Markell Carter

I’m not really a draft “grade” guy, because it’s never really clear what people are grading. Are you grading the overall talent of the draftees? The value of the picks? How well needs were addressed? 90% of this stuff can’t really be commented about until December 2011 at the earliest. Most people are just grading based on their own personal opinion of the draftees anyway.

So let’s just start with overall impressions of the Patriots 2011 draft. As I’ve said before I’m kind of pleasantly surprised that they hit on every area of need.

A tackle and a guard of the future were added. Who knows how soon Solder and Cannon will contribute but all indications are that they’ll join with Sebastian Vollmer to take the offensive line into the next decade. And they’re all “outside the box” huge and athletic. There are the roots of something special there now.

The approach to drafting two runningbacks is similar to the one taken last year when they took two tight ends. Running back was one of the greatest places of mid-round depth this year, so the Patriots took their two favorites early to ensure they got who they wanted. As Erik Frenz pointed out on our podcast Vereen and Ridley are different backs and should contribute in different ways.

I’d argue that New England has one of the most intriguing offensive backfields in the NFL now, with a number of backs who have unique skills to play any kind of game. And let’s not forget if the NFL manages to get to an 18-game season having quality runningback depth will be more important than ever.

Then you add Lee Smith, another monstrer, with Gronk and Hernando and the tight end group looks similarly diverse and capable of playing any style.

So before we go to the defensive side of the ball let’s just take a step back and look at the offense that the Patriots of the next decade will have. It all begins up front, and with Vollmer, Solder, Cannon, Gronk, and Smith you have five enormous men who will be able to get a push against any one.

This is a New England offense that will be able to play any kind of game… ground and pound? No one’s line/tight ends are bigger. Spread passing attack? Um, TFB anyone? From a football nerd x’s and o’s standpoint this is the kind of thing to get really excited about.

At first I was surprised by the selection of Ryan Mallett but it’s slowly grown on me to be one of my favorite picks. You never know what will happen when you put a raw quarterback with a rifle arm in a perfect football situation. Everyone wants to speculate what the endgame of Mallett/Hoyer/Brady will be, but it doesn’t really matter. The Pats have three quarterbacks that some teams would kill to have any of. Let it all play out, and know that the team is safe from even the worst case scenario.

The Pats took only three defenders in this draft class and two of them were taken at the exact positions that they needed most – CB with FS potential and OLB. While I thought the Pats would take one of the many talented defensive ends in this draft class, it was more based on what I perceived as value at 17, not because I thought that defensive end was a hugely glaring need.

Ras-I Dowling looks like yet another great value pick, and he could very well be our starting free safety in 2012. Hopefully we’ll get at least some nickel corner/third safety play out of him in 2011 as he learns the defense.

The Pats finally did take an outside linebacker in Markell Carter, but because most of the draftniks out there didn’t know much about him he’s being somewhat dismissed. But looking at the one YouTube video that’s out there of him, along with some of his quotes, it appears he’s right in the wheelhouse of what the Pats look for at OLB. I just look forward to seeing how it plays out with Carter, Eric Moore, Ninkopoop, TBC, and any free agents they potentially bring in.

They might not have used a high pick on an OLB but that doesn’t mean the pass rush will not be better in 2011 than it was in 2010. Reasons:

• Ty Warren returns, allowing Mike Wright/Myron Pryor to focus more on interior pass rush and not base down run stopping.
• Wright/Pryor should also be healthy.
• Leigh Bodden returns. Better coverage equals additional moments for pass rush to get there.
• Jermaine Cunningham should take a step forward, and should be healthy.
• Ras-I Dowling adds another presence in the secondary which again equals more time for pass rush to get to the QB.
• Eric Moore showed some real pass rush ability in the final five games of 2011. With a year in the system he could take TBC’s job.
• Getting pass rush is never as easy as just drafting a pass rusher. It’s a combination of elements, a number of which are guaranteed to improve in 2011 just based on getting healthy alone.

Finally the Pats made a signature pick of a special teams guy Malcolm Williams, who didn’t even think that he’d get drafted. Some people may think BB makes this picks just to show off or make a point, but as we see every year, teams who don’t draft with special teams in mind won’t make it very far even if they have the best offense and defense in the NFL.

In closing, this was a surgical strike draft for the Patriots. Clearly they had their list of prospects that they liked, but they weren’t blown away by the overall talent especially at the position that they might’ve needed most.

If you graded their draft on getting players at a great value that will ensure the long term sustained success of the organization then I don’t know how they don’t get an A. How many teams would be good if only they had an offensive line? If only they had a competent quarterback? Those are problems the Patriots won’t have any time soon.

The true grade of this draft class won’t be known for a few years, but on paper it looks like it’s yet another classic Patriots value draft, taking the best talent at the best price. It might not be an “immediate upgrade” draft, but if you’re trying to rely on the draft to take you over the hump you might never get over it.