Pats 2023 draft class

[Eddie Jurak]

I hate to say it, but the optimistic view of the Pats 2023 class has taken some hits 6 weeks into the season.

1. Gonzalez, CB: Legit stud CB, unfortunately out with injury. But this pick was a hit.

2. White, DE: This pick looked great in camp, but through 6 weeks he has made little impact. No sacks, no QB hits, 5 pressures, only 4 tackles. And he just got hurt. I'm not suggesting give up on the guy, but he is a developmental pick, not an immediate contributor.

3. Mapu S/LB: Speaking of developmental picks - coming into yesterday, he played about one-quarter of the defensive snaps and had been largely invisible. Yesterday, BB did not give him a single defensive snap, even as the Raiders destroyed our defensive with a TE. SO he's not an immediate contributor by any stretch.

4A. Jake Andrews, C/G: Drafted to be the eventual David Andrews replacement, he has yet to play despite the Pats having the worst OL in all of football.

4B. Chad Ryland, K: Jury is out. Has missed a couple of makeable kicks, but the snaps were bad.

4C. Sidy Sow, G/T: Has played but has not been good.

5: Atonio Mafi, G: Has played a lot, and has shown flashes at times, but has often played terribly.

6A: Kayshon Boutte, WR: Incomplete. Messed up a couple of key opportunities the one week he got to play. Project at best.

6B: Bryce Baringer, P: Has made some good kicks and some terrible ones. Erratic. Project.

6C: Demario Douglas, WR: The closest thing the back half of thedraft has to an immediate hit, Douglas can do things no other Pats WR can (get separation and YAC), but he got hurt. Still, this looks like an NFL player - and probably a good one - if he can stay healthy. Not as obvious a hit as CG, but a great sixth round find.

6D: Ameer Speed, CB: Special teamer/project.

7: Isaiah Bolden, CB: Special teamer/project/injured.

All in all, it's not looking great at this point. Two hits (Gonzalez and Douglas), one good looking project (White), and a lot of uncertainty.

 

[jsinger121]

And frankly we shouldn’t give the patriots that much credit for Gonzalez. He fell into their lap. They actually made the logical pick for once.

 

[Silverdude2167]

And frankly we shouldn’t give the patriots that much credit for Gonzalez. He fell into their lap. They actually made the logical pick for once.

So you only get credit for picking players before they are supposed to go?

 

[BaseballJones]

I hate to say it, but the optimistic view of the Pats 2023 class has taken some hits 6 weeks into the season.

1. Gonzalez, CB: Legit stud CB, unfortunately out with injury. But this pick was a hit.

2. White, DE: This pick looked great in camp, but through 6 weeks he has made little impact. No sacks, no QB hits, 5 pressures, only 4 tackles. And he just got hurt. I'm not suggesting give up on the guy, but he is a developmental pick, not an immediate contributor.

3. Mapu S/LB: Speaking of developmental picks - coming into yesterday, he played about one-quarter of the defensive snaps and had been largely invisible. Yesterday, BB did not give him a single defensive snap, even as the Raiders destroyed our defensive with a TE. SO he's not an immediate contributor by any stretch.

4A. Jake Andrews, C/G: Drafted to be the eventual David Andrews replacement, he has yet to play despite the Pats having the worst OL in all of football.

4B. Chad Ryland, K: Jury is out. Has missed a couple of makeable kicks, but the snaps were bad.

4C. Sidy Sow, G/T: Has played but has not been good.

5: Atonio Mafi, G: Has played a lot, and has shown flashes at times, but has often played terribly.

6A: Kayshon Boutte, WR: Incomplete. Messed up a couple of key opportunities the one week he got to play. Project at best.

6B: Bryce Baringer, P: Has made some good kicks and some terrible ones. Erratic. Project.

6C: Demario Douglas, WR: The closest thing the back half of thedraft has to an immediate hit, Douglas can do things no other Pats WR can (get separation and YAC), but he got hurt. Still, this looks like an NFL player - and probably a good one - if he can stay healthy. Not as obvious a hit as CG, but a great sixth round find.

6D: Ameer Speed, CB: Special teamer/project.

7: Isaiah Bolden, CB: Special teamer/project/injured.

