So how do you grade this year’s draft?

[rochrist]

Pats draft ranked #30, ahead of LA & MIA, both of which didn't have a pick until 3rd round (>100).

Why does anyone care what this guy thinks?

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Exactly my point as well. I just made the same point earlier. We could have Travis Jones and Cole strange by just trading down and getting both.

They had plenty of opportunity to get Jones. Jones dropped into the mid to late 3rd round. If they wanted him, it would've been easy as pie. They had a ton of ammunition. Heck, trade the 3rd and the Harris pick, you've got Jones! Obviously, they didn't want him.

Exactly - no-one wanted Travis Jones. All 32 teams passed on T Jones and that is why he fell to the 3rd round.

Winovich fell to the 3rd round and everyone was ecststic the Pats drafted Winovich at such good value. Perkins fell to the 3rd round last year and the Pats were praised for drafting him at such a great value. Right now it looks like both Winovich and Perkins are going to be disappointments.

@patsfanfromoversea talked about Travis Jones. People, including me, wanted a fatty. But thank God we did not draft T Jones in Round 3. Everyone passed on T Jones for a reason, and experts say that means he is a great value. WRONG. After everyone passed over him, we should too. Teams had a concensus which rarely happens, they thought the experts over-rated T Jones. Same applies to N Dean. Let someone else draft the guy who has great value because no-one wanted him where the experts predicted his value. I do not want those guys anymore.

 

[venecol]

Why does anyone care what this guy thinks?

Only the people that care do.

 

[slash83]

They did nothing to beef up a run defense that was bad last season. They did nothing to put speed on the field to actually you know try to force Buffalo into a punt. Yeah I understand they can put more safeties more athletes on the field but like I said, nothing was done to add beef up front to protect those players. So to answer the question, it was a horrible draft.

 

[Patsgofor4]

They did nothing to beef up a run defense that was bad last season. They did nothing to put speed on the field to actually you know try to force Buffalo into a punt. Yeah I understand they can put more safeties more athletes on the field but like I said, nothing was done to add beef up front to protect those players. So to answer the question, it was a horrible draft.

 

[Patsgofor4]

Why does anyone care what this guy thinks?

The same people who are posting bad reviews/grades of the Patriots’ draft would never reference the same sources if the Pats received high marks.

 

[1960Pats]

Local Boston media had their own agenda. Patriots=laughingstock. Mission Accomplished.

The fact that 20 or more other NFL franchises better fit the label is mentioned less than the possibility that Drew Bledsoe wasn't that good after all.

What should be my working title?

The New England Patriots And The False Laughingstock Narrative

A History Of Prejudice Against The New England Patriots

To Local Boston Media: It's Not My Fault You Suck

The New England Patriots' Opponents, The NFL And The Media Are All Full Of Sh*t

Corruption, Racketeering, Fraud & Villainy: The Cornerstones Of Roger Goodell And The National Football League

The New England Patriots Are The Real America's Team


Looks like I may have to publish multiple volumes. I better get to work.

It also looks like the media did it's job with PATSNUTme. He bought the laughingstock story hook, line and sinker. It shows the true power of the press.

These are my favorite titles but they're all pretty good.

A History Of Prejudice Against The New England Patriots

To Local Boston Media: It's Not My Fault You Suck

 

[stcjones]

Yes, Bill might have picked a 6th LB to compete with the others instead of the 3rd best OG in the draft and hoped he was still there at 54. We then could have had one of the defenders instead of a WR.

A lot of drafts/analysts had strange much lower ranked and projected to go late 2nd or more likely 3rd….we shall see…I’m pulling for the kid obviously!

2022 NFL Draft Prospects: Offensive Guard – WalterFootball

walterfootball.com

 

[Nunchucks]

Exactly - no-one wanted Travis Jones. All 32 teams passed on T Jones and that is why he fell to the 3rd round.

Winovich fell to the 3rd round and everyone was ecststic the Pats drafted Winovich at such good value. Perkins fell to the 3rd round last year and the Pats were praised for drafting him at such a great value. Right now it looks like both Winovich and Perkins are going to be disappointments.

@patsfanfromoversea talked about Travis Jones. People, including me, wanted a fatty. But thank God we did not draft T Jones in Round 3. Everyone passed on T Jones for a reason, and experts say that means he is a great value. WRONG. After everyone passed over him, we should too. Teams had a concensus which rarely happens, they thought the experts over-rated T Jones. Same applies to N Dean. Let someone else draft the guy who has great value because no-one wanted him where the experts predicted his value. I do not want those guys anymore.

I am not so sure I am on board with this logic. Travis Jones is a niche player and many teams already have a guy like him. Patriots don't and apparently believe they don't need one, despite suck8ng against the run last year

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

Here's my take on draft grades. Since 2015, Mel Kiper's draft grades for the Baltimore Ravens are:
2015 A-
2016 A
2017 B
2018 A-
2019 B+
2020 A
2021 B+
2022 A

2015-2021 results: 3 playoff seasons, 4 non-playoff seasons, 1 playoff win.

