Crazy Patriot Guy
In the Starting Line-Up
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2004
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Can we discuss football players and draft picks without resorting to homerism?
Here are just the cold hard facts about the 2019 NFL draft so far this year:
#25 Marquise Brown 326 yards 3 TDs
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#32 N'Keal Harry 0 yards 0 TDs
#45 Joejuan Williams 3 games played 13% defensive snaps, 5 games DNP
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#51 AJ Brown 348 yards 3 TDs
#56 Mecole Hardman 374 yards 4TDs
#64 DK Metcalf 402 yards 4 TDs
#66 Diontae Johnson 296 yards 3 TDs
#76 Terry McLaurin 458 yards 5 TDs
So those are just the facts, man. Which draft picks made bigger impacts this year?
The Patriots wide receiver taken in the 1st round?
Or how about the Patriots cornerback taken early in the 2nd?
Have those later 2nd and 3rd round picks outperformed those earlier draft selections?
This pattern bears out over and over again. New England sucks at drafting WRs and CBs.
The Patriots could have easily traded down and got other players who would have made an impact this year. And if they really, really wanted Harry, they could have traded down from JJ Williams and taken you know, an actually productive wideout?
But the draft isn't about finding the guys that will have the biggest impact in their rookie seasons, and they aren't signed to one year deals.
Malcolm Butler went from not being part of the Super Bowl gameplan in 2014 to being the CB1 the following year. Our defense is historically great right now, but could look very different next season. Williams might play a critical role. As it stands right now, who should be benched to put him on the field?
As for Harry, of course I wish he had been playing before now. But this isn't a case of us passing on all the healthy WRs and we took a guy with a laundry list of past injuries. If I'm not mistaken, the one college game he missed was sitting out the bowl game after he declared for the draft. We didn't ignore red flags and we didn't reach for the guy. Some analysts were saying he'd end up being the best WR from this draft. I hope he plays on Sunday and I hope/expect to see why we took him in round 1. If that's homerism, then I'm guilty.