DRAFT Cole Strange-Welcome to the Pats

[1960Pats]

There’s an exception to the old premium position argument. Some players are just so good at their non-premium positions that they make it easier for the players at the premium positions to do their job.

The easiest example is how a great safety can make the job of his CBs easier. Same goes for guards. Thuney was an example. Do you not think him being so good at LG didn’t help mediocre LTs like Nate Solder (at that point in his career) and Isaiah Wynn play their position at a satisfactory level?

I hope they keep Strange in the interior as I think he could become special at getting to second level blocks on run downs and providing double team to help his center and tackle pass block.

It will be great if you're right about Strange. Otherwise we may get Cole in our stockings at Christmas.

 

[Jim Beankie]

I wish I could find that stat someone pulled up on guards getting picked the last several years. Youd be astonished.

FYI - Coincidentally, the last really schitty QB class happened to have 3 OGs as well.

2022: 3
2021: 1
2020: 0
2019: 1
2018: 1
2017: 0
2016: 1
2015: 1
2014: 1
2013: 3 (EJ Manuel top QB then Geno - 1 was JCooper part of Chandler Jones trade to AZ, 1 was 3xProBowl, 1 was part of SB win)
2012: 2
2011: 1
2010: 1

 

[1960Pats]

Too little too late.

EVERYBODY IN THE ENTIRE ****ING LEAGUE KNOWS THE ****ING TRUTH.

Why? Because Sean MacVay says so?

 

[1960Pats]

Holy sh.t, Strange tested 7th on his Relative Athletic Score out of 1,300 guards taken over 3 decades. It’s starting look like the reason we didn’t like the pick was because we hadn’t heard of him, as opposed to his actual abilities. The Patriots needed to get much younger, much faster, and much more athletic in this draft, and they definitely achieved those goals. Whether they turn out to be really good players or not we won’t know for 2-3 seasons, but given what they had to work with, and what they needed to achieve they seem to have made the most out of this draft.

Holy moly! Common sense in a Pats draft thread. Stop the presses.

 

[1960Pats]

Also most people should know how much respect mcvay has for bb. The media clearly twisted that clip in a direction too as always. Knew it was only a matter of time before he spoke up.

I tell myself all the time not to fall for that sh!t but I do it anyway. I shouldn't be in such a hurry when I see videos.

 

[upstater1]

I think the problem comes from history. The Pats have failed before with their top pick and since the draft is a crap shoot in a way it is possible that Strange can be a miss. It's too early to tell for sure.

If you go back through Belichick's drafts though, he has been stellar at picking in the first round compared to the rest of the league. It's uncanny how good the Patriots are in the first round.

Rounds 2 and 3 have been problematic.

 

[upstater1]

Agreed for the past, but not this year. Not sure why that is so complicated to understand. This year the guard position was more valuable than QB. I don't care about past trends when evaluating the 2022 draft because trends are irrelevant. Pretty simple to understand.

... than QB...

The Patriots have one of those.

We NEED a hell of a lot of help elsewhere, and that's my point. Pass rush, CB. And I am not at all buying that McGrone and McMillan are our saviors.

 

[1960Pats]

If you go back through Belichick's drafts though, he has been stellar at picking in the first round compared to the rest of the league. It's uncanny how good the Patriots are in the first round.

Rounds 2 and 3 have been problematic.

I like numbers when it comes to draft picks because I believe it's all a crap shoot. Of course you can be well-prepared, but you never know for sure with draft picks. The more the merrier. The pros is a big transition, as Bill mentioned recently with WRs.

 

[upstater1]

I like numbers when it comes to draft picks because I believe it's all a crap shoot. Of course you can be well-prepared, but you never know for sure with draft picks. The more the merrier. The pros is a big transition, as Bill mentioned recently with WRs.

It's true that you get more chances the more you have BUT when you look at Belichick's track record, it's clear he's nostradamus when it comes to picking one of the top 25 players.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

I tell myself all the time not to fall for that sh!t but I do it anyway. I shouldn't be in such a hurry when I see videos.

I’ve been guilty of the same. Always gotta take your time, read very closely. Cant even count how many times ive read a headline, read the article, then go back up and LOL at the headline

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I dont know what else has been posted but this is pretty good for draft history.

DraftHistory.com

www.drafthistory.com

One guy was very concerned that guards supposedly aren't picked in early rounds.

