I think Maualuga is the bomb. He and Mayo would absolutely ravage offenses for years. I dont understand where all the haters are coming from, this guy has been a star on one of the best college defenses since his Freshman year.
The idea that fans are toying with the idea of Connor Barwin at #23 is almost as idiotic as the idea of passing on Maualuga at #23. The one guy is a complete question mark that measures well and had one good year on a crummy team. The other has been the star and defensive captain of a team that has been arguably the best team in college the last few years.
I promise that BB will not draft Barwin in the first round. And I know he would take Maualuga at #23, if he somehow lasted that long. I think he'd even consider moving up a few spots.
BB could end Day One with Rey Maualuga inside, Larry English outside and Rashad Johnson in the secondary, and have the cornerstones of a fast, strong, young defense for years.
Note: According to the chart, #23 + #58 = #15. That sounds just about right, to me.
It must be nice to have your certainty and predictive powers. Personally, I don't think anything is a given when it comes to predictive what Belichick will do.
Of course Maualuga is not a "borderline JAG". He's obviously a talented player, as is Laurinaitis. The question is whether he fits the Pats and whether he is value at 23.
I personally question using 2 consecutive 1st round picks on ILB. Sure, it would be nice to have a long-term partner for Mayo at SILB, but Guyton showed significant potential, Adalius Thomas can always move inside, and there are significant other needs. The pass rush was anemic in 2008 and was one of our biggest deficiencies. Much as I would like to see a solid SILB to pair with Mayo, I personally feel the pass rush is a greater issue, but it's certainly debatable.
Is Maualuga a good fit for the Pats and a good value at 23? I year ago most would have jumped at the possibility. At the beginning of the season most would have dreamed of him falling to 23. But I'm not sure he is more than a 2-down thumper in the Pats system, and I'm not sure that justifies him at 23. He seems to lack some mobility and pass coverage ability, not to mention instincts.
The fact is, every year there are a bunch of hyped players who end up being busts while lesser knowns become solid players or stars. Chad Jackson and Greg Jennings is a painful case in point. In 2003 we just missed out on Jimmy Kennedy at DT (going #12 to the Rams, hyped as a potential #1 pick by many including CNNSI going into the college season) and "reached" for Ty Warren at #13. I was disappointed at the time that we had just missed out on the last "stud" DT. Kennedy has been a bust and Warren has been excellent for us. In retrospect I doubt BB would have taken Kennedy over Warren, but we'll never know for sure. In 2005 Derrick Johnson from Texas was the star-studded LB with the all-American track record and DeMarcus Ware was a small-college guy who blew up the combine. 4 years later it seems obvious which is the better player. There are dozens more similar examples.
Of course, equally often a well-known player gets over-analyzed and put under the microscope to the point where their productivity gets overlooked and they drop. We won't known which is the case with Maualuga until years from now.
If Maualuga and some "star" potential 3-4 OLB like Everett Brown (who Pat Kirwan had falling to the Pats in a recent mock draft) were both available at 23, who would you choose? I suspect most would pick Brown based on the pass rush being the bigger need.
I personally think Barwin is still a reach at #23 (and I've been on the Barwin bandwagon for a while) and see him more as an option around #. But I do think that if Belichick feels that any player is his guy, he won't care what the draft boards and media hype says, and will "reach" for that player if he feels that the player won't last till the next pick. That could just as conceivable happen with Barwin as could BB taking Maualuga.
