Here's the most compelling reason NOT to trade Jimmy G. for high picks

[amazinPats]

TOTALLY differently:
Convert the JAG 1st rounder + (maybe a 2nd or 3rd???)
Trade down for multiple picks

Draft a CB to protect against Malcom's departure next year if not this year
An OT would improve the OL
A large, quality OC would help TFB's health
A LB to replace Collins, Hightower
A TE to prepare for Gronk's annual injury or back problems
A RB who can get 3 yards when you MUST have them...

You could argue that all this can be done with this year's and next year's current cupboard of picks. No need to trade any more picks. Ideally you would want to draft a CB and an OT (agree on both those needs) in the first couple of rounds, but BB has found them in lower rounds before (Malcolm!) We do have next year's picks as well.

It's not so clear cut. I'm sure BB has been thinking this out over the last few days. btw, my original position assumed Hightower was re-signed.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Nope. The only case for keeping jg is brady insurance in case the 'cliff' comes soon or an injury. The team is in great shape but lets not kid ourselves, you can ALWAYS improve somewhere. Off the top of my head:

Cb is good for this year but butler and rowe can both hit the market soon and nothing proven left beyond gilmore.

Lb can be upgraded even if ht comes back.

Te - gronk is hurt half the time and dont know yet how doyle will work in our offense.

Interior ol can use an upgrade or competition.

Tackle needs depth and solder is a fa next year.

Rb could use an upgrade even if blount doesnt get lured away.

The idea that having the #12 pick not being a major asset even now as good as the team is is crazy... Its just a matter of whether bb values that over insurance. Even if you dont think there is enough room, trade them into next year and the year after for more value.

 

[mosslost]

Yes, this is the main question. If BB keeps Jimmy, then I'm sure he plans to keep him beyond just a year or two. How many more seasons can we genuinely expect to get out of Brady?

probably too many for Jimmy to be his heir.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

You could argue that all this can be done with this year's and next year's current cupboard of picks. No need to trade any more picks. Ideally you would want to draft a CB and an OT (agree on both those needs) in the first couple of rounds, but BB has found them in lower rounds before (Malcolm!) We do have next year's picks as well.

It's not so clear cut. I'm sure BB has been thinking this out over the last few days. btw, my original position assumed Hightower was re-signed.

You could argue that. You'd be wrong.
To win the SB THIS year and next we need some of those guys. Rooks often take time.

 

[mosslost]

I know it's a business and Bill will do what's best for the team. But I certainly don't want to see Brady released or traded just because we have a young QB available to take over. And if Brady is here next season, it'll mean franchising Jimmy and paying him more than the GOAT. That simply will not work.

Brady is going to be playing at a high level too long for Jimmy to be his heir. The timing does not work for Jimmy. We should all be ecstatic if Brady plays at this level for 4 or 5 more years and wins 1 or even 2 more SBs.

 

[s3antana5757]

Is 1-2 years of happy JAG and him potentially not throwing a meaningful pass greater than drafting a QB(potentially with a high pick) and being able to fill another couple needs?

 

[Oswlek]

I'm not suggesting we ditch the draft folks. We have draft picks from the third round on this year. That means cheap developmental guys--the type of players we have built our team on. We've got a full compliment of picks next year. Given these assets, is it worth trading away a valuable successor at the quarterback position? This is an honest question. I don't think the answer is clear cut.

You're asking the wrong question. Whether a successor should be kept is not in dispute, the question is how you keep Jimmy around long enough to be so.

 

[patfanken]

Ludicrous OP, not even worth the effort to disgree or dislike.

BUT for the record, we are not nearly as good as were were last season at DE, and have only Grissom in the pipeline to replace Ninko after this season. We have a desperate need at edge rusher and no picks to get one in a draft where you have a good shot at one in the first 2 rounds. (and we have ZERO bullets right now)

We can also use help at LB (I'm starting to really like Hassan Reddick) We can also get better at C. Forrest Lamp has been projected by some as a possible C has a low first round grade

All the players mention can be of immediate help, but more importantly are need for the future as well. Most of the time the best you can expect from a rookie is that he becomes a contributor and THEN starts in his 2nd year or if injuries strike

This draft reminds of the 2007 when we had something like 1o picks, but all but our first were 5th round or below. IIRC Merriweather was our pick at 31 and NO ONE else made the team. In fact the only one who actually had a career that last more than a year or 2 was Ted Larsen

This one is better in the sense we have a coupld of low 3rd round picks and a low 4th, but given that its a crapshoot even WITH high picks, you have REALLY get lucky beyond that. Just look at what happened in the late 2000's when Pioli seemed to lose his touch. A great team started to break down and didn't start to rebound until the 201o and 11 drafts.