All in all, it's not looking great at this point. Two hits (Gonzalez and Douglas), one good looking project (White), and a lot of uncertainty.

Any draft that nets you an all-pro caliber player (Gonzalez, who sure was one of the very best CBs in the league until he got hurt) and another solid contributor is a good draft. Anything beyond that is gravy. Yes, the analysis has been done on this in some detail.

 

[BaseballJones]

So you only get credit for picking players before they are supposed to go?

Yeah, that's weird. You pick a guy "before they're supposed to go" and they get criticized for a "reach", and the critics say, oh man he's fine as a player but you could have had him later...what a waste of a pick. But they draft a guy "on schedule" and they shouldn't get credit for that either? And of course don't forget that if you draft a guy late in the draft and he turns out to be good, that's not good drafting either because if the guy was THAT good, the Pats got lucky that he fell that far to them.

 

[lexrageorge]

If Gonzalez returns healthy next year (as expected) and White and Douglas become starting caliber players, it will be a successful draft. The fact that Gonzalez slid is irrelevant when it comes to assessing the draft. As is typical, the draft grades are still incomplete at this stage.

 

[Over Guapo Grande]

How many of the 12 draft picks would one expect to be "hits" 1/3 of the way into their first season? Half of whom came in the 5th round or later?

 

[PRabbit]

Just getting Gonzalez makes this a decent draft at worst. Kid was flashing All-Pro traits right away.

 

[Silverdude2167]

How many of the 12 draft picks would one expect to be "hits" 1/3 of the way into their first season? Half of whom came in the 5th round or later?

13

 

[leftfieldlegacy]

We are 6 games into the season. I'm posiitive that is more than enough time to fairly assess a draft class.

 

[Over Guapo Grande]

13

"That Brady dude they drafted in the 6th round? Total waste of a pick. He had no impact on the team his rookie year"

 

[rodderick]

How many of the 12 draft picks would one expect to be "hits" 1/3 of the way into their first season? Half of whom came in the 5th round or later?

Yeah, it's absurdly soon to evaluate this draft, in both ways. I think we can safely assume Gonzalez was a hit based on the little he displayed, but for everyone else? I'm super confused at the declarations of players being busts or the praise for guys like Keion White who haven't really done anything as building blocks for the future.

 

[Cellar-Door]

If your 1st is a stud, that's a good draft.

Way too early to expect much out of the other picks (and anyone after the 3rd contributing at all is excellent, most of those guys wash out).

I'd say just Gonzalez hitting and both specialists making the team out of camp makes it a good draft with a lot of promise for the future. They took 2 WRs late likely with the hope that one hit as a 3rd/4th option... Douglas looks like that, so mission already semi-accomplished.

 

[IdiotKicker]

Yeah this is a little hasty. I think after year 2 is a good place to check in to see how a draft has gone. I mean, basically every pass-catching RB that the Pats drafted did nothing their first year and then became contributors. Same with a lot of the late-round linemen...because they're late round linemen. You wouldn't really expect those guys to pop year one. They have one guy who looks like a long-term building block, and a few others that might end up being worth a second contract when it's all said and done. Let's give them some time to develop before we write their stories.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

Yeah this is a little hasty. I think after year 2 is a good place to check in to see how a draft has gone. I mean, basically every pass-catching RB that the Pats drafted did nothing their first year and then became contributors. Same with a lot of the late-round linemen...because they're late round linemen. You wouldn't really expect those guys to pop year one. They have one guy who looks like a long-term building block, and a few others that might end up being worth a second contract when it's all said and done. Let's give them some time to develop before we write their stories.

"All in all, it's not looking great at this point."

What about that is "hasty?"

Especially when you consider that the 2022 class looked a lot better at Week 6 a year ago than it does today.

 

[Over Guapo Grande]

"All in all, it's not looking great at this point."

What about that is "hasty?"

Especially when you consider that the 2022 class looked a lot better at Week 6 a year ago than it does today.

Can you do this exercise for other teams? How have their 5/6/7 round draft picks contributed?

 

[Arroyoyo]

White may end up being a great player.

With that said, after he was drafted I mentioned that in some of the film I’d seen on him he rushed “high” and didn’t seem to get low enough to win a lot of battles with NFL OL’s.

