DRAFT Patriots select WR Tyquan Thornton at 50.

[BTTA]

If everything works out in preseason they will have to make a tough roster decision at the position.

Several.

 

[Badbisco]

I think if everything goes right for the Pats and their young talent (Nixon, Thornton) develop and look great in camp and preseason they will have a logjam and some redundancies at the WR position… even after cutting Harry outright.

Nixon and Thornton play that same “fast” position as Agholor, they could save a lot of money by moving him to a WR needy team like Green Bay.

Meyers doesn’t have a long term contract yet and we don’t know what he expects for compensation. It might be too ambitious. I like the player but IMO Bourne and him are the same exact player and if Kristian Wilkerson is dialed in they should play him in the slot instead. Wilkerson has unique agility in a group of already quick WR’s… he is really mobile and can break ankles in short space.

If everything works out in preseason they will have to make a tough roster decision at the position.

Great point on Wilkerson, never realized his 3 cone was so good, especially at 6’1”. Quite an athlete.

 

[Ollie]

I’m not sure how you are using pedantic in this context, unless there is a meaning of which I’m not aware.

comedy gold

 

[hornetfb85]

"WR 5" for the Pats is either a ST specialist or on the practice squad. 5 real WR's don't make the 53, and WR 4 barely has little impact in most successful years (barring injury). So unless the OL, TE, or RB group is reduced by a player from what is normally carried, only 4 of these guys will make the 53. And remember there's no FB, so some other position needs to carry the short yardage extra blocker load.

I think the biggest factor here will be injury - one of these guys is likely to come out of camp with at least a nagging leg injury, or worse. That will determine who the 4 WR's are on the 53, and the momentum created through regular season playing time will keep those four in place. The injured guy will have to wait for someone else to get injured, and will otherwise be PUP/IR. It sucks, but that's the NFL.

So all of our analysis is really useless until we encounter training camp luck.

I'm gonna have to agree with your assessment here. I went back 5-6 years and looked at the targets, and how they were distributed. I would say as of right now your top 4 WR's are Bourne, Parker, Meyers, and Agholor. If Thornton can come in and force his way onto this roster and move Agholor out that is awesome. But in my opinion it is going to have to be a decisive training camp victory for TT. I just don't see anyone trading for NA nor do I see the team taking on a 10 million dead cap hit unless TT absolutely forces their hand. I think the most likely scenario is TT likely "rolls an ankle or pulls a hammy" and listens and learns for a year. Just my 2 cents on the matter.

 

[Wozzy]

Great point on Wilkerson, never realized his 3 cone was so good, especially at 6’1”. Quite an athlete.

Really is, so is his shuttle.... for his size he is uniquely mobile. Also his explosion (vertical) is really impressive, which makes his talent in and out of breaks next level.

The only real issue with him was hands, strength and understanding scheme. That the team had him on the field, playing and producing at the end of last season is promising IMO. Hopefully the team recognizes this opportunity to play him in the slot and he grabs it and runs with it. There will be a logjam there with Meyers and Bourne, I think they are better served with Wilkerson in the slot if his head is screwed on right.

 

[*ChungFu*]

Really is, so is his shuttle.... for his size he is uniquely mobile. Also his explosion (vertical) is really impressive, which makes his talent in and out of breaks next level.

The only real issue with him was hands, strength and understanding scheme. That the team had him on the field, playing and producing at the end of last season is promising IMO. Hopefully the team recognizes this opportunity to play him in the slot and he grabs it and runs with it. There will be a logjam there with Meyers and Bourne, I think they are better served with Wilkerson in the slot if his head is screwed on right.

Which is surprising cuz they're yoooj.

 

[WinstonSmith]

Which is surprising cuz they're yoooj.

It's almost as if hand size is overrated when it comes to catching footballs...

 

[Sicilian]

It's almost as if hand size is overrated when it comes to catching footballs...

Any time I see a receiver drop a pass, I never think, "That guy just couldn't get his fingers around the ball." It's always because the guy was starting to look up field before the ball was in his hands.

That said, hand size probably does correlate in some way to contested catches, keeping a ball from bouncing out when hitting the ground, and fumbling, but even then it's only one of several factors that contribute to it (along with hand strength, technique, and concentration).

 

[Brotherblues]

I’m not sure how you are using pedantic in this context, unless there is a meaning of which I’m not aware.

