The Corona virus has taken all sports away from us.\u00a0 The NFL is still planning on having the 2020 Draft start on Thursday April 23rd running through the 25th.\u00a0 That\u2019s less than a month away.\u00a0 Commissioner Goodell has written a letter to every team stating the draft will go as scheduled.\u00a0 Several GMs, during a conference call urged the league to postpone it because they were having difficulties meeting with players and conducting follow up medical exams.<\/p>\n
If this does run as scheduled, the opening round, in prime time may be their largest audience ever. With no major sports available, a sports starved public may flock to this event.\u00a0 The plan is to hold the actual draft in a studio without a live audience, and have announcements made from the individual team draft rooms and individual players from their homes.<\/p>\n
Recently I saw a draft put together by NBC Sports Boston Phil Perry.\u00a0 He used a site I wasn\u2019t familiar with called The Draft Network. It\u2019s a paysite that will allow you to make trades.\u00a0 I tried it out and ended up with a very interesting draft. Here it is:<\/p>\n
TRADE<\/strong> – Pats trade down sending picks 1-23 and 4-125 to DET\u00a0 for picks 2-35 and 3-67.<\/p>\n Round 2 – 35:<\/strong> Selected Zack Braun EDGE Wisconsin.\u00a0 I have come around to the idea of not drafting a QB early.\u00a0 Lets give Jarret Stidham an opportunity. He performed pretty well against backup competition in the pre-season, throwing for over 60%.\u00a0 Braun is exactly what the doctor ordered as a replacement for Van Noy.<\/p>\n Round 3 – 67:<\/strong> Selected Adam Trautman TE 6\u20195\u201d 255 4.8, 6.78 3-cone Dayton Trautman is the top TE in the draft.\u00a0 He can run and has a wide catch radius. He had 70 rec last year for 916 yds and 14 TDs. He will need to improve his blocking.\u00a0 If the Pats want him, they will have to move up to take him.<\/p>\n TRADE –<\/strong> Pats trade 3-87 and 5-172 to TB for pick 3-73<\/p>\n Round 3 – 73:<\/strong> Selected Kyle Dugger S 6\u20191\u201d 217 4.49, 42\u201d vert 11\u2019 4\u201d BJ Lenoir-Rhymes (DII) Dugger was the Cliff Harris award winner for the DII Defensive Player of the Year.\u00a0 He was a surprise addition to the Senior Bowl and shined on the big stage. Besides dominating during the practice week, he is also a dangerous return man which will answer one of the team needs.\u00a0 He scored 1TD for every 10 times he touched the ball. Huge hands for a DB (10 3\/8\u201d).<\/p>\n Round 3 – 98:<\/strong> Selected Ben Bartch OL 6\u20196\u201d 309 5.14 (est) St. John (MN) \u00a0 Bartch is a very underrated DIII player. He performed very well at the Senior Bowl.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t work out at the Combine (Knee) but did well in the interviews. He originally played TE for two years.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t give up a sack at the DIII level and looked very good during the Senior Bowl practices against the top college players.\u00a0 I think he is a day one, plug and play RT. This will free up the Pats to either deal or cut Marcus Cannon ($4.5M salary cap savings).\u00a0 Cannon\u2019s play dropped significantly last season. Cannon\u2019s savings will be more than enough to offset the entire draft class ($2.5M est)<\/p>\n Round 3 – 100:<\/strong> Selected KJ Hill WR Ohio St he is not a burner but a very reliable receiver that runs precise routes.\u00a0 He can also help out in the return game. Set Ohio St. career record for receptions.<\/p>\n TRADE –<\/strong>\u00a0Pats trade 6-195 and 6-204 to DEN for 6-181<\/p>\n Round 6 – 181:<\/strong> Selected James Morgan QB Florida International 6\u20194\u201d 229. He started 12 games for Bowling Green as RS Soph and Jr before transferring to Fla International.\u00a0 He has the prototypical size and arm strength of an NFL QB. His 2018 tape is better than 2019 (65% completion rate 26TD to 7 Int). He dropped to 58% in 2019 due to many drops by his receivers and playing through a knee injury all season.\u00a0 He can really spin it into tight spaces but has little touch on his passes. I have read that the Patriots have spent a lot of time on him going back to last year.<\/p>\n Round 6 – 212:<\/strong>\u00a0 Raequan Willams DT Michigan 6\u2019 4\u201d 308 Two-year 3rd team All-Big Ten.\u00a0 A slow, wide body that will compete for a roster spot at best.\u00a0 At this point in the draft the cupboard was pretty bare when it came to down lineman.<\/p>\n Round 6 – 213:<\/strong> Devion Taylor LB Colorado\u00a0 6\u2019 228 4.39 40 at his Pro Day, 6.96 3 cone at the combine.\u00a0 Rare speed for a LB. Very inexperienced. Played 2 yrs JC and 2 yrs at Colorado.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t play HS football because of religious reasons. Track star also. Very coachable and needs more of it, but you can\u2019t coach speed.\u00a0 Worth the risk. Special teams contributor at the least.<\/p>\n Round 7 – 230:<\/strong> James Proche WR 5\u2019 11\u201d 196, 4.52, 7.27 3 cone, SMU\u00a0 “Wicked hands” was one description of Proche. He was targeted 164 times and had 111 rec for 1231 yds and 15 TDs.\u00a0 A captain, which is always plus points in BB\u2019s book. Also known as a tough blocker. Numerous times during the Senior Bowl week I heard Proche name linked to the Pats.\u00a0 Projected as a 5th rounder, I think he goes later for avg 40 and slower than what the Pats like 3-cone.\u00a0 Known for his acrobatic catches.<\/p>\n Round 7 – 241:<\/strong> Ahmad Wagner TE 6\u20195\u201d 234 4.64 (est) Kentucky\u00a0 Played 3 years as a Basketball starter at Iowa. Wagner has a 6-10 wingspan and size 3XL gloves.\u00a0 He was targeted 14 times and had positive results on 13 of those plays (7 pass interference calls and 6 receptions for 128 yds).\u00a0 Wagner played WR but projects as a pass-catching TE. He supposedly ran a sub 4.5 40 this summer. During his BB career, He grabbed 251 rebounds.\u00a0 A diamond in the rough and a perfect late-round selection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The NFL is still planning on having the 2020 Draft start on Thursday April 23rd running through the 25th.\u00a0 That\u2019s less than a month away.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":24882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2281],"tags":[2269,2282,2283],"class_list":["post-27834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2020-patriots-draft","tag-2020-nfl-draft","tag-2020-patriots-draft","tag-nfl-mock-draft"],"yoast_head":"\n