I’ve seen some of the same this year. He tends to rush “high” and gets bottled up as a result. He’s a big, strong kid, but when he can’t outmuscle someone up high, he gets pushed out of the play.

Is this fixable? Sure. But until I see it, I’m not nearly as high on him as many others seem to be.

 

[IdiotKicker]

"All in all, it's not looking great at this point."

What about that is "hasty?"

Especially when you consider that the 2022 class looked a lot better at Week 6 a year ago than it does today.

I dunno, Gronk had 9 total catches through his first 6 games. Maybe it's not worth figuring out if a pick is trending the right way or not yet.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

I dunno, Gronk had 9 total catches through his first 6 games. Maybe it's not worth figuring out if a pick is trending the right way or not yet.

He obviously trended upwards from those first 6. Let's hope some of these 2023 picks also do.

 

[Jimbodandy]

The best they have to show for five picks between the third and fifth round is "maybe a kicker". It's horrible, and we knew that on draft weekend.

That said, Gonzo is an absolute stud.

 

[BaseballJones]

That's silly. Really silly. The guys drafted between the 3rd and 5th rounds are all in development. They may end up sucking. They may end up being pretty good. It's WAYYYYYYYYY too early to issue judgment on those guys.

 

[ZMart100]

It's too early to judge Gonzalez too. If all we get from him is what we have seen, he will obviously be a disappointment. Will he come back 100%? Will he have constant injury issues? Who knows at this point.

 

[BaseballJones]

It's too early to judge Gonzalez too. If all we get from him is what we have seen, he will obviously be a disappointment. Will he come back 100%? Will he have constant injury issues? Who knows at this point.

True. But at least we can see that he has immense talent.

 

[Mystic Merlin]

We are all upset with this apparent train wreck of a season and its illustration of some multi-year problems afflicting the team. I expect that is driving the creation of a thread like this.

 

[rodderick]

It's too early to judge Gonzalez too. If all we get from him is what we have seen, he will obviously be a disappointment. Will he come back 100%? Will he have constant injury issues? Who knows at this point.

Are you talking literally, as in "if he never plays football again"? Because if the level of play he was at when healthy is the player he is and he never improves a lick, that's still a very valuable piece and easily better than the average outcome for where he was picked.

 

[ElcaballitoMVP]

Here's a very basic look at the Commanders in comparison to the Pats, who picked right around NE for most of the draft.

1- Emmanuel Forbes CB- in 5 games: 17 solo tackles, 19 total tackles (9th on the team, 4th in their secondary), 5 passes defended, 1 INT. Snap count: 201
Christian Gonzalez- in 4 games, 14 solo tackles, 17 total (7th on the team, 4th in their secondary), 3 passes defended, 1 INT. Snap count: 209 defensive, 19 ST
Pretty even, but no one can complain here. Gonzalez looks like a very good CB.

2- Jartavius Martin S- 2 games, 2 solo tackles, 5 total. 0 in every other category, including passes defended and INT's. Snap count: 7
Keon White DE- 5 games, 1 solo tackle, 4 total. 0 sacks, 1 pass defended. Snap count: 134 defensive, 50 ST
Pretty even with White getting more snaps, but right now WAS isn't getting anything out of their 2nd rounder.

3- Ricky Stromberg OC- 4 total snaps in 2 games, not really any info to go off of, but he's not playing.
Marte Mapu LB/S- 3 solo tackles, 7 total. Hasn't done much, but we knew he was a developmental guy when drafted. Snap count: 110 defensive, 80 ST
Patriots have the edge here just based on playing time, even if it hasn't been pretty, with WAS getting nothing out of their 3rd rounder.

4- Braeden Daniels OG- 0 total snaps
Jake Andrews OC/OG- 16 special teams snaps
Chad Ryland K- 5 of 7 on field goal attempts
Sidy Sow OG- Developmental interior lineman who's played 140 snaps, albeit not good ones
Again, Pats have the edge here. Even if we just looked at Daniels vs Andrews it'd be at worst a draw with WAS getting nothing out of their 4th rounder.

5- KJ Henry DE- 13 special teams snaps in 1 game.
Antonio Mafi OG- 292 snaps for a rookie 5th round developmental lineman. Hasn't been pretty but expecting a rookie 5th rounder to play well probably isn't very realistic.
Pats have the edge.

