Nick Caserio's Annual Pre-Draft Press Conference

[jmt57]

On the calendar today is the annual pre-draft press conference from Pats’ director of player personnel Nick Caserio. It was streamed live at 11:30; I would assume the video will be up on the team's website later today.

edit to add: H/T to @reamer - the video is now available on the team website:

Nick Caserio 4/18: 'Our goal is to put the best team together for 2017'

 

[WaterfallJumper]

I call myself a draftnik, and I didn't know that this was today. I am ashamed.

 

[jmt57]

 

[ctpatsfan77]

"The Patriots' draft plans may or may not be real, or both may be real and may not be real—or may be indescribable; or may be real and indescribable, or unreal and indescribable; or in the end may be real and unreal and indescribable."

adapted from Robert Kaplan, The Nothing That Is

 

[BelichickFan]

I think it's so cool they only end up with 50-75 draftable players. We have known it was low but this annual reminder always amazes me. As some will obviously be lower picks I'd love to know how many of, say, the Top 100 the Patriots actually have on their board.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

This has had a profound impact on my grading. I know probably the top 500 - 700 players, but I only have about 100 players that I really like. I'm planning on whittling that down to about 80 by draft day. I'm excited to see how things turn out this year.

 

[jmt57]

 

[jmt57]

 

[WaterfallJumper]

Longer form video:

Nick Caserio 4/18: 'Our goal is to put the best team together for 2017'

 

[jmt57]

Not to get too far off topic, but this should be printed and framed, then placed prominently within eye view of every sports media member that covers the Patriots as a reminder for when they may have doubts about the team and their decision making process:

 

[FCB02062]

Not to get too far off topic, but this should be printed and framed for every sports media member that has doubts about the Patriots and their decision making process:

Don't bring up any old tweets to Coach Bedard, he'll block you....

 

[FCB02062]

With the Pats not picking till #72, this draft blows for Pats fans right now....I know some fanboys get hard ons for nickel backs from Southwest Louisiana picked in the fifth round and undrafted FA, but this draft just has no juice.

Sure, the Pats could make a blockbuster draft day trade trade that nets a first rounder and a second, but how are we supposed to get excited for this draft? I'm Not saying it is the teams' job to get the fans pumped and jacked for the draft, but not having picks in rounds 1 & 2 really makes this draft massively boring...are people really pouring over draft info targeting guys they "think" will be available at pick 72?

Spare me the "BUT BRADY WAS PICK #199!"

 

[ForThoseAboutToRock]

I'm really curious to read more analysis of this 50-75 players on the draft board thing.

Some questions that spring to mind:
- how many players per draft end up being "worth" a spot on a draft board after 1 year, 2 years, etc? I.E. are the Patriots saying they have 75 players on a draft board, and annually there are ~200 guys worth a spot? FWIW There are more than 1700 players active in any given year.

- how does the team determine how to spread those players out over the 7 rounds and UDFA? Obviously, this isn't a "top 100" type list, as most of those guys would be taken before the draft's mid-point. Are players therefore weighted in a manner that forecasts the appropriate place in the draft to pick them?

 

[WaterfallJumper]

With the Pats not picking till #72, this draft blows for Pats fans right now....I know some fanboys get hard ons for nickel backs from Southwest Louisiana picked in the fifth round and undrafted FA, but this draft just has no juice.

Sure, the Pats could make a blockbuster draft day trade trade that nets a first rounder and a second, but how are we supposed to get excited for this draft? I'm Not saying it is the teams' job to get the fans pumped and jacked for the draft, but not having picks in rounds 1 & 2 really makes this draft massively boring...are people really pouring over draft info targeting guys they "think" will be available at pick 72?

Spare me the "BUT BRADY WAS PICK #199!"

Why do you even bother to post? I don't get it; you're always a fountain of negativity.

Quite a few of us really enjoy the draft, and put in work all year round to evaluate draft prospects. This year is very deep across numerous positions, and we will absolutely draft players in the 3rd onward who will end up as starters in this league.

 

[FCB02062]

Why do you even bother to post? I don't get it; you're always a fountain of negativity.

Quite a few of us really enjoy the draft, and put in work all year round to evaluate draft prospects. This year is very deep across numerous positions, and we will absolutely draft players in the 3rd onward who will end up as starters in this league.

Before I had kids, a home, a wife, and real world responsibilities I could spend all the time I wanted researching potential 4th round picks and UDFA, but now without a schitload of free time, it ain't happening...

 

[WaterfallJumper]

Before I had kids, a home, a wife, and real world responsibilities I could spend all the time I wanted researching potential 4th round picks and UDFA, but now without a schitload of free time, it ain't happening...

I, too, have kids, a home, a wife, a full-time job, and numerous responsibilities. The draft is simply a hobby that I enjoy. You didn't frame the discussion in terms of "I don't have free time" however; you used derisive language to make it clear that people who enjoy the draft after the first few rounds are quite ridiculous to you. Seems out of place on a football board, particularly when this thread is dedicated to a pre-draft press conference.

 

[patsbrasilpatriotas]

How many picks do we have?

 

[manxman2601]

How many picks do we have?

Seven. Six if we give one up for Gillislee.

 

[manxman2601]

I'm really curious to read more analysis of this 50-75 players on the draft board thing.

Some questions that spring to mind:
- how many players per draft end up being "worth" a spot on a draft board after 1 year, 2 years, etc? I.E. are the Patriots saying they have 75 players on a draft board, and annually there are ~200 guys worth a spot? FWIW There are more than 1700 players active in any given year.

- how does the team determine how to spread those players out over the 7 rounds and UDFA? Obviously, this isn't a "top 100" type list, as most of those guys would be taken before the draft's mid-point. Are players therefore weighted in a manner that forecasts the appropriate place in the draft to pick them?

Ber in mind that teams tend to have a backup board. The man board is the prospects they are targeting but if they're blown out on their main board, they'll dip into their backup board. I don't know specifically if the Pats use that but I wouldn't mind betting that's how the Dennard pick happened.

As for how the Pats draw up their board, I have a suspicion that scouts are given a set criteria on what the Pats are looking for, whether that be size, arm length, athleticism, character and even position and it's that rather than pure talent that helps populate the draft board across the full range.

 

[Gumby]

I'm really curious to read more analysis of this 50-75 players on the draft board thing.

Some questions that spring to mind:
- how many players per draft end up being "worth" a spot on a draft board after 1 year, 2 years, etc? I.E. are the Patriots saying they have 75 players on a draft board, and annually there are ~200 guys worth a spot? FWIW There are more than 1700 players active in any given year.

- how does the team determine how to spread those players out over the 7 rounds and UDFA? Obviously, this isn't a "top 100" type list, as most of those guys would be taken before the draft's mid-point. Are players therefore weighted in a manner that forecasts the appropriate place in the draft to pick them?

I think they are determining DRAFTABLE PLAYERS on other criteria than pure talent, so your question (in bold) seems weird to me.
For example, if you take the 1700 and throw out all the guys who have character issues and don't " love football", + other BB personality type issues (willingness to multirole/smart): then you may be left with just a few hundred. Then clean out the ones who don't show up on tape (on field performance). Then whatever other position by position criteria standards they have to fit patriots schemes. That I think gets them down to 100-75 or less. This is screening.

Then comes value-allocation. I think they only apply the talent criteria (judged also in relation to level of competition in college 1A vs 2A etc) when deciding what round their level of talent for the position they (would) play (for the Pats) is applicable.

So using that methodology the screening naturally didn't provide only 1st-3d rnd talent; they are naturally spread out across 8 rounds. You asked the question like they assign the value first, instead of the other way around.