2020 Draft

I don't get this. Gronk retired. Nothing to do with whether we wanted him. Unless Curran believes that Gronk would have played for the Pats in 2020?

And how does a draft grade get affected by losing Brady? Because we didn't draft a QB? We did. Last year. I don't get it. I hope he isn't going the Felger route. Felger used to be okay fifteen years ago and started sliding down hill until he and Mazz are sharing the bottom of the bottom with Tanguay.

I don't see how it has anything to do with what the Pats drafted. I just think he is making reference to losing those two, which is kinda a big deal to some. I dont really pay attention to people giving the Pats bad draft grades, because it always looks bad to them because it goes against what they see, sometimes it works out sometimes it doesnt. There are some that will always give them a bad grade and there are others that will give them an A+ no matter what they draft, it all evens out.
 
Cassh Maluia

Great article on Cassh Maluia in The Athletic
https://theathletic.com/1824728/2020/05/20/cassh-maluia-path-to-patriots/

It's way too long to post the entire article, but here's the first third. Worth a look if you're a subscriber:

The minutes were winding down on Cassh Maluia’s football career.

It was Nov. 13, 2015, and Paramount (Calif.) High School was getting blown out by La Serna in the playoffs. Maluia, a senior quarterback, linebacker and safety, had drawn no scholarship offers or even any interest from college programs.

Maybe he’d enroll in a local junior college and hope for the best. But nothing could be guaranteed.

That was until the kid from Compton changed the entire scope of his life. Maluia blocked an extra point in garbage time — a meaningless play in the box score, but one that set him on an unexpected path to become a Patriots sixth-round draft pick this April.

The origin of that journey was wild, maybe almost unbelievable.

“He has a never-give-up kind of attitude, and it’s ended up paying off big time,” Paramount coach Matt Howard said.

Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl was in the crowd that night, but not for Maluia.

Rather, Bohl was scouting Paramount running back Edward Vander, an uber-talented recruit with some red flags who mentally checked out after an early fumble. Vander only got four carries in the loss, leaving little reason for Bohl to stick around.

Bohl stayed anyway.

To put that decision in context, Bohl was recruiting another player a year earlier at Reedley College when he stumbled upon quarterback Josh Allen, who ultimately committed to Wyoming and is currently the Buffalo Bills starter. Bohl had good reason to believe in seeing things all the way through.

Maluia wasn’t hard to uncover that night in the playoffs, even before he sprung off the edge to block the extra point. He accounted for all three of Paramount’s touchdowns, throwing one and running for two, while also racking up 10 tackles.

“It so happened that Cassh was the best player on the field,” Howard said. “Offensively and defensively, he was all over the field. After the game, (Bohl) was like, ‘Who’s No. 7?’ I said it was Cassh Maluia. Then it just kind of took off from there.”

Bohl was impressed by Maluia’s athleticism but wanted to be more thorough with the unknown prospect, so he returned to Wyoming to study more tape.

“The more we found out about him,” Bohl said, “the more excited we got about him.”

‘He’d … run people over’
 
Caash seems like a Patriot kind of player through and through - smart on the field, coachable, motor that doesn't quit and determined to succeed.
 
This time of year I get pretty desperate to read about the Pats. Here's an excerpt from a decent article by Jeff Howe on BB's scouting tree. It has lengthy bits about Kelly and Saban, but this part is the most interesting to me.

https://theathletic.com/1819399/2020/06/01/bill-belichick-trust-chip-kelly-nick-saban/

Belichick just wrapped up his 21st draft with the Patriots, so it’s only natural to take multiple dips into certain coaching wells. He has also drafted seven members of Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators, five members of Bret Bielema’s programs (four from Arkansas, one from Wisconsin), four members of Greg Schiano’s Rutgers Scarlet Knights and four members of Mark Richt’s programs (three from Georgia, one from Miami).

There are a slew of coaches who have sent three prospects to the Patriots, most recently Jim Harbaugh, coach of the Michigan Wolverines. Aside from Harbaugh, though, Belichick has displayed a recent admiration for Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown, who coached edge rushers Chase Winovich and Josh Uche.

And as the years pile up, the networks extend. This year, it also helped Belichick gain a keen interest in offensive linemen Justin Herron and Dustin Woodard. Patriots scout Taylor Redd worked for Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson for eight years and had plenty of intel on Herron.

And Woodard played at Memphis for Ryan Silverfield, who learned about offensive line coaching from Jeff Davidson with the Vikings. Davidson spent seven seasons as Dante Scarnecchia’s assistant offensive line coach.

The branches have kept sprouting. And when Belichick needs information from someone he can trust, as he did with Asiasi, he knows whom to call and how to ask.

These are some of the coaches he holds in high regard.

“I hold him in a higher regard,” Kelly said. “Coach has always been great to me back to when I was an assistant at New Hampshire. I don’t think I had any influence over him picking Devin, but I also know he is looking for certain qualities and he has the ability to get that information.”
 
