UDFA tracker

[maineman209]

I would think there was little demand for most of the Pats UDFA. For example, only 3 were ranked by CBS with Atkins the highest at 252 (they ranked 379 players).

CBS had Breeland Speaks ranked #116 - He was selected at #46.

They had Justin Jones ranked #168 - went at #84, and Bilal Nichols ranked #316 - drafted at #145.

You can go through any pre-draft big board, including CBS, and find as many as a half dozen prospects at each and every position who were drafted way higher (or lower) than they were ranked and/or projected. Those rankings reveal nothing about how teams perceive prospects or about what the demand might be for a given prospect.

It doesn't seem reasonable to me to conclude that any team's UDFAs weren't in demand after the draft simply because of where someone's big board had them ranked.

 

[DaBruinz]

The 40 was pretty terrible, to be sure.

His 10 yard split and jumps are more indicative of the short area explosion that shows up in games. His broad jump was good, vert was average, and 10 yard was average. He might just be a poor sprinter. Technique alone can make .1 difference easily in testing, and that would put him in very good territory. I try not to get too caught up in numbers, although it does make a nice cut off to eliminate players who don't have a draftable grade -- when drafting I want to go for the more sure thing.

Colvin, Nink, Vrable, Jones, Flowers, Wise: all ran in the 4.9+ range. While Harris doesn't have the same size, his pass rush technique is pretty good. He could still be a productive player, even though UDFA is accurate value.

Ninkovich ran a 4.93 at the Combine, but ran a 4.8 at his Pro Day
Chandler Jones ran a 4.87 with the electric timer at the Combine (4.77 on the handheld).
Trey Flowers ran a 4.93 on the ET, but a 4.87 (HH) at the Combine and a 4.85 (HH) at his Pro-Day.

Harris' run of 5.03 was on the handheld.. Meaning it is more likely he was slower..

Like I said, he play's faster than he times..

 

[mgteich]

I believe that the players count upon selection, and they are counted against the cap at minimum pay until they are signed.

Adding the Pats 9 draft picks:

ISAIAH WYNN
SONY MICHEL
DUKE DAWSON
JA'WHAUN BENTLEY
CHRISTIAN SAM
BRAXTON BERRIOS
DANNY ETLING
KEION CROSSEN
RYAN IZZO

... and all 9 of the reported UDFA signings:

FRANK HERRON
JC JACKSON
RALPH WEBB
SHANE WIMANN
JOHN ATKINS
CHRIS LACY
TRENT HARRIS
COREY BOJORQUEZ
AJ MOORE

... to the existing roster, I get a total of 92 - two over the maximum.

So, I'm guessing that a couple of those "signings" were actually signed as TRYOUTS, which don't count against the roster limit.

Unless I've misunderstood @Miguel , there's been a change to how draftees are counted against the 90-man limit:

In the past, draftees didn't count as being on the roster until they'd actually signed their contracts (thus allowing a team to sign a couple "extra" UDFAs, temporarily). Apparently, draftees now count as soon as they're selected.

 

[mgteich]

I really like Allen, a lot. However, this is his contract year. Belichick will assess choices, and either replace Allen or extend him.

How do you rank a punter?

Allen has nothing to worry about, he has played really well for the Patriots.

 

[Urgent]

What You Should Know About Patriots’ New Crop Of Undrafted Free Agents

Interesting.
Cornerback JC Jackson was dismissed from Florida following an arrest for home invasion robbery. He was tried and acquitted.
DT Frank Herron was suspended three times during his college career.

Looking at players with a shot:
RB Ralph Webb reportedly received a big $70K signing bonus, so he should get a shot. But a really deep RB group, where the Patriots probably cannot keep Hill, Gillislee, and Bolden.
CB/S AJ Moore played ST in college, and could be a potential special teams coverage guy.
TE Shane Wimann was a red zone threat, and could compete for a third TE role.
DL Trent Harris was a rotational pass rusher at Miami, and was pretty productive with 8.5 sacks, but at 6-2 240 with 5.02 40 speed he doesn't project to have the athleticism to compete in the NFL.

 

[DaBruinz]

The 28th ranked punter in the NFL, who has a contract up after 2018, has a reason
to be worried.

28th based on what exactly? He was 30th in Gross yards, and 20th in Net yards. You do understand that doesn't mean jack when the offense is making it to the opponent';s side of the field almost every time before they happen to stall..


Official Free Agency 2018

Ryan Allen punted 58 times last year. There were only 4 people who punted less than he did and 3 of them played for Detroit..