The col.s are pick within the round, the second col. is pick overall

2021 first rounders, picked right before one Mac Jones

13​

13​

Rashawn Slater​

Chargers​

G​

Northwestern​

14​

14​

Alijah Vera-Tucker​

Jets​

G​

USC​

2020 - second round, pick 7 (10 lower than Strange)

7​

39​

Robert Hunt​

Dolphins​

G​

Louisiana-Lafayette​

2019 - first round, high second round

14​

14​

Chris Lindstrom​

Falcons​

G​

Boston College​

6​

38​

Cody Ford​

Bills​

G​

Oklahoma​

9​

41​

Dalton Risner​

Broncos​

G​

Kansas State​

2018 - Firsts, high seconds

6​

6​

Quenton Nelson​

Colts​

G​

Notre Dame​

23​

23​

Isaiah Wynn​

Patriots​

G​

Georgia​

2​

34​

Will Hernandez​

Giants​

G​

Texas-El Paso​

5​

37​

Braden Smith​

Colts​

G​

Auburn​

So there's no argument that nobody picks guards that high, or even that NE doesn't pick guards that high. Any year disproves the first, and you only have to go back to 2018 to disprove the second.

Maybe I read this thread wrong but if somebody said either of those things don't say them anymore, because they are not true.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

O someone else apparently did this but more, eh well, bottom line, people do in fact pick guards.

 

[upstater1]

I dont know what else has been posted but this is pretty good for draft history.

DraftHistory.com

www.drafthistory.com

One guy was very concerned that guards supposedly aren't picked in early rounds.

The col.s are pick within the round, the second col. is pick overall

2021 first rounders, picked right before one Mac Jones

​

13​

13​

Rashawn Slater​

Chargers​

G​

Northwestern​

​

14​

14​

Alijah Vera-Tucker​

Jets​

G​

USC​

2020 - second round, pick 7 (10 lower than Strange)

​

7​

39​

Robert Hunt​

Dolphins​

G​

Louisiana-Lafayette​

2019 - first round, high second round

​

14​

14​

Chris Lindstrom​

Falcons​

G​

Boston College​

​

6​

38​

Cody Ford​

Bills​

G​

Oklahoma​

​

9​

41​

Dalton Risner​

Broncos​

G​

Kansas State​

2018 - Firsts, high seconds

​

6​

6​

Quenton Nelson​

Colts​

G​

Notre Dame​

​

23​

23​

Isaiah Wynn​

Patriots​

G​

Georgia​

​

2​

34​

Will Hernandez​

Giants​

G​

Texas-El Paso​

​

5​

37​

Braden Smith​

Colts​

G​

Auburn​

So there's no argument that nobody picks guards that high, or even that NE doesn't pick guards that high. Any year disproves the first, and you only have to go back to 2018 to disprove the second.

Maybe I read this thread wrong but if somebody said either of those things don't say them anymore, because they are not true.

Many of these arent guards. Cody Ford, Slater, Wynn, a few othres.

I never said tackles aren't selected in the 1st round.

 

[upstater1]

Also--is Peter King really so lazy that he watched one clip of Strange versus Travis Jones and drew a judgement?

There's a lot of video of Senior Bowl 1 on 1s.

Based on one of Strange's interviews, he is going to have a very long learning curve coming from Chattanooga. Apparently, there were no calls made on the line. The call in the huddle was the assignment. You did not deviate. You did the same thing every time.

Good news is that he said he was picking up what they were doing at the Senior Bowl quickly, but he said it was the first time he had ever done any of that.

 

[Pape]

little late getting into this mix, so my two cents on the pick, which is worth exactly 2 cents...

I don't rightly care that the Pats drafted a guard in the first round... Last time they did it, it worked out pretty well... And I don't rightly care that the guard was Cole Strange... who I know zero about... I'd rather take a shot at a reach like Strange than jump right in on a sure fire hit like Tony Mandarich,

That's not saying it didn't take me by surprise... At the time of the pick, my initial reaction was Cole Strange was the Patriots backup selection... As most pundits thought, and mock drafts mocked, I was swayed by the plethora of mocks that said we were going to target Utah LB Devin Lloyd... The Jags jumped the line and took him at 26... so the board shifted in the Patriots war room... Next up? Cole Strange, who I think was most likely going to be targeted in the 2nd... it makes sense, at least to me (and brings it more in line with the draft sites)... Lloyd at 1, Strange is a 2, you push Thornton down to the 3rd... my pet theory at any rate

However, it absolutely does not surprise me that they went O-Line... A few weeks ago RKK came right out and said, referring to Mac Jones, "I think he got beat up pretty bad" ... A telling statement, that really says a lot about what the Patriots priorities were in this draft... And if BB & Co feel Strange is that guy, then cool by me.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

Also--is Peter King really so lazy that he watched one clip of Strange versus Travis Jones and drew a judgement?

There's a lot of video of Senior Bowl 1 on 1s.

Based on one of Strange's interviews, he is going to have a very long learning curve coming from Chattanooga. Apparently, there were no calls made on the line. The call in the huddle was the assignment. You did not deviate. You did the same thing every time.

Good news is that he said he was picking up what they were doing at the Senior Bowl quickly, but he said it was the first time he had ever done any of that.

Is this the first time you read Peter King? He’s the epitome of laziness from a research perspective. His deal is being Mr. Personable, allowing him more inside access than anyone. That Ravens story to start the article was phenomenal because of that — very interesting to learn the Calvin Austin was their guy, enough so that someone swore when the Steelers took him right before their pick.

