I have not really done any film this year, but I saw some highlights on YouTube and Goedert's hands remind me of Gronk. There are not a lot higher compliments - Gronk probably has the best hands I've ever seen. Given how the Patriots value TE, I would think he'd be in play at 31 or 43. The issue is he played against weak competition and he didn't do any testing this offseason. I would feel a lot more comfortable if I knew he ran a 4.7 as opposed to a 4.9.
We can’t draft an actual projected second round safety in the second round though. In all seriousness as long as we aren’t using him as a single high guy he’d be a great box slot type. I’d rather see him than Jordan Richards.
That's interesting that they met with Moore, Ridley, and (rumored) Sutton - all three of the WR getting first-round buzz. Certainly suggests they might use a high pick - maybe even 23 - to replace Cooks. And none of these guys have injuries that I'm aware of where they'd need to check boxes there.
Am I missing something re: Cannon? He signed a 5 year contract before 2017. He is signed through 2021 at a reasonable cap figure (<$8M each year). Why would they need to replace him?
So to me when I see the clear need to upgrade the front seven and the lack of interviews with defensive tackles (I find that glaring) I think they interviewed a lot of potential first round picks they won't be making. I might be reading way much into those tea leaves but it's Friday before the draft and it is a really slow day at work.
I'm wondering if it indicates more of an interest in a position than the individual players (like with that Jimmy G example). So maybe they brought in Ridley, Sutton, Kirk, and Moore - which means they'll draft Anthony Miller.
I was going to look into this but can't get access to a reliable list of official visits. Draftace has the current year but can't find the archives for this data. If anyone knows where to get that back data it would be great.
He turns 30 in a couple weeks, he ended last year on IR, and he's cuttable after this season. You're right his contract is very reasonable if he's healthy and performing like he did in 2016, but he's at an age where we can't take that for granted anymore.
I get that, but RT seems so far down the list of needs, even considering that. They have Waddle and Croston on the roster. There are like 10 positions that need upgrading and/or future replacement more than RT
I might agree looking at RT specifically. Looking at OT as a whole, it's maybe the least certain position on the roster. Cannon's good but coming off injury. Waddle's a stopgap (he looked good last year but in only 28% of snaps and his contract tells you how he's thought of around the league). Garcia's a complete wildcard. Croston's a UDFA who barely played last year and was a G when he did. They have Matt Tobin now, too, I guess? And Luke Bowanko? I'd rather they get more of a LT type but OT is arguably the weakest position group on the team.
Can't disagree with any of that. I think we are talking more semantics here though. If they draft a OT early I can't imagine it is so they can cut Cannon next year, but crazier things have happened I suppose
This is a good point. I always think it's interesting, too, when Belichick chooses to meet with a guy where he does know the college coach intimately, such as Ronnie Harrison and Calvin Ridley this year.
Nice catch on Hurst. Also, thought of another one that applied some of those years was Schiano and Rutgers.
Oh, right, I wasn't thinking historical. That would also get you Saban's other stops (LSU, Michigan State), Meyer's other stops (Florida; not sure if they were buddies when Urban was at Utah), Pat Hill at Fresno State, Bill O'Brien at Penn State, Charlie Weis at Notre Dame, Chip Kelly at UNH and Oregon (and now UCLA). Josh McDaniels' brother was at Minnesota for a while; I remember in one of the Holley books that was a connection that led them to (unfortunately) draft Laurence Maroney. Ben McD is now at Michigan, it appears, and he was at Rutgers a few years ago post-Schiano.
I'm sure they'd love Edmunds but I think he's long gone before they have a chance to pick him. Carter seems more realistic (and his Combine was insane).
3-cone certainly seems like it's the big drill for DBs. Justin Coleman / Rowe / Richards were 1-2-3 in 3-cone for DBs in 2015. McCourty, Gilmore, Ryan, and Cyrus Jones were top-five in their respective years. I would think the top six in 3-cone this year - Jordan Thomas (who set the 3-cone record and played for Bob Stoops), two Penn State guys in Grant Haley and Troy Apke, Justin Reid (another Stanford S), Pittsburgh CB Avonte Maddox, and Northwestern S Godwin Igwebuike - would all be possibilities. Reid is a high pick and the rest are probably day three special teamer types.
My last post and this crossed but Bob Stoops is apparently one of Belichick's guys, so there's a connection there.
He would count as a connection for Conor McDermott then I think, spelling on mobile.
I know tight end isn't a strength in this years class but I figured given that Gronk is injury prone to begin with that they would be looking at drafting a guy. It looks like they aren't going to draft one high or at all.
If you read through the ITP Draft Guide (and we're not the only ones who feel this way), it becomes really clear that there aren't any complete tight ends. Obviously Gronk is a unicorn but a lot of these guys are downright poor blockers. Your list of TE visits includes arguably the two best blockers in the class (Smythe and Izzo) and two guys in Samuels and Flowers who might be Develin replacements. This Tom Gower Tweet sums it up:
I'll be surprised if Landry doesn't go in the top half in round one. It's worth noting that no team has invested fewer top-50 picks in edge rushers than the Patriots since 2000; Chandler Jones is really the only one. I think a guy like Carter or Hubbard with some positional flexibility is more their style than a raw guy like Davenport or Sweat, but never say never.
They absolutely would, given the last time they picked in the top-20 they took an OT; clearly it's a position they value, and clearly it's a position of need. As for will they, and who fits best, who knows? It says something that the two starting OT in the Super Bowl last year were Solder and Fleming; it is hard to imagine two more different body types and athleticism profiles. Kolton Miller and Brian O'Neill athletically are closest to Solder, Vollmer, or either of the two guys they drafted last year (Garcia and McDermott). (Worth noting: Mike McGlinchey didn't test so it's hard to know how he stacks up.) Williams tested well but he's a little smaller; OTOH, he tracks with a guy like Matt Light. Tyrell Crosby essentially in the same boat. Orlando Brown and Jamarco Jones had brutal Combines but some good tape; they might be Flemingish middle-round options. I don't think any of these guys is as "clean" as you'd like a first-round OT to be, but we might have said the same for Solder so in Scar/BB I trust if they do take a T early.
Maybe, but then I don't see how you use a high pick on a TE who is essentially a zero in one aspect of the game. Treat it like RB then and use a couple mid-round picks on specialists and mix-and-match them.
That's what teams are doing now. There's flex tight ends and there's in-line.
Sure. If he makes it out of the top 10 I will donate $25 to the Jimmy Fund. PFF probably did the draft based on their college based calculations. Turns out there is a correlation between college production and nfl success. I consider PFF and FO as interesting data points but not something to solely hang ones hat on. Chubb is going top 10, and probably top 4. Those guys know Chubb won't go #13 or at least I sincerely hope they do. I haven't read it but I would bet they probably prefaced it with that disclaimer.
No disclaimers. Here's their picks before Chubb--1. Mayfield 2. Darnold 3. Rosen 4. James 5. Nelson 6. Josh Jackson 7. Barkley 8. Landry 9. Hurst 10. R. Smith 11. Fitzpatrick 12. Lamar Jackson
It's better to have a multi-purpose guy. I'm just not sure where you get one anymore. It seems like it's easier to find RBs who have run / pass versatility nowadays. You can use play action to keep teams honest. You can also mix-and-match personnel - use your scat back with your blocking TE, play your blocking TE and your receiving TE at the same time, play your blocking TE with three WR, etc.
