in his 2nd year. That would be very odd. Crossen is the odd man out and maybe gets on the PS. It makes sense. Without a guy like Tyreek Hill to defend the need for a player like Crossen less. A Trade of Dawson to someone else opens his up and could be a move they make.

S 5 - McCourty Chung Harmon Ebner Brooks

Again, all 5 are locks. Brooks is a lock due to his contract situation and STs ability. Not much else to say. I don't see any other safety having a realistic shot here.

Defense 24

STs 4 - Gost, Allen, Cardona Slater

Click to expand...

Good work. I disagree on a couple of the selections

On defense, I have Winowich as a linebacker, so my LB group is Van Noy, Hightower, Bentley, Roberts and Winowich - King gets cut.

DL includes Kamalu instead of Parry

On offense, I don't have Josh Gordon in WR the mix. I think he gets cut. Sadly, he blew his last chance.

TE is a group of three: Izzo, Seferian-Jenkins and Michael (say it with me) Hoomanawanui (I can spell that without looking - need to get a life.)

On ST, I have the rookie Jake Bailey beating out Allen as Punter due to his diverse skill set and speed. Belichick is going to re-write the book for punters and their need to be unpredictable on 4th and less than 10 yards.

The way that I am looking at our roster, which is likely incorrect 100%, but I am going to tell you anyway because what the heck.

QB- Likely set, unless Stidham proves able to handle #2 duties.
RB- Likely set, unless Burkhead is traded like many have already said.
WR- D. Thomas starts on the PUP and Gordon on the suspended list
Berrios, Harris, Ellington and Meyers battle for the 2 initial spots
TE- Gonna start with 2 TE, unless one of the scenarios from QB or RB occur.
This is a true camp battle between the 4 on the roster and anyone else that may arrive on the scene (cough Kyle Rudolph cough)
OL- 7 are set
Battle between C. Croston, T. Karras, C. Lang and any free agent for the 8 spot
DT- B. Cowart or a free agent for the 4th DT
DE- D. Rivers, K. Davis or a free agent for the 5th DE
LB - Set
DB- 10 are set
D. Dawson, K. Crossen, O. Melifonwu, K. Webster and M. Gant fight for the last DB spot

Just my opinion