This really is a fascinating draft.
The Patriots went 14-2, and really had one serious flaw: the worst third-down defense in football. With an inability to generate pressure on the passer, the Pats just couldn't shut teams down on third and long, and relied on supreme offensive performance to win games.
The draft was rated as average in general, but potentially the best ever for 3-4 front seven players, and the Patriots entered with an abundance of picks where those players lay. A perfect match.
And they have simply avoided that fit.
Clearly Belichick reads both the team and the draft significantly differently than most of us.
While some of the early picks were odd, they appear odder as rounds increase.
Solder looks like a solid pick, although probably a player needing some time. But picking him dropped the team out of contention for the top front seven players.
Then another trade out of the first, a pattern now with this team.
Then a trade down yielding value, when other teams were gaining big premiums on the traditional draft chart.
Now a second running back that was presumably drafted now because who knows when teams will be able to sign undrafted players.
A back-up QB is the best value pick of this draft, but a player most of us hope doesn't see the field for the next three years.
A total focus on offense.
Really a surprise.
Echoes of the Meriweather draft class.
Lets look at this from a different angle.
Lets assume in free agency we add a veteran 34 OLB who is a good pass rusher.
We end up with:
DE- Warren, Stroud, Brace, Wright
NT- Wilfork
OLB- FA, Cunningham
ILB- Mayo, Spikes
CB- McCourty, Bodden, Arrington, Butler
S- Chung, Meriwhether, Dowling
What players picked today would you say are a certain upgrade at any of those positions?
In addition we have Guyton, TBC, Ninkovich, Fletcher as LB depth and Sanders, Page, and maybe the kid we picked up off IR as S depth.
There is depth everywhere.
If a pass rushing OLB is added in FA, what picks could have been made that would crack this unit. The only argument really would be DE, and we have Warren who is an excellent 2gap DE, and Stroud who is a stout run stopper in our 2gap.
We have added 2 starting DEs, a starting high caliber corner, and a almost 1st round corner to a defense that was very young, improved dramatically and played very well in the 2nd half of the season.
I will be much happier if the OLB comes in FA than the draft, and then it would make a hell of a lot of sense why we drafter players at offensive positions where we have an aging FA LT, 3 RBs who appear done, and a QB who is 34.