Pats select CB Terrence Wheatley with 62nd overall pick

[AllabouttheVinces]

Re: Patriots Select TERRANCE WHEATLEY with 62nd pick

Is it just me or does he look like Maroney's little brother?

And what is it with 5' 9" CBs and dreads?

Is it just me, or was he one of the fastest guys at the Combine? The hip turn is effortless. It looks like he can cover. The question is can he hit? We'll find out. For a 2nd rd pick we need more than a returner or a nickel back.

 

[TP76]

Well, from a Pats fan and a CU alumn that's seen him play for 4 years... folks, he's a ball hawk with speed, and last year played more physical than I've ever seen him play. He has the ball skills speed and technique that Belichick covets... I believe TWheat will shine under Belichick's tutelage, he has alot of upside, more than some are giving him credit for... I just hope he can stay healthy.

He single handedly wrecked TTech's spread offense last year...

 

[VJCPatriot]

Well this highly regarded draft guru had him in his top 100 overall players: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon.../stories/042508dnspodrafttop100.96c05034.html

Yes... but he has Wheatley at #96, which places him in round 4. I'm not going to complain about the pick. To me, Wheatley projects to be a fast nickel with added value as kick returner. That's close enough in value where I'm just not gonna sweat it. Especially considering that we still have 3 more picks in round 3 to pick up some more talent.

Crazy thought of the night... if Wheatley has a Devin Hester like impact on our return game, at the end of the year everyone is going to talk about how this pick was a steal.

 

[JoePats]

Here's the weird thing about the pick -- the Pats have 3 picks in fairly close succession.

Taking Wheatley in this spot is an indication of significant concern that he wouldn't fall to them a few picks later.

Absolutely 1000000% correct. To me it's an indication that someone else picking 63-68 really liked him a lot too. And I say this with more confidence than Mankins' case, which came out later. Here there are only 6 teams that the Pats would have had to sweat out (compared to 31 w/ Mankins). That doesn't seem like much unless you know someone else was taking him. And if in fact someone else was going to take him then 62 is certainly fair market value.

 

[The 12th Man]

Well, from a Pats fan and a CU alumn that's seen him play for 4 years... folks, he's a ball hawk with speed, and last year played more physical than I've ever seen him play. He has the ball skills speed and technique that Belichick covets... I believe TWheat will shine under Belichick's tutelage, he has alot of upside, more than some are giving him credit for... I just hope he can stay healthy.

He single handedly wrecked TTech's spread offense last year...

Is TWheat a real nickname of his?

At first, I just wasn't sure who this guy even was, but as I read more and more about him, I'm starting to like this pick more and more. Sure hope you're right about his upside potential. Can be another Asante Samuel type of player if true. Plus the return skills.

 

[Blizzzard]

I'm not going to pretend to know anything about this kid. But after seeing his video, I am impressed.

He has unbelievable footwork, he's lightning fast, Looks like he has great hands and jumps incredibly high for his height, and no matter what position he is in "mid-flight" he always lands softly and squarely on his feet, ready to make a move.

This is just the comic book nerd in me, but the kid moved like he's friggin spiderman!!!!!

I was very underwhelmed by this pick, but after viewing his combine video, I am now actually very excited

 

[BadMoFo]

NFL.com analysis of the pick:

Pick Analysis:With their linebacker need seemingly taken care of in the first round, the Patriots take a cornerback here. The Patriots may have found themselves a steal in Wheatley, considered a shutdown corner with speed. After sitting out the entire 2005 season following surgery to repair a broken wrist, Wheatley established himself as one of the most talented corners in his conference the last two years. He's also a talented kickoff returner.

 

[TP76]

Is TWheat a real nickname of his?

At first, I just wasn't sure who this guy even was, but as I read more and more about him, I'm starting to like this pick more and more. Sure hope you're right about his upside potential. Can be another Asante Samuel type of player if true. Plus the return skills.

Don't know... but he's referred to that way from time to time on netbuffs. He was a good player for us, and IMO Assante is a better comparison than Hobbs. Wheatley has played all over, safety, corner.. so he's also versatile. In fact, he's played three systems (Okruch, Hankwitz and Collins), and I believe he cut his teeth with the big nickel (4-2-5) under Okruch. Somewhat similar to Belichick experiment in 2002, although they ran it much differently (albeit with similarly disastrous results).

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Wow. If Tebucky Jones were still in this secondary we could call it the BuckWheat secondary.

 

[nepatz11]

Two Words: Deion Branch. remember when the Pats reached for him in round 2 and all the experts laughed. You have to trust BB/SP.

This guy remind me of Asante Samuel. Samuel was not a great tackler either. But what he could do was cover. My guess is that this guy can flat out cover. He can keep up with the Reggie Waynes of the world. The bottom line is you have to trust BB/SP.

 

[Stop Being A Jerk]

For a guy with his 'plusses' to be looked down on so much by 'experts' actually has me a bit concerned. I'm hoping that that's all because of the usual focus on size that 'experts' seem to have, and not because his 'negatives' really outweigh his positives so much.

Aside from that, a short, injury-prone guy to add to our secondary. What's not to like??

 

[Lampshade]

Well, from a Pats fan and a CU alumn that's seen him play for 4 years... folks, he's a ball hawk with speed, and last year played more physical than I've ever seen him play. He has the ball skills speed and technique that Belichick covets... I believe TWheat will shine under Belichick's tutelage, he has alot of upside, more than some are giving him credit for... I just hope he can stay healthy.

He single handedly wrecked TTech's spread offense last year...

That sounds promising to me. Thanks for the info.

 

[RayClay]

I'm not going to pretend to know anything about this kid. But after seeing his video, I am impressed.