We got VERY lucky last season to find Thuney and Mitchell so late. That kind of luck can't be expected every year.

 

[AzPatsFan]

No one should be debating this point, but the million dollar question then becomes how you're able to pay both Brady/Garoppolo next season and beyond.

Difficult to envision seeing Belichick alright with paying good money to a guy standing on the sidelines.

BB is a proponent of building a team with depth. Others stock a handfull of superstars, BB builds a solid 53 (or 63!). He has 7 Lombardi rings to say his way is best. Depth Wins!

 

[supafly]

BB is a proponent of building a team with depth. Others stock a handfull of superstars, BB builds a solid 53 (or 63!). He has 7 Lombardi rings to say his way is best. Depth Wins!

I'm not sure what this is supposed to mean in regards to trying to keep Garoppolo, financially, though?

Of course, we all want depth, but as someone who wants to see Garoppolo stay, no one can seem to answer the question as to how they'd pay both he and Brady.

Belichick cannot pay them both, and it's extremely unlikely that Brady will ever see a snap outside of Foxborough. They aren't entertaining the idea of trading him, judging by Belichick's "************" response to who would start in week five this year, and subsequent 14-1 record after the return.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

BB is a proponent of building a team with depth. Others stock a handfull of superstars, BB builds a solid 53 (or 63!). He has 7 Lombardi rings to say his way is best. Depth Wins!

Agreed! Next man up is huge in New England. Bb understands injuries are part of the game. Gronkowski goes down more than a hooker on Wall Street. Therefore he gets Bennett as the next man up.

Jimmy is the next man up at qb. Brissett, not so much!

 

[BobDigital]

It is true the Pats don't have a ton of big needs assuming Hightower is signed. They could use another LB and pass rusher but cheap decent vets could fill those roles. Also while you do want the young good players on long term contracts and that is important in team building as long as you have enough young talent on a team you can skip a year. The Pats put themselves in position where they need very little from their rookie class at this point.

Yes a good QB is the hardest asset to get and if they think they have one I would be weary about giving it up. That being said the Pats have a chance some good value by trading JAG which can help this team this year and for years to come.

The reason they haven't pulled the trigger is only cause they are cautious about Brady. He is going to be 40 this year and 41 next year. He is approaching an age where every single QB in the past has fallen off. The Pats are unsure if Brady is the exception or not. Personally I think he is and i feel that way strongly but I can see why BB would hesitate.

If Brady shows any signs of slowing down next year could be the year you trade him and hands the reigns to JAG or even this year. It is a strong possibility.

 

[BlueThunder]

Uggggg...Trade and Brady in same sentence Bob..... Me no like......

 

[Oswlek]

This draft reminds of the 2007 when we had something like 1o picks, but all but our first were 5th round or below. IIRC Merriweather was our pick at 31 and NO ONE else made the team. In fact the only one who actually had a career that last more than a year or 2 was Ted Larsen

This one is better in the sense we have a coupld of low 3rd round picks and a low 4th, but given that its a crapshoot even WITH high picks, you have REALLY get lucky beyond that. Just look at what happened in the late 2000's when Pioli seemed to lose his touch. A great team started to break down and didn't start to rebound until the 201o and 11 drafts.

We got VERY lucky last season to find Thuney and Mitchell so late. That kind of luck can't be expected every year.

You are right that NE didn't get much from the 2007 draft, but you are misrepresenting the mechanics. Even for someone as oblivious as me, it was well known that NE had already reached their personal UDFA levels in the 4th round, and they weren't alone. You could debate whether they should have traded up to select more draftable players but fewer overall, but holding that historically bad class as an example of what to expect this year is not a good argument.

