Unless the Patriots have other assets to trade, the Cooks deal has sealed Garoppolo's fate

[luuked]

If there are any tea leaves to be read regarding the Cleveland stockpiling of picks, it would suggest, as Deus has already mentioned that Tom Brady is the trade target, and not Jimmy G. I personally think we ride into the season with both quarterbacks. The possibility of trading either of them still exists next year as well. Cleveland has two first rounders next year as well.

This doesn't make any sense at all.

Why would the Browns trade for a QB that can only win now and most probably not in 5-7 years ? What do the Browns have on the roster that Brady can work with ? How long will it take to install an offense that Brady is comfortable with there ?

Brady will not play for another football team in his NFL career. This is not a sentimental homer take but just reasonable thinking.

If you trade a ****ton for Brady you want him to play at his best and for this the entire environment needs to suit him. With all the moving pieces he has had around him to feel comfortable and be able to do what he does best it just doesn't make any sense for him to play anywhere else.

The only exception to that might be the Texans that are essentially Patriots South.

 

[Doctor DDS]

Zero chance that Tom Brady would go to the Browns and be part of a rebuild. If he were to be traded he'd go to a ready now team that only needs a QB to be a contender. (and the 2 teams that make the most sense would be Denver or Houston and there is no way BB trades him to either of them)

 

[Thelonious]

High draft picks are a means of overpaying for potential the fulfillment of which is FAR less certain than fans in their excitement imagine.

Lower draft picks are an economical way of checking out some intriguing possibilities at reasonable cost.

We're fine. We can keep JG, and we should. Sooner or later, Father Time will have his way with our Tommy, and it'll be good to have our Jimmy around. We have him for one more year cheap: THEN, we shall see. I think we can expect our Billy not to be distracted much by sentimentality, nor by the false allure of overpriced top-rounders.

 

[1960Pats]

I love the way you think

This has always been my favorite way to express that thought in a video ...

 

[Bill Lee]

Meanwhile, the Browns have EIGHT picks within the first two rounds between this year and next year

There's a reason why they have all those picks -- the Browns suck, and they've traded away any decent talent they've acquired over the last several years just to get more picks. The Browns will NEED all eight of those picks to hit for them to even get to the playoffs never mind win Super Bowls.

As for the Pats, I think BB's thinking has changed a bit. I think he's shown himself that he can find players like Long, Sheard, Hogan, etc via free agency and he doesn't need to rely on the draft as much as he might in the past, where you end up dealing with players who look good but can't make it in the NFL (Easly is a prime example).

And with the surplus of draft picks the Browns have, this basically means Jimmy G. is as good as gone.....

Absurd. If BB wanted a first round pick more than he wanted Brandin Cooks, he'd still have a first round pick. He's going with someone who has that level of talent and has shown they can make it in the NFL.

BB has let it be known through pretty much every channel he has that JG is an insurance policy that he has every intention of keeping. I'm not sure why people have a problem taking that in.

 

[long distance]

Right now we don't need a draft to restock the roster with young talent, and in a way that's exactly what we've been using the draft for anyway with trades like Allen and Cooks.

It sure looks much like drafting young experienced/proved players entering their prime:

TE: 27 (Allen) for 30 (Bennett)
WR: 23 (Cooks) for 31 (Dola) - Danny might stay but Cooks gets ahead on chart
DE: 25 (Ealy) for 32 (Long)
CB: stays the same but is already extremely young corps
__

The beauty or the genius of this uncanny FA haul is not only that the team is getting younger&better . it adds to the roster the most difficult commodity in todays NFL - very good to elite players in their prime on good value deals.

The big problem with most rosters (incl. Pats) under current league/market rules is that they can have only a few core players in their prime: 8 5M+ deals on average.
On average teams have 2 elite (10M+) + 6 very good contracts (5-10M). That basically means only 8 good players in their prime. They need to find 14 starters and some more rotational players among their draftees and old vets.

