Haven't been around for a while, but here's a quick and dirty take, with a bit of optimism.
FA and Down the Road (may not all happen before the draft):
- Pats re-sign CB Aqib Talib, WR/PR Julian Edelman, RB LeGarrette Blount, LB Dane Fletcher, DT Sealver Siliga, LS Danny Aiken.
- Brandon Spikes and Ryan Wendell walk in FA
- Pats sign Josh Kline, and re-sign Nick McDonald; Dan Connolly is a cap casualty. Will Svitek would be worth resigning if the Pats can find the $$$
- Pats cut Isaac Sopoaga; Tommy Kelly restructures for lower $$$; Vince Wilfork either restructures or the Pats sign a UFA DT such as Linvale Joseph (Giants)
- Pats sign UFA TE Brandon Pettigrew (Detroit)
Draft
- Pats trade Ryan Mallett to Cleveland for #36 or to Houston for #33. If not now, never, and this is just a mock, so why not?
1. Trent Murphy, DE, Stanford. 6'6" 265#.
I predict Murphy will be a better pro than Jadeveon Clowney, and a perfect fit for the Pats. Chandler Jones played 98.1% of the defensive snaps in 2013 and Rob Ninkovich 95.6%, and that's too much. Andre Carter has nothing yet, Jake Bequette has done nothing in 2 years, and Michael Buchanan is promising but hasn't proven he will be more than a situational player. I see DE as a bigger need than DT once everything gets sorted out. Murphy is a blue collar guy who is a bigger, stronger, faster, more athletic Ninkovich, with incredible toughness and intensity. He'll be a mixture of Chris Long and JJ Watt. Kony Ealy is intriguing, but Murphy will be a stud.
2a. Travis Swanson, OC, Arkansas. 6'4" 318#.
Swanson will be another Alex Mack/Eric Woods, and another perfect fit for the Pats. He has great size, experience, intelligence and athleticism.
2b. Calvin Pryor, S, Louisville. 6'2" 208#.
Pryor is a heavy hitter with decent range, who will complement Devin McCourty nicely. Think Dashon Goldson. Lamarcus Joyner or Kyle Fuller would be nice, too.
3. Richard Rogers, TE/H-Back, Cal. 6'4" 245#.
Rogers is way underrated right now. He's a poor man's Eric Ebron (and not that much poorer), at much better value.
4. Billy Turner, OL, North Dakota St. 6'6" 314#.
Turner can play tackle, but will be a stud at LG in a year or two. He has great size, a mean streak, and good versatility and athleticism. He could be another Mankins. Turner is my top guard prospect along with David Yankey and La'el Collins.
6a (from Philly). Jonathan Dowling, DB, Western Kentucky. 6' 2 1/2" 198#.
Dowling is a big time talent who was recruited to Florida by Urban Meyer, and kicked off for violating team rules. He's been clean for 2 years at Western Kentucky. He can play FS or CB.
6b. Brent Urban, DT/DE, Virginia. 6'7" 295#.
Draftinsider (Tony Pauline's site) rates Urban as a 2nd round talent. He has been the best player on Virginia's defense. He was recruited by Al Groh to play 3-4 DE, but has played mostly 4-3 DT. Urban and Armond Armstead (assuming he recovers and comes back) would provide nice options who can play both inside and outside on the DL.
6 (projected comp). Trey Millard, FB/H-Back, Oklahoma. 6'3" 253#.
I expect James Develin to stick next year, but the Pats could still find room for Millard, who is an all-purpose guy with tremendous versality. He and Rogers will provide what we missed this year with Aaron Hernandez behind bars.
6 (projected comp). De'Anthony Thomas, XB, Oregon. 5'9" 170#.
Thomas' stock has plummeted, but he is great value here and worth a shot. The Pats need an all-purpose backup to Shane Vereen. Thomas will be a nightmare matchup, and is deadly in space. If the Pats wanted a bigger receiving back, UCF's Storm Johnson could be an option here.
7. Logan Thomas, QB, Virginia Tech. 6'6" 254#.
Worth a shot this late. His mechanics are terrible, but the potential is there. If the Pats do trade Mallett they will bring in a low cost veteran backup for TB.
That's my 2 cents worth at this early juncture. BTW, a shout out to Manx (and others) for the outstanding work he's done on the draft board from what little I've seen.
