2022 Patriots free agency period

Over Guapo Grande

panty merchant
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Nov 29, 2005
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"Greetings Coach. This is Matthew Slater. We just completed a simple and pleasant negotiation regarding my 2022 compensation. Perhaps you intended to SMS to Matthew Judon?"
Yes, indeed... to all the above, Nicely done,

EDIT - You owe me a new keyboard, due to me spitting out my coffee in a laugh reading that. #newkeyboardbecausesomeonemademelaughwhiledrinkingcoffee

(That is totally going to trend on tweetface)
 

GB5

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Aug 26, 2013
675
Bills OL Bates who Pats had in for a visit and certainly a position of need has signed an offer sheet.......with the Bears...so cross him off.
 

Dogman

Yukon Cornelius
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Mar 19, 2004
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LT: Wynn, Cajuste, Herron
LG: Onwenu, Ferentz
C: Andrews, Ferentz
RG: Desjarlais, Onwenu
LT: Brown, Durant

9 OL at this point. Not sure if the Pats use FA for the OL moving forward and they go the draft route for T/G.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
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Jul 15, 2005
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LT: Wynn, Cajuste, Herron
LG: Onwenu, Ferentz
C: Andrews, Ferentz
RG: Desjarlais, Onwenu
LT: Brown, Durant

9 OL at this point. Not sure if the Pats use FA for the OL moving forward and they go the draft route for T/G.
Clearly there is a need at G. While they could line up and play today with Ferentz, that's not ideal
 

Saints Rest

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LT: Wynn, Cajuste, Herron
LG: Onwenu, Ferentz
C: Andrews, Ferentz
RG: Desjarlais, Onwenu
LT: Brown, Durant

9 OL at this point. Not sure if the Pats use FA for the OL moving forward and they go the draft route for T/G.
I think that's a highly optimistic landing spot for Desjarlais. He's probably PS at best.

I also think that Herron is clear #2 at LT after Wynn, while Cajuste is #2 at RT.
 

Cellar-Door

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Aug 1, 2006
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yeah, I think it's really 8 with Desjarles fringy at best to make the roster.

I would guess that they want to add one more vet and draft at least 1 OL.
 

Saints Rest

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yeah, I think it's really 8 with Desjarles fringy at best to make the roster.

I would guess that they want to add one more vet and draft at least 1 OL.
I think a more pessimistic view is that there are 4 starters on the roster right now (Wynn, Andrews, Onwenu, Brown), 1 solid backup (Herron), 3 JAGs (Cajuste, Durant, Ferentz) and 1 lottery ticket/developrmental guy (Desjarlais).

So another vet and a couple Day 3 picks are pretty likely, plus a couple UDFAs. Maybe even a Day 2 guy.
 

Cellar-Door

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I think a more pessimistic view is that there are 4 starters on the roster right now (Wynn, Andrews, Onwenu, Brown), 1 solid backup (Herron), 3 JAGs (Cajuste, Durant, Ferentz) and 1 lottery ticket/developrmental guy (Desjarlais).

So another vet and a couple Day 3 picks are pretty likely, plus a couple UDFAs. Maybe even a Day 2 guy.
yeah, that's also a fair assessment.
I was just thinking that at minimum they'd probably like to add one clear roster worthy vet, and 1 guy in the draft. Beyond that yeah they probably would like to bring in some more guys in either later picks, UDFA, cuts, etc. to fight it out for the bottom.

Also, we forgot Sherman, I think he's still on a futures contract too. All those guys will be fighting it out for a few bench spots and Practice squad spots.
 

Bowser

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Sep 27, 2019
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And according to Evan Lazar, Onwenu is likely to be plugged in at RG. But plenty of room on the Cole Strange bandwagon!

Name Ht Wt Arm 40 Bench Vert Broad 3 Cone 20 Yd Shuttle
Strange 6'5" 307 33.00 5.03 31 28.0 120 7.44 4.50
Thuney 6'5" 304 32.25 4.95 28 28.5 110 7.47 4.54
 

Dogman

Yukon Cornelius
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I think that's a highly optimistic landing spot for Desjarlais. He's probably PS at best.

