Thornton is interesting. He should be more productive than he is. I don't think Troy Brown did any favors for any of our guys and especially for Thornton whose skillset is totally different
than Brown's. New WR's coach Tyler Hughes may be able to help Thornton succeed. Hughes was at U of Washington last year as Offensive Quality Control coach who watched Rome Odunze & Penix work first hand. Hughes has been learning the WR position and offense in general for 20 years. He should be ready to have a breakout year putting all that stored knowledge to good use this year for us. He learned under Josh McDaniels with us 4 yrs ago and under Patricia 3 years ago. He also spent a year under Urban Meyer at OSU. He's lived through the good, the bad and the ugly so he knows the difference. My mind wanders sometimes for a few milliseconds to Hughes' connection with Odunze and Penix if Wolf snags a bag in a trade back but Penix's fumbles quickly dash that notion and then Nix flashes for an instant until memories of him at Auburn burn again.
I really had no idea who Tyler Hughes was, so thanks for the detail. I've been suspicious that Troy Brown, Mr. Patriot, was not necessarily a top positional coach,
but couldn't really know one way or the other.
As somebody that shares Tyquan's last name who had watched him carry Baylor to wins when he was doubled on every play and their only real offensive weapon, I was
really excited to see him come here. While he's shown a few flashes of real speed, even I could see how poor he was at keeping his feet inbounds or coming
back on the ball to help his QB out. He'd just sit there waiting on it and the DB would have time to close and kill the play. DBs could cut off his routes and take him out of the play
with positioning and footwork and he couldn't get free. Even though he has skinny legs Tyquan is wiry strong and blocked surprisingly well, but he got hurt and missed
chunks of time which set his development back. He was officially "made of glass" in the eyes of many. He was a bust and another broken brick in the draft wall that
ultimately collapsed on BB. Bill couldn't draft a top WR to save his life.
Last season, in the middle of the worst offensive dysfunction we've seen here since the Dick McPherson days, I thought I saw signs that he was busting out of it
at times. He seemed to be quicker out of his breaks and was getting open only Mac or Zappe didn't have time to find him or would not look his way, but you could see
there is definitely something there. He was just so raw coming out and so slow to develop that everybody quit on him, but I'll keep a candle burning that a fresh approach can turn his
speed into real production, but understand that ship might have already sailed. I blame my brother for buying a Thornton jersey before he'd played in an NFL game
and I let him know about it.
Thornton, Juju and Boutte. Certainly there are players you are talking about here that can upgrade our much-maligned WR group.
That's not a bad frontline trio even though we don't have a true X other than Thornton.
We'll be able to know pretty much right away how true this is, once they get on the field this year.Thornton is interesting. He should be more productive than he is. I don't think Troy Brown did any favors for any of our guys and especially for Thornton whose skillset is totally different
than Brown's. New WR's coach Tyler Hughes may be able to help Thornton succeed. Hughes was at U of Washington last year as Offensive Quality Control coach who watched Rome Odunze & Penix work first hand. Hughes has been learning the WR position and offense in general for 20 years. He should be ready to have a breakout year putting all that stored knowledge to good use this year for us. He learned under Josh McDaniels with us 4 yrs ago and under Patricia 3 years ago. He also spent a year under Urban Meyer at OSU. He's lived through the good, the bad and the ugly so he knows the difference. My mind wanders sometimes for a few milliseconds to Hughes' connection with Odunze and Penix if Wolf snags a bag in a trade back but Penix's fumbles quickly dash that notion and then Nix flashes for an instant until memories of him at Auburn burn again.
It's funny, Odunze's the one of these three without the aggressive marketing campaigns (although I don't think Harrison's is huge, the TV Draft people have been on him for a year), but to me, he's the only one within hailing distance of Harrison in terms of a prospect. There is a lot of WR talent in this draft, so most teams in the 1st/2nd should end up pretty happy, but I think in terms of 'which of these receivers is going to be in the discussion for best in the league in 3 years', it's Harrison, and Odunze. And if Odunze works enough to get his footwork (especially on the line, and cuts in routes) up to Harrison's level (and it's not like he's far away, it's seriously the only real difference I see between the two), there's no reason he wouldn't be in that discussion.