BB is doing again something unheard of here: drafting in FA.
The result is again defying the # rule: SB team should get weaker.

Not to mention that he's actually gaining draft picks in the process: 3 for 1
he gave up 1 pick (#32) - in order to get probable 3 comp picks (possibly 2 4th and 1 6-7th) - that would be lost if he'd sign UFAs instead of these trades..

 

[PatsBoy12]

This argument is based on a false premise. Whether you draft a player with a pick, or trade that pick for a player, you are still getting a player. I don't think Belichick is thinking that players must come from trades or must come from the draft. Plus, established players are probably worth more than the crapshoot the draft really is.

Why must the Patriots trade players for more draft picks if they use that draft capital to get players in other ways (i.e. trade)?

I was going to post something similar, but you've said it.

 

[long distance]

BTW - I expect BB to get at least one top pick back (and I don't even mean Jimmy)

 

[maineman209]

Pending what happens with HT, right now (IMHO) the Pats biggest needs in the draft are DE and "lead" RB.

This draft is deep at both positions, and BB doesn't typically look for the "hot rod" types at these positions that other teams prefer, so the prospects BB prefers will likely still be available later anyway. And he has five picks between #72 and #183.

I'm not really sure that the lack of the #32 and #64 matter all that much.

Not to mention the fact that it's currently impossible for BB to draft another "WTF?" DB in the second round.

Meanwhile, the Pats may end up with around $25M-$30M in cap space carried over into 2018 - plenty to franchise JG.

Plus, there's still a slim possibility that the Titans make an offer for Butler that gives the Pats the #18 (the Titans would still have the #5). The Titans have until April 21st to make such an offer.

 

[IllegalContact]

He probably won't even be there but I doubt a Kraft owned team drafts him..

I know ... nobody quite screams 'Lawrence Philips' like this guy

 

[rogerthat]

Jimmy won't be traded, if Brady gets hurt then all these moves will be a waste meaning we would be a Brady injury away from having a tanked season no way in hell is BB is doing all this with JB in mind as taking over if Brady gets hurt, with JG we still have high chance to win a SB with the '17 roster

We are ALWAYS a Brady injury away from a tanked season. Expect Jimmy G to be traded to Cleveland. They have enough picks to give us several and still build their team. Makes too much sense not to do it.

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

We are ALWAYS a Brady injury away from a tanked season. Expect Jimmy G to be traded to Cleveland. They have enough picks to give us several and still build their team. Makes too much sense not to do it.

Smh, tell that to the 9 dudes who flagged my thread with a "disagree"

 

[sb1]

A building team like Cleveland has zero interest in a guy like Brady and the reasons are obvious.

There's only two kinds of teams that would want Tom Brady in a trade. One is a win now all in team who needs a QB like Denver. Another is a team that only wants to get him to sell tickets and get loads of attention- like the Jets. Neither team has anywhere near the draft or player capital to get Brady from us.

He isn't going anywhere.

I wouldn't read the lack of early picks as necessarily the precursor to a Brady or JG trade. As I said before it could be as simple as BB not being impressed with this draft class as much as we think.

 

[PP2]

A building team like Cleveland has zero interest in a guy like Brady and the reasons are obvious.

There's only two kinds of teams that would want Tom Brady in a trade. One is a win now all in team who needs a QB like Denver. Another is a team that only wants to get him to sell tickets and get loads of attention- like the Jets. Neither team has anywhere near the draft or player capital to get Brady from us.

He isn't going anywhere.

I wouldn't read the lack of early picks as necessarily the precursor to a Brady or JG trade. As I said before it could be as simple as BB not being impressed with this draft class as much as we think.

I would argue that BB approaches this just as a savvy investor would approach the market, diversify your investment- stocks, bonds, real estate, etc. He's not going to put all his stock into FA signings. I'm pretty sure that by the time all is said and done, we'll have a solid collection of picks for this draft.

