Well, it seems to me the brass did alright in drafting a couple of offensive players named Brady and Cassel.
And I'm with Bruinz on this one. With the exception of Dansby, there's really no defensive player from that draft immediately following Watson's selection who's really distinguished himself. Obviously, there's the exception of Bob Sanders and to a lesser extent, Sean Jones, but following the year Geno had for the Pats and with Rodney playing at his pre-injury plagued level, a starting safety was really not a need on the team.
Let's also not forget that Watson was drafted prior to the demise of both Ted Johnson and Tedy Bruschi. They both put up a hell of a '04 season - a season in which the defense was ranked #2 in the league in points allowed - and had also made a splash in the offseason by inking high profile FA LB Colvin. Further, Watson was followed by a defensive selection in Marquise Hill in the second round. IOW, maybe we arrive at a more balanced picture when putting things into context.
As far as Watson is concerned, I too am disappointed and underwhelmed by his stone hands. Further, I'm more disappointed in his inability to plow over and punish would be tacklers after a catch. Said this and though he's not as good an inline blocker as Grambo, he's a better blocker than given credit by many of the Pats fans and he does catch his share of TDs. He's also a solid STs coverage guy. Whether all this is enough return on a first round pick, albeit the last pick of the first round, is up for debate.
