Grade the Pats Draft: How Did BB/Nike Do?

How would you rate this draft?

  • A+

    Votes: 16 5.8%
  • A

    Votes: 74 26.9%
  • A-

    Votes: 72 26.2%
  • B+

    Votes: 74 26.9%
  • B

    Votes: 27 9.8%
  • B-

    Votes: 5 1.8%
  • C+

    Votes: 4 1.5%
  • C

    Votes: 2 0.7%
  • C-

    Votes: 1 0.4%
  • D or F

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    275

BigSoxFan

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May 31, 2007
47,088
Well, the 2021 draft is in the books:

Round 1: Mac Jones (15)
Round 2: Christian Barmore (38)
Round 3: Ronnie Perkins (96)
Round 4: Rhamondre Stevenson (120)
Round 5: Cameron McGrone (177)
Round 6: Joshuah Bledsoe (188)
Round 6: William Sherman (197)
Round 7: Tre Nixon (242)
 

Saints Rest

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I'm giving it a B+. The depth of their roster meant that they would want to reduce bites at the apple, which they did a bit. They seem to have avoided any of Bill's usual head-scratchers. They got a couple guys who had reported value above where they were picked, and seemed to avoid any major reaches.

That said, I think it's a good draft for this Patriots team, but not a draft where we will look back in 5-10 years and say "holy cow, they nailed that draft, with multiple pro-bowlers." More likely, we'll be happy if they got a few solid contributors.

Put another way, I think this will likely end up being looked at in the context of Patriot history as a mid to upper tier draft, something like ranked in the 10-15 range.

If anyone cares, this page shows every Patriot draft pick, ever, sorted by year, with stats. My top 5 Patriot drafts, viewed in hindsight, would likely be this:
  1. 1973
  2. 1977
  3. 1995
  4. 1996
  5. 2010 (would have ranked higher if Hernandez hadn't been a murderer)
 
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j44thor

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Aug 1, 2006
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Seems like a boom or bust draft to me.
Mac Jones could be Matt Ryan or he could be Josh Rosen.
Barmore could be Chris Jones or he could be Albert Haynesworth.
Perkins scares me with the low athletic score for an edge.
Stevenson sounds a lot like Gus Edwards which is solid value in the 4th round.
Rest of the picks I don't know enough about.

Draft comes down to Jones/Barmore for me. They need to hit on at least one of them, ideally both.
 
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lexrageorge

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Jul 31, 2007
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I gave it an A-, as I think this was an ideal time to draft a first round QB and a boom-or-bust DT in the 2nd round. And they had to do something with those extra 4th round picks. Bill needed to put together a solid defensive core to build around; hopefully between last year's draft and this one they did just that.

The team still lacks depth at WR, and the Gilmore situation remains status quo. But the roster build out is not yet done, so we'll see what happens.

If anyone cares, this page shows every Patriot draft pick, ever, sorted by year, with stats. My top 5 Patriot drafts, viewed in hindsight, would likely be this:
  1. 1973
  2. 1977
  3. 1995
  4. 1996
  5. 2010 (would have ranked higher if Hernandez hadn't been a murderer)
Could be a thread in its own right, as those were definitely excellent drafts. But I would add the 2001 draft just because reading Borges reaction to it will never, ever get old. And I thought the 2003 draft was a real win, as Ty Warren, Eugene Wilson, Asante Samuel, and Dan Koppen were all pressed into action and immediately played a big role in the back-to-back 14-2 Super Bowl winning juggernauts. And Dan Klecko and Tully Banta-Cain were decent value given their respective draft slots; the only real bust was Bethel Johnson.
 

BigSoxFan

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May 31, 2007
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Who still contributed mightily to 2 key wins against hated rivals and was totally worth it!
Yup. That KO return against Indy was electric and the bomb against the Titans in the playoffs in -50 degree weather was huge given how tight that game was. I don’t think anyone really expected him to be a reliable WR for the offense.
 

Dick Drago

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Mar 28, 2002
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If anyone cares, this page shows every Patriot draft pick, ever, sorted by year, with stats. My top 5 Patriot drafts, viewed in hindsight, would likely be this:
  1. 1973
  2. 1977
  3. 1995
  4. 1996
  5. 2010 (would have ranked higher if Hernandez hadn't been a murderer)
Fairbanks really did a great job-‘76 wasn’t bad either, Mike Haynes, Pete Brock, Tim Fox—and some useful late round picks like Doug Beaudoin.
 
Sep 1, 2019
170
I voted B, simply because I would have liked to see a trade up to get Fields. But BB seems to be building a different type of team, directly against the current trend in the NFL. It will be fascinating to see if it works.