He has unbelievable footwork, he's lightning fast, Looks like he has great hands and jumps incredibly high for his height, and no matter what position he is in "mid-flight" he always lands softly and squarely on his feet, ready to make a move.

This is just the comic book nerd in me, but the kid moved like he's friggin spiderman!!!!!

I was very underwhelmed by this pick, but after viewing his combine video, I am now actually very excited

I've been trying to tell people, watch his videos. this guy's a player.

This is a CB deep draft and the guy lost a whole season and more to a wrist injury.

 

[Dragda]

Well, from a Pats fan and a CU alumn that's seen him play for 4 years... folks, he's a ball hawk with speed, and last year played more physical than I've ever seen him play. He has the ball skills speed and technique that Belichick covets... I believe TWheat will shine under Belichick's tutelage, he has alot of upside, more than some are giving him credit for... I just hope he can stay healthy.

He single handedly wrecked TTech's spread offense last year...

So what's the story on his stat line telling us he didn't start a single game his senior year. He seems to be a gamer so who was starting ahead of him?

 

[Pedrorocks458]

So what's the story on his stat line telling us he didn't start a single game his senior year. He seems to be a gamer so who was starting ahead of him?

That's wrong I'm sure. I mean, he was first-team All-Big 12

 

[Dragda]

That's wrong I'm sure. I mean, he was first-team All-Big 12

Could be wrong.

This is where I saw the games started column empty.
http://condraft.com/profile.php?id=1577
It says he played in 41 total games.

"Through 37 games at Colorado, Wheatley started 25 contests." from http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/terrence-wheatley?id=328


http://www.cfbstats.com/2007/player/157/58542/index.html
This says he played in 11 games in 2007. Doesn't say how many he started.

I got all kinds of different results so at least one of them is indeed wrong.

 

[KCSVEN]

From projo
http://www.projo.com/patriots/content/sp_fbn_patsdraft27b_04-27-08_PA9U50G_v6.3809acd.html


He finished in the top 10 among cornerbacks in the 40-yard dash (4.37, tied for fifth), vertical jump (36.5 inches, 5th), broad jump (10-feet-8, tied for 4th), 3-cone drill (6.74 seconds, tied for 1st), and 60-yard shuttle (11.58 seconds, 5th).

“Speed kills, especially at this position,” Wheatley said. “It’s very difficult to make plays if you don’t have speed. If you take a false step or anything, your speed has to be able to catch you up and take care of that mistake.”

Wheatley started the first 10 games of the regular season for Colorado at left cornerback until being sidelined for the last two with a hairline fracture in his foot. He returned to start in the Independence Bowl.

 

[TP76]

So what's the story on his stat line telling us he didn't start a single game his senior year. He seems to be a gamer so who was starting ahead of him?

It's false --- from Colorado's official site.

http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3843&SPID=255&DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=1448559

WHEATLEY’S CAREER NOTES

On Colorado’s all-time lists, he tied for third in interceptions (14), tied for seventh in pass deflections (29), second in kickoff return yards (1,350) and kickoff returns (56). He set single-season records in 2007 for the most kickoff returns (37) and yards (919).



WHEATLEY’s 2007 SEASON NOTES

He started the first 10 games of the regular season at left cornerback until being sidelined for the last two with a hairline fracture in his foot, but came back to start in the Independence Bowl. He earned third-team All-America honors from Rivals.com, and was tabbed as a first-team All-Big 12 performer by the Associated Press and the league coaches; the coaches selected him as an honorable mention pick at kick returner. He was on the official watchlist for both the Bronko Nagurski Award (one of 54 candidates) and the Jim Thorpe Award (one of 35). He had 42 tackles on the season (32 solo), with four third down stops, and five interceptions; he ranked second in the conference and 10th in the NCAA in interceptions per game. He tied a school record when he became the first Buffalo in 25 years to intercept three passes in a game when he stole three at Texas Tech off Graham Harrell; the last to do it was Victor Scott at Oklahoma State in 1982. For his effort, Wheatley was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the Football Writer’s National Player of the Week; he also earned Big 12 and NFF/Colorado Chapter AOW honors and earned an ESPN “Helmet Sticker.” In addition to the three picks in that game, he also had seven tackles (all solo) and a PBU. He had seven tackles (five solo) and a PBU against Kansas State, and had six tackles against Colorado State and Kansas. In the CSU game, his interception in the endzone ended Colorado State’s overtime possession, with the Buffs then winning when they had their first shot. At Arizona State, he returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown in the first minute of the game to give CU a 7-0 lead. He was exciting with the ball, and though never breaking one all the way, he did average 24.8 yards on kickoff returns, which was good for eighth in the conference and 42nd in the NCAA. Against Alabama in the bowl game, he was in on five tackles (three solo), with a pass deflection.

 

[emoney_33]

From the NFL combine site:

:bricks: Compares to Eliis Hobbs ... :bricks:

http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/terrence-wheatley?id=328

Seriously ... he was considered the top man to man CB ... so in BB I trust and the 3-cone ... Belichick loves that freaking 3-cone. 6.74 ... 2nd fastest CB. Taking averages of the measurables he was like the 3rd all around CB at the combine.

Hobbs excels in man to man, we drafted another kid who is good in man to man, new cb coach.... I predict in a few years no one will say Samuel is a better CB than Hobbs.

 

[D-cleater]

Has all the skills the coaches look for, works hard, another student of the game. Love the pick. Starts at nickel and moves outside by next season if not sooner, depending on the health of the other corners. If history holds true one of our free agent CB's will be put on IR before week one. Wheatley locks down the left side for years to come.