PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Pats Posits: Digging on Draft

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As I start to really grind on my Top 50 Big Board it slowly becomes an impossible game of need and value while projecting who might be the perfect Patriots picks.

Now, I know the Patriots try to take need out of the equation, but it’s undeniable that there are roster holes to still be filled. And yes, I’m still assuming they can figure things out with Gostkowski who is currently on a USO Tour.

(Though I can’t lie, throwing the former Assumption kicker into the mix is tempting, even if he’d be a severe kickoff downgrade from Gostkowski.)

Updating the Patriots’ biggest needs since I last wrote about them, the tight end spot becomes the biggest priority even more than it already was. As usual the problem is not picking until 32 so it’s impossible to fall in love with many of the perfect elite fits.

At this phase it would make sense for the Patriots to trade up for tight end TJ Hockensen. In theory, it’s a slam dunk, though it’s not like Hockensen alone would be enough. He’s not Gronk 2.0 but he’s the best all-around tight end in the class.

But the Patriots rarely, if ever, make the slam dunk moves outside of drafting Joe Cardona. That leaves us with tons of draft capital and a haze of projection picks.

Let’s try to sift through some of it in the Posits.

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How Will Belichick Rebuild Defensive Coaching Staff?

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Coming on the heels of Rob Gronkowski’s retirement, the abrupt departure of Greg Schiano just six weeks into his tenure as defensive coordinator was a second significant blow to the 2019 Pats process.

With Schiano leaving, speculation is that Belichick will be forced to take a more active role in the defense, something he certainly did early in Matt Patricia’s career.

Brian Flores was DC for just one season, but clearly brought his own unique personality to the defense. Patricia did the same before him, as did Dean Pees and Romeo Crennel before them.

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The Greatest Belichick-Brady Pats Game of All Time Is…

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Pats Pulpit put together the perfect offseason activity, a Pats Madness bracket of the best games of the Patriots’ dynasty. It’s no surprise that the final four games are all Super Bowls.

The earlier rounds were tough, choosing between games like the 2006 playoff win in San Diego and the impossible 2013 comeback against the Broncos wasn’t easy.

The whole exercise made me wonder, what makes the truly perfect win? It was the question I had to conquer before making my decision between the final four and narrowing it all down to my pick for the best game of the Belichick-Brady era.

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The Post-Gronk Pats at Tight End

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After my too-long tribute to Gronk yesterday it’s now time to take stock of the Patriots without Rob Gronkowski. The formerly cap-strapped team now has $17.5 million in space, about as much as they started the offseason with.

There’s room for free agents and there’s definitely room for some draft picks. Let’s take a positional deep dive…who’s on the roster, the free agents available and the draft picks who would fit.

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Goodnight Sweet Gronky

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It’s hard not to sit here and try to write about Rob Gronkowski’s career without a big fat smile on my face. The Patriots selected him just a couple weeks after I focused all my three-years-of-blogging energy into my own site, PatsPropaganda. So Gronk has very much been a main character here for almost nine years.

From that very first glimpse of him, it was clear that Patriots football just got a whole lot more fun. Little did we know we were about to witness perhaps the most spectacular career the NFL has ever seen from a tight end.

Gronk would play just nine seasons, with injuries marring significant games of the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016 seasons. But among the rest he put together an easy Hall of Fame career with three Super Bowl rings.

Let’s take a look back at nearly a decade of Gronk spikes.

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5 Early Patriots Draft Favorites

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I often get stuck diving into draft research and only using it to compile my Top 50 Patriots-only Big Board. It’s hard to believe this will be the ninth year I’ve done one and it’s always a great distraction from the depths of the offseason to see what kind of new toys might be out there for the Pats.

Let’s take a pause from compiling the 50 (I’m at 37!) and look at a few guys who have tickled my fancy thus far!

From yesterday: 5 Draft Needs

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5 Biggest Pats Draft Needs

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Once again the Patriots used free agency to fill in the depth of their roster and at least a baseline level of talent at (almost) every position. With plenty of options still on the market there will be more free agency additions, but likely only short-term fixes.

For long-term needs the Pats will stick to the draft and though they won’t be handcuffed by critical immediate needs, they must look to the future at these five positions.

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