If anyone cares, this page shows every Patriot draft pick, ever, sorted by year, with stats. My top 5 Patriot drafts, viewed in hindsight, would likely be this:
  1. 1973
  2. 1977
  3. 1995
  4. 1996
  5. 2010 (would have ranked higher if Hernandez hadn't been a murderer)
Thanks for this link. I think people forget what a great drafter Chuck Fairbanks was--at least I know I had.
 

Dotrat

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I voted A- only because I wanted them to take an OT, where, given Wynn's recent injury history and Brown's short-term contract, they feel a bit thin.
 

Cellar-Door

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Aug 1, 2006
34,460
Obviously draft grades are inherently dumb, but with that in mind:

I went B+

15- Jones is a good pick here mostly because of the relative value of QB to every other position, not a home run to me, but good.
38- Love this pick, explosive talent to me BPA for a number of slots by that point
96- I don't love this, I get the value but I worry it's another big school edge that lacks the physical tools for the NFL added to the collection
120- RBs who aren't elite athletic passing threats aren't worth top 150 picks.

Everything else is late round where basically any pick is fine because value is impossible to really gague after 175. I like McGrone's upside as a redshirt.
 

Mugsy's Jock

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I said 'B', but really should be 'BB', for two reasons:

1. Bill Belichick. The selection of Mac Jones is on him. That sounds meaner than I intend it to -- I'm totally enthusiastic for Belichick selecting the quarterback he feels good about, and his use of 1-15 is pretty good evidence of that. Sure, I would've have found it more fun to root for a team with Trey Lance or Justin Fields taking snaps, in the same way it should've been fun to root for a team with Cam Newton taking snaps. Cam did his best, but turns out it's more fun to root for a team that wins a lot, and I trust BB's process on that front.

2. Boom or Bust. I hated Barmore as a first-rounder, but found him super-intriguing as a second-rounder... if he can keep his head out of his ample ass. Ronnie Perkins seemed like an incredible value pick, but not sure what he brings that WInovich and Uche can't. Either he's so good he can't be kept off the field, or it'll be a wasted third-rounder. McGrone seems to me like he could be a real fan favorite thanks to effort and smarts... but may not get beyond STs.

The middle round picks seemed more B+ to me. I think I held a torch for LeGarrette Blount more than most SoSHers, and when Stevenson said he recognized a potential Pats fit because of his similarity to LGBT, I swooned. If Scar were still around, I'd be convinced Sherman would get coached-up to being All-Pro... but the post-Scar track record with Onwenu and Herron for getting modest OL prospects to be fine-to-really good inspires confidence.
 

vadertime

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Voted C+. I don't mind Jones, but did we really want him or was he simply what was left after the wheel stopped spinning. I know I'm in the minority, but I'm not a fan of drafting a couple potheads, regardless of talent potential.
 

Justthetippett

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Aug 9, 2015
2,391
I said B. We’ll obviously never really know how Bill truly graded the QBs, but if Mac was his 2nd or 3rd best evaluated option, then I’m glad he went for it instead of waiting for a guy like Mills or Mond. I was really hoping for Fields but once that fell through, I think it was better not to wait. If Barmore could play for Saban in college (I know he had his issues, but he obviously pulled it together), then I’m confident he can get it together for a professional career. Perkins does seem a bit redundant, but I guess you put those guys out there and let them compete. Stevenson likely does the RB red shirt thing and serves as a useful piece in 2022. McGrone would be a real bonus picked late.
 

bankshot1

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where I was last at
I give the off-season process a high-grade, spending a lot of money on known quality FA to fill a shit-ton of holes, and then using the draft to maybe find the biggest need to complete the circle, made sense to me. IMO they may be a play-off team again. We're not going to really know about Mac Jones for a couple of years, as I expect BB will stand by his Cam, for a little while longer. Bama had so much positional talent its hard to separate out how good Mac can be, but it seems he's smart and might be talented enough to run the Pats offense. Disclaimer: I didn't watch much college ball the past year, as reception under my bed sucked..

IMO the physical, ground and pound, ball control approach we seem to be taking, makes sense to me.

BB: Tries hard/almost always, could improve on playing with other

Final Grade Inc.
 

