DRAFT Patriots select WR Tyquan Thornton at 50.

[crawhammer]

I'll say this for Sanu, once he got to New England he sucked and his career went down the toilet fast.

Regarding Brady's departure from New England, he had made it pretty clear he wanted a longer term commitment from the team and Belichick wouldn't budge off the one-year contracts. Therefore Brady got the deal he wanted in Tampa Bay. In a nutshell.

 

[TheRainMaker]

More revisionist history. BB gave Brady a 1 year offer. Brady wanted a 3 year deal. Neither side would budge. Saying that BB knew he wasn't going to re-sign Brady is complete BS and shows you can't even be bothered to read the Patriots beat reporters.

Yes, I remember the 1 year offer = they didn't really want him. Funny how Kraft came out and said he would've matched any offer Tom got right after he signed to not look like the bad guy. Regardless, you don't trade a 2nd round pick for a guy like Sanu.

And,. like VJC, you ignore the fact that Gordon and Brown shot their way out of town.. So, how are THEIR actions on BB?

Bill re-signed Gordon who quit on the team just a year earlier. Laughably signed Maurice Harris and Bruce Ellington. Brown I have no problem with as he was worth the risk given the way Bill approached the WR's in the offseason.

Sanu was on the HANDS team for Atlanta and for the Bengals before that.

He returned only ONE punt in his career. He didn't have the wiggle/agility to evade tacklers which was never his style during his career.

Who would YOU have put out there?

Anybody but the guy I just traded a 2nd round pick for. Just have somebody go out there and fair catch until Edelman was healthy. No need to over think it.

 

[TheRainMaker]

What do you think about Thornton and this draft? We should try to stay on topic.

Aside from the trade down and not focusing on defense with the first pick, I'm fairly neutral on the draft as there wasn't really any player that excited me other than Jordan Davis. I would've taken a LB with the 21st pick after Davis was off the board. In fact, the talent in this draft in general looks like the worst I've seen in a long time. I think there's going to be a lot of busts.

Regarding Thornton, I like his speed and height. People seem divided on him saying he doesn't play as fast as his speed suggests. There wasn't one WR in the draft that I was like "Pats have to get him". If he can come in and be a threat to stretch the field, it will help everyone else out a lot.

I like the speed Strong brings as well at RB.

 

[JMC00]

Julian Edelman YAC/r
2018: 4.7
2019: 3.2

Jakobi Meyers
2019: 4.4
2020: 3.7
2021: 2.7

So Meyers actually had more YAC/r with Brady in 2019 than Edelman. And had more with Cam in 2020 than Edelman had with Brady in 2019.

2021 seems to be a bit of an outlier. Rookie QB? Change in usage?

Because Bourne took all the YAC

 

[upstater1]

Agreed. Trading for Sanu was BB's mistake. Brady didn't wear the GM hat in New England no matter how hard the BB defenders club try to spin it.

I knew Mills was bad, I didn't realize he was THAT BAD! Trading away Gilmore for just a future 6th round pick looks even WORSE now. If BB the GM had traded Gilmore when demand was high, surely he could have secured a better return for a #1 corner, I'm thinking at least a 2nd round pick. Talk about BAD asset management!

Uh, Gilmore was out of contract.

It was a 6th or nothing.

It's really weird that people are arguing that someone was going to give up a 2nd for Gilmore, but Belichick preferred a 6th instead.

Hell, Gilmore cheated himself out of money, because all accounts showed the Patriots offered him $14m a year extension, but he wanted $16m.

Good luck with your $11m a year Steve.

 

[mgteich]

I like this but I prefer...

X: Parker/Agholor/Thornton
Z: Meyers
Slot: Bourne

I agree with X but I much prefer Meyers at Z. I think his chemistry is good enough with Mac in a similar Brandon Lloyd role ...regardless about YAC (just move the chains man). And this opens up Bourne in the slot who I think would be the best in the league by far in his 2nd year with the team. IMO Bourne will absolutley destroy in the slot which in many cases is more important then production at Z. Having a much upgraded X will open things up for everyone...of course. And with Mac still new...having Bourne in the slot is more important then having Meyers there. And (this is my 3rd "And" to start a sentence...I've reached my quota)...Bourne is more shifty and quick.

1) Bourne is the best slot receiver that we have. He is likely to be the most productive receiver. He is our Brown, our Edelman, our Welker. Having Myers as a backup slot receiver is a major plus for our offense.

2) I appreciate that you have found a reasonable spot for Myers to contribute. So, he would be Lloyd for the year, and then to another team.

3) I suspect that 3 X receivers in too many for a Belichick offense. 1-2 would likely be inactive in every game, with us having top receivers at TE and RB.

4) I suppose that this construction is a fine one for now. We'll see where we are after a couple of pre-season games. One of the WR's is likely to be injured, be on the 53, and come back later.

