Roster outlook

[holyredeemer]

I thought it might be fun to take a look at the roster by position and rate the roster based on short term and long term strength. Of course things can change with a tweet and a team can be built in many different ways which would mean re-evaluation, but I thought this would be the best place to post it seeing as the draft is coming up and all. And, I'm really bored and want to talk football. I'm only going to include the guys that I am aware of still being on the roster or expected back from injury by the beginning of the season. I am not looking at any PS guys either, as I don't really know what we've got in them. I also am not taking into consideration current contracts or anything like that. Just current talent level evaluation.


Short Term Grade is listed first, with long term grade listed second. Notes added where I felt needed.


*By long term, I mean 3+ years out.


QB: A+/F
Tom Brady
Brian Hoyer

(Really confident in this group short term, but long term…..Tom please never leave us)


RB- C/D-
James White
Mike Gillislee
Brandon Bolden
James Devlin (FB)

(James White is a great receiving back, good blocker. But after that? Gillislee showed a lil’ something last season, but not much. And long term, the position has no one in the pipeline.)


OT- D/F
Tony Garcia
Marcus Cannon

(No idea what we’ve got in Garcia. Only giving this a D because we’ve got Cannon. Long term though? We better hit on some picks/trades and sign some folks!)


G- A/A
Joe Thuney
Shaq Mason

(Love these 2 guys on the inside. Thuney has his moments, but these two are young and solid. And yes, I know how that sounds.)



C- C/C
David Andrews
Ted Karras

(Andrews is serviceable. I definitely don’t hate the guy. Karras is a solid back-up and can play all IOL spots. Long term though, I’d like to see a more dominant prospect here.)


TE- A-/D
Rob Gronkowski
Dwayne Allen
Jacob Hollister

(Gronk is Gronk. I think Allen is a good fit here right now. Long term the position has Hollister who is still an unknown and raw prospect. Gronks will to play and health is an issue and Allen for the most part is a one trick pony.)


WR- A/D
Julian Edelman
Chris Hogan
Malcolm Mitchell
Brandin Cooks
Phillip Dorsett
Kenny Britt

(Great group to have right now, and would love Dola back. Gotta cross our fingers for health, but when these guys are on, they are a dominant group. Half of this unit will be over 30 after September, and Dorsett & Britt haven’t shown anything to give a higher grade long term. Only giving a D assuming Cooks continues where he is at.)


DE- C-/B
Trey Flowers
Deatrich Wise
Eric Lee
Lawrence Guy
Geneo Grissom

(Not as down on this group as many others. Not bad, but not great either. I definitely would like to see some talent added from anywhere. I gave a higher grade for long term because I’m very optimistic about Flowers, Wise and Lee. I would like to see Guy freed up to play more DT/DE hybrid.)


DT- D/C
Malcom Brown
Adam Butler
Vincent Valentine

(Brown is finally becoming a solid player. Not someone you game plan around, but he’s good. After that we have 2 young guys that have flashed and not much else. Hoping they continue to progress, but we could definitely use a force in the middle here.)


OLB- D/F
Dont'a Hightower
Derek Rivers
Shea McClellin

(We’ve got HT who is fantastic when healthy. After that, nada to write home about. I listed Rivers and am optimistic he turns into something for us, but that’s not based on anything substantial. McClellin needs to go. For the cap savings and brain savings.)



MLB- D/F
Kyle Van Noy
Harvey Langi
Elandon Roberts

(I like Van Noy, but he is forced to play as a center piece, and I don’t necessarily know that he is that guy. Langi is a lot like Rivers for me. Roberts, meh. He needs to be a role player, not a FT starter.)


CB- C/D
Stephon Gilmore
Eric Rowe
Jonathan Jones
Cyrus Jones

(Gilmore is fantastic and I hope he continues to climb. Rowe is okay, hopefully improves, but isn’t overly impressive. We can scheme and coach him to be serviceable, sometimes I’m sure fantastic, but I’m not confident he can do that all the time. JJ is a great upcoming Slot corner and I’m not sure what we’ve got in CJ. I’m concerned with pipeline on the outside.)


SS- C/F
Patrick Chung
Jordan Richards
Brandon King

(Chung has been fantastic his second go around with us. Great player. After that….ugh. Chung is also up there in age, and we’ve got no one waiting behind him. No one I want to talk about at least.)


FS- A-/B-
Devin McCourty
Duron Harmon

(Great group here. Would like at least one more player to sit in the wings a bit to ascend when McCourty calls it.)


K- Did Not Rate
Stephen Gostkowski


P- Did Not Rate
Ryan Allen