Ok, I'm back on board. What bothers me I guess is I still see the Dline being very slim, and I hope that Free agency is kind, and are we really set at wideout?
OK, I understand your concerns. I personally feel that they are legitimate. But perhaps BB's willingness to pass up many of the DE prospects in this draft suggests that he has more confidence in the development of the DL than many fans do. This includes:
- Ty Warren's and Mike Wright's health status. We played without Warren for all of 2010, and without Wright for half the season. A healthy Ty Warren returning to form immediately upgrades our DL. A healthy Wright gives us an inside pass rushing presence.
- The development of Ron Brace, Myron Pryor and Brandon Deaderick.
- Kade Weston and Kyle Love. Weston was essentially red-shirted for 2010 after being drafted in the 7th round. He was considered extremely talented physically but very raw. Love showed some nice ability to take up double teams and provide a backup option at NT.
Add Marcus Stroud (and possibly Gerard Warren, who could return) and that makes 10 DLs. Sure, none of them is Richard Seymour in his prime and only Vince Wilfork is "elite" (though Ty Warren returning to 2006 form would be close), but there's a lot of depth and talent. Drafting more DLs would just increase the logjam.
Similarly, BB may be pleased with the development of Jermaine Cunningham and Eric Moore, to the point of not feeling that a rookie pass rusher is likely to make a hue difference for 2011.
I can't guarantee that all this will happen - we once had high hopes for Shawn Crable and Vince Redd providing an infusion of youth into the OLB corps, and were let down - but the fact that BB didn't share your sense of urgency about the DL and pass rush suggests that he has more confidence in the available options. He has explicitly said "we are a young team but a talented team on defense", and presumably he knows defensive talent.
As for wideout we have Deion Branch, Wes Welker (who should be 100% back from his ACL injury), Brandon Tate and Taylor Price. Tate and Prince should be considerably improved, and both can stretch the field. Plus we have receiving options at TE and RB to mix in with the WRs. Brady will have a lot of options. Could he use a vertical threat? Sure. Maybe that will be Tate or Price, or maybe that threat could come in FA (heck, it's still possible that Randy Moss could come back).
Anyway, I'll be curious to see what happens tomorrow to round out the draft.
