Patriots 2018 Draft Class

Player selected in the 2018 Draft Class either made the team, were place on IR or were placed on the PS. No one was cut. The only player who played a significant amount was Sony Michel. That means there is an entire class that hasn't played a lot or, in some cases, at all. Taking the 8 players who didn't play much, plus the 10 players selected in the 2019 draft class means that there are effectively 18(!) rookie draft choices who will tryout for the team. The 2018 draft picks are listed below.

1st round pick (23rd overall): Isaiah Wynn, offensive lineman, Georgia
1st round pick (31st overall): Sony Michel, running back, Georgia
2nd round pick (56th overall): Duke Dawson, cornerback, Florida
5th round pick (143rd overall): Ja’whaun Bentley, linebacker, Purdue
6th round pick (178th overall): Christian Sam, linebacker, Arizona State
6th round pick (210th overall) Braxton Berrios, wide receiver, Miami
7th round pick (219th overall): Danny Etling, quarterback, LSU
7th round pick (243rd overall) Keion Crossen, cornerback, Western Carolina
7th round pick (250th overall) Ryan Izzo, tight end, Florida State

Here are the 2019 draft picks:

Round 1, Pick 32: N’Keal Harry, Arizona State
Round 2, Pick 45: Joejuan Williams, Vanderbilt
Round 3, Pick 77: Chase Winovich, Michigan
Round 3, Pick 87: Damien Harris, Alabama
Round 3, Pick 101: Yodny Cajuste, West Virginia
Round 4, Pick 118: Hjalte Froholdt, Arkansas
Round 4, Pick 133: Jarrett Stidham, Auburn
Round 5, Pick 159: Byron Cowart, Maryland
Round 5, Pick 163: Jake Bailey, Stanford
Round 7, Pick 252: Ken Webster, Mississippi

Has any team ever been in this position before, let alone a SB Champion? Is this a positive or negative or unimportant? I think it is a big positive, but I was wondering what the greater football minds at Patsfans thought (Jet fans are not allowed to read or comment - this may be a success story and that is so alien to Jets culture, I would not want to be responsible for any Jets fans' mental breakdown).

I think it's a big positive : Wynn is the player I am most looking forward to seeing. If he pans out, it will enrich this team. The second most ? Bentley. He was all over. To me, the 2019 class is gravy.

Yep , pretty stoked. I think the biggest concerns going into the offseason were dt, wr, te, ot(with the loss of brown), de (with the loss of flowers) .

I think between the 2 draft classes and fa/trades we have enough promising options be able to shore up all concerns except maybe te. And made our secondary / rb position even stronger which should be pretty scary for opponents.

PATSYLICIOUS said:

Yep , pretty stoked. I think the biggest concerns going into the offseason were dt, wr, te, ot(with the loss of brown), de (with the loss of flowers) .

I think between the 2 draft classes and fa/trades we have enough promising options be able to shore up all concerns except maybe te. And made our secondary / rb position even stronger which should be pretty scary for opponents.

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You're right. They're not replacing Gronk. But they have six(!) TE candidates (including Beck who has interesting measurables). Hopefully, one or two contribute enough to offset some of the lost production.

good

It certainly makes for a LOT of interesting camp battles to watch. The biggest for me:

Linebacker: Hightower and Van Noy are the stalwarts barring injury, but who wins the rotational snaps between Collin, Bentley, and Roberts? Feels like Bentley could push for the most snaps because he can play multiple roles, but his injury is similar to the one that ultimately led to Mayo's retirement, so a slow start for him is possible.

Tight End: Not as much top end talent here, but enough bodies and unknowns to make it interesting. How the tight end position is used will be as much fun to discover as who is playing it.

Running Back: Michel and White have the top spots locked up IMO, but Burkhead vs. Harris will be fun to watch. They seemed willing to carry four running backs last year prior to Hill's injury, so maybe they do again (especially if TE is being de-emphasized as a passing weapon).

Cornerback: Take a group that was already the strength of the defense and add a second year JC Jackson and a 2nd round Williams, throw it all in a blender and see what happens. Besides Gilmore, I don't think there's a lock on this team, NOT as far as making it, but as far as what role they're playing and how many snaps they see. This has the chance to shake out into a fantastic unit, which will give BB some freedom to get creative up front.

