Draft

Patriots Draft DE Dietrich Wise 131st Overall

April 30, 2017 by Mike Dussault

The Patriots double dipped for the front seven with their third pick in the 2017 NFL draft, taking defensive end Dietrich Wise from Arkansas.

While Derek Rivers seems more in the Jamie Collins mold, Wise feels a little more like Chandler Jones. Not quite as athletic as Jones, but perhaps more stout via his uncommonly long 35 inch arms.

There’s some question as to how exactly he’ll fit in the New England defense, but he’s demonstrated some versatility and should be an asset. I’m curious to see him inside on passing downs instead of say, Malcom Brown.

Patriots Draft OT Antonio Garcia

April 28, 2017 by Mike Dussault

The Patriots traded back up into the third round on Friday to select offensive tackle Antonio Garcia from Troy.

Garcia was someone I had on my Top-50 Patriots board and it would appear he’ll be groomed in 2017 to (potentially) take over for Nate Solder in 2018. The team made a similar move with Solder and Matt Light in 2011, but even then Solder was thrust into action early in replacement of Sebastian Vollmer and was solid.

Two words that come up in every Garcia scouting report? Athletic and nasty. That’s perfect Patriots pudding for an offensive linemen. The infusion of depth now that Vollmer has retired was much-needed and now it would appear that losing Solder to injury won’t necessary be the death sentence it was in 2015.

What’s most impressive about Garcia is how he played against the big schools, shutting down NFL-calibre pass rushers from Clemson (2016), Ohio State (2016), NC State (2015) and Wisconsin (2015).

Patriots Draft DE Derek Rivers

April 28, 2017 by Mike Dussault

After a never-ending wait, the Patriots finally made their first selection of the 2017 NFL Draft taking Derek Rivers, a DE/OLB out of Youngstown State 83rd overall.

This fills what I considered their biggest need of draft — replacing Jamie Collins. Rivers isn’t quite the combine freak Collins was, but he’s not far behind. He played mostly as a hand-down left defensive end in college, but has the athleticism that he should be able to play in space a bit for the Pats.

And oh yeah, he’s a PASS RUSHER and who doesn’t love those? The front seven needed a bit of an athletic boost and that’s just what they’re getting from Rivers after some time to develop.

PatsPropaganda 2017 Mock Draft

April 26, 2017 by Mike Dussault

The NFL draft is finally upon us! Though the Patriots don’t currently have a first or second round pick, history tells us that won’t stop them from finding players who can not only make the team, but contribute.

My big board features a list of 50 players that I feel are the best fits for the Patriots. While I don’t believe the Patriots put as much consideration into needs as we might think, the fact remains that there are only so many roster spots up for grabs, so here in my one and only mock draft I do factor in what I see as needs.

Generally, this is how I see those needs:

Linebacker – The team didn’t fill the hole Jamie Collins left through free agency. While Dont’a Hightower can play three downs, Kyle Van Noy was used as a third down coverage specialist and occasional blitzer, while rookie Elandon Roberts carved out an early down run stopping role. Shea McClellin has versatility but was average-at-best in his first season. Jonathan Freeny got an extension last season, but was outplayed by Roberts in his absence. Finding someone in the mold of Hightower/Collins is important, especially given Hightower’s injury history.
Edge – I do like the current three-man rotation of Ninkovich, Flowers and Ealy, but only Flowers is under contract past 2017 so developing another edge player is important this season. Geneo Grissom could get a look in this role as well.
Slot Corner – The top trio of Malcolm Butler, Stephon Gilmore and Eric Rowe are better suited outside, while Justin Coleman and Cyrus Jones will compete in the slot. The Pats always draft defensive backs regardless of level of need and adding another slot guy/special teamer should be in the cards.
3rd TE – The top duo of Gronk and Allen are very solid, but we’re all aware of Gronk’s injury history. Adding another big tight end to the pipeline is important.
Safety – Jordan Richards seemed to regress last season, and while the top trio of safeties are very good, finding a backup strong safety who could potentially step into a box/slot role if Chung should get hurt would be good insurance.

Yes, signs are pointing to a defense-heavy draft which gets me incredibly excited and leads me to believe it will be far more offense-focused than we think (Belichick always seems to zag when we think he’ll zig).

