My Attempt To Guess The Actual New England Patriots Draft Board
The New England Patriots will likely be wheeling and dealing on draft day. Here is a final attempt to guess what they do.
The Opening Act New England Trades Up
11. Melvin Ingram Right End South Carolina New England sends both first round picks to the Kansas City Chiefs to move up to his spot. New England gets their pass rusher.
Inram is 6 foot 2 272 pounds. He can play on the defensive line anywhere in the 4-3 or anywhere in the 3-4 at linebacker. Ingram can also be utilized as a 3-4 defensive end. Ingram registered 10 sacks in 2011. Ingram impressed teams at South Carolina’s pro day. Ingram even did well enough to warrant an individual workout from New England. The Patriots love Ingram and will move up for him at 11.
At 48 New England moves down for the 53rd overall pick and the 116th overall pick assuming Virginia Tech running back David Wilson is still on the board. The Cincinnati Bengals move up to New England’s spot to take Wilson. I think Cleveland Browns or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will target Doug Martin in round 2. St. Louis could target someone like Lamar Miller with Washington’s pick. New England takes the additional picks.
53. Devon Still Defensive Tackle/3-4 Defensive End Penn State Due to teams reaching for players on their draft boards and trades Still falls. New England decides to take a player with the versatility to be a 4-3 defensive tackle or a 3-4 defensive end.
Still is a great pass rusher who can stop the run. Still commands double teams due to the 6 foot 5 310 pound size. Still struggled down the stretch due to injuries.
At 62 New England will get an offer from the Seattle Seahawks for Temple running back Bernard Pierce with Seattle willing to send a 2012 3rd rounder 75th overall and a 2012 4th rounder 106th overall pick. New England will make a trade with Seattle. Not at #12 though.
75. Justin Bethel CB/SS/FS/KR/PR Presbyterian Justin Bethel is a small school prospect with a great football IQ. Bethel can cover and he puts a huge emphasis on playing man, zone, and press coverage. Bethel has 4.3 40 time speed. He can be used on special teams as a returner or a tackler. Bethel moves up.
New England sends the 3 4th round picks at 106, 116, and 126 to move up to #81 with the Dallas Cowboys where they take their first of 2 cornerbacks to wrap up this draft. New England’s final pick comes at 95.
81. Casey Heyward Cornerback Vanderbilt A day 2 corner that Belichick likes is Casey Heyward. Heyward is one of the best zone coverage corners and can record interceptions.
93. Ron Brooks Cornerback LSU Ron Brooks was a dime cornerback on LSU’s depth chart behind Morris Claiborne, Tyrann Mathieu, and Tharold Simon. Two years ago Brooks was a quarter cornerback on hail mary situations executing that quarter role with preceision.
Brooks got promoted to the dime role. Brooks can play man coverage on tight ends if you call dime packages. Brooks is a developmental cornerback with the tools to develop into a #2 boundary cornerback. Kyle Arrington is not a long term answer at the boundary role. Ras I Dowling can develop into a boundary role. Dowling is injury prone and may be better suited for the nickel. Ron Brooks will motivate Ras I Dowling to step his game up while giving New England more strength with their cornerback depth.
Buy New England Patriots Tickets | Buy New England Patriots Apparel
Leave a Rant
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!