This year's draft is really a head scratcher for me in terms of what we need. I guess that speaks to the level of talent we have put on the field. More than "need" i am thinking i might just go where could we use greater competition/depth.
I also believe BB really wanted to see what the nickle would look like with Nink-Easley-Jones-Hightower-Collins-Mayo out there.
Assumptions: Revis, McCourty, Vereen, Ayers, Slater, Cassilias, Ghost and Connolly all return.
Restructure/Extend: Mayo, Ghost
Gone: Amendola.
This leaves us thin (ish) at: OG, WR, TE, RB (maybe) and LB
I actually sat down to try and make some picks... and i didn't know where to start.
WR? Yep especially with Dobson's injury woes... but 1st/2nd round?
RB? Yep if Ridley goes... but if he stays would we really make a move?
TE?
OG? Yep definitely needs to be addressed. But the Connolly/Wendel combo has been pretty effective this year to date
OT? Possibly but not in the 1st 3-4 picks
DE? Not really. Nink, Jones, Ayres, Buchannon, Moore and a bit of Hightower.
DT? A lot of bodies there. What if Branch comes back?
LB? Thin here yes but we have 3 top notch starters.
CB? Ton of talent and very deep
S? Same as above. If Chung and McCourty are back then the depth is there.
I honestly don't know where to start and we currently are sitting on 9 picks.
I'd like to come away with a WR, TE (all round) and OG. But in what round and who i just don't know atm.
Devin Funchess TE/WR, Sheldon Day DT, Todd Gurley RB (if he slips). Are all 1st day looks.
But i am honestly stumped here atm guys.
The draft shouldn't be driven too hard by need, and not having too many glaring needs gives the Pats flexibility to move around and find the values. In general, I'd prefer a draft focused on the OL and DL on day 1-2, with some quality developmental depth added on day 3. I can see a need for a starting LG in 2015, and starting LDE and NTs in 2016 (VW will turn 35 that year, and Rob Ninkovich will be 32). Draft them this year and give them a year to train up. The goal should be staying ahead so that you don't have too many acute needs that you need to plug in the draft.
I think that day 3 is one of the keys to a successful draft. BB seems to love day 3, and he makes an effort to have some flexibility there (consider the trade backs in 2012 and 2013 to get some picks in that area). Adding starters and quality depth like Bryan Stork, Cam Fleming, Zach Moore, Nate Ebner, Alfonzo Dennard and LeGarrette Blount (a day 3 trade) is very important.
Right now I'm beginning to get a sense about some day 3 guys who I like:
- WR DeAndre Smelter, Georgia Tech - a day 1/2 talent who has flown under the radar and who now has a torn ACL; may need a red shirt year, but well worth it (Manx deserves all the credit for this one)
- RB Matt Jones, Florida - a big bruiser who can pass protect and who has decent hands, he could add a dimension that the Pats' RBs currently lack
- DE/OLB Noah Spence, Ohio St. - this one with an asterix; he would need to be checked out carefully, and I'd only pull the plug on day 3, but the skill set is interesting
- OG Laken Tomlinson, Duke - not flashy, but very solid; I think he'd made a solid RG
- S Jaquiski Tartt, Samford - he might require a 3rd round pick, but he has nice size and a good skill set, with a lot of upside
There are plenty more. Adrian Amos, Durrell Eskridge, Tony Lippett, David Cobb, David Johnson and Shiquille Riddick, for example.
Give me 3 linemen on day 1-2 and then fill in the rest and I'm happy. Some combination of DE's Dante Fowler, Alvin Dupree, Danielle Hunter or Shilique Calhoun, DTs Malcolm Brown, Jordan Phillips, Eddie Goldsmith or Danny Shelton (and possibly Carl Davis) , and OLs Brandon Scherff, TJ Clemmings, La'el Collins, Ty Sambrailo, Cameron Erving, Spencer Drango, Ereck Flowers, Jake Fisher and Jarvis Harrison would work fine.