Kiper grew up north of Baltimore and still lives there….hometown bias a little…

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

Did you even read the article linked? When Mcvay apologized for laughing at the Strange pick on draft night he said the Rams were interested in Strange. But they were interested as he said out loud at pick #104. The Rams never had Strange evaluated as a 1st round pick, they were hoping to get him in the 3rd or 4th round.

That's not to say they didn't like him, they did, or they wouldn't have done their homework, but they weren't looking to take him anywhere in the neighborhood of pick #29 which is what the Patriots did. A move so shocking they commented out loud in response. I know BB's cadre of defenders is up in arms. But it is what it is. Rams and Pats had different evaluations on Strange's value. What happened happened. A reach is still a reach, but the Pats were afraid to 'lose their guy' so they took Strange in round 1. The Pats got their guy, other coaches and GMs around the NFL were shocked.

Let me give you an example maybe you can understand. I really like the Marcus Jones pick. I think he's going to be a good player for us. But he was taken around where he should be, in the 3rd round. I'm glad he's on the team. Would I have spent a 1st round pick on him, no, it wouldn't even enter into my mind. That's kind of the feeling I get for how the Rams felt when Strange went in the 1st.

The rams didn’t have a pick until the 3rd, at 104, and they took a guard.

 

[ausbacker]

The rams didn’t have a pick until the 3rd, at 104, and they took a guard.

The Rams assessment is irrelevant given their draft position. Houston is a dumpster fire, their GM was groomed in BB's system and with their second pick, they took a guard, what's not to say BB didn't fear them having a similar grade on Strange and double dipping at the position?

I won't lie, the Pats "overdrafting"players according to conventional wisdom does irk me some however, why do I care what someone in the media thinks when those who should know what they want for their system work at the actual coalface not under the bright lights?

The Pats told us they'd be targeting speed/athleticism and as drafts go, they didn't lie.

 

[RodThePat]

I'm going to grade it in the only way I can grade any draft, by measuring draft capital expended in relation to what I thought were the team's biggest needs in order of positional value. I went into this draft with the thought that the Patriots needed, in order: talent at outside CB, talent at LB, talent at edge rusher and an interior OL starter. Considering they allocated the most draft capital in the position of need I value the least and didn't draft a single linebacker or edge rusher in the first two days of the draft, I'm going to give it a C+ because I like the corners they selected, even if they project more at the star than outside and I like the added dimension Thornton's speed can give this offense. Really didn't want to go into this season with Butler and Mills at the perimeter, or a bunch of unknowns at linebacker, but here we are.

 

[1960Pats]

Wow, Bill's taking a beating here. I'm surprised.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

The Rams assessment is irrelevant given their draft position. Houston is a dumpster fire, their GM was groomed in BB's system and with their second pick, they took a guard, what's not to say BB didn't fear them having a similar grade on Strange and double dipping at the position?

I won't lie, the Pats "overdrafting"players according to conventional wisdom does irk me some however, why do I care what someone in the media thinks when those who should know what they want for their system work at the actual coalface not under the bright lights?

The Pats told us they'd be targeting speed/athleticism and as drafts go, they didn't lie.

The Pats have their own board. Most teams have a board of 120-130 players, but the Pats' board is reportedly much smaller - around 80 or so players. And they order the players based on their own scouting reports, not on what Mel Kiper thinks. So the Pats may not be overdrafting vis a vis their own draft board.

 

[yukon cornelius]

Only the people that want their opinion validated do.

fixed it for you

 

[Uptown]

The only highly trivial move in the draft was BB/Groh not drafting QB Carson Strong. We would’ve been 2 Strongs/4 Joneses/ 2 Harris’/ 2 Davis’ deep. Depth, value & deception. Gotta think age is taking a toll on him..

 

[Username]

I like the players we took but I'm concerned we did nothing to address our porous run defense. It's all well and good playing safeties in the linebacker positions to get quicker but there's no one there who can stop the run, except Bentley who's slow as a week in jail. Also we're putting a lot of eggs in a very brittle, injury prone basket with McGrone, Peppers and Wilson.

Hopefully Godchaux improves and Henry Anderson can contribute, otherwise we'll get run all over again

 

[Pape]

2 Strongs

Strange

 

[upstater1]

19 out of 32 draft picks from 4 years ago had their options picked up. That's gotta mean those were bad picks, even if several can play. But not for the value they were picked at.

Something to keep in mind while looking at the players passed over in the first round. Don't get me wrong, Strange may not pan out and he may not have his option picked up, but all these players we wanted other than him? 50% or more (because late in the first round) won't pan out either.