Scout Insight on WR and TE Class

[ripatsfan91]

Saw this link over on Pats Pulpit: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/pack...ers-and-tight-ends-b99258025z1-257423561.html

It seems like they are saying that this draft class at TE is as bad as its been said. The article was pretty harsh on CJF labeling him as "just a guy" who will be the 3rd tight end on most rosters. Said Niklas should have stayed in school another year and that ASJ is a pain and difficult to coach.

Write up of receivers seemed to be pretty stellar. Points to how deep the draft is.

 

[Ivan]

Saw this link over on Pats Pulpit: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/pack...ers-and-tight-ends-b99258025z1-257423561.html

It seems like they are saying that this draft class at TE is as bad as its been said. The article was pretty harsh on CJF labeling him as "just a guy" who will be the 3rd tight end on most rosters. Said Niklas should have stayed in school another year and that ASJ is a pain and difficult to coach.

Write up of receivers seemed to be pretty stellar. Points to how deep the draft is.

A great example of why you draft the player and not the need. I am big on getting a top TE in this draft due to the need, however if they really feel like ASJ is not coachable and Fiedorowicz is a scrub then take the great prospects no the need. I don't care as much how they fix things as that they fix them, and with this team there are many options. As an example, if they can't get the TE they want then i am all for WR high and getting one who can fill the role Hernandez played for them, as he really wasn't a TE he was a receiver and an athlete, and they can get big WR's in this draft who can do most of what he did without gambling on a guy who was a college TE but whose pro career is not as certain.

If they draft a DT (e.G...Jernigan) and move Kelly to the DE rotation then they have dealt with two issues, and i'm all for that. If they don't like ASJ but take Moncrief or Adams or Mathews in the 2nd then they didn't get their TE2 but they still got another mismatch receiver to fill much of the
A-Hole's shoes. If they address other needs and take a Center in the first 3 rounds but ignore OG and then use Cannon there once again i am fine with it, as they still address both issues. And if they decide to finish off their DL with free agents and by moving Hightower into rotation with Ninkovich and Jones and us either picks at LB I'm fine with that. All that matters is performance and contribution and if they hit on the picks it will not matter in a year or two whether they went OL in the 3rd and Rb in the fourth or DL in the first 3 rounds, all that will matter is who they are as player's and whether they made them better and hopefully helped them win more championships.

There are many ways to make a really good team better, and i for one and am fascinated by watching the directions they take, can't wait for this draft.

 

[patchick]

Unusually good leg work and insight for a local paper sports section. (Wonderlic scores, even!)

Very hard to NOT draft a WR this year.

 

[Off The Grid]

Unusually good leg work and insight for a local paper sports section. (Wonderlic scores, even!)

Very hard to NOT draft a WR this year.

Yeah, I often stumble over McGinn in my travels. He's very fond of quoting Scouts, which always gets my full attention, even when I don't agree with their Perceptions.

 

[Galeb]

Jordan Matthews lead all receivers with a wonderlic score of 29. Given that he is the cousin of Jerry Rice, has a reputation of being mature and professional, is a team captain and played basketball, I'm convinced he's high on the Pat's board.

 

[dryheat44]

Definitely worth reading, and really reinforced how athletic, productive, and virtually bottomless the WR class is, and how terrible the TE class is. I also learned that Niklas and Jake Matthews are cousins, if I read that right. If I were the GM of Carolina, I'd be tempted to draft a WR in every round.

 

[unoriginal]

If the book on Niklas is he should have stayed in school another year, that almost guarantees the Pats will consider taking him. They took Gronkowski and Hernandez over the same objections.

 

[dryheat44]

If the book on Niklas is he should have stayed in school another year, that almost guarantees the Pats will consider taking him. They took Gronkowski and Hernandez over the same objections.

They'll only have him under contract for 3 years. How much time of that contract do you want to burn teaching him things he should already know? I think it makrs it less likely Pats draft him. Niklas is neither Gronk nor Hernandez, both of whom were NFL ready.

 

[Username]

I prefer Niklas to Amaro or CJF but Niklas has a long list of concussions that make me very wary of taking him before the 4th. He'll probably be gone by then though.

 

[BTTA]

Reading these descriptions, the only TE even worth drafting is Ebron. The rest sound like they wouldn't be able to beat out the vet JAG's hanging out looking for contracts now.

 

[TruthSeeker]

I wouldn't let ONE writer's article become the complete gospel of the draft. He doesn't like the TEs, doesn't mean they don't become good to great players in the NFL. That being said, one common theme BB kept saying about Dobson and Boyce is that they were intelligent receivers. Maybe Jordan Matthews will be a Patriot by next weekend.