I believe MHJ, Rome, Nabers and Thomas Jr. are all going to be worth a first rounder. I think we're splitting hairs with the 1st 3 names, but MHJ, just doesn't
seem to get the YAC the other two do.
I'm no WR scout, but when I watch Nabers I see not just speed, but an ability to change gears radically between juke steps, sort
of like a waterbug, and it would appear to be damn near impossible to not get off balance with everything he throws at you. I'm
not saying he's better overall than Odunze, but after I watched him for a while, Rome looks noticeably slower.
I'm just glad that my favorite whipping boy, Myles Bryant, has left Foxboro in FA so we will never have to watch him try
to cover Nabers. At least for us. I think he'll trip over his own feet and fall before the ball is even snapped. Normally he didn't do
that until the guy he was on made his 2nd cut. I swear I saw that happen 20X just last season.
I'd give a slight nod to Nabers as best in show, but any one of them would be the best guy we've had in years.
15. Javon Baker, Bama/Central Fla., 6'1", 202. Grade 85.2. Starting immediately with large role and learning on the go. Baker is on the cusp of the Rotational Starter Tier: Executes at a starter level in a role playing to their strengths.
Comp. Jeremy Maclin, NFL
Comp. Brenden Rice, this draft. So many similarities from body type, good coaching/great route running and good hands, good YAC and more, to negatives such as clapping at balls, less than ideal speed and below avg overall athleticism for an NFL WR1 (Rice scored 7.92 RAS and Baker scored 7.93 RAS). There is a lot to like about both players and they are already well developed enough that the Patriots don't have to develop them, which is a good thing imo,...but they will never be a true WR1.
Baker is a natural flanker with some split-end abilities at the catch point. He’s skilled route runner with refined footwork against man-to-man coverage, nuanced manipulation techniques to bait defenders in the wrong direction before his breaks, and the snap with his breaks to generate an extra step of separation. Baker wins a lot of targets away from his frame because he positions his frame effectively and has the concentration to earn the ball against tight coverage and collisions. He’ll win more when he corrects a flaw with his attack where he widens his
hands just enough at the last moment and it forces him to clap at balls unnecessarily, similar to Brenden Rice. Also similar to Brenden Rice, because Baker is a good but not great athlete by starter standards for the position, there’s a very low margin of error that will define success and failure with his game. (Rice scored 7.92 RAS and Baker scored 7.93 RAS.). If these issues that nag him at UCF carry over to the NFL, it could magnify the difference between what Baker is and what he could become despite promising moments on the field.
I won't go on about Baker since he's so similar to Rice. I'll just say I'd like either of these guys in a Patriots' uni (middle rounds) because even if they aren't true WR1 prospects because of limited athleticism, they are both already highly nuanced route runners & skilled enough to be terrific WR2 complements to a true WR1. (They are already well developed as receivers)
No injuries noted.
I've been asked where Keon Coleman is in my rankings. The short answer is "he's not". He can't get separation against man coverage. That limits him to being a big slot and
he'd only be marginal there. The Pats had best look elsewhere for their receivers and I'm certain they are aware of Coleman's short comings.
This just came out yesterday which sums up my assessment
View: https://twitter.com/MattHarmon_BYB/status/1780337252322705474
I love that the Bills paid high draft capital for this kid. NO separation. NO brains. What a waste of a pick.
View: https://twitter.com/Matt_Bove/status/1784336221361045968
Didn't I hear that he was picked because Josh Allen wanted him??
I watched that highlight film. Baker looks adequately fast when he needs to be.Good write up on Baker chev.
I watched that highlight film. Baker looks adequately fast when he needs to be.
Well, Jerry Rice was never the fastest receiver in the league, but he managed to get open a lot, and score a lot of TDs.I suppose adequately fast can be good if the guy does a lot of other stuff right, but
I would have preferred we invested in somebody that was sub 4.4
Still, to my untrained eye I would think Polk and Baker look like pretty good prospects. It's
going to be hard to believe that these were both solid picks until we see production
on the field, but, on paper, our WR group is better than it has been in a while and could
be average-ish.
That's a far cry from where we've been.
A single TD per game doesn't really seem like a mountain to overcome, but were that the case
last year we could have finished well over .500.