Does LenDale White fall to us?

[Crazy Patriot Guy]

It's obviously a long ways until the draft and things can change pretty quickly. Plus, there's no gurantee that Belichick goes in that direction even if he's there.

That being said, do you guys see White falling to #21? I've been checking a lot of mock drafts and I'd say less than 50% have him going before our pick. I've seen Green Bay at 5, Arizona at 10 and several to Minnesota at 17. The rest of them have him going to us, except for one that has us passing on him.

A lot of it depends on what teams think of course. Everyone thought the Colts were nuts when they "reached" for Dwight Freeney. Lee Evans was a fringe-1st rounder when the Bills took him at #16 I believe it was.

When most of us wanted Jackson, it was hard to find a mock draft that had him falling to us. Once the draft got closer, it was almost impossible to find a mock that had him dropping anywhere even close to us. With so many mocks having us land him at #21, even after his dominating performance in the Rose Bowl, I have hope.

I think I want White more than I did Steven Jackson. That's why I almost hope no one falls that is a sure pick for us. We let Ted Washington go, and a stud NT falls to us. We had already traded for Corey Dillon. So when Tagliabue called out Wilfork's name, for me it was "(Sigh) Yeah, that's the right pick." (And I still think it is)

I don't want to pass on White though. He's perfect for this team and we're eventually going to need a young RB. We don't have a RB on this roster that didn't miss multiple games this year because of injuries. Dillon is over 30. The secondary and linebackers certainly need some help but unless someone like AJ Hawk or Michael Huff is sitting there, I don't see better value at that spot.

 

[BelichickFan]

I'm not a big fan of drafting a RB. But that wasn't the question. I think it's entirely possible that he or DeAngelo Williams will be there at #21. There's not a lot of teams that need RB, it's a strong draft and there's a lot of veteran RB on the market.

 

[bball831]

Yeah I would be thrilled with White. But a question I have is that if he is there, would Belichick take him? They very rarely make the "sexy" pick.

 

[BelichickFan]

would Belichick take him?

If you believe the post draft "talk", probably.

Supposedly in 2001 we were trying to trade up for a late #1 to take Deuce McAllister when he was free falling. We ended up with Light, which was fine.

In 2004 even after trading for Dillon we were supposedly considering Stephen Jackson at #21 (but eventually went with the Wilfork need) and tried to trade up for Kevin Jones, and settled for Ben Watson.

 

[wilycoyote]

I would be ecstatic with DeAngelo Williams. Hard to argue with White's numbers but I read an article in ESPN mag about him and he just rubs me the wrong way. He calls himself "Showcase" and loudly announces that "Showcase" is in the room when he is in the lockerroom. But, if he passes the BB/SP background check that is good enough for me since they did their homework on Dillon.

 

[Alk]

Yeah I would be thrilled with White. But a question I have is that if he is there, would Belichick take him? They very rarely make the "sexy" pick.

The Belichick thing to do would be draft another TE.

 

[Seymour93]

Hard to argue with White's numbers but I read an article in ESPN mag about him and he just rubs me the wrong way. He calls himself "Showcase" and loudly announces that "Showcase" is in the room when he is in the lockerroom.

Yeah, I remember reading a little back on here that last year instead of practicing with the Trojans in the spring LenDale had to take time out to work on academics. Apparently in Patriots Reign it was disclosed that Pioli "hates" guys who either care more about academics than football or don't make the grades.

 

[shakadave]

I would be ecstatic with DeAngelo Williams. Hard to argue with White's numbers but I read an article in ESPN mag about him and he just rubs me the wrong way. He calls himself "Showcase" and loudly announces that "Showcase" is in the room when he is in the lockerroom. But, if he passes the BB/SP background check that is good enough for me since they did their homework on Dillon.

I don't have a good feeling about the RB from Memphis. He's fast, strong, but small, and injurable. When I watched him in the bowl game, I kept thinking "But he couldn't do this in the pros."

 

[SoonerPatriot]

I'd say there's maybe a 25 percent Lendale falls to us and a 10 percent chance BB takes him if he does.

 

[SaCaCh]

White is the "hot" name right now so some team will reach and pick him very early. 0% chance he falls to us. That however will allow someone to fall to us that shouldn't again....Wilfork 2?

 

[mtbykr]

well

even if he's available---i don't see us taking him in the 1st round.. he just doesn't seem to fit. We'll see though as i have been wrong in the past!


In BB, we trust the draft!

 

[aabtec]

I would be ecstatic with DeAngelo Williams. Hard to argue with White's numbers but I read an article in ESPN mag about him and he just rubs me the wrong way. He calls himself "Showcase" and loudly announces that "Showcase" is in the room when he is in the lockerroom. But, if he passes the BB/SP background check that is good enough for me since they did their homework on Dillon.

