PatsPropaganda

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Clare Cooper

Clazzy Clare does the Draft: Linebacker

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Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The linebacker class this year is filled with quality, and I think many of us are hoping the Patriots will tap into that resource. 

Studying the selection at the combine, one guy really caught my eye but with the way things are transpiring, it would seem less and less likely that the Patriots will get this kid. 

The significant need, it feels is mostly cornerback, and if the Patriots want the top CB, they probably have to use their 21st pick for one. 

However, if they see something they like in a later round cornerback, and do go younger and faster at linebacker in the first, Chad Muma the linebacker out of Wyoming is on my wish list. 

But that’s a name you probably all recognise by now. He was a tackling machine in college with serious range and explosiveness. 

So, if 21 is too rich, I understand and don’t disagree. It’s just tricky when you spot such a good player, and want him on the Patriots (as well as about ten others). But to that end I’ll leave you with another decent-looking linebacker who may not be that top round talent, but could be a good back up plan maybe. 

Malcolm Rodriguez is a smaller guy at just 5’11” but the key is he wrestles. This guy may be small, but he is powerful with a high football IQ, and we all know how Bill likes them smart… I mean I don’t blame him, looks aren’t everything you know… but I digress. 

He has short arms, and this is definitely something being used to downgrade him in this draft, but his balance is great with a low centre of gravity, and he’s powerful. 

If the Patriots look at addressing cornerback and offensive line earlier on in the draft, I will be on the edge of my seat, hoping they scoop this guy up as a later round linebacker, and I kinda hope you will too!

Clazzy Clare does the Draft: Offensive Line

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Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

I know many of you may groan at the idea of the Patriots taking an offensive lineman, but a position of need is a position of need, regardless of how exciting it may be, and I kinda get excited about the O-line. It’s the protector of your most precious commodity, the quarterback. So I’m ready to make O-line sexy baby!

The trade away of possibly the top offensive lineman after Joe Thuney Shaq Mason, stunned many of us, well me anyway. The leaving of Karras stunned us less, but still upset and concerned li’l me. I personally saw the line as really decent, strong, especially if you get back a good healthy Trent Brown, which they have at the moment. But coach thought differently, and now the left side at tackle and guard looks a little sparse. 

Now, there is a guy who’s entered the roster that we haven’t seen yet in Drew Desjarlais, and I have heard some rather good things. A top guy in the CFL, released simply because he wanted to move into the NFL, Desjarlais is an unknown to most fans. Drafted 4th overall in the first round of the CFL 2019 draft by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He was named CFL Western All-Star during his second season. In 2021, he started all 14 games, playing left guard, and Winnipeg’s line allowed the fewest sacks in the league that year.

Now, there is plenty of talent in the draft class at cornerback, linebacker, wide receiver, some of the possibly more pressing needs of the Patriots, depending upon who you ask. To that end, I am looking for them to take skill position talent earlier on, but if they didn’t, there are some quality offense guys in this year’s draft. 

I thought I’d have a look at two levels. We have the early round, they’d have to use their top pick on, and then there’s a later round kid. 

If Bill looks at an early round O-line guy there’s a smorgasbord of talent to go in the first round, I think I have one favourite, I think…

There’s the huge 6 foot 7 inches of Trevor Penning out of Northern Iowa, an epic run blocker, but with a possible drop in skill when it comes to pass protection. PFF have him projected around 35, and whilst I am but a mere fan, I think this is possibly crazy, and can’t imagine this guy dropping into the second round. He is a certifiable beast. 

A serious athlete at the offensive tackle position going into the 2022 draft is Bernhard Raimann from Central Michigan. Austrian born this 6’6” kid commenced his football career as a tight end (additional brownie points for him!) but added weight, and progressed into an athletic tackle. He’s said to have a smaller arm length than preferred at this position, but I’m pretty sure his athleticism can make up for that as he can seriously move for a big guy. 

