2027 Watch List

[long distance]

I'm cautious about the intelligence and lack of self-discipline of any prospect stupid enough to break the law. I can allow for silly mistakes but an arrest would make me examine a prospect's personality much much closer.

c'mon Manx, it was meant on the field : )

 

[manxman2601]

c'mon Manx, it was meant on the field : )

I wasn't sure. If he's speeding on the field, I'm fine with that. Still concerned about the reckless driving though . I don't want reckless linebackers.

 

[manxman2601]

Zabien Brown, CB, Alabama
6-0, 194
A good breakdown by Landon Tengwall



Is it me or does he look to have really long arms on this clip? 33"?

 

[manxman2601]

Mark Fletcher is one of my early "Vrabel will love this kid" candidates.

 

[manxman2601]

Early positional thoughts - defense edition.

EDGE - 2 clear prospects at the top but what's exciting is that I think there's better depth than the last two years. Legitimately there are 16-20 guys who could potentially have day 2 possibilities and the battle for EDGE 3,4,5 is wide open.

My Early Faves - Yhonzae Pierre, Jordan Ross, Clev Lubin, Will Heldt

DT - A not dissimilar class to 2024 with 4-5 potential first round DTs and some depth too. however, I'm not certain the depth is at '24 levels just yet. Might be though.

My Early Faves - Ahmad Moten, Will Echoles, Justin Scott, Jide Abasiri

LB - We probably won't get 2 top 10 linebackers next year, and there's a lot to be proved with the depth. Still, there are names I like so time will tell.

My Early Faves - KVA, Sammy Brown, Chris Cole, Ray Coney, Ben Roberts, Tony Rojas, Sammy Omosigho

CB - I like what I see more and more as I study them but the one cautionary note is that there's a lot of underclassmen. It's a lot less exciting if you filter out the 2028 possible guys.

My Early Faves - Chris Peal, Zabien Brown, Kelley Jones, OJ Frederique, Brice Pollock, Demello Jones, Jontez Williams

Safety - An unproven class but I do like the potential here. There's some very good depth with a handful who could step up into first round guys.

My Early Faves - Jelani McDonald, Dashawn Spears, Tao Johnson, Zach Lutmer

Depending on declarations and people taking an additional year step up, I'm most excited about the EDGE and CB class but across the defense, this has the potential to be a really good group. I'm certainly more excited about the defensive side of things than I am the offense. Still, there's some nice things going on there too.

 

[long distance]

 

[DaBruinz]

Chris Cole, sadly another underclassman, might be this years (or next years) Jalon Walker. One big downside however was a recent arrest for traffic offences.

He'll be on Howie Roseman's list for the 1st round...

 

[DaBruinz]

Question.

If the Pats don't re-sign Rhamondre Stevenson, how high would you draft a RB?

Stevenson is signed through 2028.. Why would they need to re-sign him?

 

[manxman2601]

Stevenson is signed through 2028.. Why would they need to re-sign him?

Ah. I thought it was this season. Thanks.

 

[DaBruinz]

Ah. I thought it was this season. Thanks.

No worries.. I only knew it for certain because of the ILB thread on the main page where people are complaining about the $35M in cap space the Pats currently have.

Free Agents for 2026 who played roles in the NFL in 2025:
Onwenu, Hollins, Henry, Baringer, Byard, Pettus (RFA), Durden (ERFA), Elliss, Woods, Boutte, Douglas, Vildor, Britt, Muma.

There are a host of others that are likely to be cut in TC, but that makes the list so much longer right now.

We know that Hollins and Henry are unlikely to be back. Onwenu and Byard could go either way. It's unlikely that Boutte will be with the team as he's likely to be traded by the end of Camp. Douglas is also unlikely to return. Elliss is really just a super STer. He is really over-matched taking regular defensive snaps.

This is why I mentioned earlier in the thread that ILB and Safety would be the top priorities with IOL and DE being the next tier down, then DT, CB, TE and WR being the 3rd tier with RB, QB, and OT being the lowest priorities.