Patriots Report Card: Reflecting on the 2012 NFL Draft

About an hour before the first round commenced Thursday night I was preparing to watch another first round pass me by and when the Patriots were on the clock at the 27 spot (a pick acquired from New Orleans last year as the Patriots gave them their first round pick), watch them trade the pick for another 1^st rounder next year. And when the Patriots actual selection at the 31^st spot came up I was going to give it a 50/50 chance they’d actually make the pick. History told all Patriots fans that this is how it was going to play out. The Patriots haven’t moved up in a draft since 2003 when they jumped up a single spot to grab DE Ty Warren and 4 of the past 5 drafts they have had multiple first round selections yet have never picked more than 1 player. Once you think you’ve pegged Belichick’s next move he goes and throws you off the scent and Thursday night he did it again.

For the past few years Patriots fans have been pining for secondary help and more than anything an electrifying edge rusher who can move the quarterback off his spot. So what did Belichick do the past 3 or 4 drafts? He passed up guys like Clay Matthews, Adrian Clayborn, and DaQuan Bowers. This year though Belichick made a move to please the masses and finally traded up to secure aid for a depleted defense that was statistically horrendous last year.

The Hoodie saw DE Chandler Jones, a top 10 rated prospect by NFL Network expert Mike Mayock and Scouts Inc., slipping down the first round and made a move to jump up from 27 to 21 to snag the Syracuse athletic monster. To move up the 6 spots the Patriots had to surrender their 3^rd round pick and the 27^th overall pick. As a Patriots fan I am ecstatic to see the Patriots finally attempt to plug the gaping hole at edge rusher with a talented, strong, athletic proven commodity. Jones didn’t fall without reason however seeing that he missed the first 5 games of Syracuse’s season last year with a knee injury but he did play out the remainder of the year and racked up 4.5 sacks. Most draft experts unanimously agreed that had Jones been healthy for a full year and posted double-digit sacks he would’ve easily been a top 8 pick. Belichick was smart enough to see Jones slipping and he capitalized on other teams being weary of his knee injury much like he did two years ago when All Pro TE Rob Gronkowski slipped to the 2^nd round due to an injury. I give the move to grab Chandler Jones two thumbs up.

With their second pick of the 1^st round the Patriots again shocked the football pundits and traded the 31^st overall selection and their 4^th round pick to the Denver Broncos for their 25^th overall pick. With the 25^th pick the Patriots again made an attempt to shore up their defensive front seven by picking Alabama ILB Dont’a Hightower. Hightower was the second rated ILB in the draft behind BC’s Luke Kuechly, who went 9^th overall to the Carolina Panthers. Hightower received the endorsement of Alabama head coach Nick Saban and as most Patriots fans know, Saban is a confidant of Belichick’s and the Hoodie trusts his evaluation of collegiate talent. Hightower is versatile as well with the ability to play outside in the 4-3 and inside with Jerrod Mayo in the 3-4. Hightower isn’t as physically intimidating or powerful as Jones but he’s a gamer and I love gamers. Hightower is one of those guys who won’t dominate the combine but when the film gets turned on he stands out as a great ‘football’ player. Another good move by the Hoodie to trade up and go after the type of football player he can plug into his scheme and move around without a hiccup.

After two trades to move up in the 1^st round Thursday night the Patriots were left with only two 2^nd round picks on Friday and then a bare cabinet. For as much as I loved the Patriots two selections in the 1^st round I was equally confused by the selection of S Tavone Wilson in the 48^th spot. Going for defensive help, especially in the secondary, was the right call but Wilson wasn’t on anyone’s radar before the 4^th round AT THE EARLIEST. Yet there goes Belichick again reaching for a guy he considers ‘versatile’ just because he can stand in the safety position or slide over and stand in front of a receiver as a ‘cornerback’. Don’t get me wrong the Patriots needed help in the secondary and Wilson does provide some assistance in fixing that problem but the pick just came too early. He did it with DT Ron Brace a few years earlier and possibly CB Ras-I Dowling last year but hopefully Travon Wilson proves me wrong and shows that he was worth a top 50 selection.

With their final pick of the night, 62^nd overall, the Patriots started wheeling and dealing to gain more picks in the 3^rd and 5^th rounds. With the 3^rd round selection I applaud the Patriots for again looking at the defensive side of the ball and selecting Arkansas DE Jake Bequette, a high motor high-energy kind of player that Belichick loves. Bequette was able to register 10 sacks last year for the Razorbacks and he is a good gamble late in the 3^rd round. He’s coachable and can play special teams what more does Belichick look for in a player? Bequette solves multiple problems in one fell swoop by drafting another edge rusher who can either play with his hand in the dirt or stand up on the outside and run with special teams.