2004 was in a better position with a trophy and 2 1st rounders and a roster littered with young pro-bowlers

IllegalContact said:

2004 was in a better position with a trophy and 2 1st rounders and a roster littered with young pro-bowlers

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Now we have a trophy and have 2 1st rounders as well Wynn and Harry. Plus 4 other top 3 round picks

TomPatriot said:

Has any team ever been in this position before, let alone a SB Champion? Is this a positive or negative or unimportant? I think it is a big positive, but I was wondering what the greater football minds at Patsfans thought (Jet fans are not allowed to read or comment - this may be a success story and that is so alien to Jets culture, I would not want to be responsible for any Jets fans' mental breakdown).

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I think the preference would be to have gotten more experience for last year's class. And not have some of them rehabbing.

TomPatriot said:

You're right. They're not replacing Gronk. But they have six(!) TE candidates (including Beck who has interesting measurables). Hopefully, one or two contribute enough to offset some of the lost production.

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Yeah, not terribly worried about te, but not as enthused as the talent i see elsewhere. Anyways even if the pass game struggles our run game and defense should give us a heck of a shot in any game regardless.

PATSYLICIOUS said:

Yeah, not terribly worried about te, but not as enthused as the talent i see elsewhere. Anyways even if the pass game struggles our run game and defense should give us a heck of a shot in any game regardless.

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Agree but we'll need to win shootouts and win matchups well. Gotta be able to win every way imaginable.

PATSYLICIOUS said:

Yeah, not terribly worried about te, but not as enthused as the talent i see elsewhere. Anyways even if the pass game struggles our run game and defense should give us a heck of a shot in any game regardless.

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Well when it's all said and done I expect the bunch to be more visible than Dwayne Allen in our passing game and that shouldn't be too hard.

robertweathers said:

Agree but we'll need to win shootouts and win matchups well. Gotta be able to win every way imaginable.

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I'm not worried about the offense. I think we'll average our usual 28 per game. Defense should give up less than last year.

<<< BLOWS WHISTLE >>>

All of these young men need to work hard...

robertweathers said:

Agree but we'll need to win shootouts and win matchups well. Gotta be able to win every way imaginable.

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True, i think theyll be fine though. Edelman white and gronk were a vast majority of the passing offense when we dropped 41 on the chargers and 37 on the chiefs in January. I think the wr upgrades hopefully make up for the loss of gronk even in the case te doesn’t pan out.

PatsFan2 said:

Well when it's all said and done I expect the bunch to be more visible than Dwayne Allen in our passing game and that shouldn't be too hard.

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Its impossible not to be lol the clutch catches by gronk against kc and la is a huge void to fill though. That said, i do think the wr upgrades can make up for that

PATSYLICIOUS said:

Its impossible not to be lol the clutch catches by gronk against kc and la is a huge void to fill though. That said, i do think the wr upgrades can make up for that

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I was thinking about that minus Gronk I bet Teams view our TE position as insignificant. I hope one of our guys step up and proves them wrong. That said we should be real solid at WR minus injuries in 2019.

Over the last 2 years we added 19 rookies, all of whom will be competing for roster spots on a 53 man roster that just won the Superbowl. And only 3 played much of a role in that win (Michel Jackson and Crossen) Of course not all of them will be there in the end.

After 2 years you'd like to think you'd wind up with 6 starters from that haul by the end of their 3rd year in the league. So far we are off to a good start as it looks like we'll come close to that with Michel, Jackson, Wynn, and Harry all likely starters, and several others we'd like to THINK would play significant roles. (Dawson and Bentley from last season and Winovich and Harris this season)

Of course others may emerge from the rubble and if history is any judge that WILL be the case, We just have no clue as to who they will be. But that's not the end. There are the current THIRTEEN picks we currently have for next year. And the 4 starters that will likely emerge from THAT group.

Those 3 classes are going to be our core group of players who are going to take us into the 4th iteration of this dynasty and into post-Brady era of Patriot football

If 13-14 of these players from the last two draft classes make the roster, does that signifcantly change the stat that we have one of the oldest rosters in the league? And if a good amount of players from the next class also makes the roster, will we then have one of the youngest rosters in the league?

PATSYLICIOUS said:

True, i think theyll be fine though. Edelman white and gronk were a vast majority of the passing offense when we dropped 41 on the chargers and 37 on the chiefs in January. I think the wr upgrades hopefully make up for the loss of gronk even in the case te doesn’t pan out.

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I think the offense will be fine as well. Just pointing out the need to be versitile in the passing game.