I almost never post here, but waking up to this, felt I had to make a few observations:
1) None of us know anything about these players. We're all basing our opinions on the evaluations of media draft "experts" who are themselves wrong so often that the ability to ignore them is practically the definition of a good GM. Think of how certain most all of them were that Mac Jones was the worst of last year's quarterbacks. Fans in other cities cheered when their teams picked highly rated players like Jeff Okudah and Sam Darnold and Zach Wilson. It's the definition of ignorance to be mad about a pick before we get to see if the player can play.
2) A lot of GMs are afraid to cross draftniks because they're afraid might lose their jobs because the owner is over-sensitive to fan blowback. Only a coach/GM who's won a lot is able to blow off those considerations and make picks divorced of that dynamic. This has long been a competitive advantage of the Patriots, who have done very well with unsexy picks overall. Belichick over the years made one fan-loathed pick after another, from picking Richard Seymour over a WR to trading out of the first round multiple times (several of those deals were among his best ever, even when the value hart wasn't great, like Joe Staley for Jerod Mayo and Randy Moss). Fans hated the Mankins pick, hated Solder, hated Dugger, hated Chung, hated McCourty, and a bunch of others, while sexy picks like Maroney, Meriweather, Chad Jackson, and Harry earned raves.
3) For all that BB is at best a mediocre drafter. His big weakness is over-drafting players who surely would have been available later. He's done this throughout the dynasty, with infamous choices like Tavon Wilson, Dexter Reid, and Aaron Dobson being painful examples. People are triggered because Strange feels like this kind of pick.
4) Where BB makes up for this deficiency is in acquiring more picks and taking more chances, so he has a chance at a better hit rate. He's usually done well with these deals, the Jamie Collins-and Logan Ryan-for-Cordarelle Patterson deal an example. The trade down last night means we're going to end up comparing Strange plus two top-100-ish players to Trent McDuffie. This is a deep draft that's light at the top. If the guy can play, the deal makes sense.
5) Finally people who are complaining about Shaq Mason - it's not a one-to-one comparison. Obviously if you could pay Mason a rookie salary for five years you'd keep him. Instead he was probably gone, so they got what they could. If they guy replaces Shaq Mason and the saved money pays for someone like Devante Parker, you have to count that, too. This is basic Moneyball stuff. It's amazing that Pats fans after all this success still don't grasp these things.
6) If the guy can play, it's a good pick. If he's Dominique Easley, it's not. But thinking you know on draft night is nuts. None of us has a clue. Frankly he seems likely to be a boring but dependable pick, which is what they've always done best. I'm nervous when they pick wideouts and running backs high. Tackles and guards? Give me those all day.
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