Post-draft commentary

[Don_the_patfan]

Was wondering what everyone's opinion about the draft is.

Myseld overall satisfied because we addressed needs but more because of what we got int he first round. At times I think Bb should step away in the 2nd and 3rd round and come back in the fourth but that's because I have no idea who Tavon Williams is or the rugby player. Anyway here are my thoughts:

Jones- we have a player that can dominate in this league at that DE/OLB (depending on which front)position. Might not happen right away but this year we can depend on him playing the Anderson role.

Hightower- THis guys is a beast of a player that I never thought we'd get due to the fact that he is a beast at ILB. What I was unaware of was his ability to play OLB as well as end. The more I read about him the better I feel because he is
a versatile player that can play multiple roles. At 4-3 our LB core could look like Mayo-Spikes-hightower.

Tavon Wilson- I am not going to lie was completely unimpressed with this pick and to be honest not really sure even post draft that anyone was interested in taking him prior to round 6 where he was projected at the earliest. I felt there were a lot of good players still on the board yet we rushed to get him. BB says he is a 4 down player and that is always a good sign as that was what he said about McCourty when he cam out and McCourty dominated that first year. I still DON'T like this pick where we got him. DL should've been addressed here and BB could've gotten him later.

Jake Bequette- Another guy that no one seem to want where he was picked but I am biased when it comes to us getting pass rushers and this guys seems to have a non-stop motor and a desire to get to the QB. Although not as talented as others he seems to want it bad and you can never complain about a player like that. Sooner or later he will succeed. BB seems to be high on him.

Nate Ebner- I mean a rugby player picked in the 6th when he could've been picked at a street free agent. I guess got nothing to say beyond that. Special teamer with possibility of playing safety years down the line. A project at best.

Alfonzo Dennard- Loved this pick here. Talk about a guy who f'd up big time. IF he can be held in check this dude not only will make this roster dont be shocked if he plays in the slot right away. But that is only if he is not a bonehead. THis late in the draft good pick.

Jeremy Ebert- A guy that plays in the slot and we can hide him in the practice squad until next year. He is more for the future then anything.

[Hyped]

Jones- we have a player that can dominate in this league at that DE/OLB (depending on which front)position. Might not happen right away but this year we can depend on him playing the Anderson role.

I am excited about Jones' length and feel that at the VERY LEAST..he'll be a solid edge setter. I read some reviews that said he was so-so rushing to the outside of the tackle and that he was better rushing inside. Same thing about Hightower. Makes me think the Pats want to generate pressure up the middle and force QB's out the pocket. If QB's throw on the run...this D is a LOT better, IMO.

Hightower- THis guys is a beast of a player that I never thought we'd get due to the fact that he is a beast at ILB. What I was unaware of was his ability to play OLB as well as end. The more I read about him the better I feel because he is
a versatile player that can play multiple roles. At 4-3 our LB core could look like Mayo-Spikes-hightower.

I liked the pick... Unsure what the plan is with Hightower and I am thinking that he'll replace Ninkovich on the outside. However, I am a bit concerned that he came from Alabama...a defense WELL STOCKED with many high draft picks (Barron, Upshaw, and etc...) and it makes me wonder how much his play was helped by the good players around him?

Tavon Wilson- I am not going to lie was completely unimpressed with this pick and to be honest not really sure even post draft that anyone was interested in taking him prior to round 6 where he was projected at the earliest. I felt there were a lot of good players still on the board yet we rushed to get him. BB says he is a 4 down player and that is always a good sign as that was what he said about McCourty when he cam out and McCourty dominated that first year. I still DON'T like this pick where we got him. DL should've been addressed here and BB could've gotten him later.

No argument from me that this was a WTF pick...but I think it was a combination of the need to fill a need, there being two picks left in the draft and the Pats wanting to parlay that 2nd pick for multiple picks (Beguette, Dennard, Ebner, and the WR). The question today is whether this guy is an upgrade over Sergio Brown, James Ihedigbo, and etc...? I say yes...and I think he'll compete with Josh Barret and maybe McCourty.

Jake Bequette- Another guy that no one seem to want where he was picked but I am biased when it comes to us getting pass rushers and this guys seems to have a non-stop motor and a desire to get to the QB. Although not as talented as others he seems to want it bad and you can never complain about a player like that. Sooner or later he will succeed. BB seems to be high on him.

I see this guy as the replacement for Anderson as a part time rusher in sub packages. I liked it...he was productive in a MAJOR conference (how many SEC guys went in round 1 anyway?).

Nate Ebner- I mean a rugby player picked in the 6th when he could've been picked at a street free agent. I guess got nothing to say beyond that. Special teamer with possibility of playing safety years down the line. A project at best.

I absolutely love this pick. Did you see the you tube video Hurricane posted? This guy has serious speed...and is gung ho tackling guys hard without pads. This guy is gonna be a wrecking ball on ST's and I love it. A couple of years ago we tried to start up a "Cult" for Kelcko....I think we should start up an Ebner "Cult"....I think we are gonna love the reckless abandon he brings on kick offs....I think he could compete with Slater for tackles this year....

Alfonzo Dennard- Loved this pick here. Talk about a guy who f'd up big time. IF he can be held in check this dude not only will make this roster dont be shocked if he plays in the slot right away. But that is only if he is not a bonehead. THis late in the draft good pick.

This looks like a Licht influenced pick. What is not to like? Potential 2nd round talent in round 7? I think at minimum...he's our #5 corner behind McCourty, Dowling, Arrington, and Moore. I love our DB's this year!!! If Chung stays healthy and Wilson is an upgrade...we're gonna be HARD to throw on. Dennard is supposed to be a good slot corner...we will see...he surely will get plenty of practice with Welker on the team though.