For anyone interested, the 2021 WR draft will be even better than the 2020 WR draft. For example, Jerry Jeudy, drafted with the 15th pick this year, was the 2nd best WR on Alabama last year. An underclassman, DeVonta Smith, comes out this next year. Like Jeudy, Smith is a little light framed, but like Ruggs, Smith has wings on his feet. Jaylen Waddle is another Bama WR to watch this season; he may be better than Smith.



I see a possible 10-12 WRs who should have 1st rnd grades for 2021.
 
For anyone interested, the 2021 WR draft will be even better than the 2020 WR draft. For example, Jerry Jeudy, drafted with the 15th pick this year, was the 2nd best WR on Alabama last year. An underclassman, DeVonta Smith, comes out this next year. Like Jeudy, Smith is a little light framed, but like Ruggs, Smith has wings on his feet. Jaylen Waddle is another Bama WR to watch this season; he may be better than Smith.



I see a possible 10-12 WRs who should have 1st rnd grades for 2021.

But don't we still need a kicker? :coffee:

Cheers
 
For anyone interested, the 2021 WR draft will be even better than the 2020 WR draft. For example, Jerry Jeudy, drafted with the 15th pick this year, was the 2nd best WR on Alabama last year. An underclassman, DeVonta Smith, comes out this next year. Like Jeudy, Smith is a little light framed, but like Ruggs, Smith has wings on his feet. Jaylen Waddle is another Bama WR to watch this season; he may be better than Smith.



I see a possible 10-12 WRs who should have 1st rnd grades for 2021.

Excellent. I still like the WRs we have (assuming Harry and Meyers have better chemistry with Stidham than they had with Brady, but even if we don't draft one next year, a lot of WRs going in the first round will cause a DT or two to slip down the draft. Remember Wilfork at 21?
 
Excellent. I still like the WRs we have (assuming Harry and Meyers have better chemistry with Stidham than they had with Brady, but even if we don't draft one next year, a lot of WRs going in the first round will cause a DT or two to slip down the draft. Remember Wilfork at 21?

Its chemistry and also getting better as receivers, meaning getting open. Meyers seems to have got that a bit better than Harry did, but he is working on it.
 
Career grades at Michigan:

Chase Winovich, ED - 92.5

Josh Uche, ED - 89.7


Together again. Winovich contributed very efficiently last year. Uche should, too. Fingers crossed.
 
J J Taylor

JJ Taylor is a guy I'm looking forward to seeing on the field come pre-season.

Built a bit like Darren Sproles but faster
5'6" 190# Sproles
5'5" 185# JJ Taylor

Lots of production at Arizona, both rushing and receiving, but no idea if he can translate that to the NFL. Probably will have to beat out Burkhead to stick, which isn't very likely. Maybe practice squad, but still hoping to see him and some of the other burners BB has gathered this off-season.

https://www.patspulpit.com/2020/6/6/21281398/patriots-2020-roster-breakdown-running-back-jj-taylor
 
JJ Taylor is a guy I'm looking forward to seeing on the field come pre-season.

Built a bit like Darren Sproles but faster
5'6" 190# Sproles
5'5" 185# JJ Taylor

Lots of production at Arizona, both rushing and receiving, but no idea if he can translate that to the NFL. Probably will have to beat out Burkhead to stick, which isn't very likely. Maybe practice squad, but still hoping to see him and some of the other burners BB has gathered this off-season.

https://www.patspulpit.com/2020/6/6/21281398/patriots-2020-roster-breakdown-running-back-jj-taylor



While he is intriguing, and he is....how long do you really see him lasting in the NFL?
 
Sproles is 5’6” and played about 15-20 years

He has been in the league for 16 years, last 3 years he has barely played, but thats pretty rare for that size. I mean the guy could play forever, but there are not a lot of guys that size that play very long even if there was one that did. Which is probably why he went undrafted. He can be of use, but it will have to be monitored for sure, Sproles never even had 100 carries in a year, hope he can catch.
 
He has been in the league for 16 years, last 3 years he has barely played, but thats pretty rare for that size. I mean the guy could play forever, but there are not a lot of guys that size that play very long even if there was one that did. Which is probably why he went undrafted. He can be of use, but it will have to be monitored for sure, Sproles never even had 100 carries in a year, hope he can catch.

That’s never been his role and won’t be Taylor’s. You’d be an idiot to try and make them bellcow backs. They’re pass catching backs. Change of pace guys. 3rd Down specialists. STs guys for returning.
 
That’s never been his role and won’t be Taylor’s. You’d be an idiot to try and make them bellcow backs. They’re pass catching backs. Change of pace guys. 3rd Down specialists. STs guys for returning.

Oh yeah I know, thats what I mean, they have to use him for special roles.
 
unicorn anomaly

for sure and even then he had a lot of injuries even with bits and pieces of usage. It does not mean the little guy cant make it for us, its just it would be rare.

sproles is the first player in nfl history with 2,200+ all purpose yards in 4 different seasons (2008–2011). Sproles is currently ranked 5th in career all-purpose yards in nfl history (19,696 yards).[1]

View attachment 103964
 
Plenty of little guys break out for a year or two. He doesn’t have to be Sproles. Woodhead would be nice.
 
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