6- Chris Rodriguez Jr. RB- 4 games, 12 offensive snaps, 64 special teams snaps
Kayshon Boutte WR- 55 offensive snaps
Bryce Barringer P- starting punter. Mixed results
Demario Douglas WR- 81 offensive snaps, 9 special teams snaps, hurt. Looks to be an NFL caliber WR, all-in-all a great find.
Ameer Speed DB/ST- 73 special teams snaps, 10 defensive snaps
Pats again, anyone of these guys has been more valuable than Rodriguez up to this point.

7- Andre Jones OLB- 6 games, 6 defensive snaps, 132 special teams snaps
Isaiah Bolden DB/ST- Hurt
This one goes to Washington based on ST snaps.

There are always going to be guys you wished your team drafted that went later in the draft. Sure, the Pats should've drafted Achane instead of Mapu in R3, but there's about 20 other teams who could say the same thing. But when you compare draft classes like this, it shows 1: How it doesn't really make much sense to look at them after 6 weeks and 2: You aren't going to hit on every pick. Round 1, the most important pick, the Pats nailed. They got an NFL caliber WR in R6. And they've got R4/5 offensive lineman getting actual, real-life NFL experience to help show you who they are/could be. If even one of those guys hits, it's a win.

TLDR: It's just too early to look at this draft class.

 

[ZMart100]

Are you talking literally, as in "if he never plays football again"? Because if the level of play he was at when healthy is the player he is and he never improves a lick, that's still a very valuable piece and easily better than the average outcome for where he was picked.

Yes it would be a disappointment if all we get is 4 games. Or if he comes back not at the same level and is in and out of the training room for the rest of his contract. Judging the pick now based on what we think he might be for the Patriots is premature, as for all the picks.

 

[Jimbodandy]

Here's a very basic look at the Commanders in comparison to the Pats, who picked right around NE for most of the draft.

1- Emmanuel Forbes CB- in 5 games: 17 solo tackles, 19 total tackles (9th on the team, 4th in their secondary), 5 passes defended, 1 INT. Snap count: 201
Christian Gonzalez- in 4 games, 14 solo tackles, 17 total (7th on the team, 4th in their secondary), 3 passes defended, 1 INT. Snap count: 209 defensive, 19 ST
Pretty even, but no one can complain here. Gonzalez looks like a very good CB.

2- Jartavius Martin S- 2 games, 2 solo tackles, 5 total. 0 in every other category, including passes defended and INT's. Snap count: 7
Keon White DE- 5 games, 1 solo tackle, 4 total. 0 sacks, 1 pass defended. Snap count: 134 defensive, 50 ST
Pretty even with White getting more snaps, but right now WAS isn't getting anything out of their 2nd rounder.

3- Ricky Stromberg OC- 4 total snaps in 2 games, not really any info to go off of, but he's not playing.
Marte Mapu LB/S- 3 solo tackles, 7 total. Hasn't done much, but we knew he was a developmental guy when drafted. Snap count: 110 defensive, 80 ST
Patriots have the edge here just based on playing time, even if it hasn't been pretty, with WAS getting nothing out of their 3rd rounder.

4- Braeden Daniels OG- 0 total snaps
Jake Andrews OC/OG- 16 special teams snaps
Chad Ryland K- 5 of 7 on field goal attempts
Sidy Sow OG- Developmental interior lineman who's played 140 snaps, albeit not good ones
Again, Pats have the edge here. Even if we just looked at Daniels vs Andrews it'd be at worst a draw with WAS getting nothing out of their 4th rounder.

5- KJ Henry DE- 13 special teams snaps in 1 game.
Antonio Mafi OG- 292 snaps for a rookie 5th round developmental lineman. Hasn't been pretty but expecting a rookie 5th rounder to play well probably isn't very realistic.
Pats have the edge.

6- Chris Rodriguez Jr. RB- 4 games, 12 offensive snaps, 64 special teams snaps
Kayshon Boutte WR- 55 offensive snaps
Bryce Barringer P- starting punter. Mixed results
Demario Douglas WR- 81 offensive snaps, 9 special teams snaps, hurt. Looks to be an NFL caliber WR, all-in-all a great find.
Ameer Speed DB/ST- 73 special teams snaps, 10 defensive snaps
Pats again, anyone of these guys has been more valuable than Rodriguez up to this point.

