So how do you grade this year’s draft?

[Uptown]

Strange, Strong & Zappe all played their best against FBS opponents. Basically, when they had to step up & perform against top competition, they all flourished. Some played more FBS opponents than others, but they all shined; particularly Zappe.

 

[upstater1]

Kansas City's complete 2022 draft class​

Round/Pick	Name	Pos	College
1/21	Trent McDuffie	CB	Washington
1/30	George Karlaftis	DE	Purdue
2/54	Skyy Moore	WR	Western Michigan
2/62	Bryan Cook	S	Cincinnati
3/103	Leo Chenal	ILB	Wisconsin

It's a strong class. I wouldn't have traded out of that 3rd round spot we had even with the great trade value since Chenal was available. A big ast guy like Chenal seems like a prototypical Patriot.

 

[50-yard-line]

Kansas City's complete 2022 draft class​

Round/Pick	Name	Pos	College
1/21	Trent McDuffie	CB	Washington
1/30	George Karlaftis	DE	Purdue
2/54	Skyy Moore	WR	Western Michigan
2/62	Bryan Cook	S	Cincinnati
3/103	Leo Chenal	ILB	Wisconsin

Could be a great draft, could be a good draft.

McDuffie looks like a hit. He's got all the tools. Consensus 1st Rounder - surprised the Pats didn't take him at 21.

Karlaftis is more like Strange. He should be good and has a high floor. But he needs to get better against the run.

Skyy Moore is a guy who fits more with the way the Pats play than with the speed show in KC. Weird, but I would have expected the two picks, Moore and Thornton, to be reversed! Good player.

Bryan Cook looks like a poor man's Honey Badger. Another good pick.

Leo Chenal is boom or bust.

This is a really good draft for KC. Not quite on par with New England's...LAST YEAR, but close, in my opinion. I still think KC took a big step back with their FA/trade losses this year. Tyreek Hill in that Andy Reid offense with Mahomes throwing to him was the thing that had them over the top and then some.

 

[upstater1]

I guess I'm triggered by arm chair QBs who claim BB is an idiot and that they can do better (not that the post I responded to took that stance). I work as a Project Manager, responsible for the success of large petrochemical projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars (I'm currently doing two renewable diesel project), which n some ways is not dissimilar to BBs role. I'm the guy who has to make the big decisions and be responsible for them and I always have non-participants (usually accountants) who know nothing about what it takes to successfully complete these types of project question the decisions that are made. And I have seen some of these non-participants find themselves put into a position like mine and they all fall flat on their face when they become the one who has to make the call as they find out it's not easy being the "buck stops here" guy. So while it's easy for arm chair QBs to say they prefer player X over player Y when they don't have to make the call or be responsible for it, I'll give BB the benefit of the doubt because I know what it's like to be sitting in the decision making chair.

You're comparing your job though to something that is entirely different. It's not like Belichick's.

In the NFL the variables are more limited. There are 32 other teams looking at 22 fixed positions on the field. It's limited.

We know from looking at this and past drafts that teams put a premium on certain positions: CB, pass rush, LT, WR & QB. The main criticism is that Belichick went guard when there was a lot of talent available at premium positions.

 

[venecol]

Kansas City's complete 2022 draft class​

Round/Pick	Name	Pos	College
1/21	Trent McDuffie	CB	Washington
1/30	George Karlaftis	DE	Purdue
2/54	Skyy Moore	WR	Western Michigan
2/62	Bryan Cook	S	Cincinnati
3/103	Leo Chenal	ILB	Wisconsin

I would've been happy w/ McDuffie & Skyy Moore at our original #1 & #2 picks. Then get an OL in the 3rd (Parham or Bruss). That would've been 3 solid starters and good value picks.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

If you cannot figure out that Buffalo is the team to beat then I cant help you.

The Bills vs Pats 12/26/21 game had the same pattern. 5 of 8 NE drives lasted less than 2 minutes.

A lot of it is better game planning and preparation.

 

[dex13]

A lot of it is better game planning and preparation.

BB led teams aren't normally short on preparation. They need something other than pound the ball.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

BB led teams aren't normally short on preparation. They need something other than pound the ball.

We need to do better against Buffalo for sure but I wouldn’t panic.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

Not that great a draft. I was upset that they whiffed on Calvin Austin III; that was really bad. They whiffed on Bo Melton also, alas. Last year I was pleased with the draft, but no so much this year...Time will tell, but I am excited about Thornton, the two Jones, and Strong so maybe they will make up for the whiffs.

 

[Triumph]

A lot of it is better game planning and preparation.

Execution.

Better blocking to give Jones time.
A bonified down field threat.