Old Fart Tree

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Voted C+. I don't mind Jones, but did we really want him or was he simply what was left after the wheel stopped spinning. I know I'm in the minority, but I'm not a fan of drafting a couple potheads, regardless of talent potential.
Why?Historically there’s been a statistically significant value arbitrage in drafting guys who slid due to pot, even before the NFL stopped suspending for it. I don’t think we should draft PCP smoking serial killers anymore, but guys who puff don’t seem to be a big deal. Hell, it’s arguably way better for pain management than toradol and whatever opiate du jour the Sacklers are poisoning the world with.
 

lexrageorge

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Voted C+. I don't mind Jones, but did we really want him or was he simply what was left after the wheel stopped spinning. I know I'm in the minority, but I'm not a fan of drafting a couple potheads, regardless of talent potential.
You would probably be shocked at the percentage of college football players that have smoked pot during their time on campus. Unclear you'd be able to field enough teams if you eliminated players for that reason.
 

wiffleballhero

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Mar 28, 2009
4,529
In the simulacrum
You're all tough graders.

I'm going to be an optimist and give it an A+. Why not? Part of the problem with a draft is that other teams get to pick too.

I don't know, it seems to me that it is a near miracle that the Pats made it out of this draft with potentially a QB for the next decade who seems, despite his weaknesses, to be almost ideally suited to thrive in Foxboro. And then downstream from that they bulked up in ways that are going to add to this identity of the team they are building. I can't wait to watch, say, Stevenson have some game where the Colts are wishing they only were getting thrashed by Jonas Gray.

I think the future looks bright.
 

vadertime

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Why?Historically there’s been a statistically significant value arbitrage in drafting guys who slid due to pot, even before the NFL stopped suspending for it. I don’t think we should draft PCP smoking serial killers anymore, but guys who puff don’t seem to be a big deal. Hell, it’s arguably way better for pain management than toradol and whatever opiate du jour the Sacklers are poisoning the world with.
I guess part of it is having beenan 80's kid and having it drilled into me that drugs are bad, marijuana is bad, etc. I know society has started to come around on marijuana, but I still see a large portion of those smoking it as unmotivated. I welcome being proven wrong though.
 

Cellar-Door

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Aug 1, 2006
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]
You would probably be shocked at the percentage of college football players that have smoked pot during their time on campus. Unclear you'd be able to field enough teams if you eliminated players for that reason.
If you gave me an over under on current Patriots who smoke pot at 50% of the team I'm taking the over.
 
Sep 1, 2019
170
We really need to know Paul Finebaum's opinion--his hot take on BB drafting has been the running narrative on ESPN for the last several days.

The never-ending ESPN Patriots hatred is not the main reason why I hope Belichick grinds out a gritty dominance going forward, but it is certainly one of them.
 

DJnVa

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Dec 16, 2010
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I don't know how to rate a draft before any of them play outside of who they got based on how they were ranked. After the first 3 rounds, they were #2 in value.
 

MuppetAsteriskTalk

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I gave it a B. I love the trade up but with Jenkins on the board I wish he was the target.

Also at 96 I thought Michael Carter was too good to pass up as the 3rd down back of the future. But perhaps they didn't have a good evaluation on him or they think Taylor can fill that role.

I'm also not too excited about Mac.

Having said all that, I don't know diddly squat about this stuff. And a B isn't so bad anyway.
 

DJnVa

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Dec 16, 2010
53,840
If anyone cares, this page shows every Patriot draft pick, ever, sorted by year, with stats. My top 5 Patriot drafts, viewed in hindsight, would likely be this:
  1. 1973
  2. 1977
  3. 1995
  4. 1996
  5. 2010 (would have ranked higher if Hernandez hadn't been a murderer)
Maybe a topic for another thread, but if we're looking at the value we got, how can any draft be above 2000?
 

54thMA

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Aug 15, 2012
10,154
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I gave it an A- if for no other reason than there was not a single WHO?? pick and they did not trade down/out of rounds to stockpile more picks later in the draft/next year.

Between the draft and free agents, they have totally rebuilt their front 7, which was a mess last year and the skill sets at TE and to a lesser degree, WR.

Seems like Belichick is in GFIN mode.

That's fine by me.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
72,432
Jones A-
Barmore A+
Perkins B+
stevenson A+
McGrone inc/B
Bledsoe B-
Sherman A-
Nixon B

Overall: A-
 

54thMA

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Aug 15, 2012
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Westwood MA
I voted B, simply because I would have liked to see a trade up to get Fields. But BB seems to be building a different type of team, directly against the current trend in the NFL. It will be fascinating to see if it works.


Thanks for this link. I think people forget what a great drafter Chuck Fairbanks was--at least I know I had.
Behind Belichick and Parcells, he's my third favorite Patriots coach.

