Who would you like to see brought in, in FA?

[dannydyn]

Title says it all.... speak up....

 

[mayoclinic]

I can't imagine that we have the $$$ to spend on external FAs this year. Resolve Revis' contract, then extend McCourty, Ayers, Branch, Casillas, maybe Chung (see below). Need to sort out the contract situations for Mayo, Wilfork and Amendola, and decide what to do with Vereen, Ridley and Connolly. Lots of work to be done before addressing external FAs. But with that in mind, some guys who could be appealing:

- Kenny Vaccaro, S, New Orleans. Not a FA; going into the 3rd year of his rookie deal, at relatively low cost. He's been benched a couple of times this season and could possibly be a trade candidate, especially if Rob Ryan isn't retained. I'd offer NO our 4th from TB for him. He would be a major upgrade from Chung, and a great fit as a hybrid S/LB/slot CB in a 4-2-1-4 "big nickel base".

- Terrance Knighton, DT, Denver. If the Pats parted ways with Wilfork, he'd be a great replacement as a run stopping NT.

- Eddie Royal, WR, San Diego. He'd be a big upgrade from Amendola, and could probably have an Emmanuel Sanders kind of role in the offense.

- James Carpenter, OG/OT, Seattle. The Seahawks declined to pick up Carpenter's 5th year option, so he is a FA. He's not an elite player, but he can play LG, RG and RT at a solid level, and he would be an upgrade from Dan Connolly as a started LG, while also being 6 years younger.

- Lance Kendricks, "move TE", St. Louis. At 6'3" 250# he's a true move TE, unlike Tim Wright, who is more of a hybrid split end/move TE. Kendricks has nice versatility, and would allow Wright to play more of a split TE/possession receiver role.

Probably lots of others, but those come to mind for a start.

 

[luuked]

- Terrance Knighton, DT, Denver. If the Pats parted ways with Wilfork, he'd be a great replacement as a run stopping NT.

Improving our team while making the Broncos weaker, I like it. From a pure (projected) performance point of view it makes sense to replace Big Vince with a younger player that plays on a similar level. However, I guess that the Broncos will be able to offer him more money than we can.

Eddie Royal, WR, San Diego. He'd be a big upgrade from Amendola, and could probably have an Emmanuel Sanders kind of role in the offense.

For me this depends on Amendola's willingness to take a pay cut. If he accepts it, we would save some dead money that can be used on other needs.

- James Carpenter, OG/OT, Seattle. The Seahawks declined to pick up Carpenter's 5th year option, so he is a FA. He's not an elite player, but he can play LG, RG and RT at a solid level, and he would be an upgrade from Dan Connolly as a started LG, while also being 6 years younger.

That is very interesting. I will have to check up on him a bit. But anything that takes away the pressure to contribute immediately from rookies is a good idea.

 

[mayoclinic]

Rob Housler from Arizona could also be a move TE option in addition to Lance Kendricks, again if the Pats felt that Tim Wright was better suited to a split end role. He didn't do very much this past year.

Charles Clay would be another guy who would be a good fit, though I expect James Develin to get an RFA tender, and I think the Dolphins will be aggressive about keeping Clay.

None of these guys should command a ridiculous amount of $$$.

 

[luuked]

Charles Clay would be another guy who would be a good fit, though I expect James Develin to get an RFA tender, and I think the Dolphins will be aggressive about keeping Clay.

Yep. No way the Dolphins let Clay go.

The only reason I hope that we don't got for any of the TEs you have mentioned is because of Maxx Williams. I guess getting a FA TE would close the door on that fantasy.

 

[mayoclinic]

RB Ryan Mathews could be an interesting guy if he's not re-signed by San Diego, and if the cost was not too high. He's had trouble staying healthy, but he is a big runner with excellent receiving and blocking skills who could add another dimension to the offense.

If the Pats did decide to move on from Nate Solder (unlikely, IMO) or couldn't reach a long term deal, Tennessee OT Michael Roos might be a stopgap option.

 

[dales804]

Mike Iupati
Demaryius Thomas
Charles Clay

Pipe dream for basically all.

 

[mayoclinic]

Yep. No way the Dolphins let Clay go.

The only reason I hope that we don't got for any of the TEs you have mentioned is because of Maxx Williams. I guess getting a FA TE would close the door on that fantasy.

Getting someone like James Carpenter to shore up the interior OL could allow the Pats to wait a bit on drafting an interior lineman and then use our #2 (probably with a trade up, or our #1 with a trade back) to get Maxx Williams.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

The timeliness of this thread is amazing given the pats are still in the playoffs...

