WaterfallJumper
Veteran Starter w/Big Long Term Deal
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2009
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Well, the time has come when I can no longer procrastinate. Oh, I suppose I could put this off for another couple hours, but I plan to spend that time pacing and trying not to bite my fingernails off as I wait for the draft to finally begin. 
Obviously, I have no real idea of what the Patriots will opt to do over the next few days, but if I were to play GM, then it might look something like this. . . .
-
Just because I'm lazy, I'm going to just take players I like, and essentially ignore market value if I have them graded higher than other boards. Otherwise, I'm roughly following the CBS Sports prospect rankings, because most people seem to put some stock into them, for better or worse.
www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospectrankings
Above all, I firmly believe in the depth of this draft, and I want to focus on investing heavily in undrafted free agency. This sentiment notwithstanding, I also want to try to find a way back into round one, preferably the teens, for a gamble on a player who is not yet a complete product, but has the potential of developing into the ultimate matchup piece on defense. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't make it past 20 in the actual draft (or he could go in the mid-2nd; who knows at this point).
This will likely require moving Garoppolo (not looking for that discussion again; here we get 12 & 65 because, well, this is my mock and I can do what I want). I'm not 100% convinced that my target's current state of play warrants this attempted trade, but his potential far outshines his immediate ability to contribute. As @Off The Grid frequently mentions on his excellent blog, it's all about trajectory:
NFL Draft Scouting Reports
Who is this mystery player? Well, let me answer that with a question: Name one player in the upcoming draft who has the size, speed, coverage ability, and overall playing style to eventually develop into a player who could legitimately play any of the off-the-ball roles on defense, from LB to S to CB, throughout the course of a game. How many of them exist in the NFL? (This was going to be a lot more dramatic when I wrote it two weeks ago; I've just been slow posting while I tweak the details, and @manxman2601 beat me to the punch a few days ago.)
Now, he's not my absolute favorite player on tape, although I think he's actually quite good (if he were only playing his college role, I'd give him a late 1st- or early-2nd grade), but his skillset and man coverage ability are potentially special. It took me a while to settle on this line of thinking, but since this is just for fun, why not shoot for the moon? I realize that it is not a Patriots-type move to trade way up for a "potential" type player, but this is my offseason fantasy, not my prediction of what the good folks in the New England war room will do to confound us this year.
Willis is my other "must draft" target. I was leaning toward Basham, originally, simply because he is more likely to be available. Willis has everything we look for in a prospect, however: outstanding character, an incredible work ethic, the praise of his coaching staff, physical and tenacious play, great production, a knack for turnovers in big games, and off the charts athleticism. Thus, just to ensure that we get our guy, we send 72 and 65 to our friends the Saints, to help with their defensive rebuild, in exchange for 42.
Kittle is as close to "must draft" territory as I can find, right up there with Willis. He has everything I look for in a prospect except for production. His blocking is a pleasure to watch, and the interviews I've seen with him are all very positive. He's a solid young man who is ready to get to work. I can't leave him out.
Ebukam and Wilson are two of the best coverage linebackers I've watched this year, and they also happen to be superb athletes. Wilson has the better instincts and technique, but he's a little undersized for what we like to do. Still, I see a lot of Deion Jones in his game. Ebukam has incredible upside. I don't see him as an edge player, but I do see him as a Collins replacement who can blitz at times.
I've spoken at length about my appreciation for Odenigbo and Amichia. I think they're fine football players, with excellent toughness and athleticism, who have somehow flown way under the radar. They're exactly the type of player I'd look for as the building blocks of a team: maybe not superstars, but good players who are essential to quality depth.
12 Obi Melifonwu SS/FS/CB/LB
42 Jordan Willis DE/OLB
96 George Kittle TE/FB
131 Samson Ebukam OLB/ILB
183 Eric Wilson OLB/ILB
200 Kofi Amichia OT/OG/C
239 Ifeadi Odenigbo DE/DT
UDFA targets:
DB: Joshua Holsey, Marcus Sayles, Johnathan Ford, Jason Thompson
DL: Josh Augusta, Patrick Ricard, Fadol Brown, Tashawn Bowers
LB: Chase Allen, James Onwualu
RB: Chris Carson, LeShun Daniels
WR: Jehu Chesson, Quincy Abedoyejo, Francis Owusu, Fred Ross
OL: Andrew Wylie, Brad Seaton, Cam Keizur, Max Rich
I had to leave out a number of players I like, both from the mock and the UDFA targets, because I believe this brings us up to 90 players, although I've counted pretty loosely. If this seems like a lot of UDFA players, then compare to 2013 and 2014: each year we brought in over 20 players for contracts and tryouts. My biggest concern is not bringing in an UDFA QB, since in this scenario I trade off our #2 guy without a solid plan to replace him. I just don't see anyone that I like, despite all my searching this year. So it goes.
