31 Overall Pick Sony Michel

[PP2]

It also doesn't really matter. Nobody's looking for a ten-year starter at running back. How many Patriots running backs have played out multiple contracts? Kevin Faulk, that's it. James White also will. Top-tier change-of-pace guys who avoid the wear and tear. They already have that guy.

Otherwise you're looking for five years of good running back play and some other team can overpay in free agency for treadless tires at age 28. The majority of first round picks don't get a second contract with the team that drafted them. Aside from a quarterback, pass rusher, or offensive lineman, you're not really looking for a guy who will play for you for a decade with any draft pick, just a guy who can make as big an impact as possible in years 2-4, 2-5.

On top of which we'll continue to be a RBBC with at least 4 RBs. Michel himself was also managed effectively in college.

 

[bormio]

You can only draft what is on the board. At 31, I just do not think Bill saw a special defensive player to pick - so he took a special RB.

 

[primetime]

On top of which we'll continue to be a RBBC with at least 4 RBs. Michel himself was also managed effectively in college.

Right. The Patriots actually pay a lot for running backs, in the top-5 in the NFL. They just spread it out across three or four guys so it doesn't seem that way whereas the other teams who spend a lot on running backs have their eggs in one basket.

 

[bormio]

So does Brandon Bolden make this team?

 

[manxman2601]

Solder started 13 games as a rookie.

I didn’t watch that year so thanks. I thought he was trotted at out as a 6th OL. Don’t know where that came from. Was that at LT o RT?

 

[JMC00]

If you don't like the Michel pick just watch his Rose Bowl game tape




and while he didn't have a game like this in the National Title game there is an argument to be made that had Georgia given him the ball more they would have won that game


Michel 14 rushes 98 yards 7.0 avg
Chubb 18 rushes 25 yards 1.4 avg

 

[primetime]

So does Brandon Bolden make this team?

I don't think he really counts as a running back at all in their roster calculations. He can be used there in emergencies but he hasn't been in recent years.

 

[zydecochris]

Lol at Lombardi leaking the “bone on bone” thing the night before the draft

You are right, that is a bit funny that he put out that rumor right before the Patriots picked him.

By the way, he had Wynn listed as the 8th best offensive prospect and Michel as the 9th best offensive prospect. Interestingly, he said that for a running back, the crucial skills are blocking, catching, and running in that order, although the conventional wisdom would probably reverse that order. He said that Michel is really a wonderful blocker and amazing catcher, plus an electric runner (as demonstrated by his yards per rush).

By the way, as an aside, the most "out of the box" picks for his top 15 offensive players was that he put Lamar Jackson as #3 offensive player (top QB) and Baker Mayfield ranked as #10, after both Wynn and Michel.

 

[Deus Irae]

I didn’t watch that year so thanks. I thought he was trotted at out as a 6th OL. Don’t know where that came from. Was that at LT o RT?

If memory serves (and it may not), I think he played both, but mostly RT.



One last thing on the Wynn topic here in the RB thread:


We might want to keep an eye on the Raiders. They drafted the OT from UCLA, and Donald Penn is a pricey 35 year old veteran would could, at least in theory, end up getting the axe as a result.

 

[everlong]

I'm a GA fan and really like the player but even with all that said I would have rather they go defense here. I'm also probably a bit gun shy since I thought Maroney would be a stud.

 

[Froob]

Reliable?

I believe Curran is pretty plugged in.

 

[Simpelton]

So does Brandon Bolden make this team?

Don't see why he wouldn't. Bolden's a special teamer first and foremost.

 

[varjao]

I don't love taking a RB there but I think it's a pick that will work and that's important for me. He will get many rushing yards, maybe some receiving yards and score a few TD's, maybe he surprises us. It's all right here. Would hate a project or a risky pick there.

Just like I would hate it in the 2nd round, i mean the draft is a crap shoot but there are players with enough tape and numbers to acknowledge that that dude will produce in this system, being a WR or a RB that are positions easy to plug and play, unless he can't make it from a mental standpoint.

I just hate these 2nd round picks that if it turns out OK is a home run, if not is a disappointment.

I would like productive players over this other type, even if the ceiling of the said productive player is lower than the other. Even his production is just league average. It's OK for me.

These team right now need players in rookie contracts on the field playing, developing, taking snaps from jag veterans or UDFA's that worked their asses of but have size or physical limitations.

For this year, with our first 4 picks, just get 4 players that will play in 2018, or 3 starters/contributors and a QB.

 

[Deus Irae]

I'm a GA fan and really like the player but even with all that said I would have rather they go defense here. I'm also probably a bit gun shy since I thought Maroney would be a stud.

Biggest draft needs coming in:

OT, RB, LB, DT (if they aren't willing to gamble on the new/returning players)

The top LBs were gone, so getting the other positions dealt with first makes sense. My guess is that the Cowboys and/or Titans grabbed the player(s) they would otherwise have chosen at 23.

