Impact WR….whom do you want?

[jays52]

I see Parker as our 4th

Neat. Who plays split end?

 

[archstanton543]

I don’t think “ hoping” is a good approach to this season. This is year #4 of their rebuild, and they have to make the jump to contender now, not 2 years from now. They have build a good solid team overall, but now they have to make a move to become a good playoff caliber team. I’m not saying they have to be as good as the Chiefs, Bengals, Eagles, but they need to be able to really compete with them, and not get blown off the field in the first half. That’s a reasonable expectation for their 4th season after Brady, but they would still need to make the jump to serious Lombardi contender for the 2024 season and beyond. And regardless of all of their moves Mac Jones is going to have to make a really big jump in his play this season, or none of their moves on offense will matter.

"Have to" is also speculation. I think it's fair to say that last year was a regression in the rebuild process. There's a lot of ground to be made up for this upcoming season. That sets the whole rebuild back...that's why it's going to take 2-3 years. This year is going to be all about "where's Mac at and is he 'The Guy'". If he is, then next year is the "have to" be in contention year (and even then, I think it's too early for that talk).

 

[patman52]

josh downs (2nd) and Xavier Hutchinson in the 4th.

 

[Ivan]

"Have to" is also speculation. I think it's fair to say that last year was a regression in the rebuild process. There's a lot of ground to be made up for this upcoming season. That sets the whole rebuild back...that's why it's going to take 2-3 years. This year is going to be all about "where's Mac at and is he 'The Guy'". If he is, then next year is the "have to" be in contention year (and even then, I think it's too early for that talk).

Then we disagree on the timeline, I think they need to start competing with the better teams in the league now, and I don’t think they are there yet. Hopkins is the kind of player that will make everyone better. And having spaced out Smith-Schuster I think the Patriots could sweeten a deal for Hopkins by trading Parker to the Cards with the pick, which would give the Patriots a receiving corps of Hopkins/ Thornton/ Smith-Schuster/ Bourne / draft pick.

 

[Zuma]

3 people voted for N'Keal Harry. EDIT: make it 4. Double Edit: 5! Double Double Edit: 6

 

[Ivan]

I don’t think they will add Hopkins and a first round pick at receiver I would expect it’s one or the other. Thornton was higher on the depth chart than Bourne for a lot of the season so I see Thornton as closer to 4 than 6. Combine that with how injury prone Parker has been I’d expect Thornton to get enough snaps to develop.

I’m not saying they will make those moves, I’m saying that I would. I think they need a more dynamic and higher scoring offense going forward, otherwise they are going to be a last place team in their division. Belichick has shored up the team to a point where they are solid and have good depth, but they need to be able to put up the points necessary to stay in games against the best offenses, so that’s my solution to the problem.

 

[Ivan]

"Have to" is also speculation. I think it's fair to say that last year was a regression in the rebuild process. There's a lot of ground to be made up for this upcoming season. That sets the whole rebuild back...that's why it's going to take 2-3 years. This year is going to be all about "where's Mac at and is he 'The Guy'". If he is, then next year is the "have to" be in contention year (and even then, I think it's too early for that talk).

Everything is speculation, “ have to” is my expectation for them, everyone else will make their own judgements as to what they expect from them. And my guess is that both Belichick and Kraft have higher expectations for them than being a team that can’t compete against the best teams in the league, which is why I think they will make a big move.

 

[VJCPatriot]

I would say the draft is the best place to find a #1 WR, except we suck at drafting wide receivers. So honestly don't know how we're ever going to fix the position outside of a free agent. This year's WR free agent class wasn't exactly great. We got Juju Schuster-Smith but he's probably only an incremental upgrade over Meyers.

 

[Ring 6]

Neat. Who plays split end?

Thornton

 

[jays52]

Thornton

So just to clarify you want Tyquan Thornton on the line of scrimmage vs press?

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

N'Keal Harry is a Free Agent

 

[archstanton543]

N'Keal Harry is a Free Agent

How bad is it that the team with the worst WR group in the league doesn't even want him?