7- Andre Jones OLB- 6 games, 6 defensive snaps, 132 special teams snaps
Isaiah Bolden DB/ST- Hurt
This one goes to Washington based on ST snaps.

There are always going to be guys you wished your team drafted that went later in the draft. Sure, the Pats should've drafted Achane instead of Mapu in R3, but there's about 20 other teams who could say the same thing. But when you compare draft classes like this, it shows 1: How it doesn't really make much sense to look at them after 6 weeks and 2: You aren't going to hit on every pick. Round 1, the most important pick, the Pats nailed. They got an NFL caliber WR in R6. And they've got R4/5 offensive lineman getting actual, real-life NFL experience to help show you who they are/could be. If even one of those guys hits, it's a win.

TLDR: It's just too early to look at this draft class.

Great post. I stand corrected.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

I'd say the 2023 draft class stock has risen quite a bit since I posted this.

1. Gonzalez, CB: Definite hit. Injury is a damned shame.

2. White, DE: In recent weeks he has played more and started making plays. Hit.

3. Mapu S/LB: Even with injuries, he has not carved out much of a role for himself. Jury still out.

4A. Jake Andrews, C/G: Got a few snaps today at guard, his first of the season. Jury still out

4B. Chad Ryland, K: Has the leg, and had the big 56 yard gamewinner, but the last Pats kicker to miss 9 FG in a season was Adam Vinatieri in 2003, and he still kicked more FG (25) than Ryland has attempted (24). Either a bust or jury still out.

4C. Sidy Sow, G/T: Looks like the Pats found themsleves a starting guard who will at least be decent. Hit.

5: Atonio Mafi, G: Just still out. Seems to have conditioning issues but has had his moments.

6A: Kayshon Boutte, WR: Incomplete. Jury still out.

6B: Bryce Baringer, P: He's been more consistent over the past few weeks than he was at the start of the season. I'm calling this a hit.

6C: Demario Douglas, WR: Definite hit. This kid can play. I don't think he'll ever be a star or a great slot like Edelman was, because he has seemed to be banged up a lot. But he's an asset for sure. Great find in round 6.

6D: Ameer Speed, CB: Gone, claimed off waivers.

7: Isaiah Bolden, CB: Special teamer/project/injured. Jury still out.

Five hits, at least, in 12 picks. That would be a great draft, especially with 2 who look like impact players at the top.

 

[DJnVa]

I'm excited to see what Douglas can do if there are more weapons around him.

 

[ShaneTrot]

Mapu forced turnovers in back to back games.

 

[Mugsy's Walk-Off Bunt]

Yes, Lazar mentioned that Mapu has (finally) been playing more LB, thank God. Good to see the turnovers he's been a part of lately. (Though one was on S/Ts, I believe.)

 

[DJnVa]

View: https://twitter.com/MikeReiss/status/1741574377651544290

 

[Eddie Jurak]

Well, at season end I am bullish on the draft class.

Hits
1. Gonzalez, CB: As I said before, the injury was a damned shame.

2. White, DE: Maybe the closest the Pats came to scoring a TD in the godawful final game of the season was White coming thisclose to catching a pass he deflected with no one in front of him. For the season, he played 46% of the defensive snaps (compared to, say, Deatirch Wise's 54%) and he came on as the season went on.

4C. Sidy Sow, G/T: In an overall ugly year for the OL, Sow was able to lock down the RG spot. Played 73% of offensive snaps and was a battler. David Andrews (100%) and Onwenu (81%) were the only OLs who played more. Sure, he had his problems, but the Pats OL was chaos personified, and he provided relative stability. At times he and Onwenu opened up some huge holes on the right side.

6B: Bryce Baringer, P: Not perfect, more shanks than I would like to see, but he can boom it and had an overall promising rookie year.