With their final 3 picks of the night the Patriots took Ohio State CB Nate Ebner, Nebraska CB Alfonzo Dennard, and Northwestern WR Jeremy Ebert. Out of those three players I only see the two CB’s with a shot of making the Patriots when they break camp. Ebert did well at Northwestern but he’s small, 5-10 190 lbs, and doesn’t project well as an NFL wide receiver. At worst Belichick can always put him on the practice squad if he feels that Ebert is too good to expose to the waiver wire. Out of the group though the one that intrigues me the most is Dennard. After the 2010 season Dennard was considered a fringe 1^st round prospect after having a sensational season, 31 tackles and 4 interceptions, alongside future Giants CB Prince Amukamara. This season Dennard again played well and was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Back of the Year but some league trouble and a few physical shortcomings, in the words of Todd McShay, ‘he has short arms and isn’t very fast, which makes a bad combo for a NFL cornerback’ forced him down in the draft. The league problems coming from a week before the draft when he got arrested for fighting outside a bar and when a police officer came over to break it up allegedly punching him in the face and resisting arrest. Not a very smart move but if Belichick thinks he has the talent to make the Patriots roster and he can make a difference in the secondary then this turns out to be a steal of a pick in the 7^th round.

Overall I thought that the Patriots had a solid draft, a little more top heavy then usual but the top 2 sure is chalk full of talent. With the additions of Jones and Bequette at the DE/OLB spot Belichick has finally brought in some in house candidates to push for playing time. With the selection of Hightower the Patriots did a great job of finding a ballplayer who can work well within Belichick’s system and is talented enough to freelance a play when need be. The Patriots paid close attention to the offensive side of the ball in free agency and turned a keen eye towards the defensive side of the ball in the draft. Out of their 7 selections the only one that I don’t truly understand is the Travon Wilson selection and hey I’ll take my chances on believing that Belichick knows what he’s doing. The Patriots turned some heads and made some trades, moving up instead of down this time, that I think long term will help solidify the defensive front seven long time. Bravo Belichick now for an encore how bout building a defense that can give Tom Brady his 4^th ring.

Geoff Jablonski

Addressing the Patriots Draft Day Needs

Welcome to the second blog post of the day! After reading about the Bruins depressing game 7 loss at home let’s take a look at an upbeat topic and that’s the NFL Draft starting tonight on ESPN in primetime.

Get ready for it Patriots fans but guess what? You got it the Patriots have 2 first round picks in this years draft! And 2 in the second round as well! The chances they take all 4 of those picks in those spots? Slim to none and slim left the building a while ago but I’m going to play it like they will use both of those picks in the first and second round to try and plug holes. In the first round the Patriots hold the 27^th pick (from N.O.) and the 31^st. In the second round they’ll pick 48^th (from OAK) and 62^nd overall.

Here are the Patriots team needs and who I think they could look at it to fill each of those needs:

Edge Pass Rushing Specialist (OLB or DE)

The Patriots biggest weakness is well known and was even more evident in the playoffs last year after revelation Andre Carter went down for the year. Carter and scrap heap pickup Mark Anderson accounted for 20 of the Patriots 40 sacks. Carter might not come back this year as he recovers from his injury and Anderson signed a lucrative contract with the Bills. Who does that leave behind to rush the passer from the edge? Overachieving OLB Rob Ninkovich, underachieving OLB Jermaine Cunningham and basically a cast of misfits at the DE spots. Belichick for years has schemed around the fact that he hasn’t had a solid edge rusher since Mike Vrabel’s hayday but its time to use one of his first round picks on a big time rusher. Last year he didn’t use any of his picks to grab a rusher and he watched Jabaal Sheard, Adrian Clayborn, Cameron Hayward, and Akeem Ayers slip by just to name a few. I think the Patriots go after Boise State OLB Shea McClellin who is versatile and has been rocketing up draft boards. Other options include Illinois DE Whitney Mercilus who is inconsistent but had a great year last year, Marshall DE Vinny Curry, and if they continue to fall down draft boards either the uber talented but undermotivated North Carolina DE Quinton Coples or the productive Alabama DE Courtney Upshaw. Any of those listed above would greatly improve the Patriots ability to move opposing QB’s off their spot.