When you’re looking at the later rounds there may be a few names to have a look at even though you aren’t getting that top of the crop talent. 

Cam Jurgens of Nebraska is a top athlete, but with a few areas he needs to develop. Plays center predominantly, but with the leaps and bounds he took recently relocating him on the line could be considered. And let’s face it, the Patriots don’t have much in the way of back up center now that Steady Teddy Karras has gone. And with his lightening speed off the snap, Jurgens could be an interior offensive lineman the Patriots might get some benefit from. 

Another late round pick out of Chattanooga is the tackle Cole Strange. He has high-end explosiveness out of his stance, and gets on defenders quickly but a lean lower half. Projected in the third round, he could definitely be someone the Patriots would have a spot to pick him up. 

Clazzy Clare does the Draft: Defensive Line

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Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Fans call for sexy, and defense isn’t usually sexy, but they do say defense wins you championships, and who says championship winning isn’t sexy, huh?

Cornerbacks and linebackers are the defense that are on Patriots fans minds at the moment, and quite rightly, but we need a bit of further investing too, Christian Barmore needs some support!

Lawrence Guy is an epic football player but as we have touched upon recently some of the solid members of the Patriots are getting kinda older and slower. 

To that end, it maybe that Coach looks over the draft for a few line defenders. 

The Patriots seem to have a bit of a weakness when it comes to stopping the run but I have to admit the defensive line has definitely been a weakness of mine looking at the draft this year. It ranks low on my list of immediate needs. 

But even I couldn’t have missed the big run stuffer of Jordan Davis. Now to be fair, pick 21 is looking rather far-fetched after how his combine results came through, so unless there’s some craziness at the top, and Davis is still on the board when they reach 21, Patriots Nation probably need to think later for defensive line. 

Looking at a guy for the later rounds that has semblance to the Patriot’s own Guy (see what I did there) would be Phidarian Mathis out of Alabama. A great all-around skill set that makes him a plug and play option in the NFL. 

So that’s maybe the high and low(er) of the defensive line, with plenty in between. 

Clazzy Clare does the Draft: Edge

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Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

This is one of those situations where the Patriots have plenty of need, but this edge guy looks real good! 

It’s tricky at draft time. You see all those great players with potential, but your team only has so many picks. (unless you’re a KC Chiefs fan!). Not only that, but they only have one in the first round, and not surprisingly, that’s where all the guys you really like are projected to go! 

It’s an emotional time, but hey, when is being a fan not emotional, and trying, and exhausting? Okay I digress. 

The tricky thing is that I know the Patriots need a corner back, linebacker…. the list goes on, but there’s this good looking edge guy, and I don’t mean handsome but each to their own! 

George Karlaftis out of Purdue looks like, how do you say, a baller.

6’4”, 266 pounds of Greek god, if you like that kind of thing, but I mean on the field!

He is said to have significant power in his lower half and a strong pass rusher. He’s versatile with the ability to line up on the inside, are any of you drooling right now?

If not, do you want more? He jumped a 38” vertical, benched 21 reps and his broad jump was 10’1”, not to mention at the combine, he ran great run drills, lovely range of movement, and solid ball skills. 

So maybe this is one of those situations where, if the top cornerbacks have all been plucked, maybe nab this quality guy, kinda thing. If not, so be it. I know the Patriots have plenty of holes to fill. But I tell you what, whichever team picks him up are going to have themselves one fantastic edge guy.

Stay tuned for more draft opinions here at Pats Propaganda!

Clazzy Clare does the Draft: Cornerbacks

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Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Cornerback has been a bit of a controversy in New England for a year or two now. 

First the Gilmore thing. Surely the Patriots won’t let their top MVP cornerback leave… ah he wants lots of cash without showing how his injury recovery is going. Yeah, Bill isn’t too fond of…. Oh, okay he went to the Panthers (and now the Colts).

Then, can JC step up? Undrafted out of Maryland in 2018, is he a cornerback 1? 