He might have meant to say pedestrian

 

[EMpats]

I still think Kendrick Bourne is the best overall receiver on this team, and I say that not to disparage the others, I say it because I think he’s really, really good and underrated. Plays all the positions, gets YAC, and plays with much more speed and explosion than the testing indicates.

I think he can play the slot if they want Parker and Thornton on the outside, or if they want Meyers in the slot, he can play outside. At this point agholor is depth.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Which is surprising cuz they're yoooj.

@WinstonSmith already responded perfectly

@Patsgofor4 also gets yoooj props for world class snark in the recently quoted post, and ChungFu gets credit for yoooj. This bbs has a promising influx of new snark, at least in camp, a refreshing upgrade at sensayuma

I still think Kendrick Bourne is the best overall receiver on this team, and I say that not to disparage the others, I say it because I think he’s really, really good and underrated. Plays all the positions, gets YAC, and plays with much more speed and explosion than the testing indicates.

I think he can play the slot if they want Parker and Thornton on the outside, or if they want Meyers in the slot, he can play outside. At this point agholor is depth.

Of course this brings us all back to Earth, because he's a really fine receiver, but since it's the offseason and we're dreaming of upgrades, we just chalk him up as "yeah of course he's a keeper." We're just dreaming of this elite attack (hey I hope it comes true too) We've got a guy with a fast 40 time and now we're getting all dreamy about Wilkerson too, who you've gotta admit, had that one great game last year - definitely enough that they'll be looking at him hard the good way this year in camp.

It's taken some time to build back to this, but I think we've legitimately got drama (the good kind) in camp this year at WR.

I'm sure a lot will come down to what Bailey Zappe thinks. Or that other guy.

 

[DaBruinz]

Reading his accomplishments, makes me wish the Patriots had signed Frisman Jackson after Josh McDaniels stepped down. Sounds like he could do a lot to help young WRs develop and improve. And that's exactly what the Patriots need right now.

I'm still skeptical about Joe Judge making the play calls this year as 'Offensive Assistant'. Judge didn't exactly cover himself in glory as the Head Coach of the Giants from 2020-2021. His team posted a 10-23 combined record, and 31st ranked offense in total yardage in both 2020 and 2021. OOF.

It has not been confirmed that Judge will be the one calling the plays this year. One thing I noticed is that Caley, last year, spend a lot of time nest to McDaniels, talking to one another. It wasn't like with Fears where he spent his time with the RBs and was coaching them during the game.

 

[DaBruinz]

"WR 5" for the Pats is either a ST specialist or on the practice squad. 5 real WR's don't make the 53, and WR 4 barely has little impact in most successful years (barring injury). So unless the OL, TE, or RB group is reduced by a player from what is normally carried, only 4 of these guys will make the 53. And remember there's no FB, so some other position needs to carry the short yardage extra blocker load.

I think the biggest factor here will be injury - one of these guys is likely to come out of camp with at least a nagging leg injury, or worse. That will determine who the 4 WR's are on the 53, and the momentum created through regular season playing time will keep those four in place. The injured guy will have to wait for someone else to get injured, and will otherwise be PUP/IR. It sucks, but that's the NFL.

So all of our analysis is really useless until we encounter training camp luck.

You're making too many generalizations about the WR position without taking into consideration that type of offense they were running. When they were running Multi-WR sets, the Pats always had 5 wide.

The short-yardage extra blocker load is going to either a TE or an OL.

The Pats WILL be carrying 5WR on the 53 man roster. They'll be Bourne, Agholor, Parker, Thornton, and Meyers. The only way it doesn't happen if Agholor is traded or the Pats rescind the RFA offer before Meyers signs it.

The only thing I agree with is that the analysis is useless until TC

 

[VJCPatriot]

I'm gonna have to agree with your assessment here. I went back 5-6 years and looked at the targets, and how they were distributed. I would say as of right now your top 4 WR's are Bourne, Parker, Meyers, and Agholor. If Thornton can come in and force his way onto this roster and move Agholor out that is awesome. But in my opinion it is going to have to be a decisive training camp victory for TT. I just don't see anyone trading for NA nor do I see the team taking on a 10 million dead cap hit unless TT absolutely forces their hand. I think the most likely scenario is TT likely "rolls an ankle or pulls a hammy" and listens and learns for a year. Just my 2 cents on the matter.

