Water Boy
In the Starting Line-Up
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2004
- Messages
- 3,112
- Reaction score
- 1,353
Registered Members experience this forum ad and noise-free.
CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.I look at our top two needs being DT and interior offensive line. The top OG this year, who was praised as the best prospect in forever, went 24th! We could certainly be in range of a pick like that. As far as DT goes, its a position that isn't expensive as it used to be, but still will require moving up from the 32nd pick. Lotulelei and Hankins are the top two guys at this point, but with only so many picks available, we're certain to have someone good pushed down to us.
I completely agree, though others will put WR high on the list. I see 2013 as a need to address the "core" on both offense and defense. Brian Waters will be gone after 2012 at the latest, Dan Connolly and Logan Mankins are both over 30, and Dan Koppen is on his last legs. Vince Wilfork will be 31 and played 86.2% of the snaps in 2011, Gerrard Warren is 34, and Myron Pryor is in a contract year. As you've noted, there are a lot of question marks on the offensive and defensive lines. I'll also add that health issues could present a problem as Mankins knee, Vollmer's back, and Cannon's cancer recovery bare notice. That percentage played of Wilfork is too high. I love his ability to do that, but he carries a lot of the load too often, and that will only break him down physically.
OTG and I have been discussing for months the idea of building a team from the "inside out". The NFL is infatuated with the "outside" game - outside WRs, outside CBs to counter them, outside pass rushers, outside tackles to counter them. But the core is at least as important. Jays52 has talked about this a bit. That was a staple of our early 2000s defensive line. Getting one of the top guys this coming draft would do wonders for our defense as a whole. It makes me wish we could have gotten our hands on Brandon Thompson this past draft.
The DT class has at least 6 guys who should potentially go in the first 2 rounds: Hankins, Lotulelei, Kwame Short (more of a penetrator, and less interesting to me, though penetrating DTs are often prized over space eaters), Jesse Williams, Kwame Geathers and John Jenkins. The last 2 are still inconsistent and developing, but they have at least as much upside as Dontari Poe, and more good tape. And there are at least 3 interior OLs that I project to the top 40 picks right now: Alabama OL Barrett Jones, North Carolina OG John Cooper, and USC center Khaled Holmes. As you note, David DeCastro dropped to 24. And when you look at the possible position players who could fill up the 1st round you have 4 QBs, 7 OTs, 4 WRs, 7 DBs, and 6 DEs (28 players at positions other than DT and OG/C!) who could occupy spots in the 1st round! Now those numbers are from a combination of player evaluations at this point and could change dramatically, but if it projects to a number of guys being available later, especially a player who fits our needs
The team is getting old in the middle on both sides of the LOS. That's the #1 priority for 2013, IMHO. DBs and WRs can be added in the middle rounds.
Here's my "sleeper pick" for the Pats for 2012: Alabama DT Jesse Williams:
Australians Brad Wing, Jesse Williams excel for LSU, Alabama - Andy Staples - SI.com
Williams is 6'4" 320-330# of solid muscle. Very low body fat - the anti-Terrance Cody. He's of Polynesia descent with a warrior mentality, and is a weight room fanatic. Sub 5.00 speed. He's got Stephen Paea kind of strength on a much bigger frame with much more quickness. And he'll probably be the 3rd or 4th DT off the board after Hankins, Lotulelei and Short.
20. Arizona Cardinals: Margus Hunt, DE, SMU: Hunt, a 6-foot-7 project with tremendous potential, stole the show in last year’s BBVA Compass Bowl, recording five tackles and three sacks. The Cardinals grab him after finishing with a winning record and nearly securing the second wild-card spot in the NFC with one of the top defenses in the league and a healthy Kevin Kolb.
27. New England Patriots: Cassius Marsh, DT/DE, UCLA: The Patriots lose in the divisional round, falling at home to the Steelers. A former top-50 high school recruit, Marsh has a breakout year in 2012, leaves early and sneaks into the first round next April.
And yet one more top 50 board, this one from Athlon Sports:
Early 2013 NFL Draft Rankings | AthlonSports.com
Didn't we just get one of those in the seventh round?
Exactly what I was thinking. I don't know that we need another DB.
Xavier Rhodes is extremely physical, though. Took Michael Floyd out of the game in their bowl game.
Williams made an immediate impression on the Tar Heels defense after transferring from junior college. He's an intense, wide-bodied defender who controls the line of scrimmage and commands double-team blocks. Williams' upside is enormous.
My top pick might be Jake Matthews - T - Texas A&M. Bruce's kid. He's 6'5" 295lb and I'm sure growing. Don't all of the Matthews become pro-bowlers and hall of famers? Talk about top of the gene pool. Agree about Lewan Mayo. Looks like a stud. A little like our Nate Solder.
Yup. Here's the ESPN hype machine comparing Lewan to a young Jake Long:
Analyst says Michigan's Taylor Lewan will be elite NFL prospect in 2013, Denard Robinson won't be a QB
Lewan's somewhere between 6'7"-6'8" and around 300-310#.
What do you think of Jake Matthews' teammate, junior OT Luke Joeckel?
All of these guys could push interior linemen like Barrett Jones, Khaled Holmes and Jonathan Cooper down to the 20's.
I remember reading that they were both going to be 1st round picks towards the end of their freshman season. Joeckel might be better. He was listed at 6'^"304lb. A tad bigger than Jake. But, if it's close. I'm going with a Matthews. Lewan isn't as strong as Jake Long yet. That's why I compared him to Solder not Long. Some people have DJ Fluker a Top 5 pick. I don't think he's the prospect that either Aggie is or Lewan. They are all juniors. So, not a sure thing they will declare.
Barrett Jones also doesn't make Pauline's top 32.