There is a reason he unloaded on the first and second pick. He must be expecting something back. In my experience as far as following this team, he doesn't do anything without having a contingent plan in place.

 

[mitsudriver]

"With the 32nd pick in the 2017 NFL draft the New England Patriots select 23 YEAR OLD Brandin Cooks. WR from New Orleans. "

Does that make people worried about no 1st or 2nd round picks feel better? Is there another name expected to be available at 32 that would be more exciting?

 

[Simpelton]

I think Jimmy is gone. All this is just posturing as bill belichick knows the browns are the only team with enough capital and a team stupid enough he can fleece. I mean the team used a 1st rounder on johnny manziel. Bb wants to take these guys behind the woodshed

Im sure he likes jimmy. But if the browns offer you a trove of #12, 2nd rounders and future first rounders for a guy who played 1 1/2 quarters of meaningfully nfl football you take it

You guys have this narrative stuck in your heads like it's some kind of gospel, and the value we get back keeps gaining with each retelling, I really think the Jimmy G situation isn't going to net you guys a bonanza of this nature.

I hold open the possibility that the Browns will engage some kind of trade for Jimmy G, but the idea of multiple firsts is a draftnik fantasy. he just isn't worth that. He's a good gamble if you're looking for a quarterback, but multiple firsts is something you trade for a playoff-proven veteran, and Jimmy G just isn't this. I'm sorry, he isn't.

In fact at the moment I'd rate his value as less than Matt Cassell's when we traded him for two seconds in 2009. He's more talented than Cassel was at the time, but Cassel had proven more, and had remained healthy and on the field for 16 games. Jimmy G really hasn't had a chance to establish his potential as more than a theoretical thing, and you don't trade multiple firsts for a theory. If you're getting nothing but potential back, keep the picks and draft some potential.

It's especially unlikely to be that kind of massive draft haul the year after the big Brock Osweiler contract. That cautionary tale is still fresh in people's minds and it will affect how much teams are willing to risk (and no doubt about it -- it WOULD be a risk) on Garoppolo.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'm saying that this is BB. When you look at what's been done, one could make the argument that BB is laying the foundation for trading Brady, not JAG.

Bottom line: We can guess, but he throws enough curve balls that guessing is all it will be.

My bottom line: I have NO IDEA what BB will do. He does what HE thinks is best for the team. He is UNPREDICTABLE.

 

[Simpelton]

I would argue that BB approaches this just as a savvy investor would approach the market, diversify your investment- stocks, bonds, real estate, etc. He's not going to put all his stock into FA signings. I'm pretty sure that by the time all is said and done, we'll have a solid collection of picks for this draft.

There is a reason he unloaded on the first and second pick. He must be expecting something back. In my experience as far as following this team, he doesn't do anything without having a contingent plan in place.

Nope.

You are making the classic mistake. You are treating the draft as its own thing. THe draft is not its own thing. The draft is a means to an end and it is in no way to only means to that end.

BB's investor mentality is about building the roster, not the draft. If he can fill out the roster without drafting a single player, and that's the best way to achieve the plan, then that, my friend, is exactly what he's going to do.

Right now draft picks are a bit overinflated in value, the draft is an overhyped asset for a man who knows how to secure good players in other ways, such as FA reclamations and clever trades. SO he's moving the overpriced commodity for pieces that help the team now and getting good value on each exchange and not getting bogged down in the old-fashioned conventional thinking of Thou Shalt Have A First Round Pick -- exactly what a good investor does when an asset is overvalued..

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I'd agree with the preceding EXCEPT that draftniks tell me this is a good, deep draft. IF SO, BB would want to acquire CHEAP long term talent. Portfolio diversification & cap averaging, management.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

I honestly couldnt call it now either way. Team is stacked if ht is retained, sure you could always upgrade here and there with some quality picks but in the scenario of ht re-signing im more than fine having the picks we have.

That said , having the #12 is a huge value. You could turn that into 4-5 picks in round 1/2/higher part of 3. Very hard to turn down.