How would you rate the 2018 draft for Pats?!

[RobertWeathers]

But Patriots does not draft for need

I think Bill is telling a 1/2 truth.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I can only confidently say that they hit on #23 and #31. They may not have taken a defensive player or traded up for a stud QB but those two guys will be difference makers. Offensively the Pats are maybe more stacked than last season.

The rest of the draftees? No idea. I'll give them a safe 'B'. If either one or two of the other guys becomes a legit contributor the grade goes up.

That's the thing about drafts .No one has any clue about the future success of these players. All we can go one are two questions.

1. Did they draft players who fill a need? Yes. LT, RB, CB, LB were all positions of need.

2. Will these players be good? Who knows.

 

[Bill Lee]

Picking Etling in the seventh round based on his physical traits made sense, though his college resume was not spectacular

That sounds familiar!

That's the thing about drafts .No one has any clue about the future success of these players. All we can go one are two questions.

1. Did they draft players who fill a need? Yes. LT, RB, CB, LB were all positions of need.

2. Will these players be good? Who knows.

But to some around here, it's:

1. Is this a 'name' player?

2. Did I read about him in my favorite draft guide?

 

[50-yard-line]

I'm thrilled with the draft - including Jason McCourty, Cordarelle Patterson, Rowe, Flowers, and Trent Brown.

Wynn was the best tackle in the class, and when playing inside, he grades right there with Quentin Nelson. Easily a top-15 talent prospect.

Other than Barkley, Michel was my binky. Complete player, great blocker, good hands, can run inside or outside.

The other thing is that they drafted smart guys, team captains, and three defenders who are called "violent."

The only question mark in that regard was Sam, and since his coach is with the team, I doubt it's really an issue.

Good draft - now they'll sign a couple of vets...Vaccaro, Reid? Manziel? (I think they are.)

My only complaint is that they couldn't get one of the big four LBs and the drop off, if reports are to be believed, is pretty steep after that. But I'd rather Wynn than Evans, so there's that.

And unlike some of the previous posters here, I love that they moved two picks to next year, when there should be more room on the team. This year's team was already thick with good players in the 20-50 roster range.

Rookies rarely see much playing time in the Superbowl.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

Belichick simply swapped out veterans (Solder, Lewis, Butler) with rookies (Wynn, Michel, Dawson).

The way you say this in such dismissive tones makes it difficult to put any stock in your analysis. We lost extremely good players at key positions; "simply" replacing them should make everyone jump for joy. Adding depth and competition, plus future picks, makes this a successful draft attempt.

You act like free agency doesn't exist. As I've mentioned elsewhere, roster turnover is pretty extreme in the NFL. A rookie class is only going to represent a small piece of the puzzle in a 90 man camp. Rookies are obviously valuable for their cost control and upside, but there's a lot of team building outside of the draft.

Grading on an imaginary negative (there's a lack of X, Y, Z!) instead of grading on reality (will the players that are present help the team?) just looks short sighted and foolish.

 

[RobertWeathers]

That sounds familiar!


But to some around here, it's:

1. Is this a 'name' player?

2. Did I read about him in my favorite draft guide?

Exactly and I cannot stand the term "value pick". When a GM says, "We were thrilled he was there as we projected him to be at X". A player is chosen at a particular spot for a reason.

I equate it to picking fruit at a grocery store. Some people want oranges. Some bananas. When someone wants apples they ignore the other fruit and looj for the best apples. Some apples are perfect inside and out and are guaranteed to taste great. Some have some bruises but will taste great. Some look great but have worms or rotten inside. Some should be perfect for pie.

 

[ivanvamp]

"Winning" the draft is something we shouldn't even discuss. There re always going to be teams that do well and teams that don't do well. The question is, are the Patriots better now than they were? I think they did a good job and here's why.

They massively upgraded the offensive line, and for much cheaper too. Solder is solid, but he's 30 and just got a huge contract. They added Wynn, a true stud, and Brown by trade, who is also very good. Brown might not stick beyond the one season as he is a UFA after 2018, but he's only 25 so who knows. Maybe he gets a big contract from NE after 2018 depending on how he performs. Anyway, major upgrade on the OL.

