I think McCarthy's stock has risen too much for them to get him with a trade down.
how far are you trading down is the question because... 6 is probably the highest team looking to move up, and you go there you might miss out.
Light wasn’t an opening day starter (Grant Williams was) but took over early in 2001
There are 6 tackles in the high end bracket. One of them could absolutely he available.
could probably make the case for 9 or even 10 guys being likely starting OT by some point in 2024 (depends how you feel about Morgan and Barton at T v. guard or center with arms just under 33inches) then a second tier of developmental but possibly ready sometime in 2024 (Paul, Amegadjie, Fisher, Puni even maybe Rosengarden though he's more likely a 2025 guy).
Fwiw I think that Morgan is so physical and athletic that his arm length is easy to overcome. I see Barton as a likely guard, but an extremely good one.
The use of so much NLTBE is a bit weird for the Pats position.
WR, OT and FS are still their biggest needs I think. I don't see any bonafide top line guys out there for any of those positions. I'm kind of interested in Keenan Allen. I know he's getting old and has had injuries but that will be reflected in his low acquisition cost and contract. He's never been fast; maybe he can have an Anquon Boldin type tail to his career. He's been very productive and plays smart. Not a #1 now but he was at one point and maybe that helps the development of the younger guys.
Agreed. Similar to DeAndre Hopkins last year. I’d like to see them trade for Allen, sign Marquise Brown in FA, and then draft someone in Rounds 2-3 this year. Really need to do a lot more at this position.
Bolded the ones that you may have missed.
Yes. Using the draft as wood putty is doable, but replacing the holes via retention and FA acquisition allows them to draft for quality. Nobody disputes that there must be upgrades at QB, OT, and WR.
Keenan Allen is only not a number one in the same way that we only call like a half dozen pitchers #1s on the main board. Last year was actually the second most productive year of his career despite only playing 13 games. He was 11th in receiving yardage last year and 4th in yards/game. He had games of 175 and 215 yards - he can still take over a game. PFF (yes, I know) graded him out as the #11 receiver in the league. He doesn’t solve the Pats WR problems for the next half decade, but he’s a massive upgrade over anyone they have or any of the current FA options.
Reagor and TJ Luther at WR
They could've spread Onwenu's cap hit out evenly, but they didn't, ($11M this season, jumping to $20M next) so hopefully they have a plan for that.
My guess is they want to leave enough space to bring in a vet OT this year, likely on a short deal, and they are banking on drafting for the position and having it be relatively low cost in 2025.
Tyron Smith on a short deal just makes a whole lot of sense for this team. Fills a big need and allows the team to draft/develop his replacement instead of relying on a rookie to protect Maye/Daniels.
I don't hate this, but I think they'd still need to add someone like Brown or Boyd for at least some level of surety. I'd probably double dip at WR in draft in that scenario as well.
I don’t think 100m goes as far as I might have hoped - 20m for a RT and 10 for the TE etc and it evaporates quick. Having an actual pro focus just on roster is comforting, not trying to relitigate but I think the Pats roster had become very reactive and there wasn’t much of a plan I could see.
I like Allen (Williams hasn't been good/healthy for a while) but why are we trading for a 1 year WR in their 30s?
Has Judon ever successfully recruited anyone? Off the top of my head, In the last two weeks he's tweeted/tried to recruit Marquise Brown, Marlon Humphrey, Mike Evans, and Xavien Howard. Im pretty sure Ive heard a "Judon is recruiting player X" story at least 2 dozen times.
I mean, I’d rather Jefferson or Metcalf or Deebo but I can’t imagine any of them would get traded.
Sure, the point was more... unless it's like a 7th, what is the point of trading something that could help the team long term for a 1 year WR bump on a team that nobody thinks is competing? I'd rather use the cap space on WRs you could get 2+ years of good production from (Brown, Boyd, etc.) who are healthier than Williams.
Pretty expensive players with high cap numbers for 2024. $23.1 million for Allen and $20 million for Williams. That is a lot for a rental in what should be a growing year.
It's going to be weird and disorienting if they do exactly what everyone expects instead of going, like, QB-Trade-Trade-Trade-Safety-QB-TE-G-WR.
I think it's funny. And I have no idea about his popularity, but it was more to point out that Hollywood is still out there, since it seems pretty clear Ridley and the Jags are waiting til 4:01 PM to announce things.