 

[zydecochris]

Right. The Patriots actually pay a lot for running backs, in the top-5 in the NFL. They just spread it out across three or four guys so it doesn't seem that way whereas the other teams who spend a lot on running backs have their eggs in one basket.

I think Michael Lombardi at least understands how the Patriots used to think, although maybe he doesn't have the latest information. A year or so ago, he said the main problem with Blount was that if he was in the game the defense knew it was a run and stacked the line, and if it was White the defense expected a pass.

Last year I think there was a big effort to have RB options that could either be run or pass (similarly to the way that Gronk can be used in either run or pass plays). I'm pretty sure I remember a poster who lived in Buffalo saying that Gillespie would be great in the passing game because he was a good blocker and a good catcher (although he hadn't been used that was in Buffalo), but that clearly did not come to pass. With White, I think after the Atlanta game the thought was he was finally becoming a good option at running plays, but Lewis was such a better runner that didn't work out either. Burkhead came the closest to a dual purpose back that could play in a run or pass play, but he was hurt much of the year. And then Lewis, who previously was such an uncertainty due to injury, played the run so much better than the other options that he ended up as the default running back, despite his lack of pass blocking.

So: my theory is that because they struck out in free agency last year trying to find a true multi-purpose back that could be used effectively in either run or pass plays, they spent a first round draft pick on Michel, who is an amazing pass blocker for his size, is great at catching the ball, and is an electric runner also. I think it was Josh who pushed for this pick, so he can finally have a truly deceptive offense with personnel that can be used for either the pass or the run on any play.

 

[Kontradiction]

If you don't like the Michel pick just watch his Rose Bowl game tape




and while he didn't have a game like this in the National Title game there is an argument to be made that had Georgia given him the ball more they would have won that game


Michel 14 rushes 98 yards 7.0 avg
Chubb 18 rushes 25 yards 1.4 avg

That’s actually a better game to watch Georgia’s OL and Wynn. Those holes were so gaping, Jenna Jameson would be jealous. You could drive a truck through some of them.

 

[maineman209]

Imo its easier to find a running back later, in the 2nd and 3rd rounds than it is an elite front seven player that can make an impact. Its my impression that the team needs a top lb more than it needs a running back

There's also the possibility that the LB prospects who were left on the board after the Titans took Evans at #22 are no "better" from the Pats perspective than the prospects who will be available later (and who are all still available), but that Michel was by far the best RB left on the board and that they knew they'd lose him if they waited.

 

[mgteich]

We wanted Ragnow and tried to trade up. IMHO, we wanted an OL at 23.

Biggest draft needs coming in:

OT, RB, LB, DT (if they aren't willing to gamble on the new/returning players)

The top LBs were gone, so getting the other positions dealt with first makes sense. My guess is that the Cowboys and/or Titans grabbed the player(s) they would otherwise have chosen at 23.

 

[Joey007]

Joey, the Pats had IIRC something like 47 sacks last season along with an appropriate number of hits and hurries. Don't tell me they were ALL made against bad OL's??? And I wish we had a lot of first-round talent along the front 7. We did add 3 more with Shelton, Claybourn and Hightower this offseason. And would you say the Eagles had a good pass rush in the Superbowl, they sucked all game too...except for one damned play, so was everyone in Philly pining for DL help. I don't think so.

All that being said, I'm on record saying we need more quality help on defense, it just didn't turn out that way. BB has made himself a pretty good career avoiding almost all of MY draft binkies over the years. The last time I was happy after the first round was the year we drafted Jones and Hightower. So I guess my binkies come in about once a decade.

2012 1st round was an anomaly. I was so psyched up with those picks. And Hightower was my binky from the start.

 

[maineman209]

I think it's the opportunity cost rather than the player themselves. Running back play is so reliant on strength of the offensive line, and the Giants' offensive line is putrid. (Maybe it's better with Solder but I'm not the world's biggest Solder fan. It can't be worse, at least.)

Even if Barkley's great and can't-miss, the difference between Barkley and, say, Guice or Michel or Nick Chubb is probably dependent on what team they go to, whereas someone like Bradley Chubb or Roquan Smith can have a huge impact on the game regardless, and the marginal difference between one of those guys and a player at the same position in the 2nd or 3rd round is probably much greater.

Over the years, there have been a handful of RBs who didn't need a great run-blocking OL to be successful, who were able to "create yardage on their own" (e.g., Adrian Peterson in his youth and prime). If Barkley is one of those, he's a great value for the Giants.

The Pats have a great run-blocking OL, which would pretty much make that "extra" superfluous, since it's not as if a Peterson type is guaranteed to gain twice as much yardage as he would with a poor OL, or even 10% more, or even significantly more than a relatively "ordinary" good RB running behind a great OL.

And that's the value advantage in having a corps of great run-blockers (TEs included). Instead of having to pay one "Peterson/Barkley" $6M as a rookie, and then have your ground game be totally screwed if he get hurt, you can use that $6M to pay three "ordinary" good RBs who will gain nearly the same yardage. And, if one gets hurt, it's "next man up!" and your ground game barely misses a beat.