mascho said:
Yeah, XSF came off the board at 19 in that simulator. Bitino went at 65, and was available at 63 when I took Niklas.
The selection that intrigues me the most in this draft is that third round pick, where I took CJF. Seems like that is when the talent really, really starts to thin out.
I think it thins out after about the second round at the obvious positions of need - pass rush, OL, and TE - at least in terms of immediate starters.
I just ran a session of OTC, and the following players were available at 62:
DTs Easley, Quarles, DaQuan Jones, Sutton, Anthony Johnson, Ellis, Reid, McCullers
TEs Niklas, Fiedorowicz
G/C Brandon Thomas, Swanson, Richburg, Martin
But usually most of those guys are gone by round 3. But there are a lot of intriguing names at other positions - Paul Richardson and Martavis Bryant at WR, Pierre Desire, Ross Cockrell, and Phillip Gaines at CB, Carlos Hyde and Bishop Sankey at RB, A.J. McCarron, Aaron Murray, and Davis Fales at QB. It's not necessarily going to shake out like that in real life, of course, but I think it points to depth in the middle rounds, just not necessarily aligning with the Pats' short-term needs. That said, RB (where Ridley and Vereen are both FA after 2014), CB (where neither Revis nor Browner is a lock to be here more than 1 year), WR (where Amendola could be gone after the year), and QB (where Mallett's gone after the year and Brady's not getting younger) are positions of need in the longer-term.
Maybe this points to a trade-back strategy: if they can deal from 29 to 45 or so and pick up a 3rd, they'd be in a position to nab something like Bitonio (45), Easley (62), Fiedorowicz (85), and a QB / CB / RB / WR (or double-up at one of these) at 96 and 126. That wouldn't be too shabby.