This week is really the highlight of the offseason and it comes at about the halfway point. The 2017 Patriots will be in even clearer focus by this time next week. It should be thrilling and surprising to watch it all unfold.

Here’s my one and only mock draft of the season!

2017 PatsPropaganda Draft Big Board

April 7, 2017 by Mike Dussault

Welcome to Year 7 of the PatsPropaganda Draft Big Board! Going with a little bit different format this year. Instead of ranking these prospects 1-50 I’m going to leave them separated by position to make it a little easier to follow and a little less dependent on rankings.

As always, these are players that I see as fitting what the Patriots do. Needs are calculated a tiny bit (no QBs this year), but generally it’s more about the player and how he fits. Still, I’ve listed the positions as I generally view the draft needs, with linebacker, defensive end, running back and tackle being the priorities.

I’m looking to bounce back after my worst year ever in 2016. The whole point of this — doing one big board with 50 guys and one mock draft — was to bring a level of accountability to it and to challenge myself to see how many picks I could nail. This year is especially difficult because as of early April the Pats still don’t have their first pick until the third round. I expect that to change. So there are some higher-end prospects mixed in here, but generally I tried to start at the bottom and work my way backwards.

I’ll drop my mock draft the week before the draft. This is a fluid list so please comment if you think I’ve left a perfect Patriots fit off! Hopefully I can nail at least a couple picks this year!!

Let’s get after it!

Gosselin: How Bill Belichick gives the Patriots an edge over every other NFL team at draft time | SportsDay

March 30, 2017 by Mike Dussault

If you’re grading drafts, there are lots of As and Bs to hand out after the first three rounds. But it’s what teams do in Rounds 4-7 that can make a good draft great.And no one knows the draft board — the entire draft board — like Patriots coach Bill Belichick. There are no throwaway picks when the Patriots are on the clock. New England has become the NFL’s dominant team because the Patriots own the back end of the draft.

Source: Dallas Cowboys: How Bill Belichick gives the Patriots an edge over every other NFL team at draft time | SportsDay

Gosselin is one of the most respected football writers out there, so obviously, as you can see above, he gets it. As much as the draft and all the amateur draftniks out there annoy me, there’s a special place in my heart for those who still try to tell me “Belichick can’t draft” or “Belichick the GM doesn’t help Belichick the coach”.

This assumes that somewhere out there there’s someone who CAN draft. Someone who hits on every pick. Someone who would never draft Ras-I Dowling 33rd overall. Okay, maybe that one has a point.

But the draft is really just an elaborate lottery. Even the guys making the picks don’t know for sure how any selection will truly work out. You see their body of work in college, their timed measurables, you’ve talked to them, maybe even brought them into the facility and shown them around, but when training camp rolls around no one knows for sure how the player will respond.

How will he handle not being the most talented player on the field anymore? How will he handle having a fat bank account? How will he handle not getting the playing time he wants? How will he pick up the playbook? Will his career just be injury after injury?

NOBODY KNOWS. It’s impossible to know. So for every seven-round mock draft out there by some random dude in the proverbial Mom’s basement, there’s guys like Mel Kiper who might be just as wrong.

It’s Time to Talk Some Patriots Draft

March 23, 2017 by Mike Dussault

It’s hard to believe that April is quickly approaching. I guess that’s what happens when your football season stretches into February. Between parades and celebrations it didn’t feel like the offseason even really started until a couple of weeks ago. Ah, the spoils of being a Patriots fan.

This of course means that the draft will soon be on us. I’ve got to be honest with you guys… I’m kind of over the draft. Well, not the part where the Patriots get some new toys to play with, the lead-up part where everyone’s an expert and no one is really an expert. There are mock drafts upon mock drafts and vehement arguments about who’s a good fit and all that. I’m over it.

And with the Patriots (currently) not picking until the third round it makes all the speculation even more silly.

Anyway, I’ll still proceed with my draft research, which, since 2011 has consisted of putting together a Top 50 Patriots Prospects Board and one single glorious mock draft. You can see all of it in the menu bar above, including my tragic fall from grace last season when I got Cyrus Jones and only Cyrus Jones.