We could have drafted a LT who might have started in 2025

[Wozzy]

So would we all. They were gone by Pick 20. Apparently, we tried to trade up for Guyton but had to settle for Polk, Wallace and Baker instead. It would have taken those picks to get Guyton, and the rumors are that the deal couldn't bd made.

Yes, we certainly could have taken a flyer in the 2nd, but blue chippers were long gone.

Patrick Paul, Kingsley Suamataia and my analysis from months ago are making this take of yours look foolish.

Probably a good time to not double down on wrong and take your L.

 

[dex13]

"Give me Moss and Ochocinco and I'll put up 35 points a game": Tom Brady. Never mentioned Offensive lineman!

but didnt he used to buy them high end watches each year....heard he also gave them Uggs but not sure if i would call that a gift.

 

[Wozzy]

Let's wait for 6 weeks and then evaluate the season. Everyone knows our cupboard is barren. A 2nd round LT is not suddenly going to make this team a world beater.

Wallace and this Demontrey Jacobs kid might develop into solid starting tackles at some point this season…. maybe not.

A stud instant starter rookie tackle could have solidified one side, better free agent choices could have solidified the other side and provided depth.

This same exact team we have now with a good/great offensive line is a competitive team right now. It might incentivize the coaches to start Maye sooner.

“Wait until next season” is the perennial loser’s lament.

 

[JohnJH]

Yeah, but that's very easy to look at every draft in hindsight and say we could've had him and him and him and him. Very easy to do. Meanwhile between Harry and Metcalf, you had 5 WRs who were busts.

My big thing over the last several years is that the defense was in worse shape than the offense. We were old and slow (remember the Buffalo Bills game with no punts from Buffalo?). We spent 2 drafts addressing that deficiency and now it's largely fixed (especially if Barmore comes back).

Yep. We not only NEED a 100% healthy Barmore back, but they still need some more young talent and talented depth on the defense (especially another gem on the DL). Gonzo becoming a shutdown corner (and a solid #2 next to him and a solid slot guy as J.J. is 31) would also help a great deal.

 

[upstater1]

Yep. We not only NEED a 100% healthy Barmore back, but they still need some more young talent and talented depth on the defense (especially another gem on the DL). Gonzo becoming a shutdown corner (and a solid #2 next to him and a solid slot guy as J.J. is 31) would also help a great deal.

I agree, you always need the future there, but you have the luxury of going for pieces later in the draft once you've addressed it. This is precisely why I think they made mistakes in this year's draft. When they didn't have the top WR they wanted at the 34th pick, they should've looked at LTs instead. That would give them the luxury of not reaching next year.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Prioritizing WR over offensive tackle.

I don’t think that was a “ plan,” I think it was the result of circumstances. Like most team’s they have tiers of players, and as the board falls on draft day they adapt to those circumstances. They needed both LT and WR, and when the LT’s they had rated above the WR’s disappeared they adjusted to that, went WR in the 2nd, and then back to Tackle in the 3rd. Others probably had different tiers and ratings, but that’s how most teams manage the draft.

 

[Wozzy]

I don’t think that was a “ plan,” I think it was the result of circumstances. Like most team’s they have tiers of players, and as the board falls on draft day they adapt to those circumstances. They needed both LT and WR, and when the LT’s they had rated above the WR’s disappeared they adjusted to that, went WR in the 2nd, and then back to Tackle in the 3rd. Others probably had different tiers and ratings, but that’s how most teams manage the draft.

Nah, they wanted the guy Buffalo took, traded back and still took a WR. Wolf was about to screw is over and overpay Ridley and Aiyuk. He is obsessed with shiny hood ornaments. It was WR or bust….

 

[mgteich]

Nah, they wanted the guy Buffalo took, traded back and still took a WR. Wolf was about to screw is over and overpay Ridley and Aiyuk. He is obsessed with shiny hood ornaments. It was WR or bust….

hmm

I think that we needed WR's.

 

[pats99]

The problem is that we had so many holes to fill, we really could not do it all. There's that and there's is also the issue of value at your draft position. I don't think that just picking the best available player at your position of need regardless of value is necessarily the correct move. This was always going to be a multi-year rebuild. I was hoping they would be more agressive in free agency to fill some of those holes especially since they had money under the cap. But that did not pan because <fill-in-your-reason-here>

 

[Huckleberry1]

Nah, they wanted the guy Buffalo took, traded back and still took a WR. Wolf was about to screw is over and overpay Ridley and Aiyuk. He is obsessed with shiny hood ornaments. It was WR or bust….

Couldn’t disagree more.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

In any case, we're here:

 

[Wozzy]

hmm

I think that we needed WR's.

BIG WR – KJ Osborn, Jalynn Polk, Javon Baker, Kawaan Baker, Kendrick Bourne,
FAST WR – Tyquan Thornton, Jalen Reagor, Matt Landers,
SLOT WR – Demario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, David Wallis,

After cutting Juju, they still had too many damn WR's and not a single tackle. You share in Wolf’s affliction.

 

[Wozzy]

Couldn’t disagree more.

It’s historical fact, not opinion.

 

[Huckleberry1]

It’s historical fact, not opinion.

That’s complete ********, you keep pretending you have these deep insights into the processes going on inside Patriots place, when in fact it’s just what you want to believe. You have no idea how their draft board was set up, and are merely using generic ratings and your opinion to pretend you are citing “ facts.”

