Next Stop, the Underwear Olympics

[VrabelMayeWin]

That's a very competitive group of young receivers with this year's group, from a pure athleticism perspective. They've all had a year to learn the playbook and system, and 3 of them have substantial game experience. It's easy to fall in love with some of the raw WR talent in this year's draft, but I'm not convinced that there are many guys who would be a substantial athletic upgrade over what we already have in the pipeline.

Like I said in another thread, it really depends how they look in the classroom, how hard they work, whether they know the offense, etc. Will they take a second year jump or be Tayor Price and Chad Jackson ?

It's tough to say, I like Dobson. I'm encouraged that Boyce was getting some more playing time until he got hurt. Thompkins, did the league catch up to him or did he hit the rookie wall. And who knows about Harrison and Moe.

Bottom line is those in the building know how they feel about these guys are we're left guessing. My gut says we're on our way to better days with these guys and will have Dobson, Boyce, Amendola on the roster next year with Thompkins, Harrison, Moe and a mid round pick competing for the other spots.

 

[Patriot Missile]

I think it's important to recall how much athletic talent the Pats added at WR last year:

1. Aaron Dobson. 6' 2 3/4" 210#, 33" arms, 9" hands. 4.37 40, 1.51 10 yard split, 7.19 3-cone. 35" vertical, 10' 1" broad jump.

2. Mark Harrison. 6' 2 7/8" 231#, 35# arms, 9 5/8" hands. 4.37 40, 1.59 10 yard split, 6.99 3-cone. 38.5" vertical, 10' 9" broad jump.

3. Josh Boyce. 5' 11 1/8" 206#, 31 1/4" arms, 9 1/4" hands. 4.34 40, 1.54 10 yard split, 6.68 3-cone, 34" vertical, 10' 11" broad jump.

4. Kenbrell Thompkins. 6' 0 5/8" 193#, 32 1/4" arms, 8 3/4" hands. 4.46 40, 1.56 10 yard split, 6.88 3-cone, 33.5" vertical, 10' 1" broad jump.

5. TJ Moe. 5' 11 1/2" 204#, 30 1/8" arms, 9 7/8" hands. 4.68 40, 1.50 10 yard split, 6.53 3-cone, 36" vertical, 10' broad jump.

That's a very competitive group of young receivers with this year's group, from a pure athleticism perspective. They've all had a year to learn the playbook and system, and 3 of them have substantial game experience. It's easy to fall in love with some of the raw WR talent in this year's draft, but I'm not convinced that there are many guys who would be a substantial athletic upgrade over what we already have in the pipeline.

Exactly. And when you see the comparison Belichick Fan puts out there it's hard to justify using a first or 2nd round pick on another Wr. Granted it would of been nice to see a full season out of the two but at least they got play books and playing time which is invaluable at this point. There are some receivers to drool over this draft and I'm hoping that plays out well for the Pats when it comes time for their pick.

 

[patsderoer]

The reason I say this is Janis is excellent after the catch, he runs like Edelman and Welker at 6’3” 220 lbs.

He tested better than Jordy Nelson at the same size.

Nelson 7.03 3-cone 31 vert 10'03" broad 4.51 40
Janis 6.64 3-cone 37 vert 10'03"broad 4.42 40(4.30 unofficial)

 

[Brady6]

He tested better than Jordy Nelson at the same size.

Nelson 7.03 3-cone 31 vert 10'03" broad 4.51 40
Janis 6.64 3-cone 37 vert 10'03"broad 4.42 40(4.30 unofficial)

I posted his highlight film a few pages back, the kid is nasty after the catch took 4-5 guys to get him down and sometimes he still got lose.

 

[mayoclinic]

Like I said in another thread, it really depends how they look in the classroom, how hard they work, whether they know the offense, etc. Will they take a second year jump or be Tayor Price and Chad Jackson ?

It's tough to say, I like Dobson. I'm encouraged that Boyce was getting some more playing time until he got hurt. Thompkins, did the league catch up to him or did he hit the rookie wall. And who knows about Harrison and Moe.