13 of 58 were downed. (22.41% - Good for 3rd in the league.
24 of 58 were inside the 20. (41.3% - good for 5th best in the league)
5 were kicked OOB.
3 were Touchbacks. ( Allen was tied for 8th)
14 of them were Fair Caught.
There were 23 returns for 105 yards. That's 4.56 YPR. There were only 2 people better than Allen in terms of YPR. Rigoberto Sanchez of Indy ( 4.21) and Chris Jones of Dallas (4.17).

National Football League Stats - by Player Position | NFL.com

Claiming he cost us field position is showing you don't have the first clue as to what field position actually is.

When you're regularly punting from inside the opposing 50, it's hard to get an average in the HIGH 40's.. There just isn't enough field.. I think that Allen had 1 BAD punt last year.. And it was the only bad punt I can remember him having over the last several years..

 

[maineman209]

DL Trent Harris was a rotational pass rusher at Miami, and was pretty productive with 8.5 sacks, but at 6-2 240 with 5.02 40 speed he doesn't project to have the athleticism to compete in the NFL.

Maybe Harris just had a bad 40. His vertical (32"), long jump (117"), shuttle (4.45) and 3-cone (7.18) are right in line with the other LBs on the Pats roster.

 

[patchick]

Allen has nothing to worry about, he has played really well for the Patriots.

Maybe, but Zoltan Mesko had nothing to worry about until the Pats brought in some UDFA named Allen.

 

[Jimke]

Maybe, but Zoltan Mesko had nothing to worry about until the Pats brought in some UDFA named Allen.

The Patriots have a whole bunch of contracts up after 2018. If they want to
avoid the hassle of free agency next year, one alternative is to replace them
now with a rookie with a brand new contract. Anderson or Bojorquez?

 

[DaBruinz]

Maybe, but Zoltan Mesko had nothing to worry about until the Pats brought in some UDFA named Allen.

People seem to forget that the Patriots WILL have a new punt returner this year. They have several players trying out for the position. They will need numerous punters in camp to give all the different options a chance so that they don't burn out Allen's leg..

Cyrus Jones, Braxton Barrios, and Riley McCarron are youngsters who will be trying out. I wouldn't be surprised to see others as well.
Edelman is someone who is a known commodity, but he provides better value on offense.

 

[TheFlyingWedge]

Surpassing that no undrafted OLB/DE were signed. Have to address that area through trades or free agents.

 

[TheFlyingWedge]

And guess where from

Talk about checking all the boxes. Did he also play LaCrosse?

 

[maineman209]

Surpassing that no undrafted OLB/DE were signed. Have to address that area through trades or free agents.

Well, the current "inventory" for potential OLB/DE types appears to be ...

- Hightower (6030/265)
- Lee (6032/260) - his 2017 snaps were almost equally split between DE and OLB
- T. Flowers (6020/265) - has dropped back to OLB some of the time, at least
- M. Flowers (6025/245) - played mostly OLB last season, sometimes dropping down
- Trent Harris (6016/246) - played mostly on the line in college, but ...?
- Langi (6015/251) - similar history to Harris
- Rivers (6041/248) - last pre-season, he appeared to be playing a number of snaps off-the line
- Van Noy (6030/245) - has played quite a bit outside, though not much on-the-line that I recall

Connor Barwin (6035/256) - is still available as a free agent, AFAIK. Junior Galette (6016/257), maybe. Probably a couple-three others.

Might be a mid-roster player on one of the 3-4 teams who the Pats could trade for.

 

[mgteich]

It seems that 3 of the UDFA's have a good chance to compete for a roster spot (even before any injuries): CB Jackson, RB Webb and DE Harris.

Apparently, the team will be holding tryouts for left footed punters for the next couple of months.

 

[chasa]

e-line that I recall

Connor Barwin (6035/256) - is still available as a free agent, AFAIK. Junior Galette (6016/257), maybe. Probably a couple-three others.

.

Barwin would be a good signing .

Junior Galette is the dude that was whipping a lady on a beach with his belt right? Hard pass.

 

[captain stone]

If JC Jackson weren't signed, this would've been The Worst UDFA class in the Entire league.

 

[maineman209]

 

[DaBruinz]

If JC Jackson weren't signed, this would've been The Worst UDFA class in the Entire league.

Based on what? Your 20 years of being a Sofa Scout and reading interweb reports?

 

[maineman209]

Interesting signing. Warren and Justin Allen are both very athletic for their size (6'2"+/~245 lbs).

 

[maineman209]