Poll and summary of draft so far

[Tony2046]

Yep, he’s got some serious competition.

I'm tired of his image creation act. If he wants an image do something on the field and the fans will create it for you otherwise it's just irritating fake bs.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Pats got their franchise QB of the future in the 1st round... without having to move up thanks to the 49ers being stupid, vastly overpaying and then having to switch their minds to take Lance to justify the vast overpay.

Pats then got a quality pass rushing DT with excellent size in Barmore in round 2 whom many graded as a 1st round talent.

Then they got an edge rusher/OLB who many considered a top 50 talent in the 3rd round.

Amazingly enough, it's actually a very exciting, satisfying draft. The Patriots seemed to know exactly who they wanted and got them at excellent value for when those players were taken.

Robert Kraft was not kidding when he said the Pats were changing up their approach to the draft his year.

I like the new aggressive Belichick! He started the free agency period swinging for the fences, and just landed haymaker after haymaker.

Then he played this year's draft aggressively when he needed to and got his players.

You get the sense that the Patriots focused on quality over quantity in their 2021 picks. Rather than trying to play 'moneyball' this year and outsmart people by trading down infinitely just to get a plethora of poorer quality selections.

Gotta say so far, this draft looks like an A-, the Pats still have a couple more needs to fill but they've done a great job so far getting value for their picks.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Pats got their franchise QB of the future in the 1st round... without having to move up thanks to the 49ers being stupid, vastly overpaying and then having to switch their minds to take Lance to justify the vast overpay.

Pats then got a quality pass rushing DT with excellent size in Barmore in round 2 whom many graded as a 1st round talent.

Then they got an edge rusher/OLB who many considered a top 50 talent in the 3rd round.

Amazingly enough, it's actually a very exciting, satisfying draft. The Patriots seemed to know exactly who they wanted and got them at excellent value for when those players were taken.

Robert Kraft was not kidding when he said the Pats were changing up their approach to the draft his year.

I like the new aggressive Belichick! He started the free agency period swinging for the fences, and just landed haymaker after haymaker.

Then he played this year's draft aggressively when he needed to and got his players.

You get the sense that the Patriots focused on quality over quantity in their 2021 picks. Rather than trying to play 'moneyball' this year and outsmart people by trading down infinitely just to get a plethora of poorer quality selections.

Gotta say so far, this draft looks like an A-, the Pats still have a couple more needs to fill but they've done a great job so far getting value for their picks.

amen brother, i agree 100 percent!

I am totally impressed with what wolf is doing this year.

grabbing best available players is always a great strategy and wolf is nailing it!

 

[PScottman]

Honestly, my only complaint so far is I wanted more speed for the WR corps.

Seven - who had seven in the "Number of posts before someone said WR"?

I had two...so I was way off.

 

[PScottman]

I like the new aggressive Belichick! He started the free agency period swinging for the fences, and just landed haymaker after haymaker.

Then he played this year's draft aggressively when he needed to and got his players.

Guarded optimism. I hate "winning" any guessing game because that's all the draft (more so) and free agency (less so) is. There are plenty of teams that win the "big name" sweepstakes every year just to have that big name not be a good fit (whether coaching, scheme, attitude, Aaron Hernandez, whatever) over the long term just like the "non-big name".

That said, guarded optimism is still optimism. There's the usual balanced "need" to "skill" approach to this draft that also has added "results" at very high levels of college football (that I admittedly don't watch). A less risk to reward, lesser known choices.

Maybe that's a change in philosophy, or maybe more pandemic related because there's a LOT less tape and even games played to rely on.

Ultimately, the optimism comes down to BB the coach being able to get the most out of whomever he picks. That remains the historical norm rather than the guess.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Pats got their franchise QB of the future in the 1st round... without having to move up thanks to the 49ers being stupid, vastly overpaying and then having to switch their minds to take Lance to justify the vast overpay.

Pats then got a quality pass rushing DT with excellent size in Barmore in round 2 whom many graded as a 1st round talent.

Then they got an edge rusher/OLB who many considered a top 50 talent in the 3rd round.

Amazingly enough, it's actually a very exciting, satisfying draft. The Patriots seemed to know exactly who they wanted and got them at excellent value for when those players were taken.

Robert Kraft was not kidding when he said the Pats were changing up their approach to the draft his year.

I like the new aggressive Belichick! He started the free agency period swinging for the fences, and just landed haymaker after haymaker.

Then he played this year's draft aggressively when he needed to and got his players.

You get the sense that the Patriots focused on quality over quantity in their 2021 picks. Rather than trying to play 'moneyball' this year and outsmart people by trading down infinitely just to get a plethora of poorer quality selections.

Gotta say so far, this draft looks like an A-, the Pats still have a couple more needs to fill but they've done a great job so far getting value for their picks.

They should lock down Eliot Wolf to a full time position instead of just as a consultant

 

[fnordcircle]

Definitely an A. But not like all those other times where I gave them an A, this time it's definitely an A.

 

[PScottman]

Definitely an A. But not like all those other times where I gave them an A, this time it's definitely an A.

fnordcircle's the "Santa Claus" grader in the forum? Not the "Darth Vader"? Twenty years around this place and I can still be surprised.

 

[PaulThePat]

For me we've got 2 first-round picks. An absolute A+ from me.

 

[zimmy]

We got 3 really good players, including our new QB. Anything that got us out of Cam purgatory was good with me but I happened to love Jones too. You can quibble with the positions of the other two positions but the players were v/good value there.