With his new title of Mr Interception he’s a quality player. Now, let’s see if the Pats franchise tag him…. No? Okay…. Oh dear, he’s on social media saying he needs to get paid…. Okay so we need a cornerback in free agency… Okay, maybe the draft… Yep, JC is off to get paid by the Chargers.

But hey, Malcom Butler is back. Is that good, bad or even relevant? 

Pushing those papers aside, it’s not beyond the realms of reasonable that many are hoping, thinking, wanting, needing a cornerback at pick number 21 in the 2022 NFL draft (only effective if you do it in your head in a Roger Godell kinda tone) for the Patriots. 

I’m guessing you all have your eyes on Andrew Booth, Sauce Gardner and possibly my favourite top round pick guy, Trent McDuffie.

BUT, what if the Patriots do that thing where they don’t chose the position you want them to, and Bill nabs one of those really huge line guys?

So let me tell you about a later round guy, someone you can look at and see if you fancy a piece of him as plan B maybe, or C or even F… 

Coby Bryant out of Cincinnati. Now, before anyone gets upset with me I am not saying this kid is who the Patriots should take instead of one of the top round guys, I want a top class cornerback as much as the next Patriots fan. What I am hoping to do is just show you one of the players who I took a shine to at the combine, who, if they took him later on, I’d be interested to see what he can do on an NFL field. 

If you like your stats, then I can tell you he measures in at 6’1 3/8”. At the combine, his bench rep number was 17, he ran his 40 in 4.54 and had a one handed catch on his short zone break. His gauntlet was smooth, and his backpedal on the short zone break was really good. He had great ball skills and he stood out to me. 

Okay, so that is only a small window into what a player can do, and I fully appreciate that. As fans, there is only so much we have access to, and this is just my opinion folks. 

PFF have him ranked at 177, his pros are that he tracks the ball well, like a wide receiver – great for interceptions. He is a willing hitter, so has quality form as a tackler, but he is an average athlete. I don’t know about you, but those pluses sound rather good, and maybe the athleticism thing could be worked on?

Like I said, this is just an opinion piece to get your pondering juices flowing, and I hope you enjoyed it! Keep your eyes peeled as I delve into the draft class of 2022 a little more for some light entertainment!

So that’s it then at fullback… or is it?

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Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

The Patriots reportedly are not utilising a traditional fullback in the 2022 season, but fullback aficionados do not worry just yet.

We see from the coaching staff that coach Bill may not be one for ‘labels’, and so in that narrative there may be a lot less for fullback fans to worry about.

Now, that’s not to say the loss of Jakob Johnson isn’t significant. He was a really good Patriots player, who last season developed his skill set by making a few catches, as well as his impact on the run game.

And it would seem his former Offensive Co-ordinator sees his value, as Johnson makes his way to Vegas to join Josh McDaniels and the Raiders. 

So, where does that leave us Patriots fans huh?

You may, or may not recall, this humble writer/podcaster has been on the “Dalton Keene for fullback” hill for a while. I sat here kind of alone for a bit, but many seem to be pondering this option and that’s great, just as I’m thinking of heading down…

Now hear me out folks, I haven’t given up on the 22 year old from Virginia Tech, I just have concerns over his injury history. He has been in the Patriots system for two years now, and it feels like 2022 might have to be a show or go year. 

So there we have option one… do you wanna see what’s behind door number two…

It’s someone who is also already in the Patriots system, it’s Jonnu Smith! But you probably guessed that too. 

Smith came over on quite a large contract for four years, and had as many touchdowns in 2021 for the Patriots as JC Jackson did… not ideal. However, this chap is an immense athlete, and has the potential to be rather versatile, did someone say weapon? No, good, that’s not my favourite term to be honest. 

Okay I jest, but seriously, we know he is a good player, we have seen it, in fits and starts we just need some constancy and development, and hopefully training camp 2022 will showcase a bit of this. 

Smith’s blocking abilities are a little lacking in comparison to Johnson, but with the strength of the running backs like Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson it may pale into insignificance.