Michel is an absolutely dynamic player in every way. He does everything well. He's not as good as Barkley, but he's good at everything - running between the tackles, running outside, catching the ball, and pass-blocking. True three-down back that will give defenses fits.

They added a couple of interesting pieces at DB in Dawson and Crossen. Hoping at least one of them can work out.

Linebacker was more of a need and here is where I think they struggled this draft. The two guys I wanted were Evans and Vander Esch, but both were taken before NE's first pick. Bentley lacks great speed but is a very sold football player. Sam is a better athlete but maybe not as good a football player. We shall see if either of them sticks.

No idea why they drafted Etling. Maybe they can turn him into something useful. Worst pick of the draft for NE, in my opinion.

The other two guys I like. Berrios is a guy they definitely can use, fits the Welker/Edelman mold nicely. Good punt returner as well. I think he makes the team. Izzo is a good blocking tight end with some catching ability. I think this allows them to dump Allen's contract, which frees up money to add another free agent that some other team cuts (which will happen).

We all want the defense to get better. I'm not sure that the guys they picked will help the defense get better right away, though I could see all four defensive players making the roster. I'm not worried they didn't really take a good QB. That can wait. Plus, there's always Manziel out there if they like him.

The offense got all kinds of help. Much improved offensive line. Crazy dynamic RB. A solid blocking TE, and a WR that seems like a perfect fit on this team.

Plus they added a bunch of picks for next year, which is always nice. I give the Pats a worst a B+ for this year's effort, even though it had most of us pulling our hair out as it unfolded.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Wonder if accumulating so many 2019 picks was done with an eye to making a big move up to get the successor QB. They really need to get one next year so he’ll have a chance for a year or two of bench seasoning before he’s going to have to start.

 

[Snooky97]

Honestly think it was a very good draft for us.

We have sorted every need we needed too.

One thing i'd say about the pass rush is we have never relied on it, we have always used a rotation in the Pass rush which last year we didn't, whereas this year it looks like we will be able to rotate more and have a better presence there as well.

We have added more NT/DT/ 3-4 DEs which should help us in the Run game, with the UDFA we have signed.

We got a very good Tackle/Guard. We have a RB who could easily dominate this league for the next 5 years behind the O-Line it looks like we are creating.
We have a Corner/Nickle/Safety in Duke Dawson who reminds me a bit of Mathieu with his flexibility and size. We have got a two very good LBs in Bentley and Sam.
Bentley is quicker than his Combine suggests as well as his weight as well. Sam could turn into a very good coverage LB for us.


The main thing for me about this years draft is the way BB manipulated multiple picks into next years draft!

I personally give us a Solid B+

 

[BTTA]

For all who are disappointed about the "we didn't get a pass rusher or edge player", there was only one in this draft who has a better than 50% chance of being a solid NFL starter and good pass rusher. He was drafted with the 5th pick. To be sure of getting him would have required the 2nd pick. To get that from the Giants pre-draft, the Pats would have had to give up Wynn, Michel, and enough draft capital from next year to seriously thwart an effort to replace Brady. Worth it? No.

 

[everlong]

On the one hand I like all of the picks. On the other I wish they addressed the defense more aggressively. I know they added Clayborn and will get Hightower back but I still would have liked a coverage ILB. I do love the Dawson pick. If they had this kid for the SB they probably win. I think this is a really underrated draft pick.

Berrios as well as a punt returner and replacement for DA is a terrific pick. The rest of the late rounders have some promise but we'll see.

Wynn is a high floor pick who I still think kicks inside and is insurance if/when Mason leaves in FA. He doesn't fit the LT profile for the Pats but I've been wrong before. I think like Mankins before him he can spot out there and that positional depth is huge. I wouldn't doubt that he could fill all 5 OL slots in a pinch.

Michelle if he can stay healthy is the first all down back they've had in a while. If he can learn the hurry up that is really going to stress defenses and I'm not just referring to end of the half/game situations.

 

[Ivan]

The running back blew out his knee!

OMG, that’s horrible. That makes Belichick the first GM to draft a player who had been injured. What an idiot.