 

[Huckleberry1]

The problem is that we had so many holes to fill, we really could not do it all. There's that and there's is also the issue of value at your draft position. I don't think that just picking the best available player at your position of need regardless of value is necessarily the correct move. This was always going to be a multi-year rebuild. I was hoping they would be more agressive in free agency to fill some of those holes especially since they had money under the cap. But that did not pan because <fill-in-your-reason-here>

There were a number of reasons they couldn’t do much in the high end of free agency, but they did pretty good when it came to keeping the players they wanted to keep, and bolstered the middle of the roster.

1) Teams across the league got a late expansion of the salary cap, which allowed them to keep their most important players who were hitting free agency.

2) They sucked in 23’. Players tend to go for the money, but they also don’t want to go to the worst team’s in the league, and there is no denying they were one of the worst team’s in football last season, and are projected to repeat that in 24’.

3) Uncertainty at QB. Free agency obviously pre dates the draft, and at free agents, especially offensive skill positions that want to go to a good offense, we’re looking at a terrible QB situation, and the worst offense in football in general. This could change significantly next offseason if Maye plays well when he gets on the field later this year.

4) Personal preference. Whether it’s the location, weather, or taxes, the odds don’t favor the Patriots when it comes to these factors influencing final decisions. The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of players come from somewhere other than New England, and it will always be tougher to get players from warm weather locales to go play outside in an area of the country where they will freeze their asses off both on and off the field. And the tax situation in Mass.obviously doesn’t help any, as it obviously reduces the value of the deal being offered in relation to the same $$$ being offered elsewhere.

Regardless of these disadvantages the Patriots front office has to be able to overcome them going forward. They can’t do anything about the personal presences, but it looks like they have addressed the most important issue for the other factors by getting what should be their franchise QB in the draft. If true their offense will improve dramatically in coming seasons, and skill players will want to come play here. This obviously also addresses the suck factor, as having a franchise QB should help turn them back into a successful franchise.

As far as taxes go they will have to adapt their free agency offers to offset tax losses, as there is no other mechanism to manage that issue.

 

[archstanton543]

There were a number of reasons they couldn’t do much in the high end of free agency, but they did pretty good when it came to keeping the players they wanted to keep, and bolstered the middle of the roster.

1) Teams across the league got a late expansion of the salary cap, which allowed them to keep their most important players who were hitting free agency.

2) They sucked in 23’. Players tend to go for the money, but they also don’t want to go to the worst team’s in the league, and there is no denying they were one of the worst team’s in football last season, and are projected to repeat that in 24’.

3) Uncertainty at QB. Free agency obviously pre dates the draft, and at free agents, especially offensive skill positions that want to go to a good offense, we’re looking at a terrible QB situation, and the worst offense in football in general. This could change significantly next offseason if Maye plays well when he gets on the field later this year.

4) Personal preference. Whether it’s the location, weather, or taxes, the odds don’t favor the Patriots when it comes to these factors influencing final decisions. The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of players come from somewhere other than New England, and it will always be tougher to get players from warm weather locales to go play outside in an area of the country where they will freeze their asses off both on and off the field. And the tax situation in Mass.obviously doesn’t help any, as it obviously reduces the value of the deal being offered in relation to the same $$$ being offered elsewhere.

Regardless of these disadvantages the Patriots front office has to be able to overcome them going forward. They can’t do anything about the personal presences, but it looks like they have addressed the most important issue for the other factors by getting what should be their franchise QB in the draft. If true their offense will improve dramatically in coming seasons, and skill players will want to come play here. This obviously also addresses the suck factor, as having a franchise QB should help turn them back into a successful franchise.

As far as taxes go they will have to adapt their free agency offers to offset tax losses, as there is no other mechanism to manage that issue.

Mayo's a rookie head coach. He hasn't coached college or anything like that. That could also turn some players off to playing here. He has no record of success as a head coach (as a de facto defensive coordinator, sure, but not as a HC).

 

[upstater1]

As far as taxes go they will have to adapt their free agency offers to offset tax losses, as there is no other mechanism to manage that issue.

It's easily addressed and the money is so minor. It's not a big deal at all really.

I did the math on this this and was really surprised at how low the differences are. I compared Aiyuk's salary to Pittsburgh, San Fran and the Patriots. The differences were minor.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Yep. We not only NEED a 100% healthy Barmore back, but they still need some more young talent and talented depth on the defense (especially another gem on the DL). Gonzo becoming a shutdown corner (and a solid #2 next to him and a solid slot guy as J.J. is 31) would also help a great deal.

And we could have signed a couple of young guys on D in the 2024 FA class and concentrated on offense in the 2025 draft. No idea why we didn't. No idea why we want to carry over $50M in FA dollars when we have so much FA space available in 2025 and 2026 already.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

There were a number of reasons they couldn’t do much in the high end of free agency, but they did pretty good when it came to keeping the players they wanted to keep, and bolstered the middle of the roster.

There were lots of great options in FA on the defensive side of the ball. If we only look to improve the offense, the defense will slip. We should have signed defensive FAs this year and concentrated on offense in next year's draft. Team building should be continuous on both sides of the ball, not stop and start. If we pick the best fits in FA and the draft on both sides of the ball for 3 years straight, we will have a lot of great choices. If we save cap space and try to pick all the players we want in one big FA signing year, we are only limiting our options. Additionally it is better to continuously integrate players into our offensive and defensive philosophies, not try to teach a bunch of new players all at one time.

 

[Wozzy]

That’s complete ********, you keep pretending you have these deep insights into the processes going on inside Patriots place, when in fact it’s just what you want to believe. You have no idea how their draft board was set up, and are merely using generic ratings and your opinion to pretend you are citing “ facts.”

I never claimed to have deep insights into anything.

This is just you being salty you were wrong months ago and now our offensive tackles suck.