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Patriots’ Draft Preview: Defensive Backs
Patriots’ Draft Preview: Defensive Backs
http://boston.barstoolsports.com/random-thoughts/patriots-draft-preview-defensive-backs/
Patriots current roster/ needs: It’s always hard to gauge how big a priority defensive back is for Belichick. It’s like they’re his favorite thing and no matter how many he’s picked up he’s never satisfied. Like the way My Irish Rose can’t stop buying Yankee Candles and my kid never reaches his limit of XBox games or Hef never has enough empty-headed fake blonde slutbags. In the last 4 drafts the Pats have taken 5 DB’s just in the first 2 rounds alone. No one saw the Devin McCourty pick coming last year, but so far he looks like one of the great picks of the Belichick Epoch. The jury is still out on most of the others, so who can say if he’s thinking about investing more early-pick capital on this one position?
All we can do is take educated guesses as to what The Hooded One looks for in his corners and safeties. As a general rule, he’s not smitten by size. He leans towards smaller, more agile guys who can change direction and give him every scouting report writer’s favorite cliché, the “hip turn.” The Pats play almost exclusively zone so he’s less interested in physical press guys than ones who can play zone. He puts a priority on seeing guys point their ass to the sidelines, mirror the receivers and (his words) “see at the QB, watch his release, then break on the ball.” And also, as he told McCourty in my favorite quote of his from last year, “We don’t have cover corners. You’re going to have to tackle people.” And playing special teams is a gigantic plus, as probably his entire secondary will end up on teams.
Positional Overview: This year, the secondary is top heavy with a couple of blue chip, top-of-the-1st corners, no Day 1 safeties like Eric Berry last year, but some decent mid-round depth at both.
Top of the draft class who are guaranteed to be gone well before the Patriots pick:
Patrick Peterson, LSU. 6-0, 219, 4.31
Prince Amukamara, Nebraska. 6-0, 206, 4.38
Both are expected to be impact players from Week 1 of ’11 both in the secondary and in the return game. The worst either of them are expected to go are at 15, and even that only if there’s a run on QB’s or something. In fact, there’s no lack of sites willing to call Peterson the best, most talented prospect in the draft at any position. But for the Pats to end up with either of them would mean the kind of dramatic, expensive, 1st round move up they’ve never made before, so hold yer wad, there, pal.
Best safety:
Rahim Moore, UCLA. 6-0, 202, 4.58
Not an eye popping athlete. Kind of skinny for a safety and his tackling is weak cheese. But he’s showed good instincts for the ball and led the NCAA with 10 INTs as a junior before the PAC-10 caught on and stopped throwing his direction. Moore was also the Bruins’ team captain as a junior, which is Belichick’s type. He could probably be had with the Pats’ #60 or #74 pick, and it would be a referendum on whether they’ve had it with Lee Harvey Meriweather and his Warren Commission-like bad angles on the ball.
Cornerbacks with more red flags than the Beijing Country Club:
Jimmy Smith, Colorado. 6-2, 211, 4.42
Believe it or not, some early draft publications had Smith listed as the top corner, even ahead of Peterson. The bad news for him is that that a couple of booze-related mishaps and reports of multiple drug test failures have made him as untouchable as a Japanese nuclear reactor. The good news though is that the Jets have already voted him team captain.
Ahmad Black, Florida. 5-9, 190, 4.51
Black declared for the draft as a junior. Why? Because he’s learned all he can at the college level? Because he’s maxed out on his draft status? Or he’s worried about injuries? Nah. Because he’s got 3 babies to provide for. How can he be expected to cover Reggie Wayne when he won’t even cover his own penis? (Also… Jets? Here’s another future leader for you.)
Cornerback whom everyone except for him thinks is a safety:
Aaron Williams, Texas. 6-0, 204, 4.55.
Williams has shown he can play off the ball and be a good run stuffer. But his lack of 5th gear speed changed the scouts’ view of him from a CB plummeting on draft boards to maybe the best safety prospect in the draft.