Bottom line is those in the building know how they feel about these guys are we're left guessing. My gut says we're on our way to better days with these guys and will have Dobson, Boyce, Amendola on the roster next year with Thompkins, Harrison, Moe and a mid round pick competing for the other spots.

That's why I phrased it "athletically". The raw talent is there. Whether they get it remains to be seen, but they have a headstart over the guys in this year's draft, and some have gotten off to a decent start.

 

[mayoclinic]

From Gil Brandt on Twitter, FWIW:

Sammy Watkins one of 7 players in contention for top pick. Don't know if I've ever seen this before.

Presumably the other 6 are the 3 QBs, Clowney, and the 2 OT's. Or possibly Khalil Mack. Hard to tell. Unlikely that Houston would take a WR #1, but stranger things have happened, and they could trade out.

 

[mayoclinic]

From Tony Pauline, at 3:40 this afternoon:

- In the last hour I’ve learned much more on the injury which kept Austin Seferian-Jenkins from working out yesterday. It was an injury medical examiners at the combine accidentally found. Doctors x-rayed Seferian-Jenkins left foot with the sole intention of examining the ankle which he sprained a year ago and kept him on the sidelines during a small portion of the 2012 season. In reviewing the x-rays doctors noticed what seemed to be a potential small fracture in the foot and ordered more tests. I’m told Seferian-Jenkins was getting ready to take the field for his workout when he was pulled from the line and told additional tests were needed. The big tight end was as surprised as anyone as he’d never experienced pain in his left foot to that point. Seferian-Jenkins combine weight of 262-pounds is a number significantly lower than his playing weight of 2013. I’m told Seferian-Jenkins had been timing in the 4.6’s during recent training.

Combine News & Notes: Sunday

Pauline previously reported that he didn't expect ASJ to be ready to run by his April 2 pro day.

 

[Merril Hoge's Tie Knot]

I wonder if something happened to Boyd. He ran a 4.6 on his first run and shut it down for the day.

 

[Wilfork#75]

I wonder if something happened to Boyd. He ran a 4.6 on his first run and shut it down for the day.

He also looked terrible in the gauntlet drill, showed very little effort.

 

[captain stone]

I think it's important to recall how much athletic talent the Pats added at WR last year:

1. Aaron Dobson. 6' 2 3/4" 210#, 33" arms, 9" hands. 4.37 40, 1.51 10 yard split, 7.19 3-cone. 35" vertical, 10' 1" broad jump.

2. Mark Harrison. 6' 2 7/8" 231#, 35# arms, 9 5/8" hands. 4.37 40, 1.59 10 yard split, 6.99 3-cone. 38.5" vertical, 10' 9" broad jump.

3. Josh Boyce. 5' 11 1/8" 206#, 31 1/4" arms, 9 1/4" hands. 4.34 40, 1.54 10 yard split, 6.68 3-cone, 34" vertical, 10' 11" broad jump.

4. Kenbrell Thompkins. 6' 0 5/8" 193#, 32 1/4" arms, 8 3/4" hands. 4.46 40, 1.56 10 yard split, 6.88 3-cone, 33.5" vertical, 10' 1" broad jump.

5. TJ Moe. 5' 11 1/2" 204#, 30 1/8" arms, 9 7/8" hands. 4.68 40, 1.50 10 yard split, 6.53 3-cone, 36" vertical, 10' broad jump.

That's a very competitive group of young receivers with this year's group, from a pure athleticism perspective. They've all had a year to learn the playbook and system, and 3 of them have substantial game experience. It's easy to fall in love with some of the raw WR talent in this year's draft, but I'm not convinced that there are many guys who would be a substantial athletic upgrade over what we already have in the pipeline.

Looking at Dobson's & Thompkins' hand sizes, I now understand why our WRs had one of the
worst catch %s in football last season.

 

[mayoclinic]

Looking at Dobson's & Thompkins' hand sizes, I now understand why our WRs had one of the
worst catch %s in football last season.