2013 NFL Undrafted Free Agents | NEPatriotsDraft.com - 2017 NFL Draft
2014 NFL Undrafted Free Agents | NEPatriotsDraft.com - 2017 NFL Draft
Obviously, I have no real idea of what the Patriots will opt to do over the next few days, but if I were to play GM, then it might look something like this. . . .
-
Just because I'm lazy, I'm going to just take players I like, and essentially ignore market value if I have them graded higher than other boards. Otherwise, I'm roughly following the CBS Sports prospect rankings, because most people seem to put some stock into them, for better or worse.
www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospectrankings
Above all, I firmly believe in the depth of this draft, and I want to focus on investing heavily in undrafted free agency. This sentiment notwithstanding, I also want to try to find a way back into round one, preferably the teens, for a gamble on a player who is not yet a complete product, but has the potential of developing into the ultimate matchup piece on defense. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't make it past 20 in the actual draft (or he could go in the mid-2nd; who knows at this point).
This will likely require moving Garoppolo (not looking for that discussion again; here we get 12 & 65 because, well, this is my mock and I can do what I want). I'm not 100% convinced that my target's current state of play warrants this attempted trade, but his potential far outshines his immediate ability to contribute. As @Off The Grid frequently mentions on his excellent blog, it's all about trajectory:
NFL Draft Scouting Reports
Who is this mystery player? Well, let me answer that with a question: Name one player in the upcoming draft who has the size, speed, coverage ability, and overall playing style to eventually develop into a player who could legitimately play any of the off-the-ball roles on defense, from LB to S to CB, throughout the course of a game. How many of them exist in the NFL? (This was going to be a lot more dramatic when I wrote it two weeks ago; I've just been slow posting while I tweak the details, and @manxman2601 beat me to the punch a few days ago.)
Now, he's not my absolute favorite player on tape, although I think he's actually quite good (if he were only playing his college role, I'd give him a late 1st- or early-2nd grade), but his skillset and man coverage ability are potentially special. It took me a while to settle on this line of thinking, but since this is just for fun, why not shoot for the moon? I realize that it is not a Patriots-type move to trade way up for a "potential" type player, but this is my offseason fantasy, not my prediction of what the good folks in the New England war room will do to confound us this year.
Willis is my other "must draft" target. I was leaning toward Basham, originally, simply because he is more likely to be available. Willis has everything we look for in a prospect, however: outstanding character, an incredible work ethic, the praise of his coaching staff, physical and tenacious play, great production, a knack for turnovers in big games, and off the charts athleticism. Thus, just to ensure that we get our guy, we send 72 and 65 to our friends the Saints, to help with their defensive rebuild, in exchange for 42.
Kittle is as close to "must draft" territory as I can find, right up there with Willis. He has everything I look for in a prospect except for production. His blocking is a pleasure to watch, and the interviews I've seen with him are all very positive. He's a solid young man who is ready to get to work. I can't leave him out.
Ebukam and Wilson are two of the best coverage linebackers I've watched this year, and they also happen to be superb athletes. Wilson has the better instincts and technique, but he's a little undersized for what we like to do. Still, I see a lot of Deion Jones in his game. Ebukam has incredible upside. I don't see him as an edge player, but I do see him as a Collins replacement who can blitz at times.
I've spoken at length about my appreciation for Odenigbo and Amichia. I think they're fine football players, with excellent toughness and athleticism, who have somehow flown way under the radar. They're exactly the type of player I'd look for as the building blocks of a team: maybe not superstars, but good players who are essential to quality depth.
12 Obi Melifonwu SS/FS/CB/LB
42 Jordan Willis DE/OLB
96 George Kittle TE/FB
131 Samson Ebukam OLB/ILB
183 Eric Wilson OLB/ILB
200 Kofi Amichia OT/OG/C
239 Ifeadi Odenigbo DE/DT
UDFA targets:
DB: Joshua Holsey, Marcus Sayles, Johnathan Ford, Jason Thompson
DL: Josh Augusta, Patrick Ricard, Fadol Brown, Tashawn Bowers
LB: Chase Allen, James Onwualu
RB: Chris Carson, LeShun Daniels
WR: Jehu Chesson, Quincy Abedoyejo, Francis Owusu, Fred Ross
OL: Andrew Wylie, Brad Seaton, Cam Keizur, Max Rich
I had to leave out a number of players I like, both from the mock and the UDFA targets, because I believe this brings us up to 90 players, although I've counted pretty loosely. If this seems like a lot of UDFA players, then compare to 2013 and 2014: each year we brought in over 20 players for contracts and tryouts. My biggest concern is not bringing in an UDFA QB, since in this scenario I trade off our #2 guy without a solid plan to replace him. I just don't see anyone that I like, despite all my searching this year. So it goes.
2013 NFL Undrafted Free Agents | NEPatriotsDraft.com - 2017 NFL Draft
2014 NFL Undrafted Free Agents | NEPatriotsDraft.com - 2017 NFL Draft