Secondary Help

Plain and simple the Patriots don’t have enough talent in their secondary to stop giving up copious amounts of big plays. Last year the Patriots were statistically atrocious and a look at the names the Patriots threw back there shows you why. Kyle Arrington smoked and mirrored his way to 7 picks but he’s more suited to be a nickelback not a shutdown corner. I don’t know what the Patriots have in Ras-I Dowling and neither do they after he had his season cut short after week 1 last year and the year before at the University of Virginia. By all indications the Patriots plan to move former Pro Bowl and Rookie of the Year CB Devin McCourty to safety full time in his 3^rd year to pair him with potential stud Patrick Chung that leaves them weak at the CB spot. Belichick isn’t afraid to address the secondary early in the draft, see: McCourty and Chung in rounds 1 and 2 in 2010, and I think he’ll do it again this year. I’m going to say that the Patriots don’t go after Notre Dame S Harrison Smith, which is what a lot of experts think they’ll do, because of McCourty’s move to safety but rather one of the two troubled CBs in former Florida Gator and current North Alabama star Janoris Jenkins or Montana CB Trumaine Johnson. Central Florida CB Josh Robinson is also a possibility if the Patriots wait til round 2 to grab some CB help. Disclaimer: Belichick could definitely grab Harrison Smith if he’s sitting there.

Defensive Tackle Help for Wilfork

Kyle Love and Myron Pryor did a great job down the stretch last year but the Patriots need another big body to help out in their interior rotation. I think this could be the position they address at the end of round 1 or with their first pick in the middle of round 2. Get the big fella Wilfork some help! A whole slew of characters are possibilities at the DT position and many of them are mid first round talents who have slipped for a myriad of reasons. From the group that is slipping the Patriots will look at Penn State DT Devon Still and Michigan State DT Jerel Worthy (I think he’d be the best fit for the Patriots if they can land him late in round 1). UConn DT Kendall Reyes was flying up draft boards about a month ago but now he’s falling back into the late 1^st early 2^nd round talk and I don’t think the Patriots would mind getting their hands on him with their pick at 48. If Reyes is gone at 48 and they didn’t get one of the other two early, Cincinnati DT Derek Wolfe could come into play. If the heavens decide to smile down on the Pats then LSU DT Michael Brockers would slip to the end of the 1^st round but don’t hold your breath on that one.

Offensive Tackle

With decade long LT Matt Light revealing his intentions to retire from the NFL the Patriots now have a need at the tackle spot. The Patriots current starting tackles look like last years first round pick Nate ‘the Boulder’ Solder and talented but oft injured German tackle Sebastian Vollmer. The Patriots could use a young backup who has the ability to step in if Vollmer isn’t fully healed from last years nightmarish injury filled year. When he’s healthy though Vollmer is a beast along the line and is the reason why the Patriots considered not bringing back Light last year. Belichick tends to build his teams from the line out and I don’t think he’ll change that philosophy now especially with his long time LT calling it a career. Solder was a solid find in the middle of round 1 last year and I think he’ll definitely take a few more large steps forward this year. If he’s still there at the end of the 1^st round I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Patriots tap Andrew Luck’s former LT in Stanford OT Jonathan Martin. If he sticks around this long, and I don’t think he will, the Patriots would also be more than happy to grab versatile Georgia OT/G Cordy Glenn. Though he doesn’t play tackle another lineman who fits the Patriots mold is bruising Wisconsin C/G Peter Konz. I’ve read multiple places that his mean streak has been likened to that of current Patriots G Logan Mankins. A dark horse here is Ohio State OT Mike Adams who has played in some big games and protected the blind side of some big time QBs.

Wide Receiver

The Patriots need to get younger at WR there’s no way around it. WR Deion Branch is getting up there in years and outside of Wes Welker the rest of the group isn’t very versatile, young, or particularly fast. Belichick has never gone into the 1^st round for a WR and I don’t think he will this year but grabbing one in the 2^nd round isn’t uncommon for him, i.e. Chad Jackson and Brandon Tate though neither one of them worked out particularly well. Two months ago I would’ve told you that Georgia Tech WR Stephen Hill would’ve been a steal in round 2 due to his ability to burn deep but now that he’s become a known commodity among the NFL’s elite he’s not going to stick around until the second round leaving the Patriots to probably say ‘Go fish’ on a receiver in the first two rounds. They’ll probably kick the tires on LSU WR Reuben Randle, Belichick does love his LSU kids, South Carolina tall guy WR Alshon Jeffery but I don’t see him taking either one. This pick will come later in the draft.

There it is folks my breakdown of the Bruins season ending prematurely and where I think the Patriots might look in tonight’s first round of the NFL draft and tomorrow’s second round. Check back after the draft for a breakdown of all the Patriots selections (and probably their multiple trades to accumulate picks in the 2013 NFL Draft). Until we cross paths again.

Geoff Jablonski