I also think that Herron is clear #2 at LT after Wynn, while Cajuste is #2 at RT.
I was more listing the current depth for OL and not saying Desjarlais is the starter. I'm not sure they do anything more during FA for the OL and simply go the draft route and likely make 2 picks/UDFA.

There is also a high probability that there will be plenty of camp cuts to add to this OL.
 

RIrooter09

Alvin
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Jul 31, 2008
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If I remember him right he's a SS who is fast and good in the run game, but not so good in coverage.

Also a return guy, which might be needed with Gunner leaving.
Sounds like an early career Patrick Chung (minus the return prowess).
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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Definitely worth a look. But man his coverage skills are...not good. Here's what it looked like this past season statistically:

23 targets, 20 completions (87.0%), 9.8 yds/target, 1 td, 0 int, 122.1 rating

Over his career he's allowed 117 completions in 176 targets (66.5%), and 9 TDs.

So yeah, special teams, run support, but hopefully he doesn't get matched up too much in coverage.
 

Phil Plantier

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Mar 7, 2002
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Peppers is the safety version of Jamie Collins, right? Great athletic skills, can make wow plays, but often out of position.

As a ST specialist he would be elite.
 

tims4wins

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Very much like this signing. Gunner didn't contribute beyond ST. If Peppers can give them some hybrid snaps in addition to ST, it's good use of a roster spot.
 

BigJimEd

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Jan 4, 2002
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A very intriguing low risk, high reward guy who is versatile
Can you expand on Pepper's versatility? I know Yates as well talked about his defensive versatility. I'm not that familiar with Pepper's game and heard others discuss him primarily being in the box SS due to his coverage deficiencies.
 

cornwalls@6

Less observant than others
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Apr 23, 2010
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Very much like this signing. Gunner didn't contribute beyond ST. If Peppers can give them some hybrid snaps in addition to ST, it's good use of a roster spot.
Agree. And still a young guy, playing on what seems like a low risk, high upside contract. With potentially a lot of versatility. Feels like some of the other good value signings that have been a hallmark of BB's tenure.
 

RedOctober3829

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Can you expand on Pepper's versatility? I know Yates as well talked about his defensive versatility. I'm not that familiar with Pepper's game and heard others discuss him primarily being in the box SS due to his coverage deficiencies.
He's played in the box SS, slot corner, and deep safety in his career plus being a punt and kickoff returner. Very versatile player who will probably be useful in a zone-heavy scheme and adds speed to the field. He'll also rush the passer.

It should also be easy for Bill to evaluate how he'd use Peppers seeing that he came from a system in New York that was ran by Patrick Graham.

This was his snap count by position last year before he got hurt per PFF: Slot 107, Box safety 60, edge rusher 32, wide corner 19, free safety 11.
 

thehitcat

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I don't have much to add other than I'm excited he's a Pat as I've been a fan since Michigan's recruiting picked up and I started watching him play HS ball. Hope Jabrill has a big year!
 

Zososoxfan

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As a Michigan fan I'm thrilled Jabrill is signing with the Pats. This guy was a 5* recruit and makes the list of highest rated recruits of all time, coming in at around 30th (similar rankings to Julio Jones, Myles Garrett, Trenton Thomas, Dexter Lawrence, Bryce Brown, etc.). IOW, he's got the physical tools. Jabrill was one of the first hybrid 'space-backers' Michigan used under Don Brown. From what I can remember, that means some combo of WLB, Nickel, SS roles. As the nickel, he was an excellent tackler, so he should get a chance to stay on the field. Jabrill can lay the wood and the dude is fierce. Quite good at rushing the passer, shedding blocks, and elite closing speed. In his second year at UM (2015) he was more of a coverage guy, and had 10 pass breakups, along with 5.5 TFLs. His next and last year of college, he was more of a playmaker/rusher and he had 3 sacks, 13 TFLs, but only 1 breakup (and an INT). He also played some RZ offense (looking forward to breaking this out against the Ravens in the playoffs), mostly as a rusher/wildcat QB but also a handful of receptions.