That wouldn't last long in the Pats lockerroom..showcase would get a little taste for Rodney Harrison...

 

[mgteich]

We will draft a TE, as we have in EVERY year under bb.

The Belichick thing to do would be draft another TE.

 

[mgteich]

1) I don't think he'll fall
2) From what I hear, he wouldn't fit in. He doesn't work hard enough. He has little interest in watching tapes.
3) And of course for him, there is an "I" in team

 

[RIP#40]

3) And of course for him, there is an "I" in team

Or, an M and an E.

 

[Handel]

According to NFL draft countdown, he could be picked as high as the 10th spot.

http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/sub/mockdraft.html

10. ARIZONA CARDINALS
LENDALE WHITE
RB | Southern Cal | Scouting Report
After being the popular pick by many analysts to take a big leap last season the Cards were back to their old tricks and among the leagues worst teams. Unfortunately for them they won just enough games to take them out of the range they needed to be in to address their most pressing weakness, an elite young quarterback. With Leinart and Young off the board Arizona looks elsewhere to try and improve their offense by bringing in a top running back. Even though they did draft J.J. Arrington in round two a year ago the Cards still ranked 32nd (a.k.a. Last) in the NFL in rushing this past year with Arrington only managing 370 yards on a 3.3 avgerage per carry. Granted a lot of those problems can be attributed to the troubles of the offensive line but even so Arrington showed little or no hope that he can be a starting runner at the pro level. In a lot of ways White will remind you of Jerome Bettis in that despite his size (235 lbs.) he has tremendous feet and is a lot shiftier than you would think. Even though he was overshadowed by Reggie Bush this guy was extremely productive for the Trojans as well and his addition would balance out the Cardinal offense and allow them to not put so much emphasis and pressure on Kurt Warner and the passing game. You can't rule out a stud tight end, defensive tackle or linebacker here either but they absolutely must upgrade their rushing attack

 

[BelichickFan]

On draft day I'll be rooting for as many QB, RB and TE to go before us as possible.

 

[The Gr8est]

I don't have a good feeling about the RB from Memphis. He's fast, strong, but small, and injurable. When I watched him in the bowl game, I kept thinking "But he couldn't do this in the pros."

From the Great Blue North Draft site:

http://www.gbnreport.com/

January 23
(1:00 PM): Top RB turns up short in player parade... Its known colloquially as the ‘meat market’ phase of the Senior Bowl as strip down to their skivvies and parade across a stage to be measured and weighed. There are always surprises in who weighs what. And, unfortunately, those surprises are mostly disappointments as players don’t quite ‘measure’ up to what was expected. Perhaps the biggest surprise at this year’s weigh-in was the fact that Memphis RB DeAngelo Williams, who is considered to be a potential top 10 pick this coming April, only measured in at a tad over 5-8 and 207 pounds. Williams has generally been listed in the past at 5-10, 217.

He may be there at #21 but do we want him? Kevin Faulk is listed at 5'8" 202 lbs.

FWIW, I DO think a great player will slip to us at #21 as always seems to happen, I expect us to draft the best CB, S, MLB, or Lendale White who falls to #21.

 

[28222]

I understand the curiosity around this, but in truth, it is WAY to early to predict what will happen. As a previous poster mentioned, there are only a few teams looking at RB, and there is a deep crop in free agency. Mocks look completely different in April versus January for 2 reasons:

(1) combine
(2) free agency

Between Williams, White, and Maroney... what if one of them lights it up at the combine while one of the guys disappoints? Plus, what if the Vikings spend their cap room on E James? There are so many permutations...

I love watching the mocks myself to satisfy my curiosity, but they really don't start to take realistic shape until the combine is over and there is a flurry of activity in free agency.

 

[drpatriot]

NFL Draft Countdown has us picking Ashton Youbouty out of Ohio State.

All good things must come to an end and while the Patriots still have a very good team you can see that age, free agency, injuries and the loss of assistant coaches have begun to catch up with them. Gone are the days where they can afford to simply take the best player available because, like most teams, the Pats have needs to address and holes to plug. The most glaring weakness for the second straight year would appear to be in the secondary, where they are in desperate need of an infusion of talent at cornerback. Ashton Youboty has a great blend of size, speed and athleticism and you can't discount the success that other Buckeye cornerbacks like Antoine Winfield, Shawn Springs, Nate Clements and Chris Gamble have had in the NFL. In other words there is a good chance that this is a safe pick because other Ohio St. alums have transitioned to the next level with great results. Linebacker is also a need for New England with some of their veterans like Willie McGinest and Tedy Bruschi getting older and starting to show some wear. On offense wide receiver is going to be a concern, especially if David Givens leaves as a free agent, and an upgrade over Brandon Gorin at right tackle sure wouldn't hurt either.

Note that Derek Hagan and Darnell Bing, among others, are still availabe.