Strong safeties with identical measurables who might bring value with the Patriots No. 92 pick:
DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson. 6-0, 217, 4.63
Tyler Sash, Iowa. 6-0, 211, 4.62
Both have questions about their straight-line speed but play faster than their 40 times. Both are considered to have instincts to find the ball once it’s in the air and who also can play on the line and maybe contribute to the Pats’ D in the Brandon McGowan “robber” role. All else being equal, Sash gets the edge having played under Belichick disciple Kirk Ferentz. On the other hand, drafting him means 10,000 hacky comparisons to every “scrappy” white safety who’s ever played from Tim Fox to Pat Tillman to Tom Zbikowski to, God forbid, Jason Sehorn. For that reason alone I hope it if comes down to this choice, they go with McDaniel.
Guy I hope they end up with, but only because it would be benefit me personally:
Ras-I Dowling, Virginia. 6-1, 200, 4.40
Dowling is bigger than most CB’s they go for. He’s not considered the kind of athletic DB’s they usually draft. And knee and ankle injuries dropped his senior production down to almost zero. But he has the best Batman Villain name in NFL history. So call me selfish, but I’ve got mouths to feed and Pats blogs that include word play don’t write themselves.
Corners and safeties the Pats have met with:
Buster Skrine, Tennessee-Chattanooga. 5-10, 186, 4.37
Mistral Raymond, So. Florida.
Jaiquawn Jarrett, Temple. 6-0, 196, 4.62
Perfect Patriot: Cornerback Curtis Brown, Texas. 5-11 ½, 180, 4.42.
Brown, like Williams, was coached at Texas was coached by Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp, now the HC at Florida. Muschamp is another twig off the Belichick tree. He coached defensive backs at Auburn a few years ago, which is how we ended up with Jonathan Wilhite. Brown hasn’t been lumped in with the elite DB’s in this year’s group, but he shouldn’t be overlooked as a guy on the next tier down either. He was looked at as a better athlete than cover guy until a 2008 game against OK St. when he broke up a pass intented for Dez Bryant. Then scouts started to talk about him as a potential shutdown corner with a great change-of-direction and the ability to highpoint the ball. He can also play up on the line, attack bubble screens, and for a guy who’s not all that powerful can redirect receivers inside toward his S/LB help. If nothing else, he’s proven he can contribute from Day 1 of camp by making Special Teams plays. I’d say at worst Brown will be a solid pick in with one of the 3rd rounders. Brown is #3 for the Longhorns here. Look for the PBU followed by the Pick-6 he makes at around the 1:45 mark.
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Patriots’ Draft Preview: Defensive Backs
http://boston.barstoolsports.com/random-thoughts/patriots-draft-preview-defensive-backs/
Patriots current roster/ needs: It’s always hard to gauge how big a priority defensive back is for Belichick. It’s like they’re his favorite thing and no matter how many he’s picked up he’s never satisfied. Like the way My Irish Rose can’t stop buying Yankee Candles and my kid never reaches his limit of XBox games or Hef never has enough empty-headed fake blonde slutbags. In the last 4 drafts the Pats have taken 5 DB’s just in the first 2 rounds alone. No one saw the Devin McCourty pick coming last year, but so far he looks like one of the great picks of the Belichick Epoch. The jury is still out on most of the others, so who can say if he’s thinking about investing more early-pick capital on this one position?
All we can do is take educated guesses as to what The Hooded One looks for in his corners and safeties. As a general rule, he’s not smitten by size. He leans towards smaller, more agile guys who can change direction and give him every scouting report writer’s favorite cliché, the “hip turn.” The Pats play almost exclusively zone so he’s less interested in physical press guys than ones who can play zone. He puts a priority on seeing guys point their ass to the sidelines, mirror the receivers and (his words) “see at the QB, watch his release, then break on the ball.” And also, as he told McCourty in my favorite quote of his from last year, “We don’t have cover corners. You’re going to have to tackle people.” And playing special teams is a gigantic plus, as probably his entire secondary will end up on teams.
Positional Overview: This year, the secondary is top heavy with a couple of blue chip, top-of-the-1st corners, no Day 1 safeties like Eric Berry last year, but some decent mid-round depth at both.
Top of the draft class who are guaranteed to be gone well before the Patriots pick:
Patrick Peterson, LSU. 6-0, 219, 4.31
Prince Amukamara, Nebraska. 6-0, 206, 4.38
Both are expected to be impact players from Week 1 of ’11 both in the secondary and in the return game. The worst either of them are expected to go are at 15, and even that only if there’s a run on QB’s or something. In fact, there’s no lack of sites willing to call Peterson the best, most talented prospect in the draft at any position. But for the Pats to end up with either of them would mean the kind of dramatic, expensive, 1st round move up they’ve never made before, so hold yer wad, there, pal.
