The NFL Draft, Day 1, Round 1, thread

[BradyFTW!]

Many considered Dowling a top 15 guy before his injury-plagued senior year. I've seen Easley mentioned as a top 10 guy had he not gotten injured, so both guys were available approximately 20 picks later due to their injuries. Seems pretty comparable to me.

Makes sense to me, Dowling was a physical freak. I still think he would have been a very good player if not for the hip injury in his rookie year. Hopefully Easley isn't another guy like that whose body/playing style just merges in a crappy way where he gets hurt a lot. In a weird way, I'd rather have a guy playing on two reconstructed ACLs than someone who deals with a variety of nagging, unrelated injuries in the Dowling/Amendola/potentially Marqise Lee mold. Neither is ideal, by a long shot, but I have an easier time seeing a future where a guy like Easley is relatively injury free.

 

[stumeister]

I'm sure it is out there, I just have not found it yet. What is Easley's injury prognosis.


I am just concerned about drafting another guy who has recently had a significant injury. At the rate things are going the Pats won't need a team bus they will need an ambulance instead.

 

[Deus Irae]

Which tight end are you looking for? Niklas?

None of the TEs blow me away, so I'm not hung up on any particular one. This is not a good year to need TEs. If they got Martin and Fiedorowicz, I'd consider that a win. If they got Niklas and Martin, I'd have considered that probably the best case scenario before the team took the injury prone Easley in round one. Now, with his injury history, I'm finding it difficult to get up for a TE with concussion issues as a follow up.

At this point, I'd prioritize center over TE.


As an aside, I'd also give the Bills a call and see what it would take to pry Steve Johnson loose.

 

[patchick]

None of the TEs blow me away, so I'm not hung up on any particular one. This is not a good year to need TEs. If they got Martin and Fiedorowicz, I'd consider that a win. If they got Niklas and Martin, I'd have considered that probably the best case scenario before the team took the injury prone Easley in round one.

Are you after Marcus Martin or Kareem Martin? (The best Martin, Zach, is already off the board!)

Assuming it's Marcus, I don't see him as a day-2 talent. He's a poor athlete and is always described as a "raw project" despite starting 33 games for a major program.

 

[Uncle Rico]

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter 21s
Filed to ESPN: 49ers trading a conditoonal 2015 4th-round pick to Buffalo for WR Stevie Johnson, per sources. Pick can become a 3rd.

 

[Deus Irae]

Are you after Marcus Martin or Kareem Martin? (The best Martin, Zach, is already off the board!)

Assuming it's Marcus, I don't see him as a day-2 talent. He's a poor athlete and is always described as a "raw project" despite starting 33 games for a major program.

Marcus, but center is like TE this year. It's more about it being a need position than about specific individuals. These are positions, IMO, that should have been fixed in free agency, but weren't.

 

[Deus Irae]

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter 21s
Filed to ESPN: 49ers trading a conditoonal 2015 4th-round pick to Buffalo for WR Stevie Johnson, per sources. Pick can become a 3rd.

Win for SF

 

[VrabelJr]

I'm almost certain the cream of the crop TE of this draft is going to be some super athletic guy taken in the 6th round from a school with an awful QB that couldn't/didn't get him the ball.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter 21s
Filed to ESPN: 49ers trading a conditoonal 2015 4th-round pick to Buffalo for WR Stevie Johnson, per sources. Pick can become a 3rd.

Yikes, that stings on two levels. The primary being that, if that was his price, I would've been happy with the Pats paying it (although if the Pats had made the same offer, the Bills would've just gone with the 49ers anyway rather than trade him in division).

 

[patchick]

Marcus, but center is like TE this year. It's more about it being a need position than about specific individuals. These are positions, IMO, that should have been fixed in free agency, but weren't.

I didn't see the solution at center available in free agency, either, unfortunately. But IMO Richburg is the best center prospect in the draft, and I'd also take Swanson and maybe Urschel over M. Martin.

 

[patchick]

I'm almost certain the cream of the crop TE of this draft is going to be some super athletic guy taken in the 6th round from a school with an awful QB that couldn't/didn't get him the ball.

There was a good reason that super-athletic guy's awful QB couldn't get him the ball: he was playing defense. His name is Larry Webster, BTW.

 

[BradyFTW!]

I'm almost certain the cream of the crop TE of this draft is going to be some super athletic guy taken in the 6th round from a school with an awful QB that couldn't/didn't get him the ball.

And who played basketball, is super tall, and boxes out his his guy when he's going up for a catch. And the guy who explains this when he's drafted is going to act like he just reinvented the wheel by observing it.

 

[condon84]

Obviously both dealt with injuries.

But Ras-I was a big reach. Easley has loads of talent. That makes a pretty significant difference between the two IMO.

I recall Ras-I was also projected to be a first rounder until the injuries happened. I also recall posters who are posting singing the tune that Easley would have been a higher first round pick before the injury singing the same tune when Ras-I was picked.

 

[manxman2601]

There was a good reason that super-athletic guy's awful QB couldn't get him the ball: he was playing defense. His name is Larry Webster, BTW.

My money's on Blake Annen. and Annen probably has the athletic edge. Webster slightly more explosive, Annen is faster and quicker and has shown himself to be a good blocker.

 

[patchick]

There was a good reason that super-athletic guy's awful QB couldn't get him the ball: he was playing defense. His name is Larry Webster, BTW.

And who played basketball, is super tall, and boxes out his his guy when he's going up for a catch. And the guy who explains this when he's drafted is going to act like he just reinvented the wheel by observing it.

As I was saying...

 

[sb1]

Win for SF

And the Pats. Stevie Johnson has a lot of success against Revis for some reason....

 

[manxman2601]

I recall Ras-I was also projected to be a first rounder until the injuries happened. I also recall posters who are posting singing the tune that Easley would have been a higher first round pick before the injury singing the same tune when Ras-I was picked.

And they're two different people.

 

[BradyFTW!]

I recall Ras-I was also projected to be a first rounder until the injuries happened. I also recall posters who are posting singing the tune that Easley would have been a higher first round pick before the injury singing the same tune when Ras-I was picked.

And they were equally right then. Let's just hope that it works out differently this time.

 

[Nunchucks]

I think the comparison to ras-i ire accurate.

 

[patchick]

And they were equally right then. Let's just hope that it works out differently this time.

Yep, there are several ways to draft a player with an elite combination of skills, drive and athleticism:

1. Draft higher than the Patriots usually do. (See: Mayo, Solder, McCourty, Jones)
2. Shop from the "slight irregulars" bin. (See: Gronkowski)
3. Adopt a problem child. (See: Hernandez)
4. Build your dream player from raw materials. (See: Neal, Edelman)
5. Spectacular luck!

#1 is the surest path, but it wasn't available this year. #4 & 5 are total crapshoots. That leaves #2 and 3, and the advantage of #2 is that succeed or fail, an injury risk isn't likely to mess with your lockerroom chemistry or give your whole organization a black eye.

So the Patriots have done some big-ticket shopping in the scratches & dents department. Between Gronkowski & Dowling they're 1 for 2 in the 2nd round, which is solid. Here's hoping Easley makes it 2 for 3.