In the thread about Randy getting traded to the Vikings, a number of people seem to be not all that concerned about the Patriots stockpiling draft picks because they haven't done so well in the draft the last couple of years. Is that really true? I'm no expert but can some of the more knowledgable types out there, particularly guys who know college ball, weigh in? Here are the Patriots' last four drafts: 2010 Pick 27(1) - Devin McCourty - CB Rutgers Pick 42(2) - Rob Gronkowski - TE Arizona Pick 53(2) - Jermaine Cunningham - DE Florida Pick 62(2) - Brandon Spikes - MLB Florida Pick 90(3) - Taylor Price - WR Ohio University Pick 113(4) - Aaron Hernandez - TE Florida Pick 150(5) - Zoltan Mesko - P Michigan Pick 105(6) - Ted Larsen - C North Carolina State Pick 208)(7) - Thomas Welch - OL Vanderbilt Pick 247(7) - Brandon Deaderick - DL Alabama Pick 248(7) - Kade Weston - DT Georgia Pick 250(7) - Zac Robinson - QB Oklahoma State 2009 Pick 34(2) - Patrick Chung - SS Oregon Pick 40(2) - Ron Brace - DT Boston College Pick 41(2) - Darius Butler - CB Connecticut Pick 58(2) - Sebastian Vollmer - OL Houston Pick 83(3) - Brandon Tate - WR North Carolina Pick 97(3) - Tyrone McKenzie - LB South Florida Pick 123(4) - Rich Ohrnberger - OL Penn State Pick 170(5) - George Bussey - OL Louisville Pick 198(6) - Jake Ingram - LS Hawaii Pick 207(6) - Myron Pryor - DT Kentucky Pick 232(7) - Julian Edelman - WR Kent State Pick 234(7) - Darryl Richard - DT Georgia Tech 2008 Pick 10(1) - Jerod Mayo - LB Tennessee Pick 62(2) - Terrence Wheatley - CB Colorado Pick 78(3) - Shawn Crable - LB Michigan Pick 94(3) - Kevin O'Connell - QB San Diego State Pick 129(4) - Jonathan Wilhite - CB Auburn Pick 153(5) - Matthew Slater - WR UCLA Pick 197(6) - Bo Ruud - LB Nebraska 2007 Pick 24(1) - Brandon Meriweather - S Miami (Fla.) Pick 127(4) - Kareem Brown - DL Miami (Fla.) Pick 171(5) - Clint Oldenburg - T Colorado State Pick 180(6) - Justin Rogers - LB Southern Methodist Pick 202(6) - Mike Richardson - CB Notre Dame Pick 208(6) - Justise Hairston - RB Central Connecticut Pick 208(6) - Corey Hilliard - T Oklahoma State Pick 211(7) - Oscar Lua - LB Southern California Pick 247(7) - Mike Elgin - G/C Iowa
Yeah, they haven't exactly been killing it in the draft. I mean, any team can strike 5 quality players out of 40 draft picks.
some nice picks in 4 years but they seem like they are trying to find Tom Brady the sequel in round 6 and 7...so few become more than special teams/practice squad/cute in the long run. It is nice to stockpile in the draft and build up depth, but that depth has to produce at some point. The big pick last year was Pick 113(4) - Aaron Hernandez - TE Florida - how he went that last is still a mystery to me. I watched him play at Florida and thought he was a beast.
They've done incredibly well in the past 2 years. They have 6 players from that 2009 draft who are contributing to the team already: Chung, Vollmer, and Tate are now all starters Brace, Butler, and Edelman all contribute as backups. Any time you can pull 6 functional players from one draft, regardless of how many you began with, it's a successful draft. Since Pioli left, the Pats have taken the approach of stockpiling picks and hoping at least a few stick. It's worked well for them thus far, although it'll take another full season after this one to really evaluate 2009. They also had one of the better 2010 drafts, as evidenced by McCourty already starting (albeit struggling), Gronkowski contributing, and Hernandez looking like a future star. Deaderick and Spikes both made the active roster as well, and Price has contributed on Special Teams. Again, it takes time to evaluate, but they're laying a foundation for the team which is young, but looks promising. EDIT: Forgot to mention Mesko and Ingram, who were mid to late round picks but stepped in instantly at their positions on ST.
