Yeah, this draft has the potential to be one of the top 5 drafts in the history of the Patriots. I don't want to get too excited, but Maroney looked very very good. Great explosion through the line, that's what I noticed the most about him, he EXPLODES through the line. He also has very good speed and moves, and obviously some power, they kept showing how he was breaking tackles, hardly ever going down from the first hit. I also noticed a very nice block on a passing play. He could be very very dangerous as a receiver too. Was suprised (but happy) not to see him out there on the kick return team.
Thomas showed some good hands, and some toughness, I thought he got a concussion on his first catch, and showed toughness coming back to play. He could definately be a secret weapon. I would not be shocked to see him get more receptions (than 2) as the preseason goes on. Not spectacular, but I think he will show us a lot more.
Mills, after dropping 1 or 2 passes showed the type of player he was in college. Someone mentioned that Belichick compared him to Larry Centers, if he could be half the receiver Centers was out of the backfield, the Pats got themselves one heck of a player.
Gostkoski showed very good leg strength (reached the endzone on almost every kickoff), though his accuracy may come into question. In the newspaper, it looks like he kicked a 34 yard field goal, but that sucker barely got inside the post. Regardless, he made the kick, probably felt a ton of pressure, I give him props. I think he will be a good kicker in the NFL (God, I wish we had that guy from Atlanta, what a f*cking leg !!!)
I was very inpressed with Mincey & Andrews. Mincey just looked the part, good size and speed. Andrews looked comfortable with the return game, and though small, seems to like to hit when he was playing in the secondary.
O'Callahan & Stevenson will make the team, and O'Callahan looks to possibly be the steal of our draft. The backup line seemed not to miss a beat, as our running game stayed productive well into the 4th quarter. Our pass protection was a little shoddy though. I'm not too worried about this when the regular season starts, because our starters are good at both run blocking and pass protection.
LeKevin Smith looked pretty good too, made some nice plays.
Overall, it's quite possible that all of our picks make the team, whether as practice squad players or on the roster. It's imperative that we get Jackson back though. He is our most important draft choice due to the fact that we are so thin at WR. My biggest nightmare is having Kelvin Kight as our starting WR opposite Caldwell vs Buffalo in the opener, though that means more passes go Watson's way, which aint a bad thing !!