 

[Chevy]

How bad is it that the team with the worst WR group in the league doesn't even want him?

Lighten up.

N'Keal was the master of the First Down. The real problem was he kept getting back up.

 

[Zuma]

Lighten up.

N'Keal was the master of the First Down. The real problem was he kept getting back up.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

Im fine with them adding a draft pick. Flowers, Mims, or even a later round prospect.

A DRAFT PICK? Yikes. I am totally not fine with that. BB has a terrible track record picking WRs; this seems to be the one area of football that he simply cannot learn from his mistakes. His whiffs are legendary. We all know what a disaster N'Keal Harry was (he was such a flop that it drove Brady out of town). The jury is still out on Tyquon Thornton; the Patriots took him instead of George Pickens; was that the right move? I don't know.

 

[SteveBsFan]

I’ve come to the conclusion that Bill is all set with the receiving corps. Anything major going forward would be a surprise to me. I definitely could see us drafting some WR’s or a TE in the draft for future contracts and what-not. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bill sees JJSS as the WR 1, and Gesicki as your primary slot. You’d have JJSS, KB, HH, and Gesicki on the field together quite a bit. Then you’d mix in DP and TT. That’s not toooo bad.

I’m beginning to think you’re right, and I’m not thrilled about it.

Unless he can get OBJ on a one year penny pincher deal, I don’t see any other impact receivers joining.

He has never gone out of his way to get a star receiver. It’s just not his thing. Moss he got for cheap. Welker was a diamond in the rough. He then grabbed more discount big names like Chad Johnson, Josh Gordon, AB.

Doesn’t help the times he actually paid a bit (Sanu-2nd, Cooks-1st,3rd) and didn’t work out.

* I know Cooks put up 1k and wasn’t a BUST but pretty sure he expected more from trading two high picks which is why he got back a first the second he could.

 

[Ring 6]

So just to clarify you want Tyquan Thornton on the line of scrimmage vs press?

Among other things, yes

 

[*ChungFu*]

11, The Twin Twigs, Sticks, SkeleTron; Thornton is our #1.

 

[jboston19]

A DRAFT PICK? Yikes. I am totally not fine with that. BB has a terrible track record picking WRs; this seems to be the one area of football that he simply cannot learn from his mistakes. His whiffs are legendary. We all know what a disaster N'Keal Harry was (he was such a flop that it drove Brady out of town). The jury is still out on Tyquon Thornton; the Patriots took him instead of George Pickens; was that the right move? I don't know.

They have some solid receiving options already. I don’t want them to never pick a receiver again because they’re in a drought on the few ones that they’ve actually taken. This isn’t Homer Simpson and “You tried and failed. The lesson is never try.”

If they hadn’t signed JJ and MG and we’re basing it solely on the draft, I’d be worried right along with you. But Jones only has a few more years of being on a rookie deal. They need to take some swings at cost controlled WR options and they have 11 picks as it stands right now. Double dip and increase the odds!

We shall see. Talent was never the question with Pickens. And, while I’ve become hopeful about TT, I too was hoping to rush it with the former.

 

[Ivan]

A DRAFT PICK? Yikes. I am totally not fine with that. BB has a terrible track record picking WRs; this seems to be the one area of football that he simply cannot learn from his mistakes. His whiffs are legendary. We all know what a disaster N'Keal Harry was (he was such a flop that it drove Brady out of town). The jury is still out on Tyquon Thornton; the Patriots took him instead of George Pickens; was that the right move? I don't know.

I’m fine with a pick at WR really early, but I want a sure thing to go with it, and Hopkins is as sure as it gets. As it stands the Patriots offense doesn’t scare anyone. They can pound on you, but once the opponent is up 2 scores they are in big trouble. They have to be able to put up numbers, and control the game offensively to be a serious contender, and the QB still has to prove he can get it done. Giving him all the skill sets to succeed is their best shot at winning. I don’t believe the Patriots are OK with another 3-4 year timeline to be relevant, but only time and the moves they make will tell?