 

[unoriginal]

They'll only have him under contract for 3 years. How much time of that contract do you want to burn teaching him things he should already know? I think it makrs it less likely Pats draft him. Niklas is neither Gronk nor Hernandez, both of whom were NFL ready.

Since all drafted rookie contracts are four years, I assume you mean "three, after the "red-shirt" year"...

Where the Pats would be interested in him, they've taken "raw" players before, two recently being Taylor Price and Sebastian Vollmer. Both were described as raw, and yet the Pats took them. They took Chad Jackson when he came out early even though he "could have used another year" because he wasn't "ready for prime-time" as a professional (quoting the CBS draft guide there). Same with Gronkowski and Hernandez, due to injury worries and blocking + maturity concerns respectively. Each could have used "another year" but came out early. Both Dobson and Boyce last year were described as raw, and so on. The Pats have never had a problem red-shirting guys like that, AND they've also "overdrafted" in-demand positions in the same range (2nd and 3rd round defensive backs...) TE is an in-demand position on this team and league-wide.

So if the book on Niklas is that he's about as good as all "the rest" behind Ebron because he's raw and could have used another year of seasoning, I think that moves him right to the top of the Pats board, and also puts him within reach on a value basis. It certainly isn't going to disqualify him.

 

[dryheat44]

Since all drafted rookie contracts are four years, I assume you mean "three, after the "red-shirt" year"...

Where the Pats would be interested in him, they've taken "raw" players before, two recently being Taylor Price and Sebastian Vollmer. Both were described as raw, and yet the Pats took them. They took Chad Jackson when he came out early even though he "could have used another year" because he wasn't "ready for prime-time" as a professional (quoting the CBS draft guide there). Same with Gronkowski and Hernandez, due to injury worries and blocking + maturity concerns respectively. Each could have used "another year" but came out early. Both Dobson and Boyce last year were described as raw, and so on. The Pats have never had a problem red-shirting guys like that, AND they've also "overdrafted" in-demand positions in the same range (2nd and 3rd round defensive backs...) TE is an in-demand position on this team and league-wide.

So if the book on Niklas is that he's about as good as all "the rest" behind Ebron because he's raw and could have used another year of seasoning, I think that moves him right to the top of the Pats board, and also puts him within reach on a value basis. It certainly isn't going to disqualify him.

I thought after the second round, all contracts were 3 years. Maybe I'm mistaken.

 

[unoriginal]

1st rounders are four years with an option for the fifth.
All other draft picks are four years mandatory.
Any player whose contract expires before three seasons (some UDFAs) is an ERFA, meaning as soon as his current team offers him a new tender, he must sign.
Any player whose contract expires before four seasons is an RFA, and there are contract tiers for that and matching offers etc.

So basically no matter what a club controls a player for four years.

 

[patchick]

I wouldn't let ONE writer's article become the complete gospel of the draft. He doesn't like the TEs, doesn't mean they don't become good to great players in the NFL.

There are always players who surprise. But to be fair to the writer, he's quoting multiple scouts rather than just saying who he likes -- and this is far from the only report saying similar things about this TE class.

 

[dryheat44]

1st rounders are four years with an option for the fifth.
All other draft picks are four years mandatory.
Any player whose contract expires before three seasons (some UDFAs) is an ERFA, meaning as soon as his current team offers him a new tender, he must sign.
Any player whose contract expires before four seasons is an RFA, and there are contract tiers for that and matching offers etc.

So basically no matter what a club controls a player for four years.

Good info. I think I'm still operating under the previous CBA.

 

[IllegalContact]

I'm OK with one of the TE's out of the group of ASJ, Niklas,Amaro

given the pats still have gronk, it's not like this player will be pressured to be the primary or sole producer at this position.....all 3 come with instant ability to help even though neither may be a complete package day 1.

ASJ has been pretty consistent over his career, so I think the attitude issues are overstated.

If I had to choose one of these , it would probably be amaro

later, I think lyerla is worth a shot......too much talent not to, and he can be buried if it doesn't work out.

I also think gator hoskins is worth it because of his productivity.....

 

[varjao]

We still have a need at TE, as of now there are no players to fill this gap by the start of next season.

 

[Major **********]

If I was just looking at the measurables, @ 6-5, 240, 4.65 I would have thought Kelvin Benjamin was listed as a WR by mistake. I wonder if NFL teams would consider using him more as a move TE?

 

[captain stone]

...Very hard to NOT draft a WR this year.

Or better still, sign a couple as UDFAs to replace Kenny the Faller Thompkins, and use the draft picks instead on DE, TE, SS, C/G, OLB & G/T.