Ok, so here is my Patriots Preview this far and I will kind of factor in what I think we need. QB - We have Brady, we could maybe think about drafting Aaron Murray or AJ McCarron in the 5th-7th I would pull the trigger. RB - Ridley is ever fumbling, I’m not sure if we try and go with him again or do we trade him? Vereen is a weapon and I hope that we play him more than ever, he can do everything asks of him. Bolden is a edge player and has shown glimpses of good. However we cannot rely on him for anything. I think we will look to draft a late draft back, Bill could be looking at someone to take Ridley’s job, if Vereen doesn’t. FB - James Develin, a superb run blocker and surprised us all with a few runs from here. He will stay and hopefully continue his great form. WR - Ah, big problems, again. Providing we dont sign Edelman back to a decent contract, we are looking at using Amendola as our main guy. Although, there is plenty of WR depth in this draft. Regardless of Dobson’s surgery I still think we have a big hole to fill. As much as I would LOVE to see us trade up for Sammy Watkins, its not going to happen. I think we fill this void in by potentially drafting someone like Jordan Matthews from Vanderbilt, a very solid pass catcher, who’s stock has fallen, and could well be up for grabs come round 2. Another WR I think worth looking at is Marquise Lee, his stock has only been going down after this season, after he started as a top 10 pick in almost every 2014 mock draft. He has good speed, size and hands, I would personally say he would be a great fit here. Bottom line is, we need another WR in this draft. I can’t ever see Amendola or Dobson cutting the job. Even with Edelman back I still believe another WR would be very beneficial. As of now, Nicks is still on the board, but is still demanding big money. TE - Another area of concern. Which is quiet unusual as Gronk seems to be everything and more of a tight end. Gronk’s injuries year after year are worrying. Hernandez wasn’t released by Bristol County so it looks like we need another legit threat. (Too soon?) I quite fancied the look of Owen Daniels mainly down his good hands and size, I felt he would be a brilliant #2 TE but doesnt quiet have the build of Hernandez if we are looking at that player type. HooMan was a great resigning and is a great run blocker, exactly what we need if the passing game isn’t figuring out too well. Tackles - To be quite honest with you, my offensive line knowledge is limited. However Solder and Vollmer are premium tackles. Both are still young and still developing as tackles, hopefully their play continues and we play add a lineman that is diverse to play interior and exterior. Guards - Mankins is still the mauler he has been and even played a bit of time at tackle last year. I’m not sure after this year if he will warrant his contract as age starts to catch up with him. However he is a top 5 left guard in the NFL. The right side is different. Dan Connolly, the great kick returner. Wasn’t exactly ‘good’ last year, his run blocking was down 2.2 per PFF, his pass blocking got worse too, which isn’t music to our ears. Fortunately he is a free agent next year, this makes the attraction of G/T draftee more exciting. Centre - Ryan Wendell is a free agent which leaves the centre position wide open. This could mean that we are in the market right now for one; see Phil Costa, or we are looking at someone in the draft. Phil Costa has the potential to be a starter, he is very young and is a very balanced blocker, he does sometimes lose his leverage, but next to Mankins he is in safe hands. If we look to draft a centre he may be part of the G/T lineman I mentioned earlier. I think Travis Swanson out of Arkansas could be a viable option, the man has shown some decent strength (20 bench reps). Defensive end - I personally love Chandler Jones, he has fast hands and smooth feet, year after year we see him improve and I think 2014 could be a huge year for him. Ninkovich for me is a clutch player. Everytime we need a big player, (see Jets games last year) he seems to be there making it happen or next to it. I’m not sure he is worth having on the field all the time as he isn’t a very complete player but his overall performance is pretty good when you consider is low-ish salary. Again we could be in the market for a player, it will definitely not be a Jared Allen or Julius Peppers, I think Bill now views them as ‘big name’ players, who teams may overpay for. A young backup or draftee seems more favourable. Defensive Tackle - We all felt the heartache as the anchor of the line, big Vince Wilfork tore his achilles. Wilfork was sorely missed in the run defence, and it was evident. The Patriots will be searching for a home town discount as his salary hit is simply too much. What we dont think about is the injury and its severity. Vince is a 320 lb DT, his achilles is one of the worst things he could of torn, it is very hard for someone who is over 30 at that weight to come back the same. Aside from Vince I think Chris Jones and Joey Vellano played exceptional at times. They both contributed at times to a pass rush. Don’t get me wrong, they were studs but I thought they played a lot better that Isaac Sopowaster. There has been plenty of talk of the Patriots bringing in someone like Louis Nix from Notre Dame, if he falls to us, as well as Ra’Shede Hageman of the Minnesota. However, having watched Hageman a few times, he seems to disappear during ‘crunch’ time and doesnt exactly fit the mould of Wilfork. Nix would be a better fit, but may be drafted a fair few picks earlier than 29. Linebackers - I liked and disliked Brandon Spikes. He was a great run stopper and busted it up quickly, but he was just couldn’t cover anyone. He was just so slow. I love Jamie Collins, he seems to excel in coverage and done well without Mayo there. Mayo will be a huge comeback for the Patriots, the captain was missing on the defence and his presence was definitely missed. Hightower done a good job of filling the void. His run stopping was great, again his pass coverage needs some work on which can make him a complete line backer. He definitely has the potential to become a force in the middle, I’m pretty sure if he can stay healthy and improve his coverage, he will one day be a defensive captain for good. The Patriots have shown interest in ex Denver LB Wesley Woodyard, I would definitely encourage this move, as Woodyard played very well last year. Although we didnt sign him post visit, we may still have a shot. Providing we can get a smaller contract I would love to see Dane Fletcher come back too. Cornbacks - “Oh so we’re going to let Talib go! Oh man! Cmon Bill, get Verner! WTH man!” Something I saw way to much of. Until ESPN reports Revis signs a one year contract with us. This guys is exactly what we need and MORE. He gets back to full strength with a year of football under his belt after a devastating ACL injury. It seems to be forgotten that Revis was head and shoulders above anyone before a season on the side and a season of zone coverage. I am personally not Dennard’s biggest fan, I think he would be a lot better in Kyle Arrington’s job. Arrington needs to be cut, so much money wasted on a player. I also want to see Logan Ryan again this year, he played really well when asked of and was superb in zone coverage. I think the board will be looking to draft a CB or even pursue Brandon Browner on a one year deal. This would make our secondary very scary. There are plenty of CB available in the draft, to name a very quickly, Dennard, Verrett, Gilbert, Roby. Safeties - Free safety, McCourty - Check. Strong Safety, er… - no. Adrian Wilson was basically a no show last year. If he stays and keeps healthy we could be looking at a very scary secondary. If you add in new physical CB, we are looking at a secondary that has similarities to the Seahawks. As much as I hate to say it. I can’t see us drafting a safety that will start right now, and free agency dried up quickly. Maybe Duron Harmon can start to make a difference and come out of his shell. Special teams - We still have Allen, Gostkowski and Pro Bowler Matthew Slater. Special Teams shouldn’t really take any hit.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 12:35:44 +0000