VJCPatriot
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2006
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This felt like a Jekyll and Hyde draft. Some parts felt really good, and others felt really bad.
Here's my round by round evaluation.
1st Round: A. CB Christian Gonzalez was a no-brainer selection who was slated as a top 10 pick and has elite athleticism and size at a position of need.
2nd Round: B. Edge Keion White. He rushes the passer and he has excellent athleticism for his size at 6'5 285 lbs. At worse he probably turns into a solid rotation player for us who can contribute minutes along the DL.
3rd Round: D. S/LB Marte Mapu. This is where the draft started going off the rails. Instead of addressing offense and skill positions, BB drafts a pet project 'big nickel' tweener player. Maybe he'll turn out to be the next Kyle Dugger, but we already have Kyle Dugger. It would have made a lot more sense to pivot to offense and trade up for the best tackle or WR prospect but BB thumbed his nose at Mac Jones and continued to take only defensive players over the first two days.
4th Round: F. This round was Jekyll turning into Hyde. BB reached 3x for a C, G, and K. Even worse he expended two draft picks to move up for the kicker when we have a solid veteran K, Nick Folk who made 85% of his kicks last season, already in place. This was a real feels bad round of wasted opportunities.
5th Round: C. Patriots take another IOL with guard Antonio Mafi. IOL might be their most stacked position now. Did we really need another pick here?
6th Round: A. Patriots finally, finally address the elephant in the room and go for two Wide Receivers in Keyshon Boutte and Demario Douglas, they also land a punter with a big leg in Bryce Baringer. Ameer Speed is purely a special teamer but at this point he's just gravy.
7th Round: B. Patriots take a flier on a guy who can jump out the gym in 6'2 205 lb CB prospect Isaiah Bolden who clocked a 4.31 hand timed 40. Maybe he won't pan out, but his elite athleticism gives him a chance if he ever does.
Overall Grade: B-. Even though the Patriots failed really hard in rounds 3-5, they made up for it with a strong start, and some intriguing picks in the 6th round onwards.
As for Mac Jones, he was probably feeling like he was on life support until round 6 happened. Again it was a Jekyll and Hyde draft, but undeniably the Patriots probably got a lot stronger on defense, whereas the offense is a TBD. If Douglas or Boutte pan out, that will be a huge part of why the Patriots can improve as an offense. All the IOL picks were meh or reaches. We definitely reached for the kicker. Still no potential starter at tackle obtained in this draft class. No tight ends to apprentice behind Hunter Henry and Geisiki either who are both on 1 year deals.
But that's just my grade. Overall this draft felt like a roller coaster ride, but overall it gets the job done.
It just doesn't really improve our team in key need positions like OT, TE, starting WR or it's really hoping that some of the late round fliers at WR might pan out.
That's my 2 cents, but what's your draft grade?
Here's my round by round evaluation.
1st Round: A. CB Christian Gonzalez was a no-brainer selection who was slated as a top 10 pick and has elite athleticism and size at a position of need.
2nd Round: B. Edge Keion White. He rushes the passer and he has excellent athleticism for his size at 6'5 285 lbs. At worse he probably turns into a solid rotation player for us who can contribute minutes along the DL.
3rd Round: D. S/LB Marte Mapu. This is where the draft started going off the rails. Instead of addressing offense and skill positions, BB drafts a pet project 'big nickel' tweener player. Maybe he'll turn out to be the next Kyle Dugger, but we already have Kyle Dugger. It would have made a lot more sense to pivot to offense and trade up for the best tackle or WR prospect but BB thumbed his nose at Mac Jones and continued to take only defensive players over the first two days.
4th Round: F. This round was Jekyll turning into Hyde. BB reached 3x for a C, G, and K. Even worse he expended two draft picks to move up for the kicker when we have a solid veteran K, Nick Folk who made 85% of his kicks last season, already in place. This was a real feels bad round of wasted opportunities.
5th Round: C. Patriots take another IOL with guard Antonio Mafi. IOL might be their most stacked position now. Did we really need another pick here?
6th Round: A. Patriots finally, finally address the elephant in the room and go for two Wide Receivers in Keyshon Boutte and Demario Douglas, they also land a punter with a big leg in Bryce Baringer. Ameer Speed is purely a special teamer but at this point he's just gravy.
7th Round: B. Patriots take a flier on a guy who can jump out the gym in 6'2 205 lb CB prospect Isaiah Bolden who clocked a 4.31 hand timed 40. Maybe he won't pan out, but his elite athleticism gives him a chance if he ever does.
Overall Grade: B-. Even though the Patriots failed really hard in rounds 3-5, they made up for it with a strong start, and some intriguing picks in the 6th round onwards.
As for Mac Jones, he was probably feeling like he was on life support until round 6 happened. Again it was a Jekyll and Hyde draft, but undeniably the Patriots probably got a lot stronger on defense, whereas the offense is a TBD. If Douglas or Boutte pan out, that will be a huge part of why the Patriots can improve as an offense. All the IOL picks were meh or reaches. We definitely reached for the kicker. Still no potential starter at tackle obtained in this draft class. No tight ends to apprentice behind Hunter Henry and Geisiki either who are both on 1 year deals.
But that's just my grade. Overall this draft felt like a roller coaster ride, but overall it gets the job done.
It just doesn't really improve our team in key need positions like OT, TE, starting WR or it's really hoping that some of the late round fliers at WR might pan out.
That's my 2 cents, but what's your draft grade?
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