Market for Bennett?

[Ring 6]

I thought he'd be back until Miguel retweeted an article about how barren the tight end market is. He's going to get paid as he's the only difference maker on the market.

He's not really a difference maker.
He's a good TE but not someone who transforms an offense like gronk or is a primary weapon like Olsen or graham are or witten and gates used to be.

 

[Ring 6]

I am hoping they'll get Hightower signed before FA so they can franchise MB. Hightower knows it's either a long-term deal or the franchise tag, so I hope he takes the deal, even if it isn't as astronomical as an open market one. He has no chance of hitting the open market, though, so that's a moot point.

I don't think Bennett is worth the tag.

 

[50-yard-line]

BB would MUCH rather spend on the DL or OL than say WR. That's been made pretty clear over the last 17 years. During that time the ONLY WR he's ever paid even CLOSE to top dollar for was Randy Moss, and that was because Randy was more than a #1 WR. He was THE #1 WR that he got for a song and shipped out of town when he started whining about wanting diva money.

I don't know how people could watch this team be the MOST successful franchise in the league for almost 20 years and not understand how relatively unimportant the WR actually is. This is site brings together some super knowledgeable fans and yet anytime a WR comes on the market they will rush to start a thread, and we, as a whole, are an above average fan base in our knowledge of the game.

You give BB the choice of Julio Jones or the 5 draft picks the Falcons gave up to get him, even knowing how he turned out, and he will take the draft picks a hundred out of a hundred times. Not only that, even though he knows how he turned out, BB would likely rather use Jones' $14MM cap hit on 2 other players who play on the DL or OL, than give it up to Jones.

Jones' numbers were fine. Even the impact of his 4 catches were important, but when we all watch him play and slobber over the thought of him playing for our team, what we always forget is what 3 or 4 players of the current 22 starters do you want to replace with minimum wage guys, because you have to utilize $14MM in cap space on your WR.

Did you mean to quote me on this? I think Seattle's going to dump Graham, and they should if they can score Bennett, because he's cheaper and a much better fit to what they try to do.

Also think the CENTER, Unger, was more valuable than the shiny toy in Graham.

 

[Ring 6]

Borderline superstar? In five years he has 231 tackles and seventeen sacks. He has played 16 games just once and isn't particularly good in coverage. It wasn't that long ago that many Pats fans wanted him run out of town. He's a nice player, but he's nowhere near the talent level of the guys you mentioned and most definitely not a borderline superstar. Would love to have him back, but not for big money. He's not worth it.

Hightower is an absolute beast. Behind Brady and gronk he is the best player in this team.

 

[Bill Lee]

The other side of that coin, IMO, is that we just saw a year of good soldier Bennett. If his last few stops are any indication, that guy can quickly turn into something else, and it's something that I don't particularly want on this team.

IMO, if Bennett really wants to be here, to the point that he's willing to leave money on the table to make it happen, then we should welcome him back with open arms. But if he has reservations about coming back, or if he's chasing the money, then I think it may be wisest to let him walk and target a TE high in this draft. I think the last thing we want to do is keep him here when he doesn't want to be here, because he could become a locker room cancer in a hurry. Belichick and Brady have both implied or outright stated that the locker room camaraderie on this team was as strong as they've seen, and I think you need that if you want to pull off stuff like coming back from 25 down in the Super Bowl. As good as Bennett is, I wouldn't like seeing that jeopardized to keep him here.

Granted I don't know these guys, so maybe I'm way off, but I see Bennett as a Moss type - great teammate in good times, but he may or may not stay a good teammate through adversity. OTOH, I see Hightower more like Wilfork, Seymour, McCourty, etc. - not willing to take a hometown discount, and negotiations may get contentious, but once the deal's worked out he'll go right back to being a team leader and strong, positive presence in the locker room.

When you wrote about drafting a TE, I decided to go back and see all the pics we've made for TEs in the BB era:

RD SEL # PLAYER POSITION SCHOOL YEAR
6 202 A.J. Derby TE Arkansas 2015
5 159 Lee Smith TE Marshall 2011
2 42 Rob Gronkowski TE Arizona 2010
4 113 Aaron Hernandez TE Florida 2010
3 86 David Thomas TE Texas 2006
7 255 Andy Stokes TE Wm Penn 2005
1 32 Benjamin Watson TE Georgia 2004
7 234 Spencer Nead TE Bm Young 2003
1 21 Daniel Graham TE Colorado 2002
4 119 Jabari Holloway TE Notre Dame 2001
6 180 Arther Love TE SC State 2001​

It makes me remember how much BB and CW seemed to want/need to find a good TE early in the BB Era.

I guess like most positions, a draft choice really is a 50/50 proposition.

I agree with what you said about Marty. We've seen him when he's happy, and I hope we never see him when he's unhappy because I agree that it could turn ugly quickly.

 

[The Gr8est]

I don't think Bennett is worth the tag.

I fear if the Pats tag Bennett they risk the chance of getting "bad Marty" who has been seen at other franchises.

I don't think he is worth the risk if he is not onboard with the decision.

 

[jboston19]

He's not really a difference maker.
He's a good TE but not someone who transforms an offense like gronk or is a primary weapon like Olsen or graham are or witten and gates used to be.