 

[lancerman]

It could be a great or terrible class imo. Wynn and Michel could become studs and absolute steals. However it easily could turn out that Wynn's size limits him and Michel's injury makes unable to reach the level he did in college. Dawson to me could either be a surprise and fit perfectly or he could just be another small corner we reached on that we ***** about for a few years. Crossen could be a Butler type if he really works at it or he could just be a workout warrior, either way when you could have got Jackson every CB we draft is going to be suspect depending on how he turns out. Bentley has limitations and I see him as a complete role player for certain packages. Etling is trash they are going to hope turns into treasure and if he doesn't I can't imagine they will be all that heartbroken.

 

[Ivan]

It could be a great or terrible class imo. Wynn and Michel could become studs and absolute steals. However it easily could turn out that Wynn's size limits him and Michel's injury makes unable to reach the level he did in college. Dawson to me could either be a surprise and fit perfectly or he could just be another small corner we reached on that we ***** about for a few years. Crossen could be a Butler type if he really works at it or he could just be a workout warrior, either way when you could have got Jackson every CB we draft is going to be suspect depending on how he turns out. Bentley has limitations and I see him as a complete role player for certain packages. Etling is trash they are going to hope turns into treasure and if he doesn't I can't imagine they will be all that heartbroken.

Ordway, is that you.

 

[patsfan13]

Ran across this today about how BB decides to draft in a spot or trade out of the spot.

This makes sense to me and it is interesting to view the draft from the perspective Mayock presents about BB.

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

I'm thrilled with the draft - including Jason McCourty, Cordarelle Patterson, Rowe, Flowers, and Trent Brown.

Wynn was the best tackle in the class, and when playing inside, he grades right there with Quentin Nelson. Easily a top-15 talent prospect.

Other than Barkley, Michel was my binky. Complete player, great blocker, good hands, can run inside or outside.

The other thing is that they drafted smart guys, team captains, and three defenders who are called "violent."

The only question mark in that regard was Sam, and since his coach is with the team, I doubt it's really an issue.

Good draft - now they'll sign a couple of vets...Vaccaro, Reid? Manziel? (I think they are.)

My only complaint is that they couldn't get one of the big four LBs and the drop off, if reports are to be believed, is pretty steep after that. But I'd rather Wynn than Evans, so there's that.

And unlike some of the previous posters here, I love that they moved two picks to next year, when there should be more room on the team. This year's team was already thick with good players in the 20-50 roster range.

Rookies rarely see much playing time in the Superbowl.

Projections are basically guesses and I like Wynn a lot (think of him as a solid starter for years), but grading him right along with Nelson on the inside just isn’t true. Who knows the future of all these picks but with the current grades, Nelson’s in a league of his own.

 

[hornetfb85]

Really liked the first 3 picks. The two LBs are interesting pieces. Would like to see berrios and izzo "redshirt". Agree with those talking about not meeting some needs. I have watched the Draft as a Pats fan for as long as I remember, and I think that issue has come up at least 15 of the years BB has been here. I'm actually much more surprised when we do cover our needs.

 

[Gator Mike]

Not singling out anyone here, but "grading" a draft the day after it happens has always struck me as a rather bizarre waste of time.

 

[50-yard-line]

Projections are basically guesses and I like Wynn a lot (think of him as a solid starter for years), but grading him right along with Nelson on the inside just isn’t true. Who knows the future of all these picks but with the current grades, Nelson’s in a league of his own.

I read a comparison when Wynn was playing guard and they were side by side. I think Wynn got "hurt" because he was playing tackle and his height made everyone say "guard" instead.

 

[Tony2046]

Exactly and I cannot stand the term "value pick". When a GM says, "We were thrilled he was there as we projected him to be at X". A player is chosen at a particular spot for a reason.

I equate it to picking fruit at a grocery store. Some people want oranges. Some bananas. When someone wants apples they ignore the other fruit and looj for the best apples. Some apples are perfect inside and out and are guaranteed to taste great. Some have some bruises but will taste great. Some look great but have worms or rotten inside. Some should be perfect for pie.

I agree. 100%. Some prospects turn out to be apple pie, some apple sauce and a few are just crabapples. Some start out as apples but are then mixed with cranberries to give you a cran-apple type player which is what this system is all about.

Bruised Bananas? That's straight Banana bread material right theah. Easily the safe pick.

Have no idea if I'm OT or not.