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Yeah, that’s the “right-in-the-fire” scenario that will be a little scary, especially with two divisional games in five days to start the season. I do think Hernandez should be fine, but Gronk I’m not so sure about.

I’d probably say it’s more likely that Edelman (yes, still in a walking boot) and/or Donald Jones are relied upon if that scenario occurs, across from Amendola. I think Dobson will be out there early and often, but it’s a lot to ask of a rookie to hop right into two tough divisional games and be counted upon. Jones’ experience from Buffalo would certainly help against the Bills too.

They really should be better. Solder should still be ascending in his second year as a starter. Same thing with Wendell, who now has a full season of experience making all the line calls. Mankins is finally a full year-plus removed from ACL surgery so he should be back to normal.

If Vollmer is fully healthy he should play at a Pro Bowl level. My only question is Connolly. Is he a long-term right guard? Will Marcus Cannon move to guard and compete against him? Connolly is the only question mark for me, but at the very least I expect he’ll be solid. Just needs to be consistent.

Mike D. Note: Today we’re bringing you a submission from a reader who has done a breakdown of the comparison between the Pats drafting of wide receivers and defensive lineman. Interesting stuff. I always think draft criticism is stupid. Which teams hit on all picks? All I care about is winning games. You don’t get extra points for being a flawless drafter, which of course no one is. As always, if you have something Pats related you want to get off your chest, submit it to us, and if we like it, we’ll post it.

Hey Mike,

I’ve been excited about the possibilities at WR next year after reading the scouting reports on both Dobson and Boyce but have been met by skepticism by many saying “BB doesn’t know how to draft WR’s”- and throwing out names like Taylor Price and Bethel Johnson.

I actually disagree and believe the Pats have just not valued the position and therefore haven’t invested a great amount of premium picks or picks in general. I see no reason Dobson/Boyce can’t be their new Hernandez/Gronk Ridley/Vereen way of addressing a position of need. I actually think the WR’s they’ve drafted were pretty good consideringwhere they were picked.

To put my theory to the test I went back and compared the WR’s drafted throughout the BB era to a position they have invested in and done relatively well, the D line. I think the results show that they have actually done better at WR in rounds 2-7, and the stud D line picks were a result of investing 1st round selections.

Here they are………..

Total Picks: 117

Total WR’s: 10

Percentage of Picks: 8,5%

1st Round- 0

2nd Round- 3

3rd Round- 2

4th Round- 0

5th Round- 2

6th Round- 0

7th Round- 3

+ Exceeded Expectations of the Picks, – Under Achieved for the pick, = Neutral   

2nd Round- Deion Branch (+), Chad Jackson (-), -Bethel Johnson (-)

3^rd Round- Tate(-), Price (-)

5^th Round- PK Sam (=) Slater (+)

7^th Round- Edelman (+), Givens (+), Ebert (=)

Overall + 4

Overall – 4

Overall = 2

Overall Hits: 40%

Overall Misses: 40%

Overall Neutral: 20%

D Line:

Total Picks: 117

Total D Line: 20

% of DLine: 17.0%

1^st Round: 4

2^nd Round: 3

3^rd Round: 1

4^th Round: 3

5^th Round: 1

6^th Round: 4

7^th Round: 4

1^st Round: Seymour (+) Warren (+) Wilfork (+) C Jones (+)

2^nd Round: Cunningham (-) Brace (-) M Hill (=)

3^rd Round: Bequette (=)

4^th Round: Kareem Brown (-) Klecko (+) J Green (=)

5^th Round: Jeff Marriott (-)

6^th Round: M Pryor (=) Jeremy Mincey (=) LeKevin Smith (=) David Nugent (=)

7^th Round: Ethan Kelly (=) Darryl Richard (=) Kade Weston (=) Deadrick (+)

Overall + 6

Overall – 4

Overall = 10

Hit: 30%

Miss: 25%

Neutral: 50%