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 (-)
3rd Round- Tate(-), Price (-)
5th Round- PK Sam (=) Slater (+)
7th 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%
1st Round: 4
2nd Round: 3
3rd Round: 1
4th Round: 3
5th Round: 1
6th Round: 4
7th Round: 4
1st Round: Seymour (+) Warren (+) Wilfork (+) C Jones (+)
2nd Round: Cunningham (-) Brace (-) M Hill (=)
3rd Round: Bequette (=)
4th Round: Kareem Brown (-) Klecko (+) J Green (=)
5th Round: Jeff Marriott (-)
6th Round: M Pryor (=) Jeremy Mincey (=) LeKevin Smith (=) David Nugent (=)
7th Round: Ethan Kelly (=) Darryl Richard (=) Kade Weston (=) Deadrick (+)
Overall + 6
Overall – 4
Overall = 10
Hit: 30%
Miss: 25%
Neutral: 50%