Best safety:
Rahim Moore, UCLA. 6-0, 202, 4.58
Not an eye popping athlete. Kind of skinny for a safety and his tackling is weak cheese. But he’s showed good instincts for the ball and led the NCAA with 10 INTs as a junior before the PAC-10 caught on and stopped throwing his direction. Moore was also the Bruins’ team captain as a junior, which is Belichick’s type. He could probably be had with the Pats’ #60 or #74 pick, and it would be a referendum on whether they’ve had it with Lee Harvey Meriweather and his Warren Commission-like bad angles on the ball.
Cornerbacks with more red flags than the Beijing Country Club:
Jimmy Smith, Colorado. 6-2, 211, 4.42
Believe it or not, some early draft publications had Smith listed as the top corner, even ahead of Peterson. The bad news for him is that that a couple of booze-related mishaps and reports of multiple drug test failures have made him as untouchable as a Japanese nuclear reactor. The good news though is that the Jets have already voted him team captain.
Ahmad Black, Florida. 5-9, 190, 4.51
Black declared for the draft as a junior. Why? Because he’s learned all he can at the college level? Because he’s maxed out on his draft status? Or he’s worried about injuries? Nah. Because he’s got 3 babies to provide for. How can he be expected to cover Reggie Wayne when he won’t even cover his own penis? (Also… Jets? Here’s another future leader for you.)
Cornerback whom everyone except for him thinks is a safety:
Aaron Williams, Texas. 6-0, 204, 4.55.
Williams has shown he can play off the ball and be a good run stuffer. But his lack of 5th gear speed changed the scouts’ view of him from a CB plummeting on draft boards to maybe the best safety prospect in the draft.
Strong safeties with identical measurables who might bring value with the Patriots No. 92 pick:
DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson. 6-0, 217, 4.63
Tyler Sash, Iowa. 6-0, 211, 4.62
Both have questions about their straight-line speed but play faster than their 40 times. Both are considered to have instincts to find the ball once it’s in the air and who also can play on the line and maybe contribute to the Pats’ D in the Brandon McGowan “robber” role. All else being equal, Sash gets the edge having played under Belichick disciple Kirk Ferentz. On the other hand, drafting him means 10,000 hacky comparisons to every “scrappy” white safety who’s ever played from Tim Fox to Pat Tillman to Tom Zbikowski to, God forbid, Jason Sehorn. For that reason alone I hope it if comes down to this choice, they go with McDaniel.
Guy I hope they end up with, but only because it would be benefit me personally:
Ras-I Dowling, Virginia. 6-1, 200, 4.40
Dowling is bigger than most CB’s they go for. He’s not considered the kind of athletic DB’s they usually draft. And knee and ankle injuries dropped his senior production down to almost zero. But he has the best Batman Villain name in NFL history. So call me selfish, but I’ve got mouths to feed and Pats blogs that include word play don’t write themselves.
Corners and safeties the Pats have met with:
Buster Skrine, Tennessee-Chattanooga. 5-10, 186, 4.37
Mistral Raymond, So. Florida.
Jaiquawn Jarrett, Temple. 6-0, 196, 4.62
Perfect Patriot: Cornerback Curtis Brown, Texas. 5-11 ½, 180, 4.42.
Brown, like Williams, was coached at Texas was coached by Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp, now the HC at Florida. Muschamp is another twig off the Belichick tree. He coached defensive backs at Auburn a few years ago, which is how we ended up with Jonathan Wilhite. Brown hasn’t been lumped in with the elite DB’s in this year’s group, but he shouldn’t be overlooked as a guy on the next tier down either. He was looked at as a better athlete than cover guy until a 2008 game against OK St. when he broke up a pass intented for Dez Bryant. Then scouts started to talk about him as a potential shutdown corner with a great change-of-direction and the ability to highpoint the ball. He can also play up on the line, attack bubble screens, and for a guy who’s not all that powerful can redirect receivers inside toward his S/LB help. If nothing else, he’s proven he can contribute from Day 1 of camp by making Special Teams plays. I’d say at worst Brown will be a solid pick in with one of the 3rd rounders. Brown is #3 for the Longhorns here. Look for the PBU followed by the Pick-6 he makes at around the 1:45 mark.
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