Jeremy Ebert- A guy that plays in the slot and we can hide him in the practice squad until next year. He is more for the future then anything.

Pretty sure this kid is PS fodder...but he could develop or maybe even beat out Edelman/Gonzalez next year who knows...

[Lester]

Are there any post-draft threads from 3 or 4 years ago still around? Would be interesting.

[Hyped]

Are there any post-draft threads from 3 or 4 years ago still around? Would be interesting.

Do a search man...it's all there...as far back as April 2003...the last time we re-booted.

[hendersonsplow]

Chandler Jones
Good size, long arms and good speed. Good 10 yard split for his size. Good production but not great. Hampered by injuries. I'm not quite sure he has the overall athleticism to play the elephant role like Willie but the potential is there. very high upside and I don't think the floor is very low either. He'll contribute. Also might have room to bulk up a little more and play more of traditional 3-4 DE.

Dont'a Hightower
Good athlete, versatile. See how he fits and hoe they intend to utilize him. Again plenty of upside. Coming from Alabama can be a bit two-fold. Aside from possibly benefiting from other top notch talents, he played in a fairly complex scheme and played multiple positions so that may help ease any transition/adjustment to the NFL.

Travon Wilson
A lot of discussion about where they picked him but not much on the player himself. There were a couple players I wanted at the pick but about Wilson himself. He had good production in a good conference and comparable measurable to some of the other top DBs. Another team captain and versatile player that played both S and CB. Most reports have him solid all around but not excelling in any one area. Some feel he is more of a physical player and can be a bit stiff. If he's utilized at S being a little stiff isn't obviously as important as at CB.

Bequette
Good production and another team captain. Not the fastest 10 yard split but got the QB in college and reportedly is solid against the run. Seems like a rotational guy but may be a bit of a project as an OLB, where he played for the senior bowl.

Nate Ebner
Sounds like a standout special teams guy and we'll see what else. Rugby player so should be a good tackler. Nickname in college was Leonidas from 300. Also another guy that has had some personal tragedy in his life.

Dennard
Character, character, character. Seems to be the biggest concern with him. getting into a fight with multiple police officers a week before the draft will do that. Also played through injury his senior year. Physical CB with average speed but good coverage skills. Likes to get physical with the receiver coming off the line.


Ebert
has his work cut out to make the team. Practice squad likely.


Overall, has the potential to be a very good draft but plenty of question marks. I'm taking the wait and see approach.

[patfanken]

You have to say one thing about this draft - It was interesting.

Jones - The 2 key terms I thing make him an exciting prospect is "high ceiling" and "high motor". When these 2 factors are combined the chance are this prospect will reach his potential and that's a very good thing for the Pats

Hightower - At first I wasn't excited about this pick because I though ILB was one of the few positions on the D that we were in pretty good shape. However the more I hear and read, I think BB got an explosive, versatile player who he can use week to week as a "plug and play" guy who will present match up problems for opposing offenses.

Wilson - Perhaps the biggest WTF pick of the BB era. I can only surmise that BB had a strong feeling that Wilson was the 3rd best S on the board. That he fit our system well. That he could come right in a play. That he wasn't going to be there at 62. While it all sounds improbable to me, you have to bow to BB's judgement and accept and hope it was the right pick

The trade - Hidden in the rush to judgement on the Wilson pick was the HORRIBLE value we got from the Packers on the trade for that 62nd pick. I'm surprised none of the mediots have called BB on it to get an explanation. I can't help wonder if part of it was some kind of "sorry I grabbed McDonald off your PS" kind of thing.

Bequette - Can't hurt. Sort of a smaller and more position flexible Mike Wright replacement to play behind the "true" Mike Wright replacement Jonathan Fanene. You can't have enough pass rush prospects.

Ebner- We drafted the athlete - All the tools to be a solid S and ST's ace down the road. Headed for the PS this year. It will ultimately be a good pick down the road, and the only question is, "did we really have to make a pick to get this guy"

Dennard - Since back in the day I too have hit a cop in a brawl (not arrested though), I'm not worried about that incident as much, since I turned out to be a very high character guy. ;). Seems to be good value here. Its funny if the Pats had picked him in the 2nd and Wilson in the 7th, Mel Kiper would have liked the Pats draft better. I might not like him as much as some others, his bad Senior Bowl worries me some.

Ebert - I love this pick, perhaps more than others. This kid is a 4.3 guy with good size (6') and great production. Think about it. The Jets moved up in the SECOND round to pick a 4.3 guy who is 4" taller, and far less production. Now I'm not thinking that Ebert has the higher ceiling, but just look at the value. Hide this kid on the PS next year and Pats fans will love what they get in 2013 when the WR position will open up.

Summary - If I were running this draft with 20-20 Hindsight we would have picked Kendall Reyes with the 48th pick and Trumain Johnson at 62. If the first picks are givens, you just have wonder if we are better off with a combination of Wilson, Beguette, Ebner, Dennard, and Ebert, as opposed to Reyes, and Johnson.

Now one of my key needs in this draft was a high end DE/DT. Maybe between Brace, Deadrick, Love and Pryor, and Fanene, BB didn't think so. I also think its going to be very hard for more than 4 rookies to make the final 53, 5 at most, which is why I felt no need to draft more than 4 guys I thought would end up starters.

BOTTOM LINE - Despite the curious Wilson pick and the god awful trade for the 62, it would be hard to grade this draft below a B just on the first two picks alone. The rest get it up to a B+_