 

[moosekill]

It's beyond silly at this point for Patriots fans to even discuss Brady's departure.

1. We know Brady left because he wanted more of a commitment (deserved)
2. The Patriots are clearly rebuilding, and keeping Brady wouldn't have helped us.

3. Biggest reason this discussion is worthless: if we kept Brady for 2020 and we won more games, we wouldn't have the QB we have now, who's going to be with us for the next 15 years. Instead, our starting QB would be Bailey Zappe.

We don’t really know those things. We think those things are likely. We don’t have any idea what contracts were offered by the patriots, we don’t know what Brady was asking for and in the end it doesn’t really matter. The Patriots and Brady didn’t work out a contract and both parties moved on. We do know that they couldn’t reach a longer term deal and Brady asked for, and received the ability to become a free agent after that year.

 

[venecol]

1) Bourne is the best slot receiver that we have. He is likely to be the most productive receiver. He is our Brown, our Edelman, our Welker. Having Myers as a backup slot receiver is a major plus for our offense.

If so, then why did Meyers have >2x the slot snaps than Bourne?

 

[n6249c]

If so, then why did Meyers have >2x the slot snaps than Bourne?

How many total snaps did Bourne have? Was he getting snaps out of the slot because he was also the best option elsewhere? Or one of the best, for whatever the alignment was?

 

[Zuma]

If so, then why did Meyers have >2x the slot snaps than Bourne?

He did have more but I think that was part of out necessity. There were not a lot of options last year.

 

[Wozzy]

He did have more but I think that was part of out necessity. There were not a lot of options last year.

This Bourne versus Meyers talk may all be for nothing, there's a distinct possibility Meyer's isn't even here this season considering he doesn't have a contract.

The two players are almost identical anyways, Bourne may be a shade faster, Meyers a shade better at route running... but they may as well be twins. The depth of talent at WR is great to have, but there's a redundancy there... especially if the young kids (Thornton, Wilkerson, Nixon) emerge in camp and preseason.

 

[Zuma]

This Bourne versus Meyers talk may all be for nothing, there's a distinct possibility Meyer's isn't even here this season considering he doesn't have a contract.

The two players are almost identical anyways, Bourne may be a shade faster, Meyers a shade better at route running... but they may as well be twins. The depth of talent at WR is great to have, but there's a redundancy there... especially if the young kids (Thornton, Wilkerson, Nixon) emerge in camp and preseason.

Yeah I could see that. And Wilkerson IMO…being in the system for a few years now could be productive. I hope they get a DT if Meyers is traded but most likely it will be a draft pick.

 

[Wozzy]

Yeah I could see that. And Wilkerson IMO…being in the system for a few years now could be productive. I hope they get a DT if Meyers is traded but most likely it will be a draft pick.

I really hope Wilkerson has worked on his hands, it seems like the only thing holding him back. If he has, I'd put him in the slot over everyone.

 

[JarOfMayo51]

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.

View attachment 43020

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

Yea Parker is a legit #1 when healthy, but his problem has been health

He absolutely embarrassed Stephon Gilmore the year he won DPOY, so he's definitely got all of the goods

 

[Scotty]

I hope that part of Parkers problems was down to the medical/conditioning side of things in his previous teams. If Cabrera can get the best from him then he may stay healthy.

 

[venecol]

I hope that part of Parkers problems was down to the medical/conditioning side of things in his previous teams. If Cabrera can get the best from him then he may stay healthy.

I don't think so. He's got a long list of injuries from shoulder, back, groin, hamstring to foot. Hope for the best.

DeVante Parker Injury History & Updates

DeVante Parker Injury History & Updates. Our injury data is so comprehensive, even NFL teams have paid for it. Our algorithm even predicts injuries

www.draftsharks.com

 

[Scotty]

So, he needs a bit more that physio then...........lol

 

[Wozzy]

Yea Parker is a legit #1 when healthy, but his problem has been health

I’d add that Parker in his own words didn’t take his job or conditioning seriously early in his career.

He didn’t have his first 1000+ yard breakout season until year five… something for those saying that young Patriot players are “busts” after a season or two to consider.

Parker was the 14th overall pick in the draft, he was largely considered a bust for his first four years… a healthy better conditioned Parker in 2022 is a substantially better player than he was in his youth. The talent was always there, he has to stay healthy.

 

[Love The Drake]

I’d add that Parker in his own words didn’t take his job or conditioning seriously early in his career.

He didn’t have his first 1000+ yard breakout season until year five… something for those saying that young Patriot players are “busts” after a season or two to consider.

Parker was the 14th overall pick in the draft, he was largely considered a bust for his first four years… a healthy better conditioned Parker in 2022 is a substantially better player than he was in his youth. The talent was always there, he has to stay healthy.

That’s very exciting.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

A @crawhammer versus @Wozzy battle. How exciting. Are there no mods in this world? @Ian - really in every thread on the site?