As a pro, his best season was with NYG in 2020--8 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, 11 breakups, 1 INT, and 1 forced fumble. The 2 seasons prior (1 with NYG, 1 with CLE) were underwhelming, with a handful of breakups each year on lower TFL/sack numbers.

I'll defer to others regarding his coverage skills, but in Belichick I trust--he'll put him in the best positions to succeed. Jabrill as a returner has also been mentioned already, but even more so than his actual returns he's incredibly good at fielding punts and not yielding hidden yards. He also quite hilariously had the habit of being very helpful in marking the ball on his returns, and on one occasion I think he even moved it back after placing it down a first time. I think Jabrill will be a monster in NE, maybe as a 4-down player, but certainly against the run and adequate against the pass. ST contributions should also be a plus.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5620/22129567732_f4802f7814_o.gif
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Aug 23, 2008
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The Giants have been so poorly coached. Obviously that doesn't account for all or most of a player's success but the Pats have a good track record of bringing in guys like this and making it work better than it did before for a player.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
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Jul 15, 2005
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The Giants have been so poorly coached. Obviously that doesn't account for all or most of a player's success but the Pats have a good track record of bringing in guys like this and making it work better than it did before for a player.
Good thing Judge is back! I kid. Kind of.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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I’m no coverage expert and I don’t know the schemes the Giants were running but if you look at Peppers’ coverage stats, they’re depressingly awful. Statistically, no case can be made that thus far in his career he’s shown the ability to be good in coverage.

Now maybe it’s due to how they use him or the matchups he’s had or one of any number of other possible reasons. But his coverage stats are awful.
 

Zososoxfan

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I’m no coverage expert and I don’t know the schemes the Giants were running but if you look at Peppers’ coverage stats, they’re depressingly awful. Statistically, no case can be made that thus far in his career he’s shown the ability to be good in coverage.

Now maybe it’s due to how they use him or the matchups he’s had or one of any number of other possible reasons. But his coverage stats are awful.
Is there a way to look up what receiver a player is tasked with guarding? I ask because if Peppers is this bad in coverage, I have to think BB will do whatever he can to mask that. IOW, if he's better in zone BB will try to use him more in zone. If Peppers can't cover the slot, but can cover TEs, then he'll have him do that. As I mentioned above, Peppers was something of a viper/spacebacker in college and I think that meant he was tasked with diagnosing/reacting on most plays, as opposed to being in straight man coverage. A lot of Peppers success or failure will likely depend on whether he's deployed as a SS, WLB, nickel, or a hybrid/combo.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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Great question, and I don't know the answer. For anyone interested, here's his pass defense stats.

50495
 

Dr. Gonzo

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What is the date free agent signings no longer factor in to the comp pick formula?
 

E5 Yaz

Transcends message boarding
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Reiss, with a comment from Belichick at the owners meeting

  • WR Matthew Slater re-signed to one-year deal: "[He] will go up there, in the kicking game, with [Tom] Brady on offense and [Lawrence] Taylor on defense. So I feel very, very fortunate to have the opportunity to coach all the players, but I'd say those three in particular."
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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Thanks. Jarvis Landry and Trey Flowers were cut so they don’t factor in but just curious if that’s the next date for movement on the rest of the FA class
Flowers seems to me to be a good "bring back to NE" kind of guy. Hurt much of the last two seasons, but he was productive with Detroit the year after he left the Patriots. Only 28 years old right now. I wonder if he could be had for a small salary. If so, we know he's a capable player, and seems like the kind of guy who would do well back in Foxboro.
 

GB5

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Aug 26, 2013
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According to Reis the Pats need about another 900K just to add Parker and then an estimated 3.5 million to sign the estimated draft picks. Now they can certainly make that happen but they have been reluctant to convert future money to get some space this year. That leads me to believe it is going to be difficult to bring in Flowers for anything more than short money and the same for a left guard.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
24,369
So what are the biggest needs going into the draft now for NE, following the acquisition of Parker?

In my opinion:

1. DL
2. Speed at LB
3. CB
4. OL
5. WR

Of course, they'll draft the best player available to them on their board. But these are what I think they now need the most. WR slips down a few spots, though of course if they can get a dynamic playmaker I want them to snag one.