And that is sort of door number three, power running backs. There are plenty of holes in the roster to fill but the work out of Leonard Fournette, even though he went back to the Bucs, shows that depth at that position could be extra important as the duties of the running backs could evolve a little, there’s that versatility again. 

Another guy sitting on the Patriots roster, with some H-back kinda qualities is Nebraska’s Devine Ozigbo. At 6 foot 2, and 225 pounds he’s got some height there, and some talent, but as a Patriot he’s an unseen entity at present. 

So there you have it fullback fans, there are many options to get yourself excited about, maybe?

Free Agency: The Tight Endage Report – and MUCH more! from Clazzy Clare

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Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Whilst the legal tampering period was opening up, and Patriots Nation’s vision was on where will JC Jackson go (LA Chargers for 5 years at $82.5 million, with around $40 million guaranteed) not forgetting the whole, will the Patriots take a top wide receiver, part of my gaze was focused on what was happening in the tight end rooms. 

And, I was rather interested to find many of the top free agent tight ends were re-signed or tagged by their original team. Now, I appreciate you might not be quite as interested as I in this, however, with the depth at the draft this year it may be quite significant that so many teams have stayed with their existing tight ends, even the rather cap strapped Dallas Cowboys tagged Dalton Schultz, but to be fair he is quite good, but I digress. 

We all know that the tight end position is one of the tougher ones in the NFL to play, and to develop within. It is utilised in pretty much all the range of offensive plays, meaning the plate of those big 6 foot 4-5-6 guys can get rather full. 

So, a quick league wide recap of who has gone and where in the tight end market:

Arizona maintained Zach Ertz for a further 3 years at $31.65 million. The Browns franchise tagged David Njoku, as did the Dolphins with Mike Gesicki. The Colts lost their long time tight end to retirement, and so the maintaining of Mo Alie-Cox on a 3 year $18 million deal wasn’t too surprising. They may have traded away their top quarterback, but the Seahawks kept Will Dissly on a 3 year $24 million deal. There was some tight endage shuffle as the aforementioned Seahawks obtained Noah Fant in one of the biggest trades the NFL has seen for a while. Evan Engram hopped over from New York (Giants) to Jacksonville on a 1 year $9 million deal and the other New York team, the Jets, pulled C.J Uzomah from Cincinnati on a 3 year $24 million deal. 

Okay, so now I have done my public service in making sure you lovely Patriots fans are aware what has gone on in the world of tight endage, I am here to update you on the rest! Just call me Miss Unliiiiiiimited…

Moving swiftly on! 

Unfortunately, it is with a heavy heart that I write Steady Teddy, Ted Karras, has gotten paid and is on route to Cincinnati on a 3 year $18 million deal. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am happy when a great player gets paid, but when it’s at the possible sacrifice of the offensive line, I’m sorry I can’t really be THAT happy. 

The possibly, most obvious move, and perhaps the most hated by many Patriots fans so far this season, is the jetting off of cornerback JC Jackson to sunnier climates. The LA Chargers scooped him up on a long deal of 5 years at $82.5 million. 

The Patriots did some quiet maintaining whilst big name wide receivers were moving around, some were having money practically thrown at them, in particular Jacksonville giving Christian Kirk a $72 million, possibly up to $84 million, 4 year deal, but as of yet the Patriots only receiver action was a second round restricted free agent tender on Jakobi Meyers.

The Patriots quarterback room maintains some stability with Brian Hoyer on a 2 year $4 million deal, as New England retains three fan favourites, and some grounding the team needs (in my humble opinion) during this rebuild, of Devin McCourty for 1 year at $9 million, Matthew Slater on a 1 year $2.6 million deal, and (thank goodness!) Nick Folk for 2 years at $5 million. James Ferentz has reportedly signed a contract with the Patriots but the terms have not yet been announced. 

So there you have it you lovely lot, free agency frenzy so far… and it’s only Tuesday morning!