My first "Sign the beast!" -- Zach Pascal

[Simpelton]

Rumors that Pascal is hitting the market have me pricking my ears up like I normally don't do for a potential UFA

I am irrationally high on Pascal. He's shown that he can be a decent WR3. No one would mistake him for Randy Moss but he's a good piece of a throwing attack. In Indianapolis Pascal has a track record of adapting quickly to new quarterbacks and being one of the first receivers to get chemistry with a new QB. He was easy to throw to and "just got open." Also one of the few WR to develop a good rapport with Jacoby Brissett, who... isn't one of the world's most accurate arms.

I see Pascal as one of those jack of all trade types who can do nothing at an elite level, but does it all fairly well. Decent hands, decent speed, pretty good route running, and has a physical element to his game that I'd class as above average for a WR. I could see Bill and Josh turning him into a bit of a Swiss Army knife and playing in the role we were hoping N'Keal Harry would mature into -- a WR who can both catch passes and block the run at an above average level and play a solid support role in the offense.

Dunno if we'll actually get him but I see him as having a lot of potential in a Patriot style nobody-is-the-star WR. I think he'd be a good fit and if his history is any indication he should get on the same page with Jones fairly quickly and become a useful mid level WR. And since getting rid of N'Keal is an addition by subtraction anyway, replacing him with a fairly balanced player like Pascal could be a large net gain.

 

[Rob0729]

FWIW, Doug Farrar had him ranked the 8th best slot receiver in the league before the season started. Actually four of his top 11 are free agents this season. Good time to be in the market for a slot.

The NFL's top 11 slot receivers

Slot receivers are more important than ever in the NFL, and here are the league’s 11 best.

touchdownwire.usatoday.com

 

[Simpelton]

I agree. I think Pascal is more close to exactly what this team needs than an "elite" long threat WR would be.

 

[Zuma]

Catch percentage is 58 for his career...not so great. Maybe some of that is on the QB's.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

One of the 3-5 best blocking WR in the game.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Nope.

If you look at the offensive players who experienced Year 1 success here they had time in an Erhardt-Perkins offense beforehand.

Welker
Cooks
LaFell
Hunter Henry
Lloyd
Amendola

The ones that didn't struggled.

If BB is looking for immediate ROI find WRs who have played in EP.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

One of the 3-5 best blocking WR in the game.

Perfect to pair along with N’Keal Harry then!

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Perfect to pair along with N’Keal Harry then!

Block-off for a roster spot.

ZP is no joke though he's a pitbull.

 

[MrTibbs]

How about DRAFT THE BEAST!

Jahan Dotson (Tyler Lockett with more speed and grabs contested balls) Probably be available in round two (WR rankings & mock drafts)

 

[Simpelton]

Catch percentage is 58 for his career...not so great. Maybe some of that is on the QB's.

View attachment 40209

whiiiiiich is why he's a WR3 not a WR1

 

[Simpelton]

How about DRAFT THE BEAST!

Jahan Dotson (Tyler Lockett with more speed and grabs contested balls) Probably be available in round two (WR rankings & mock drafts)

Your idea is good too. Frankly we could use multiple WR upgrades if they can be done economically.

I think we should draft for the high end and sign a supporting role WR. Best way to upgrade the talent for a relatively low cap hit. Put Agholor and Harry on the ejection seat

 

[Simpelton]

Nope.

If you look at the offensive players who experienced Year 1 success here they had time in an Erhardt-Perkins offense beforehand.

Welker
Cooks
LaFell
Hunter Henry
Lloyd
Amendola

The ones that didn't struggled.

If BB is looking for immediate ROI find WRs who have played in EP.

This is where Pascal's track record for adjusting quickly comes in. Again he has a reputation for quickly gaining chemistry with a QB.

 

[JayNM]

Based solely on these highlights, I cant say that Im as overly excited lol

He is twitchy, has nice body control but didnt look agile per se, most of his stuff comes from awereness, which he seems to be good at adjusting routes based on whats ahead and whats coming. Also feisty, which is great

However, he only catches what? 2 balls with outstreched arms in the whole video? In fact he catches the ball with his body a bit, at least by the end of the motion... whats his catch rate/Drops?

If he comes, ill be excited cause you are excited, but eeeehhhh...

 

[RobertWeathers]

This is where Pascal's track record for adjusting quickly comes in. Again he has a reputation for quickly gaining chemistry with a QB.

I'm not holding my breath.

If he's coming in here with no prior understanding - both conceptually and in practical, real-world application of E/P the odds are not with him to contribute at a high-level year 1.

 

[Simpelton]

Based solely on these highlights, I cant say that Im as overly excited lol

He is twitchy, has nice body control but didnt look agile per se, most of his stuff comes from awereness, which he seems to be good at adjusting routes based on whats ahead and whats coming. Also feisty, which is great

However, he only catches what? 2 balls with outstreched arms in the whole video? In fact he catches the ball with his body a bit, at least by the end of the motion... whats his catch rate/Drops?

If he comes, ill be excited cause you are excited, but eeeehhhh...

I've already pointed out that he's not a WR1. The guy is one of those WRs who's pretty good at everything and best used in a support role. He's not a great target but he's a good target and there's nothing he's particularly bad at. he also runs great routes and has a physical element to his game that's been lacking on this team outside guys like Bourne.

 

[JayNM]

I've already pointed out that he's not a WR1. The guy is one of those WRs who's pretty good at everything and best used in a support role. He's not a great target but he's a good target and there's nothing he's particularly bad at. he also runs great routes and has a physical element to his game that's been lacking on this team outside guys like Bourne.

Yeah, your first post seems perfect.

But my question is, what roles will he fit here?

He seems to be more of the same between Meyers and Bourne (again, just based on this video), so whatever comes id hope would be to contribute more on the outsides, with Agholor... Maybe a big guy who can catch contested catches in RZ, be a perimeter kind of player, able to really add another range to this team, and offset J. Smith

GOLLY, if only we had ANYONE above 6.2 on the WR corps... I think thats what really missing for the receivers, not another "slot"/Z-ish kind of guy

 

[Simpelton]

Guys like Meyers and Bourne are valiable because they do a number of things well. There's room on a team for several of that kind of guy especially if they can be consistently on page with the QB. If a number of swiss army knives can switch back and forth between the multiple roles they can play I think that has to be a good thing in terms of disguising the game plan and beating specialized coverage packages.

BTW Pascal is 6'2" 214lbs. He's bigger and stronger than he looks and has some surprising agility for his size.

 

[JayNM]

Guys like Meyers and Bourne are valiable because they do a number of things well. There's room on a team for several of that kind of guy especially if they can be consistently on page with the QB. If a number of swiss army knives can switch back and forth between the multiple roles they can play I think that has to be a good thing in terms of disguising the game plan and beating specialized coverage packages.

BTW Pascal is 6'2" 214lbs. He's bigger and stronger than he looks and has some surprising agility for his size.

wow, im surprised by these numbers for sure

Im not being against adding him or anything either, of course. Whatever I saw is a very small sample size

 

[VrabelJr]

The slot receiver position has evolved. Not as many Edelman/Welker/Sanders types anymore. The current prototypical slot guys are bigger. Look at Kupp, Diggs, Keenan Allen, Thielen, Davante Adams etc.

 

[stinkypete]

Pascal would be a nice piece, but he may be overpriced for a guy who brings basically the same skillset as Meyers and Bourne.

Isaiah McKenzie is also available. Yes, he is a Welker/Sanders type, but has a quickness that our offense currently lacks. Also, it would be a very Belichick move to bring in the guy who killed his defense repeatedly.