So you'll undoubtedly be a fan of Jeff Janis (9" hands), Devin Street (9 1/4" hands), Paul Richardson (8 7/8" hands), Donte Moncrief (9 1/8" hands) and Davante Adams (9" hands). Some of those guys have gotten a lot of accolades today in this thread.

And BTW, some 2013 WRs in that range: Tavon Austin (9 1/8"), Marquise Goodwin (8 5/8"), Cordarelle Patterson (9"), Robert Woods (9 1/4"), Terrance Williams (8 3/4"), Marcus Wheaton (9 1/8"), Ryan Swope (8 1/2"), Marlon Brown (8 3/8").

 

[strngplyr]

From Gil Brandt on Twitter, FWIW:



Presumably the other 6 are the 3 QBs, Clowney, and the 2 OT's. Or possibly Khalil Mack. Hard to tell. Unlikely that Houston would take a WR #1, but stranger things have happened, and they could trade out.

Adding Watkins to Johnson and Hopkins could be a pretty scary trio for a long time, that'd be a group that can probably make ANY QB look legit, especially if Foster comes back healthy.

 

[Wilfork#75]

This is disappointing

Daniel Jeremiah ?@MoveTheSticks
Breaking News: Notre Dame DL Stephon Tuitt has a small foot fracture; will not participate in combine

Edit:
http://www.nfl.com/combine/story/0ap2000000328559/article/notre-dames-stephon-tuitt-not-cleared-for-combine

 

[manxman2601]

This is disappointing



Edit:
Notre Dame's Stephon Tuitt not cleared for combine - NFL.com

I know. ASJ and Tuitt both out with foot fractures. I, for one, am gutted.

 

[Wilfork#75]

I know. ASJ and Tuitt both out with foot fractures. I, for one, am gutted.

If I were you I would be happy. I usually cheer for the guys I love to do mediocre at the combine so they don't shoot up draft boards and become out of reach. As horrible as it sounds I'm hoping Rashede Hageman wakes up with a tight hamstring or something and can't workout so he doesn't blow up the combine and put himself out of range.

I know that sounds horrible but I am very selfish when it comes to the draft

 

[manxman2601]

There was some besmirching of Jimmie Ward's good name last night. He is in fact 5'11" and not 5'9" as was reported. The same height as Calvin Pryor.

 

[mayoclinic]

There was some besmirching of Jimmie Ward's good name last night. He is in fact 5'11" and not 5'9" as was reported. The same height as Calvin Pryor.

No besmirching intended. That makes a big difference. He's still lighter than I would want, but that's plenty tall enough.

DJ Swearinger was my favorite safety prospect last year at 5' 10 1/2" 208#. I don't think you need to be a redwood to play safety. But the reported combination of 5'9" 189# raised concerns to me.

Trust me, when I besmirch a prospect, it will be obvious.

 

[manxman2601]

Odell Beckham Jnr passed every Patriot measure with flying colours. I think he's a legit potential First round pick for us, particularly if we sign Bryant and Michael Johnson for example. He would be a massive upgrade on Thompkins and improvement on Boyce. I think the drop of TE stock to the second round or later also makes it more likely.

I still think it's a bit of a longshot because of last year and the fact that we haven't drafted a first round WR but he is one of the few first round box tickers so far as a prospective Patriot.

 

[mayoclinic]

Odell Beckham Jnr passed every Patriot measure with flying colours. I think he's a legit potential First round pick for us, particularly if we sign Bryant and Michael Johnson for example. He would be a massive upgrade on Thompkins and improvement on Boyce. I think the drop of TE stock to the second round or later also makes it more likely.

I still think it's a bit of a longshot because of last year and the fact that we haven't drafted a first round WR but he is one of the few first round box tickers so far as a prospective Patriot.

Odell Beckham seems to me an awful lot like Percy Harvin (without the character questions), a guy who the Pats were reportedly ready to take at #23 in 2009. I have a hard time seeing them go WR in the 1st, and from a raw athleticism Josh Boyce has similar numbers, but I have to agree with you. It's a longshot, but it wouldn't shock me.

 

[manxman2601]

We get to find out whether (future Patriot?) Tyler Starr breaks the 3 cone record today.