NEW: Experts Grade the Patriots Draft and You Vote Too
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NEW: Experts Grade the Patriots Draft and You Vote Too
New England Patriots: Yet again they worked the board to their advantage and already have two first-rounders and two second-rounders for the 2012 draft ... potentially even more advantageous if the expected rookie wage scale doesn't go into effect for another year. For 2011, they come away with Nate Solder, likely QB Tom Brady's new blindside bodyguard; a deeper talent pool in their offensive and defensive backfields; and two value picks -- QB Ryan Mallett (third round) and OL Marcus Cannon (fifth round) -- potential Round 1 choices who plummeted due to perceived off-field concerns in Mallett's case and medical ones for Cannon. Assuming Mallett never displaces fairly young Brady (34 this season), he could be a valuable trading chip in future years while Cannon, if healthy, could earn a spot on a line in transition.
The Sporting News: Top Five Winner
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTNew England Patriots. They didn’t take many marquee players, but the Patriots plucked nine prospects, including Ryan Mallett, the potential successor to Tom Brady. And the forward-looking Patriots did enough dealing to get themselves two picks in each of the first two rounds next year.
Scott Cordischi, Sports Editor, GoLocalProv
If we’re grading the Patriots 2011 draft on our expectations heading into it, they would receive a “D.” The reason for the low grade is simple. New England was desperate for some help in their defensive front seven to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks and they did absolutely nothing to address it. However, Bill Belichick & Company did do some other good things over the course of 3 days and for that, we will give them a “C+.”
A first round of Cameron Jordan (DE-California) and Mark Ingram (RB-Alabama) would have addressed two primary areas of need with guys who were rated very highly at their respective positions. However, Bill Belichick never does what we think or want him to do on draft day.
Grabbing Colorado T Nate Solder with the 17th pick was a solid move as it addressed an area of need with starting LT Matt Light headed for free agency.
The decision to trade the 28th pick to New Orleans for a second-rounder this year and the Saints’ first round pick next year provided good value, but it prevented New England from addressing their need for a pass rusher and a top-flight running back like Ingram.
The Pats did grab a pair of RB’s on day two of the draft in Cal’s Shane Vereen and LSU’s Stevan Ridley. They also may have found their QB of the future for the aging Tom Brady when they selected the talented Ryan Mallett in the third round.
TCU’s Marcus Cannon (OL) may have been the steal of the draft in the 5th round. Cannon would have been a first or second rounder were it not for his non-Hodgkins Lymphoma which he is expected to recover from fully.
They drafted 2 cornerbacks, a TE and an OLB for a total or nine players taken. The true grade for this and any draft comes about 3 years down the line. But we’ll say that New England scored a “D” for fulfilling their primary areas of need while scoring an A-/B+ for the caliber of players they did select. Combine the two grades for an overall mark of a “C+.”
Draft picks: OT Nate Solder (first round), CB Ras-I Dowling (second round), RB Shane Vereen (second round), RB Stevan Ridley (third round), QB Ryan Mallett (third round), OL Marcus Cannon (fifth round), TE Lee Smith (fifth round), LB Markell Carter (sixth round), DB Malcolm Williams (seventh round).
Analysis: Sure, Solder will fill a need, but the Patriots failed to address their poor pass rush at all during the draft. Did they really need another cornerback? All the cornerbacks in the world won’t help unless the pass rush up front is getting to the quarterback.
Sports Illustrated: Biggest Reaches
Shane Vereen/RB/New England/Round 2/No. 56: Vereen is a solid ballcarrier, yet has no outstanding single skill. If the Patriots were looking for a situational running back, there were several higher-rated players available at this selection.
Miami Herald: Grade A
They came into the draft with six picks in the first 92 selections and used five. While the Ryan Mallet selection grabbed the most attention, of more immediate affect were the running backs and the secondary addition as the Patriots try to get younger while maintaining elite status.
According to the recap on ESPN.com/Boston – Mike Reiss says about Kiper’s assessment of the Patriot’s Picks:
“…he's tough on the team in two areas:
1. He feels the selections of running backs Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley were reaches.
2. He feels it's a mistake that the team didn't invest in a pass-rusher.
"They got so little in terms of a pass rush from a quartet of linebackers last season, and this is a team that passed on Clay Matthews two years ago," Kiper writes. "Where is the pass rush help? But, as always, the Patriots will have plenty of chances to plug holes again next year. I just think for a team in line for another Super Bowl run, that was a need worth targeting."
As part of the piece, Kiper assigns a grade to each team's draft. The Patriots get a C-plus.