Well, he's the best available by a good amount. But no, he's not going to transform an offense.

 

[Ring 6]

I fear if the Pats tag Bennett they risk the chance of getting "bad Marty" who has been seen at other franchises.

I don't think he is worth the risk if he is not onboard with the decision.

I don't think he's worth the money.

 

[Bill Lee]

It just takes one moron...who thinks he is the missing piece...

Yep and that's exactly why MB said "no" to the $7M/year offer -- he wants to see if that one moron will show up or not. If not, chances are good that the $7M will be on the table still after day 1 or 2 of free agency.

 

[deroc5050]

I hear some people saying hightower saved our Super Bowl again with his strip sack of Ryan.. and its true but he didn't fight through any blocks or anything, he had a clear path to the QB. I am pretty sure any Safety or LB in that exact play call would have done the same thing. Freeman just didn't see him and let him run right by him.

Maybe I am wrong but it was just a blown assignment by the RB.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Borderline superstar? In five years he has 231 tackles and seventeen sacks. He has played 16 games just once and isn't particularly good in coverage. It wasn't that long ago that many Pats fans wanted him run out of town. He's a nice player, but he's nowhere near the talent level of the guys you mentioned and most definitely not a borderline superstar. Would love to have him back, but not for big money. He's not worth it.

I think any evaluation of his coverage needs to be put into proper context, which is that it's not supposed to be a strength of his game. He's 270+ pounds; the fact that he's even adequate in coverage is a plus. What really matters, IMO, is if there's a place on the field for him on passing downs, and there absolutely is. Even as he ages and loses some of his range, he'll remain a three-down linebacker because he can get after the QB. He's not another Mayo, who became a two-down LB once he lost some range, largely because he didn't have the size or explosiveness to rush the passer with any consistency.

The fact that he's currently versatile enough to both cover and get after the QB is great, but even is his coverage ability trends downward as he approaches 30, he'll still be a three-down player, and that by itself justifies a big payday.

 

[PatsFan2]

I would love to double-dip. Leggett + Butt. Because i assume that Bennett's gone and Sheard is gone too. We trade Jimmy and our first to Cleveland's #12 #52 #65 #141. Its basically Jimmy for picks #12 + 90 points = Pick#102. ( Assuming reports are true that we asked for 1st + 4th)

#12 ILB Reuben Foster
#52 DE DeMarcus Walker
#64 OLB Ryan Anderson
#65 C Ethan Pocic
#96 TE Jake Butt
#103 TE Jordan Leggett
#130 RB Donta Foreman
#141 CB Ahkello Witherspoon
#164 T Conor McDermott

Nice creativity with the selection points chart.

Jake Butt tore is ACL really liked him before the injury I think he goes well into day 3 now. Also this would probably be a Injury Redshirt year for him based on timing of injury.

 

[patsbrasilpatriotas]

Nice creativity with the selection points chart.

Jake Butt tore is ACL really liked him before the injury I think he goes well into day 3 now. Also this would probably be a Injury Redshirt year for him based on timing of injury.

And Lengel is okay. We can have Gronk, Leggett and Lengel. Butt to IR.

 

[cupofjoe1962]

What the hell are you talking about? He is an excellent blocker. Probably better than a few of their OLinemen. And Gronk doesn't make much at all.

Why don't you tell me how much you would give Bennett & then we will see how much he actually get's

Then we can tell what you really know, or if your just a Koolaid drinker.

 

[JarOfMayo51]

He's easily the best free agent TE on the market:

NFL1000: Free-Agent Rankings for the 2017 TE Market

TE franchise cost for next season is probably lower than it should be - estimated around $9.9m, but still likely too rich for the Pats. The next cheapest tag is RB at around $12.4m and it goes up from there.

12.4m for a RB is insanity lol

 

[RIpats88]

im not saying he wont go for the money. I just think the money wont really be there for him and he likely comes back to the pats for 7million or so. and if the money is there it is likely from a bottom feeder team.

 

[Uptown]

Oakland would be a nice spot.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Did you mean to quote me on this? I think Seattle's going to dump Graham, and they should if they can score Bennett, because he's cheaper and a much better fit to what they try to do.

Also think the CENTER, Unger, was more valuable than the shiny toy in Graham.

Belichick always goes for top end talent in the first round, he uses the rest of the draft to fill needs and the coach them up players. TE and DL are his first round binkies. Seymour, Warren, Wilfork, Jones, Watson, Graham . Overall he generally goes defense in the first round.

 

[Huckleberry1]

im not saying he wont go for the money. I just think the money wont really be there for him and he likely comes back to the pats for 7million or so. and if the money is there it is likely from a bottom feeder team.

I doubt the Patriots will go 7 per on a multi year deal for Bennett. I like Bennett but I really think he is gone.

 

[mitsudriver]

I doubt the Patriots will go 7 per on a multi year deal for Bennett. I like Bennett but I really think he is gone.

That's close to Olsen' deal. 3 year $22.5m, $12m guaranteed. I think that would be a fair deal for Bennett here. If he's looking for more, go somewhere else.