Additional FA Needs

[n1997y]

I suggested at the draft the Pats double dip at TE and was verbally assaulted by some deep thinker.

Boy, that aged like milk.

Cheesy take.

 

[mgteich]

I don't love having to rely on a rookie that isn't projected to make an impact.
example: Raridon. he is a project. perhaps he will be a contributor immediately. but chances are, he will not. he was the #95 pick. Asiasi was the #91 pick. Keene was the #101 pick. I am not saying it will be the same, but Henry is not playing wire to wire every game, even if healthy.
Hooper gave us over 500 snaps on offense last season. he also caught 77% of his 26 targets. he had 13 1st downs and 2 TD's.
can Raridon come close to that?
Would Dippre, Tanner and Raridon combined get anywhere close to that?

How high a pick are you willing to give to another team for their #3 TE?

I suspect that we kept Dippre on the roster for exactly this situation. But sure, we might sign someone else's #4 after the final cuts.

 

[TommyD4207]

Jonnu Smith is sounding better all the time.

You....do remember him playing here, right?

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

I suggested at the draft the Pats double dip at TE and was verbally assaulted by some deep thinker.

Boy, that aged like milk.

I was big on a TE double dip.
Can't recall who was vehemently against it?

 

[rkarp1]

How high a pick are you willing to give to another team for their #3 TE?

I suspect that we kept Dippre on the roster for exactly this situation. But sure, we might sign someone else's #4 after the final cuts.

Vannett and Fitzpatrick (returning from injury) are available free agents that fill the need, and would not cost a ton.
perhaps Dissly too.

I know some believe PFF is toilet paper, but Vannett graded out elite as both a run and pass blocker

 

[rkarp1]

You....do remember him playing here, right?

yes. he was not smart enough to grasp the offense

 

[Huckleberry1]

you can't "kick the tires" on a player that wont sign with out a guarantee of multiple millions.
Wagner falls into that category

What's the matter, run out of people to argue with?

 

[rochrist]

We need a backup C/G, and ILB an EDGE rusher. If Landry is healthy, EDGE is the lowest priority of the three. If he is not, it is the highest proity.

Ben Brown has proven to be a pretty solid backup at both C and G.

 

[patfanken]

This is more interesting than it looks on the surface. I mean we don't really have a good idea of what we have there as far as Dippre, Riordin, and the Indiana kid goes.

First, you have to decide exactly what you are looking for in your TE. Smith gave us what we were looking for in a blocking TE who looked like he might be better as a receiver than we expected, but that's for next year. Dippre is certainly big and fast enough, but we really don't know how well he can block OR catch. Same goes for Riordin. Fast enough and tall enough to have an excellent down field threat, but at 250 he might be a little small to be an inline blocker.

But here I am calling a guy who is 250lbs "small". 60 years ago, he'd have been big enough to be a Guard. Lets decide what kind of skill set we are looking for before we set out to look for him first. TE means a lot of things these days. Gronk was truly exceptional at both skills and was a real asset to the run game. Now you are looking for your TE's to be receivers and if he doesn't totally suck at blocking, he can be an all pro.

Personally, I thought Pharoh did a good job when he was here, but that was over 2 years ago and who knows what he is right now. There hopefully is some out there who has more potential upside

 

[n1997y]

Ben Brown has proven to be a pretty solid backup at both C and G.

Need a second IOL/C, maybe PS though

 

[TommyD4207]

Vannett and Fitzpatrick (returning from injury) are available free agents that fill the need, and would not cost a ton.
perhaps Dissly too.

I know some believe PFF is toilet paper, but Vannett graded out elite as both a run and pass blocker

Because it is, indeed, digital toilet paper.