Buffalo has the Pats number. They play their defense close to the LOS because they do not respect the Pats passing game. By the time a NE player gains separation its too late.

 

[upstater1]

I have to say that a couple days later I'm still really disappointed in the Strange pick, but I'm totally on board with the Thornton pick. You slap a Bama uniform on that guy and he's top 10. It means something that he played with a pretty bad QB and that he was on his 3rd coach while at Baylor.

On the flip side, I never trust offensive players from the B12 because they don't play defense in that conference.

I hope he's more Brandin Cooks than he is a Corey Coleman.

BTW, the Patriots have 2 of the fastest WRs in the NFL in Thornton and Algholor.

When you realize that we have Parker, Algholor, Henry, Jonnu, Bourne, Thornton and Meyers, it's no wonder that Jakob Johnson was not signed.

Hopefully we have a very diverse offense this year, with some empty backfields as well.

We now have 7 solid players which is maybe more than Brady ever had outside of 2010-2013.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I'll give it a ?+.

IF Strange is a Day 1 starter and turns into a quality IOL...
IF Thornton can play well enough to allow them to move on from Agholor without missing a beat...
IF Marcus Jones does well returning/Slot CB...

Then it's an A.

IF 2 of the above, and nothing else, then B. If one of the above, then C.
IF 2 of the above and one of the others hits, then A.

Basically, 3 hits is an A, 2 a B, 1 a C, none is a SMH.

I wanted to mangle Kipling's "If" to make it more about the draft, in honor of your approach in this post, but Kipling's "If" was, it appears, written specifically with the draft in mind (although that business with filling every minute with 60 seconds of effort could clearly be more of a "60 minutes" (game clock) reference, or perhaps 4.28 seconds...)

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

 

[50-yard-line]

I have to say that a couple days later I'm still really disappointed in the Strange pick, but I'm totally on board with the Thornton pick. You slap a Bama uniform on that guy and he's top 10. It means something that he played with a pretty bad QB and that he was on his 3rd coach while at Baylor.

On the flip side, I never trust offensive players from the B12 because they don't play defense in that conference.

I hope he's more Brandin Cooks than he is a Corey Coleman.

BTW, the Patriots have 2 of the fastest WRs in the NFL in Thornton and Algholor.

Could be three with a flip of Harry for Isabella, if speed is the metric being used.

Give Harry and a 6th for Isabella and a 7th - Pats basically RECEIVE about $700k on the CAP for the price of a 1-round, late-round drop.

That's worst case, even if Isabella doesn't make the team.

Cards worst case is moving up a round for under a million $. Both teams get rid of players they don't want and who don't want to be their.

Makes too much sense.

 

[mgteich]

C+

I don't know why they needed to draft two RB'. The only drafted one DT and in the later rounds and made a bunch of head-scratching moves. It wasn''t a disaster but only just. They must rate their own players VERY highly. We shall see...I suppose.

whining about a 6th rounder is normal, I guess.

We took a flyer on a developmental RB because we are likely to lose White and Harris after the season.

 

[50-yard-line]

I wanted to mangle Kipling's "If" to make it more about the draft, in honor of your approach in this post, but Kipling's "If" was, it appears, written specifically with the draft in mind (although that business with filling every minute with 60 seconds of effort could clearly be more of a "60 minutes" (game clock) reference, or perhaps 4.28 seconds...)

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

I'll take that as a compliment.

 

[mgteich]

Seems like they are drafting only guys with the best stats; fastest, highest, most, etc…I hope it pans out!

hmm

In other years, the complaint is that the patriots ignore stats.

 

[mgteich]

When you realize that we have Parker, Algholor, Henry, Jonnu, Bourne, Thornton and Meyers, it's no wonder that Jakob Johnson was not signed.

Hopefully we have a very diverse offense this year, with some empty backfields as well.

and add White

 

[oldrover]

I'll go with misquoting Shakespeare:

Day-after-draft criticisms are but tales, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

hmm

In other years, the complaint is that the patriots ignore stats.

Elsewhere on here I played with the idea that there might be some passive aggression at play.... "Oh you call my "slow" receivers head scratchers? okay fine here is my receiver who runs sub-4.3.... am I doing it right now, Mr. Kraft?"

Scarier: "You know what Bill I am so tired of dealing with you. Get me the fastest RB and the fastest receiver then we'll talk about whether it's rocket science. And even if it is, that's Patricia's job"

 

[TheRainMaker]

I like the speed they got on offense. I could see Strong and Marcus Jones on kickoffs.

Only complaint is they didn’t address the front 7. Their D-line and LB’s are among the worst in the league and get exposed against good teams. I now expect Bill to sign Akiem Hicks and/or Trey Flowers. We’re probably stuck with the LB’s they have.