I also dispute how lucky NE was to get a few good players in later rounds. That seems like "just" a very good draft to me. It's laudible but hardly extraordinary.

 

[IllegalContact]

Wrong. Having talented rookies on cheap deals for 5 years under your control is a vital part to team building in today's NFL. You need a steady pipeline of young talent, simple as that.

this histories of the Jaguars and Browns calls '********' on this one

 

[sb1]

this histories of the Jaguars and Browns calls '********' on this one

Zero relevance to the Patriots. Not to mention the fact neither of those franchises have ever had a coach that belongs in the same sentence as ours. Unless you count Coughlin 20 years ago.

Good young talent can be coached up. Or down.

 

[IllegalContact]

the history of the Pats drafting from the mid 2nd round (12th pick through the end of the 2nd round)....14 picks did not contribute to the Pats success....so nothing is 'likely' with these draft picks people speak of:

2016 1 2 29 60 Cyrus Jones DB Alabama
2015 1 1 32 32 Malcom Brown DT Texas
2 2 32 64 Jordan Richards DB Stanford
2014 1 1 29 29 Dominique Easley DT Florida
2 2 30 62 Jimmy Garoppolo QB Eastern Illinois
2013 1 2 20 52 Jamie Collins LB Southern Mississippi
2 2 27 59 Aaron Dobson WR Marshall
2012 1 1 21 21 Chandler Jones DE Syracuse
2 1 25 25 Dont'a Hightower LB Alabama
3 2 16 48 Tavon Wilson DB Illinois
2011 1 1 17 17 Nate Solder T Colorado
2 2 1 33 Ras-I Dowling DB Virginia
3 2 24 56 Shane Vereen RB California
2010 1 1 27 27 Devin McCourty DB Rutgers
2 2 10 42 Rob Gronkowski TE Arizona
3 2 21 53 Jermaine Cunningham LB Florida
4 2 30 62 Brandon Spikes LB Florida
2009 1 2 2 34 Patrick Chung DB Oregon
2 2 8 40 Ron Brace DT Boston College
3 2 9 41 Darius Butler DB Connecticut
4 2 26 58 Sebastian Vollmer T Houston
2008 2 2 31 62 Terrence Wheatley DB Colorado
2007 1 1 24 24 Brandon Meriweather DB Miami (FL)
2006 1 1 21 21 Laurence Maroney RB Minnesota
2 2 4 36 Chad Jackson WR Florida
2005 1 1 32 32 Logan Mankins G Fresno State
2004 1 1 21 21 Vince Wilfork DT Miami (FL)
2 1 32 32 Ben Watson TE Georgia
3 2 31 63 Marquise Hill DE Louisiana State
2003 1 1 13 13 Ty Warren DT Texas A&M
2 2 4 36 Eugene Wilson DB Illinois
3 2 13 45 Bethel Johnson WR Texas A&M
2002 1 1 21 21 Dan Graham TE Colorado
2 2 33 65 Deion Branch WR Louisville
2001 2 2 17 48 Matt Light T Purdue
2000 1 2 15 46 Adrian Klemm T Hawaii

 

[IllegalContact]

Zero relevance to the Patriots. Not to mention the fact neither of those franchises have ever had a coach that belongs in the same sentence as ours. Unless you count Coughlin 20 years ago.

Good young talent can be coached up. Or down.

14 of 33 draft picks Belichik has made between the 12th pick in the 1st round and the end of the 2nd round were non-contributors to the Pats success......you just need to admit once and for all that you have no clue as to what you are talking about

 

[sb1]

14 of 33 draft picks Belichik has made between the 12th pick in the 1st round and the end of the 2nd round were non-contributors to the Pats success......you just need to admit once and for all that you have no clue as to what you are talking about

Non sequitur and completely irrelevant. The double whammy that causes many subpar replies to a post.

 

[brdmaverick]

I don't know. Just ask Houston or San Francisco, or Cleveland or Minnesota about how hard it is to find good quarterbacks in the draft. If you find a good successor, you keep him. And you especially keep him if your draft needs are minimal.

I can't exactly hit the 'like' or 'agree' button on your comment b/c I don't necessarily share your view of 'keeping Jimmy', but I'll give you kudos for making a logical, strong argument against it.