Not sure what happened between him and the Sullivan's that caused him to leave but what a wagon those 76-78 teams were, they 100% got screwed out of a Super Bowl win and had he hung around, I firmly believe he would have gotten them one, maybe two. Erhardt inherited his team in 1979 and proceeded to piss it all away, several veterans from the 76-78 teams eventually did get to the Super Bowl.
 

snowmanny

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B+

An A for me would have involved getting another 2nd round pick and grabbing a more quickly usable Safety or maybe OLineman
 

cornwalls@6

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I went B+. Like others, I was really hoping they'd land Fields. But I have decent confidence that Jones will be a good, productive NFL QB, though I don't think his ceiling goes to elite. Barmore is a perfect very high upside/risk to use a second on. Beyond those two, Stevenson and McGrone intrigue me the most. Both feel like they may be somewhat undervalued bargains. If this nets 2-3 starters/core contributors, mission accomplished.
 
Sep 1, 2019
170
Not sure what happened between him and the Sullivan's that caused him to leave but what a wagon those 76-78 teams were, they 100% got screwed out of a Super Bowl win and had he hung around, I firmly believe he would have gotten them one, maybe two. Erhardt inherited his team in 1979 and proceeded to piss it all away, several veterans from the 76-78 teams eventually did get to the Super Bowl.
I think it had to do with Chuck S. reneging on player contracts that Chuck F. had negotiated (shocking that he would do this, I know) and plus they just disliked each other. Neither was particularly likable, and Fairbanks was, to put it gently, unethical at times (left Oklahoma just ahead of the investigators, negotiated deal with Colorado while still Pats coach), but as a coach and talent evaluator/drafter, Fairbanks was superb. He probably should have stayed in the pro game, but the Colorado boosters were offering a lot of money.

Ben Dreith will forever rank near the top of my list of personal villains. He was wrong on that phantom call in 1976 and he knew it too. One of the most egregious examples of a referee altering an outcome. The massive success of the BB era has rendered it largely forgotten. but it still burns me. That amazing Patriots team never got their chance at a Super Bowl.
 
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54thMA

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I think it had to do with Chuck S. reneging on player contracts that Chuck F. had negotiated (shocking that he would do this, I know) and plus they just disliked each other. Neither was particularly likable, and Fairbanks was, to put it gently, unethical at times (left Oklahoma just ahead of the investigators, negotiated deal with Colorado while still Pats coach), but as a coach and talent evalutor/drafter, Fairbanks was superb. He probably should have stayed in the pro game, but the Colorado boosters were offering a lot of money.

Ben Dreith will forever rank near the top of my personal villains. He was wrong on that phantom call in 1976 and he knew it too. One of the best examples of a referee altering an outcome. The massive success of the BB era has rendered it largely forgotten. but it still burns me. That amazing Patriots team never got their chance at a Super Bowl.
Thanks.

Fairbanks was a great coach and talent evaluator as you mentioned.

Blaming the referees/umpires/officials gets old, but that 1976 team got jobbed by a crooked piece of garbage, he basically admitted he made a bogus call on that and the pathetic thing is he wears it like a badge of honor.

That team was loaded and would have beaten a banged up Steelers team the following week and a soft Minnesota team that was at the end of their 1970's run.

A real shame.

And I wonder about the 1978 team as well; they were loaded too and the Fairbanks nonsense prior to the last game of the season and then the playoff game derailed that team.

Opportunity wasted for sure, then Erhardt drove what was left of that team off a cliff in 1979 and 1980.
 

KingChre

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Jul 31, 2009
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I guess part of it is having beenan 80's kid and having it drilled into me that drugs are bad, marijuana is bad, etc. I know society has started to come around on marijuana, but I still see a large portion of those smoking it as unmotivated. I welcome being proven wrong though.
You should keep this take in the 80's where it belongs.
 

MuppetAsteriskTalk

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I've known some super motivated daily smokers. Then there are people like me that are bumps on a log if they smoke. Don't think you can draw any conclusions.
 

Jimbodandy

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Voted C+. I don't mind Jones, but did we really want him or was he simply what was left after the wheel stopped spinning. I know I'm in the minority, but I'm not a fan of drafting a couple potheads, regardless of talent potential.
Lol at "potheads". Good luck finding a 21yo who isn't a fan. It's like finding guys in the 80s who didn't throw Coors back on weekends.
 

RG33

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Voted C+. I don't mind Jones, but did we really want him or was he simply what was left after the wheel stopped spinning. I know I'm in the minority, but I'm not a fan of drafting a couple beer drinkers, regardless of talent potential.
That is where my head went to and it feels really different.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Better to use mj than pick up a devastating lifelong addiction to opioids which, to be fair, the league seems to prefer.
 

