Well I'm as Confused as Ever.

[BelichickFan]

Eliminating QB, TE, DL as first round picks (although you never know about the latter two with Belichick).

That leaves :

RB - the only way I see a first round RB would be a full time starter who we love and I don't see that out of White, Maroney, Williams or Addai. Not in the first round, anyway.

WR - I would love Holmes but he may not be there. I could also see us waiting for the second round as that's what Belichick seems to like although he is unpredictable (see : Mankins, Logan). I also think that Caldwell has a far better chance to do well than many do although he's far from a lock.

OL - A Center would lock the OL down until 2009 but, again, it's not a Belichick move. Again, though, see : Mankins, Logan. Also we don't know for sure how they feel about Kaczur's long term future.

LB - The other obvious need. But I can't find the right guy to feel for sure it the one we'd want. I'd still like to take a TJ type for run downs leaving Vrabel outside then move Vrabel inside on pass downs with Banta Cain outside for the rush. I think this rotation could work and would be cheap.

DB - How is Harrison and how does the team feel about Scott/Sanders. If the answers are negative, a Safety could be a surprise pick. If not, we're loaded with depth and don't need one. We're also basically locked and loaded with depth at CB but I could see us taking one if we love him for our system.

Depite the so-called "needs" I think this will be a BPA first round more than ever before since Belichick arrived. I think we can fill the LB/WR needs in rounds 2-5 and round 1 will be the chance to get a difference maker at almost any position. Who ? Hell if I know.

 

[ayjackson]

i agree that i the only spot for DB is the first round...i think we've got plenty of depth there and the only was we draft is if they see someone as a difference maker who could start right away, or midseason...the only other possible scenario for drafting db is if they find a SS dropping into the late third or fourth round, who they rated much higher, and can afford to make the selection....so who are our possible first round selections? can we list them?

 

[PATRIOTS-80]

Special Teamer maybe in the 1st round? Moss perhaps? Moss would be a SHOCKER. A PR/KR man who is a great slot WR. Moss would bring a lot of yards, special teams and offense. The only way I could see Williams is as a Kevin Faulk replacement. Faulk is our X back who picks up a lot of yards on 3rd down as a check-down. Like you said, who knows? After all, after spending a 1st round pick on a TE, we spent another 1st round pick on a back-up TE. LOL

 

[PonyExpress]

A little known item about Santonio Holmes is he may have significant character issues. Last year he smashed the window of a woman's car and his girlfriend ended up with a broken jaw. Nobody pressed charges and THE Ohio State pretty much hushed up the whole incident. The source for that is Nolan Nawrocki of Pro Football Weekly. He also hints that the problems with Holmes run much deeper but he's not at liberty to give the details. He says any team that does its due diligence on Holmes has already found it out. I don't see any way the Pats draft Holmes... as far as Jackson is concerned, when DE Mincey from Florida was up for a visit he reported that the Pats asked him, "would you want to be a teammate with Chad J again?". Mincey took this as an indication the PAts would draft Jackson, I took it as a hint they will not, because they are checking up on him with his own teammates. I am close to ruling Jackson out. That leaves for me RB, DB and LB at #21. Of the top selections only Maroney and Williams are candidates for RB at #21, only Tye Hill, Marshall, Williams, Joseph, Whitner and Cromartie at DB, and Carpenter, Greenway, Ryans, D. Jackson, Sims, Lawson, Wimbley, Kiwi and Hali at LB.

 

[Feep_FLA]

They are exceedingly difficult to predict, aren't they! Which is why I love this time before the draft. You can see them picking almost anyone at any position and we would all say......."wow, never saw that coming". Or we may all be in the ,"hey, that makes sense" camp. I am getting the feeling they will they select whoever they have rated the highest that drops to 21..... Less QB's of course. I.E. They are gonna draft a player/ person and not a position..... Just my opinion.

 

[stinkypete]

Yeah, as the draft approaches I've been thinking about how a draft this deep gives a chance at a difference maker. You can't pass that up for need (unless another team offers a sweet trade package). But the Pats definition of a difference maker is usually different from ours.

By most accounts, it seems DeAngelo Williams is gonna fall to us. He's almost definitely going to be the best player available. Right?

Well for all we know, Sinorice Moss is the BPA. I'm going to take a shot in the dark and list some names that I will refuse to be shocked if I hear them called, even at #21

Darryl Tapp
Kelly Jennings
Charles Spencer
DeMeco Ryans
D'Quell Jackson

 

[Feep_FLA]

Your guess is as good as mine or anyone elses, StinkyPete. That's what makes waiting for the Pats to be "on the clock" such a mind-scramble......I have a feeling we will look back at this draft a year or 3 from now and say: Wow, that was a deep draft and we cleaned up! Leastways, that's my hunch and hope....