 

[SyN65]

RB Ryan Mathews could be an interesting guy if he's not re-signed by San Diego, and if the cost was not too high. He's had trouble staying healthy, but he is a big runner with excellent receiving and blocking skills who could add another dimension to the offense.

If the Pats did decide to move on from Nate Solder (unlikely, IMO) or couldn't reach a long term deal, Tennessee OT Michael Roos might be a stopgap option.

I'd rather the Pats take a chance on Gurley or Gordon in the draft. Mathews can't stay healthy.

Re-sign our guys, and bring in at least 2 WR's. Pats have no depth at the position and have shown an inability to develop receivers from within. I don't have much hope for Dobson/Boyce and I don't trust them drafting WR's. Figures that 2014 is the best WR draft ever and the Pats don't draft any of them.

 

[luuked]

Getting someone like James Carpenter to shore up the interior OL could allow the Pats to wait a bit on drafting an interior lineman and then use our #2 (probably with a trade up, or our #1 with a trade back) to get Maxx Williams.

Sounds great to me. I just hope that Williams is at least on our board, he would be a great Gronk insurance / additional versatile weapon.

 

[reneluar]

If we want an Amendola upgrade i think in Jermaine Kearse or Cecil Shorts

 

[BritPat]

I'd move heaven and earth to sign Iupati. He'd be priority numero uno.

After that, I'd look long and hard at Jeremy Maclin, who is a perfect fit for this offense as I've stated previously.

If Revis can't be resigned though then CB becomes the priority, and there's not a huge amount on the market. Williams can still play but he's 31 - Cromartie is 30 - Brandon Flowers?

 

[luuked]

I'd rather the Pats take a chance on Gurley or Gordon in the draft.

As everything stands right now, I think it is rather doubtful that they will be available in rounds 3+. Unless we can trade our first round pick down, I'd say no way we should invest our first two picks on a RB.

Even the ACL will not push Gurley far enough down. Mayo mentioned Tevin Coleman in the draft sub board multiple times. He seems like a quite reasonable choice in terms of potential / draft capital.

 

[luuked]

After that, I'd look long and hard at Jeremy Maclin, who is a perfect fit for this offense as I've stated previously.

Might be a great fit, but unfortunately most probably too expensive to fit under our cap.

 

[SyN65]

As everything stands right now, I think it is rather doubtful that they will be available in rounds 3+. Unless we can trade our first round pick down, I'd say no way we should invest our first two picks on a RB.

Even the ACL will not push Gurley far enough down. Mayo mentioned Tevin Coleman in the draft sub board multiple times. He seems like a quite reasonable choice in terms of potential / draft capital.

So why not use a 2nd? Seems like a 2nd round pick on Gurley would be good value for a potential first round pick. It'd be nice to have a back we can give 20+ touches to a game. I'm not sold on any of the backs the Pats have...they're all average. Getting a talent like Gurley in the 2nd would be fine for me. Pats used a 2nd on Shane Vereen ...lol.

 

[mayoclinic]

So why not use a 2nd? Seems like a 2nd round pick on Gurley would be good value for a potential first round pick. It'd be nice to have a back we can give 20+ touches to a game. I'm not sold on any of the backs the Pats have...they're all average. Getting a talent like Gurley in the 2nd would be fine for me. Pats used a 2nd on Shane Vereen ...lol.

I doubt Gurley will be around that long. I prefer Coleman, who I think is a better run/receiving option. I'd be fine with Coleman in the 2nd, though I suspect he'll be gone. I'd personally probably go after Minnesota TE Maxx Williams first - he can play as both a "move" and an in-line TE, so he'd complement Gronk and also provide redundancy.

 

[mgteich]

I want us to re-sign our free agents on defense and Revis. There will be no additional money available.

The only "need" is at WR. Amendola should be considered a free agent, since there is no chance that he will be paid $4.4M by the patriots.

 

[luuked]

So why not use a 2nd? Seems like a 2nd round pick on Gurley would be good value for a potential first round pick. It'd be nice to have a back we can give 20+ touches to a game. I'm not sold on any of the backs the Pats have...they're all average. Getting a talent like Gurley in the 2nd would be fine for me. Pats used a 2nd on Shane Vereen ...lol.

Because we have bigger needs.

If there is anything we have seen over the last few years is that the majority of RBs are replaceable with low-cost options. This is why fewer and fewer RBs are drafted early; usually there is not much value in drafting them early relative to other positions.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Because we have bigger needs.

If there is anything we have seen over the last few years is that the majority of RBs are replaceable with low-cost options. This is why fewer and fewer RBs are drafted early; usually there is not much value in drafting them early relative to other positions.

The Pats had two of the most effective RBs in football in 2010 in Danny Woodhead and BJGE, and both were UDFAs.