Ralphwiggum

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I didn’t get into cannabis until I was in my forties, its been a godsend in terms of managing anxiety, and I would have drank a ton less over the course of my life if I had I found it earlier. I am an attorney who has been pretty successful in my career and it hasn’t impacted my motivation. My wife and I use it to relax fairly often, she’s the head of HR at a biotech.

My brother in law who is 16 years younger than me has been a daily smoker since high school (he’s in his early 30s now). So are all of his friends. They are (for the most part) all well adjusted guys with families and good jobs. They smoke like someone else might have a beer after work. I admit it was weird to me when I first met him, but he‘s a solid guy and it quickly became apparent he managed it probably better than I managed alcohol at the time.

Whoever said upthread that probably north of 50% of NFL players partake has it correct.

edit:

Better to use mj than pick up a devastating lifelong addiction to opioids which, to be fair, the league seems to prefer.
This is a correct take as well.
 
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snowmanny

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I guess part of it is having beenan 80's kid and having it drilled into me that drugs are bad, marijuana is bad, etc. I know society has started to come around on marijuana, but I still see a large portion of those smoking it as unmotivated. I welcome being proven wrong though.
The burden of proof may be on you not us.
 

streeter88

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Apr 2, 2006
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Looking at the depth chart, it's not clear to me that WR was the position most in need, but reportedly this was an historic class of WRs. Why not draft one? Also, Fields was in reach - opportunity missed there. That said, if the trading partner is not willing or the deal is too expensive, then it's hard to trade up.

Edit: @SMU_Sox loved most of the picks in the later rounds - Barmore and Stevenson in particular look like monsters.
Edit2: If you're a Jones doubter which I was, go watch the youtube with Waldman and Mark Schofield (@mascho) breaking down Mac Jones. Wow.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcnecBmS-a8
(hat tip @Morgan's Magic Snowplow for posting in the Mac Jones thread)

Changing my grade to A-. Would have been an A if they had drafted even one WR in the first 4 rounds, and not in round 7.
 
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BusRaker

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Aug 11, 2006
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I was really hoping to trade some 2021 draft capital for 2022 picks so I'm a bit disappointed but we went the Barmore route instead. I am happy we got one of the top 5 QBs because I think they are all aside from Lawrence a crap shoot.

Then again, did any teams trade picks for 2022 picks mid-draft except for the Giants? They could come out real winners this year if Fields sucks at the pro level.

B
 

BunnzMcGinty

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Jul 17, 2011
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I didn’t get into cannabis until I was in my forties, its been a godsend in terms of managing anxiety, and I would have drank a ton less over the course of my life if I had I found it earlier. I am an attorney who has been pretty successful in my career and it hasn’t impacted my motivation. My wife and I use it to relax fairly often, she’s the head of HR at a biotech.

My brother in law who is 16 years younger than me has been a daily smoker since high school (he’s in his early 30s now). So are all of his friends. They are (for the most part) all well adjusted guys with families and good jobs. They smoke like someone else might have a beer after work. I admit it was weird to me when I first met him, but he‘s a solid guy and it quickly became apparent he managed it probably better than I managed alcohol at the time.

Whoever said upthread that probably north of 50% of NFL players partake have it correct.

edit:



This is a correct take as well.
Thank you for sharing this. I have a NY State medical marijuana card, and it has been an absolute GODSEND for both my anxiety and the frequent migraines I get. Before, nothing my doctors tried worked, not beta blockers, not Maxalt, sumatriptan, not the seizure meds and not even opioids. But marijuana takes away the auras and almost completely eliminates the pain, and I don’t feel lethargic or out of it. Not gonna lie, being stoned instead of in pain is pretty sweet, but like you I wonder how much earlier I could have avoided booze and benzodiazepines to self medicate my anxiety had safe, effective cannabis supplies been legal and affordable a long time ago.
 

Old Fart Tree

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I think the Pro Bowl should be some completely random matchup every year. I'm down for Potheads vs. Squares one year.
Tattoos vs. no Tattoos (might not be able to fill out the latter squad)
Players from teams East of Detroit vs. those West of Detroit (or above/below the Mason Dixon line, if that gives you roughly 16 teams on each - might need to include SF in the south field to make it work)
Players from College Teams that had Red or Blue in their color scheme vs. No red or blue
Players born on even days vs. odd days
Players with an E in their first name vs. those without (https://home.uchicago.edu/~jsfalk/misc/baby_names/images/contains_all.png)
Wets vs. Drys: players from teams in cities with greater than 26 inches average rainfall per year versus those without

I appreciate the silliness of it.