6C: Demario Douglas, WR: Definite hit. This kid can play, leading the Pats in targets and receiving yards (Zeke had 2 more catches), playing 46% of offensive snaps. The only downsides I see here are these: 1) He's tiny and he was banged up a lot. We think of him as a slot WR, but can he take the absolute beating that a Julian Edelman did for so many years? I have my doubts. 2) He seems jitterbug quick but not especially straight-line fast in game conditions. I think this shows up in his punt returning stats: he returned 11 punts for 56 yards, most of it coming on one 25-yard return. Bryant and Peppers were both more effective. Assuming health, I think he's going to be less star/more complementary player than Edelman or Welker, maybe more Amendola in terms of production. Still a great value in round 6.

Jury is still out

3. Mapu, S/LB. Made some progress late but never really carved out a role for himself. On the season, he played only 18% of defensive snaps, while playing more on ST (47% of snaps, vs. the >75% played by Slater, Schooler, and Board). But I think if your third round pick turns into an ST specialist, that goes down as a fail. There were aonly 3 games all season when he played more than 25% of the defensive snaps, the last of those coming in Week 5. In the final week, he did not get a single defensive snap.

4A. Jake Andrews, C/G: Played a total of 70 offensve snaps at LG. 13 in the next-to-last game and all 57 in the final game. Not sure how well he played, the game as a whole was not a great showing for the Pats OL. Jake playing might have said more about the failings of Antonio Mafi. Nevertheless, let's see what next year brings.

4B. Chad Ryland, K: I am almost but not quite willing to call him a bust. He'll compete for the job next year and will need to show imprvement.

5: Atonio Mafi, G: Played 44% of defensive snaps and had some good moments but seemed to tail off as the season went on. Seems to have conditioning issues. Let's see what he can do with an offseason.

6A: Kayshon Boutte, WR: Incomplete. Not enough plahying time to judge.

7: Isaiah Bolden, CB: Special teamer/project/injured. Jury still out.

Fail:

6D: Ameer Speed, CB: Gone, claimed off waivers. Seems like he'll be a perfectly good ST guy, which is fine in round 6, but not for the Pats.

Five hits, at least, in 12 picks.

 

[DJnVa]

3. Mapu, S/LB. Made some progress late but never really carved out a role for himself. On the season, he played only 18% of defensive snaps, while playing more on ST (47% of snaps, vs. the >75% played by Slater, Schooler, and Board). But I think if your third round pick turns into an ST specialist, that goes down as a fail. There were aonly 3 games all season when he played more than 25% of the defensive snaps, the last of those coming in Week 5. In the final week, he did not get a single defensive snap.

He was trending up in weeks 14, 15, 16 with in INT against KC, a FF against Denver, played a bit against Buffalo then nothing against the Jets. His best game early this season was 5 tackles against Washington, then he didn't play the next game.

No idea if he's just banged up enough to not really warrant an injury designation, or if there are practice issues with him.

 

[Cellar-Door]

Looking like an excellent draft.

Appear to have nailed the top 2 picks, always key.
Appear to have at least 1 late round steal.
Appear to have gotten at least a contributor in Sow mid-rounds.
Got the punter.

For the rest....
Mapu showed some stuff late, he also got caught a bit in a crunch, we had a couple vet S and LB play amazing (Peppers, Tavai, Wilson) and everyone stayed pretty healthy in that position, so he got worked in slow.
Ryland was rough. Kickoffs were good and XP were fine. FGs he was a mess, he'll get a chance in camp is my guess, because K can bounce back and many have at least 1 terrible year at some point, but thin ice.
Andrews... not much to see yet, developmental
Mafi- he wasn't ready for NFL pass-pro, pretty good in the run game, but he's going to need work to contribute long term.
Boutte- hurt most of the year.


Still overall what you hope for in a draft is to nail the top 2 rounds and get a couple role players in the middle and late.
They appear to have done that. Took shots on 3 OL in the hopes 1 popped. Looks like Sow at least is a rotational guy if not more
Took 2 late round WRs in hopes 1 became something, already got that.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

He was trending up in weeks 14, 15, 16 with in INT against KC, a FF against Denver, played a bit against Buffalo then nothing against the Jets. His best game early this season was 5 tackles against Washington, then he didn't play the next game.

No idea if he's just banged up enough to not really warrant an injury designation, or if there are practice issues with him.

Played 70% of ST snaps, so he was available.

 

[DJnVa]

Played 70% of ST snaps, so he was available.

True. Just seems weird. But also, BB is very game plan specific each game, so, I can see certain weeks him just not being in the mix.