 

[upstater1]

Is this the first time you read Peter King? He’s the epitome of laziness from a research perspective. His deal is being Mr. Personable, allowing him more inside access than anyone. That Ravens story to start the article was phenomenal because of that — very interesting to learn the Calvin Austin was their guy, enough so that someone swore when the Steelers took him right before their pick.

No, but the laziness this time exceeds even his record.

The thing about the Ravens and Austin is that they went with the punter from Penn State when Austin was still on the board in the 4th round.

You look at that and realize that Stout was projected as a UDFA by many, and taking him caused the Ravens to miss out on a guy that's as fast as Marquise Brown.

Especially when the punter Araiza is still on the board.

BUT--the Ravens had intel that the teams picking after them were interested in Stout, and they said Stout is the only viable NFL punter in the draft!!!...

People think they know what the NFL brass is doing but the truth is everyone is really clueless. We may come back to that moment though and see that Austin is a Pro Bowler, that Araiza is an All-Pro, and that Stout shanks the ball a lot.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

little late getting into this mix, so my two cents on the pick, which is worth exactly 2 cents...

I don't rightly care that the Pats drafted a guard in the first round... Last time they did it, it worked out pretty well... And I don't rightly care that the guard was Cole Strange... who I know zero about... I'd rather take a shot at a reach like Strange than jump right in on a sure fire hit like Tony Mandarich,

That's not saying it didn't take me by surprise... At the time of the pick, my initial reaction was Cole Strange was the Patriots backup selection... As most pundits thought, and mock drafts mocked, I was swayed by the plethora of mocks that said we were going to target Utah LB Devin Lloyd... The Jags jumped the line and took him at 26... so the board shifted in the Patriots war room... Next up? Cole Strange, who I think was most likely going to be targeted in the 2nd... it makes sense, at least to me (and brings it more in line with the draft sites)... Lloyd at 1, Strange is a 2, you push Thornton down to the 3rd... my pet theory at any rate

However, it absolutely does not surprise me that they went O-Line... A few weeks ago RKK came right out and said, referring to Mac Jones, "I think he got beat up pretty bad" ... A telling statement, that really says a lot about what the Patriots priorities were in this draft... And if BB & Co feel Strange is that guy, then cool by me.

Plan A at 21 may have been Zion, causing us to move down to 29. Then maybe as you say plan B got taken between 21 & 29, so Cole was plan C. But the benefits/ripple effect of what happened were many:
- we got the good OG which we really needed, and there was risk of losing him between 29 and 54.
- we got an exciting WR that we may not have picked at 50-55 if we had to pick Strange there
- we fixed next year's draft board with the 3rd rounder that KC gave us (trading it to Carolina, will be a top 10 in r3, sneaky good move)
- with the 4th that KC gave us and the 4th that Carolina gave us, we got DB Jones & RB Strong
That's a lot of good things that happened for moving out of 21 and settling for Strange at 29.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

No, but the laziness this time exceeds even his record.

The thing about the Ravens and Austin is that they went with the punter from Penn State when Austin was still on the board in the 4th round.

You look at that and realize that Stout was projected as a UDFA by many, and taking him caused the Ravens to miss out on a guy that's as fast as Marquise Brown.

Especially when the punter Araiza is still on the board.

BUT--the Ravens had intel that the teams picking after them were interested in Stout, and they said Stout is the only viable NFL punter in the draft!!!...

People think they know what the NFL brass is doing but the truth is everyone is really clueless. We may come back to that moment though and see that Austin is a Pro Bowler, that Araiza is an All-Pro, and that Stout shanks the ball a lot.

Yup, I agree with everything you wrote.

One thing that needs to be remembered is that the draft isn’t traditional market value, it’s auction value. If 30 teams think someone has 3rd round value and 2 think he has 1st round value, if you‘re one of those 2 teams then there’s a decent chance you’ll miss out on the guy if you pass. I think anyone who’s played fantasy baseball or football has seen this in action and had it bite them at some point.

In the Patriots case, Houston and Vegas both have recent Patriot Personnel directors in charge. Jon Robinson of the Titans was with the Patriots through 2013 and has taken a lot of guys in the past who were linked to the Pats like Rashaan Evans. And Jason Licht of the Bucs was with the Pats even further back. That’s 4 front offices with Patriots connections. The story that came out said the Titans and Bucs both had 1st round grades on Strange; not a surprise that it’s two people who were exposed to Belichick. I’m guessing those 4 teams are who Belichick thinks about when deciding if someone will be available later or not.

Regardless, the most important aspect is being 100% that your projection is right. If you don’t get the players right, you won’t have a job for long regardless of where you take them.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Many of these arent guards. Cody Ford, Slater, Wynn, a few othres.

I never said tackles aren't selected in the 1st round.

Came out as guards, right?

Or are you saying that they just made up those positions they played in college?