 

[patsfanfromoversea]

@KontradictioN confidence between the A Grade and Caserio leaving? I remember you saying sth in that direction earlier. Good Call

 

[DarrylS]

Searching for something controversial that Sports Talk radio can whine and bytch about come Monday...

Maybe it will come today as the Pats still have 5 picks, one of them will certainly give them fodder to complain about how the draft has passed BB by as they shoulda, coulda taken this guy over that guy..

 

[ivanvamp]

My evaluation so far...

Round 1 - Mac Jones - I've always liked him. I didn't want them to trade up for him and didn't think he should have been the #3 pick like SF was rumored. But (1) he was insanely good for Alabama, yes playing with great talent, but he also played AGAINST great talent. Watch his film. Look at his number. See the precision on his throws and the decision-making. Not a great athlete, but as a thrower of the football, he's terrific. He absolutely SHREDDED elite competition. And (2) it was the only real glaring position of need, and at the most important position. At 15 he was a fantastic pick. An absolute A pick, given that they didn't have to trade up to get him at all.

Round 2 - Christian Barmore. Big guy, solid athlete, highly productive and talented. Occasionally shows lapses but has a very high ceiling. And at a position where they could use a lot more push. I like them taking a swing there and give this a B+.

Round 3 - Ronnie Perkins. Edge guy. Not huge (6'3", 250 lbs), but plays with ferocity. Got dinged for drug suspensions, but that was for weed, which isn't even against NFL rules now. His athletic measurables aren't great, but he plays much faster and quicker than those measurables suggest, and he's nasty when he gets to the ballcarrier (RB or QB). He might not hold up, but he was ranked by most sources as being in the 33-40 range, and they got him at 96, so it's great value. Definitely a guy you can take a shot with for a 3rd round pick. I give this an A-.

So overall, it's a solid A- draft for BB, IMO. Still more to go today. But on the whole, I love it. And on top of it, he CRUSHED free agency, so this offseason has been absolutely off the charts for him and New England. They've literally addressed every single need they've had. Today I want an OL, WR, and CB but otherwise they're in fantastic shape at basically every position.

 

[Mack Herron]

 

[farn]

My evaluation so far...

Round 1 - Mac Jones - I've always liked him. I didn't want them to trade up for him and didn't think he should have been the #3 pick like SF was rumored. But (1) he was insanely good for Alabama, yes playing with great talent, but he also played AGAINST great talent. Watch his film. Look at his number. See the precision on his throws and the decision-making. Not a great athlete, but as a thrower of the football, he's terrific. He absolutely SHREDDED elite competition. And (2) it was the only real glaring position of need, and at the most important position. At 15 he was a fantastic pick. An absolute A pick, given that they didn't have to trade up to get him at all.

Round 2 - Christian Barmore. Big guy, solid athlete, highly productive and talented. Occasionally shows lapses but has a very high ceiling. And at a position where they could use a lot more push. I like them taking a swing there and give this a B+.

Round 3 - Ronnie Perkins. Edge guy. Not huge (6'3", 250 lbs), but plays with ferocity. Got dinged for drug suspensions, but that was for weed, which isn't even against NFL rules now. His athletic measurables aren't great, but he plays much faster and quicker than those measurables suggest, and he's nasty when he gets to the ballcarrier (RB or QB). He might not hold up, but he was ranked by most sources as being in the 33-40 range, and they got him at 96, so it's great value. Definitely a guy you can take a shot with for a 3rd round pick. I give this an A-.

So overall, it's a solid A- draft for BB, IMO. Still more to go today. But on the whole, I love it. And on top of it, he CRUSHED free agency, so this offseason has been absolutely off the charts for him and New England. They've literally addressed every single need they've had. Today I want an OL, WR, and CB but otherwise they're in fantastic shape at basically every position.

This.

First, « yes » Jones had insane talent around him. However, isn’t his trajectory similar to Burrow’s ? Didn’t Burrow sit for a while before starting with mega talent ? Both QBs crushed their final college season playing alongside epic players. But Burrow, pre injury, seemed to be an ascending player who justified Cincy’s choice. I mean, even if you have the greatest players, if you are at over 75%+ completion in the SEC...

Barmore is, by all accounts, a first rounder who slipped. If he cares about improving, there is real potential here. The FA class will take some pressure off and he can focus on a few things instead of being the entire line. Players like Judon & Guy will lend support.

The third rounder was picked at 96. Another potential slip. Are there reasons ? Sure. But at 96, if you think you have found a diamond, it’s not a gamble.

Who knows who’ll pan out. But I’m leaning towards « we found something here ».

 

[PittPatriot]

I'm tired of his image creation act. If he wants an image do something on the field and the fans will create it for you otherwise it's just irritating fake bs.

I was hoping he’d be clay Matthews 2.0

 

[Jimke]

The Patriots addressed the elephants in the room ... Qb and DLine in spectacular fashion. I try to be critical but I feel like they've nailed every pick.

I'd like to gripe about no wide receivers but who can argue with perfection? Keep it going!

 

[whybob]

B+. Love rd2 and rd3 picks. Great trade up for Barmore

 

[PittPatriot]

i’m not as knowledgeable as most of the posters here, but last year‘s draft gave me an immediate sense of “what the hell are we doing?”
This year there is a sense of calm about the high-value talent we are getting.

 

[BelichickFan]

B for me.

Loved getting Mac without trading up. Boom or bust with Barmore and it was a pricey trade up if he isn't in the boom category. Like Perkins a lot although he seems like a good player without even average athleticism so hopefully that works in the NFL.

And no OT or CB yet.