Either way, he flashed a few times, so hopefully we get more.

 

[NextBigThing8184]

Mapu was disappointing. Not a bust, but didn’t stand out on special teams and was buried on the depth chart. I loved him coming out of school and seemed like a prototypical “Belichick guy” (versatile, tough, special teams value) but was mostly invisible.

Gonzalez looks like a stud, White seems on the right path, Douglas and Sow seem like keepers. Baringer was solid if unspectacular.

Ryland sucked but overall it seems like a successful class.

I like Keion White a lot and he flashed some big time ability but I think there’s room there to question if that pick wouldn’t have been better served on a TE or OT given the uncertainty of those positions heading into the draft but overall I’m quite pleased with the results thus far.

 

[Devizier]

Mapu had more or less average performance for a third rounder. It’s more than I expected because he seems like a project with traits that Belichick likes, not a guy you pencil in to start right away. Would have preferred Battle, Kraft, or Downs. Maybe one of the D-linemen, but a lot of that performance is scheme dependent. There were a lot of worse ways to go (e.g. Darnell Washington).

 

[DJnVa]

I haven't seen the position breakdown, but wasn't he playing more as a safety earlier in season and then moved up to LB later?

 

[IdiotKicker]

Assuming Gonzalez is back in good health, if you end up with a lockdown CB, two other solid starters and some rotational pieces, that's a fantastic draft.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

Assuming Gonzalez is back in good health, if you end up with a lockdown CB, two other solid starters and some rotational pieces, that's a fantastic draft.

Yes. And there's still potential for more than that.

BTW, where are you on Ryland, Mr. Kicker?

 

[IdiotKicker]

Yes. And there's still potential for more than that.

BTW, where are you on Ryland, Mr. Kicker?

I think he’s a tough kid and I like how he bounced back in the Denver game. He has a big leg. But I think his mechanics suffer from all kinds of inconsistent timing that cause him to spray the ball all over the place. I don’t love guys who generate their torque with a whippy, outside-in motion. It creates the conditions for these kinds of issues. I like guys who are more vertical and work inside-out and drive the ball that way. It’s the exact same as golf and what creates the most stable and consistent platform there. So I wouldn’t have gone the Ryland route because I don’t like his swing. And I wouldn’t keep him now because he’s not getting results with a swing I don’t like.

 

[Over Guapo Grande]

I think he’s a tough kid and I like how he bounced back in the Denver game. He has a big leg. But I think his mechanics suffer from all kinds of inconsistent timing that cause him to spray the ball all over the place. I don’t love guys who generate their torque with a whippy, outside-in motion. It creates the conditions for these kinds of issues. I like guys who are more vertical and work inside-out and drive the ball that way. It’s the exact same as golf and what creates the most stable and consistent platform there. So I wouldn’t have gone the Ryland route because I don’t like his swing. And I wouldn’t keep him now because he’s not getting results with a swing I don’t like.

Is that something that is fixable in an off-season.... changing the swing path?

 

[IdiotKicker]

Is that something that is fixable in an off-season.... changing the swing path?

It’s a complete reinvention of mechanics. I would generally say no.

 

[chilidawg]

Sidy Sow makes the PFF all rookie team:

Sow, a fourth-rounder from Eastern Michigan, gave New England a lot of solid reps, especially in the run game. His 71.2 PFF run-blocking grade led all rookie linemen by a wide margin.
Where Sow excelled was in gap schemes. His 80.8 PFF gap scheme run-blocking grade ranked third-best among all qualified guards. He needs work in pass protection, but finding a player like Sow in the fourth round was a nice addition to the Patriots’ roster.

https://www.patspulpit.com/new-england-patriots-social-media-video-podcasts/2024/1/17/24041259/patriots-sidy-sow-pff-all-rookie-team-2023

 

[NextBigThing8184]

For all the horrendous OL play the first half of the year, the right side of the line looked pretty solid with Sow and Onwenu down the stretch. Hopefully Onwenu comes back and Sow continues to improve. He looked awful early but by the end of the year looked like a competent starter

 

[Eddie Jurak]

He's the new Onwenu (PFF darling).

 

[MuppetAsteriskTalk]

Who are the best tackles available in the draft that are most likely able to handle the left side?