What you guys don't realize is that the Pats are going to hold every single pick in the 2021 draft. Then you'll see it was all worth it.
you don't knowledge of college football to evaluate these picks, you need knowledge of how well they are doing in the NFL. who cares how they did in college, it is irrelevant now, unless you aren't aware that many great college players don't pan out in the NFL? do you need to be made aware of Vernon Gholston? if you're only interested in picks based on how well the player did in college, you must think Gholston was still a great pick.
Which sounds like a lot to Jets fans, but is irrelevant to Beli's draft strategy. He's not trying to hit with all of them. He takes the opposite approach from Tanny. Shitloads of draft picks and see who sticks. So far, the number of contributors from the past two drafts has me thinking that the Patriots are going to look an awful lot like those teams that won the early Beli SBs again. Role players and decent players who fit well within the system.
Well, I was hoping the college experts could give some insight on the two most recent classes seeing as how the players haven't had enough time to prove themselves. But, yes, mainly I'm interested in NFL performance here.
Their last two drafts look pretty damn good. If they can draft in 2011 the same way they have did in 2010, they'll be a pretty stacked team for some time. You don't need a ton of superstars to win games, having solid but useful players at every position works too. Their running backs (Woodhead, BJGE, & Taylor) isn't a unit where any one players jumps out at you. The way they use them, however, is productive and moves the sticks. I think they are moving in that direction in their WR corps as well by trading away Moss. On defense, particularly in the secondary, this strategy hasn't really worked yet. You can (and should) rotate your DL and it's not a bad idea to have a number of 3-4 LBs to throw on the field (especially if you're a coach as creative as BB) but in the secondary there is only so much you can do to mask a lack of talent. Merriweather is a good, not great, safety, and Chung appears to be coming along. What will really make our break this defense, IMHO, is how the CBs develop. I believe the other positions will develop solidly and that any deficiencies they have can be masked through scheme or by platooning; you can't really do that on the outsides though.
someone on espn radio put it perfectly yesterday in regards to the patriots draft strategy "there like a kid who keeps saving for that special toy but never gets it and just keeps saving and saving"
but most young players make it to the NFL because they had very good to exceptional college careers, and not all pan out, so you can't simply evaluate the draft picks by their college careers. like I said, if you could Gholston would be a stellar pick.
Yeah, if you graded all draft picks on the basis of their college performance then every single team would get an A+ on draft day. These are the top 200 players in the country.
There are only so many players Pats can have. Stock piling picks will only get them good depth, not great starters, unless u start hitting a few jackpots.
They've done terribly. They should really go out and get a real general manager while they still have all these picks. You can't really grade a draft for 3 years, so it seems senseless talking about the last two years. the Pats 2006, '07, and '08 drafts have been fairly awful. '07 and '08 produced a total of two starters. Most of the Pats '07 draft didn't make it thru the season on the active roster, that's how bad it was. '06- Two picks netted Chad Jackson and Laurence Maroney. New England ignores decades of wisdom on Florida receivers. Maroney has two above average seasons, traded to Denver for a 6th round pick. Ryan O'Callaghan started some games. Pats have one starter remaining from this draft- Gostkowski. Dave Thomas was traded for a 7th round pick. '07- Brandon Meriweather is the only guy remaining. I think most of these guys didn't even make it through camp with the Pats. Meriweather is a Pro Bowler. Best player in a horrible secondary. '08- Jerod Mayo is the only starter The Pats have certainly been better the last two years, but they have traded a lot of good players for a lot of guys and backups. By contrast, the Jets draft 2006- 3 Pro Bowl selections in Washington, Mangold, and Ferguson. Mangold was also 1st team All Pro 2007- All Pro, Pro Bowler, AFC Def Player of the Year Darrelle Revis. Second Team All Pro David Harris 2008- Dustin Keller. Gholston, ugh. We traded picks for Jenkins, who made the Pro Bowl that year. Not a total loss. I like the Jets strategy of trading picks for proven players with something in the tank, and of course, drafting talented players. -X-