If what you say happens that will drastically slow down TT's development as a player. Young players learn more by getting onto the field. And it would be a pretty disastrous outcome for a top 50 pick if TT can't even get onto the field in his rookie season.

There were also a lot of other players the Patriots could have picked at #50 who could contend immediately for starting jobs and at least 3 WRs taken directly after him who he will be compared with. For example if Pickens goes off for 1000 yards 5 TDs and TT puts up N'Keal Harry numbers ie 200 yards and 2 TDs, BB will get ROASTED even worse than he did on draft day, and deservedly so.

 

[Salsalife]

Imagine WR1. Pickup football game. 5 guys are standing there, Bourne, Agholor, Parker, Thornton, and Meyers. You got first pick, Who are you picking?

 

[VJCPatriot]

Imagine WR1. Pickup football game. 5 guys are standing there, Bourne, Agholor, Parker, Thornton, and Meyers. You got first pick, Who are you picking?

Out of those guys I'm sure Devante Parker would immediately look the most physically impressive. Dude is 6'3 220 and ripped. He makes the other guys on the field look like twigs in comparison. Check out his RAS as well.



Parker's main problem is staying healthy. When healthy he is a real problem for DB's to handle.

 

[upstater1]

If what you say happens that will drastically slow down TT's development as a player. Young players learn more by getting onto the field. And it would be a pretty disastrous outcome for a top 50 pick if TT can't even get onto the field in his rookie season.

There were also a lot of other players the Patriots could have picked at #50 who could contend immediately for starting jobs and at least 3 WRs taken directly after him who he will be compared with. For example if Pickens goes off for 1000 yards 5 TDs and TT puts up N'Keal Harry numbers ie 200 yards and 2 TDs, BB will get ROASTED even worse than he did on draft day, and deservedly so.

So what would you consider acceptable numbers (given the high likelihood he's the #5)?

 

[Kasmir]

So what would you consider acceptable numbers (given the high likelihood he's the #5)?

I think right now the rank ordering highly speculative given the addition of 2 WR's and the subtraction of 2 (Harry and Gunner). I think it will depend a lot on who Mac ends up being the most productive with, which depends on talent, position, and scheme. And inevitably, injuries. Parker is likely to miss time, and it might even affect Mac's ability to rely on him even when he is playing. And someone else will likely miss significant time.

Mac's expected second year leap also matters wrt receivers, particularly if he has strengthened his arm and/or is focusing on improving his deep game. The coaching and game plan changes might also end up strongly affecting the weightings.

To me, Mac's comfort level to throw to a receiver will be the primary determinant, and we should see that emerge by the end of a full preseason for Mac as the starter.

Meyers ended up being the major beneficiary last season because of Mac's conservatism, but Bourne ended up winning that on a per attempt basis --which is why Bourne ended up as the #1 DVOA wide receiver in the league last year.

It's all about the decisions Mac ends up making, and how aggressive or conservative he is this year.

It'll be fun to watch all of this sort out.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Said this in the Grade the Draft thread. Strange has a high floor/high ceiling, but is at a position where the difference is minimal. He's baked in and will be fine, if not very fine (we hope).

The other guys picked and the UDFAs are intriguing - maybe Marcus Jones becomes something special. Maybe Jack Jones is the next JC. Maybe Labryan Ray can stay healthy and live up to his promise...

But this one, Thornton, should be immediately impactful or not.

Yea I'm really not trying to put it all on Thornton but he's got the market share of upside in this draft for us.

Some maybe wondering why "upside" or "ceilings" matter?

The talent level throughout the league is consistent, razor thin margins. Both playing and coaching. So when you have guys that bring or have a little extra it counts big time. And needless to say matters.

We should know early on bc his skill set is different than the rest save Agholor.

 

[Nunchucks]

Yea I'm really not trying to put it all on Thornton but he's got the market share of upside in this draft for us.

Some maybe wondering why "upside" or "ceilings" matter?

The talent level throughout the league is consistent, razor thin margins. Both playing and coaching. So when you have guys that bring or have a little extra it counts big time. And needless to say matters.

We should know early on bc his skill set is different than the rest save Agholor.

I hear Bill pollen talk about speed and he said that the difference between a 4.35 guy and a 4.45 guy wasn't that much, but a 4.2x guy and a 4.4 guy was a big deal