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Looking at the Pats roster as it currently stands, there are not a huge number of holes and not a lot of room for late round developmental guys. But there are a number of areas where we could use quality players with the long-term potential to be starters, to either fill holes or significantly upgrade the starting roster. I count at least 7 (even assuming that we extend Wilfork and Mankins, and assuming that our current CBs develop well and cover that position, which is by no means obvious):
- WR: need a flanker next to Moss and Welker, and possibly to eventually take over from Moss as the #1 guy in a few years
- OT: Light will 31 when TC starts. Kaczsur will be 30, and is upgradeable at RT. A potential long-term starter at OT would not be a bad thing. Kaczur could then become a rotation guy (like Sanders at S and Guyton at ILB).
- OG/C: need someone who can take over as starter from Stephen Neal in a year or two
- DE: I think Seymour is the most likely of the big 3 guys next year to leave in FA. Even if we keep him, a quality rotational 3-4 DE guy would be nice.
- OLB: We clearly need a young 3-4 OLB with pass rushing ability to start opposite AD.
- ILB: A starting calibre SILB next to Mayo would be great, with Guyton as a rotational guy backing up both ILB spots and coming in on long downs.
- S: We need a solid starting calibre S opposite Meriweather, with Sanders backing up both and getting significant playing time. Sanders is adequate as a stop-gap starter, but nothing more.
And that doesn't even include TE, where Watson and Thomas are FAs after 2009.
With the 2009 draft so deep, I can see the benefit of using as many of our 1st day picks as possible. If anything, I would like more of them. I see us using our 4 picks on 4 of those 7 areas, possibly trading around within the 1st to rounds to maximize value. For my money, I would like to get as many as possible of the following guys: William Beatty OT, Connor Barwin OLB, Robert Ayers DE/LB, Hakeem Nicks WR, Louis Delmas S, Sean Smith CB/S, Jarron Gilbert DE, Alex Mack OG/C and Eric Wood OG/C. My backup options include Eben Britton OT, Clay Matthews OLB, Larry English DE/LB, Clint Sintim LB, Patrick Chung S, and William Moore S.
One off the cuff thought: if we somehow sign Jason Taylor, we will have more OLBs than we can possibly use. Taylor and Adalius Thomas would be the starters in 2009. Shawn Crable and a 1st day rookie would be the future starters, leaving only one spot open, with a logjam consisting of Pierre Woods, Tully Banta-Cain, and Vince Redd. Might we consider trading Woods? He is tendered at a 2nd pick as an RFA. We might be able to get a 3rd round for him given the number of teams going to a 3-4.
Here's one scenario: We sign Taylor and trade Woods to Denver for their 3rd round pick (#79). Denver puts Woods and Jarvis Moss at OLB, which is probably a better combo then they would get using #79 in the draft. We then package #79 and #89 (worth 340 points together) and trade them to old friend Tom Dimitroff for #55 (350 points) or Bill Parcels for #56 (340 points), and use #55/56 either to trade into 2010 or to target one of the guys listed above.
- WR: need a flanker next to Moss and Welker, and possibly to eventually take over from Moss as the #1 guy in a few years
- OT: Light will 31 when TC starts. Kaczsur will be 30, and is upgradeable at RT. A potential long-term starter at OT would not be a bad thing. Kaczur could then become a rotation guy (like Sanders at S and Guyton at ILB).
- OG/C: need someone who can take over as starter from Stephen Neal in a year or two
- DE: I think Seymour is the most likely of the big 3 guys next year to leave in FA. Even if we keep him, a quality rotational 3-4 DE guy would be nice.
- OLB: We clearly need a young 3-4 OLB with pass rushing ability to start opposite AD.
- ILB: A starting calibre SILB next to Mayo would be great, with Guyton as a rotational guy backing up both ILB spots and coming in on long downs.
- S: We need a solid starting calibre S opposite Meriweather, with Sanders backing up both and getting significant playing time. Sanders is adequate as a stop-gap starter, but nothing more.
And that doesn't even include TE, where Watson and Thomas are FAs after 2009.
With the 2009 draft so deep, I can see the benefit of using as many of our 1st day picks as possible. If anything, I would like more of them. I see us using our 4 picks on 4 of those 7 areas, possibly trading around within the 1st to rounds to maximize value. For my money, I would like to get as many as possible of the following guys: William Beatty OT, Connor Barwin OLB, Robert Ayers DE/LB, Hakeem Nicks WR, Louis Delmas S, Sean Smith CB/S, Jarron Gilbert DE, Alex Mack OG/C and Eric Wood OG/C. My backup options include Eben Britton OT, Clay Matthews OLB, Larry English DE/LB, Clint Sintim LB, Patrick Chung S, and William Moore S.
One off the cuff thought: if we somehow sign Jason Taylor, we will have more OLBs than we can possibly use. Taylor and Adalius Thomas would be the starters in 2009. Shawn Crable and a 1st day rookie would be the future starters, leaving only one spot open, with a logjam consisting of Pierre Woods, Tully Banta-Cain, and Vince Redd. Might we consider trading Woods? He is tendered at a 2nd pick as an RFA. We might be able to get a 3rd round for him given the number of teams going to a 3-4.
Here's one scenario: We sign Taylor and trade Woods to Denver for their 3rd round pick (#79). Denver puts Woods and Jarvis Moss at OLB, which is probably a better combo then they would get using #79 in the draft. We then package #79 and #89 (worth 340 points together) and trade them to old friend Tom Dimitroff for #55 (350 points) or Bill Parcels for #56 (340 points), and use #55/56 either to trade into 2010 or to target one of the guys listed above.