New England Patriots 2008 NFL Draft Review
Let's begin this discussion of the Patriots' selections in the 2008 NFL Draft with the trades the team made throughout the course of the two day event. First, they traded their first (7th overall) and fifth rounders to the New Orleans Saints for NO's first (10th) and third rounders, leaving the Pats with three third round picks. Next, on Day 2, the Pats traded the 69th overall pick (third round) to the San Diego Chargers for the Bolts' 2008 fifth rounder and 2009 second rounder. Nice value move. The wheeling and dealing didn't stop there, though, as the Pats moved up to the 153rd spot in Round 5 by sending their fifth (160th) and seventh round picks to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Whew. So what did the New England Patriots brain trust of Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Robert Kraft et. al. do with these picks? Let's take a look...
Round 1 (10th Overall) - Jerod Mayo, LB Tennessee
The first of 3 LB's to be selected by the Patriots in this draft. There are numerous positives (big, strong, athletic, versatile, intuitive...) and very few negatives (durability concerns). He's got higher upside than Keith Rivers, who was selected at 9 and was widely considered the top LB in the draft. Kiper says Mayo looks like a "young Junior Seau," so you may see both the young and old Junior Seaus in Pats uniforms next year. Great move trading the 7th overall pick to the Saints as they filled a huge need at ILB (where Mayo projects to play) with the 10th overall pick and likely saved themselves a good deal of money by moving out of the top 7.
Round 2 (62nd) - Terrence Wheatley, CB Colorado
Another selection seemingly based on need as much as value (Wheatley was a fourth rounder on Kiper's big board), Wheatley comes with even bigger durability concerns as he dealt with a slew of injuries in his college career. Wheatley's a bit undersized at just under 5-10, but he's quick, versatile, athletic and productive as evidenced by the fact that he's third and seventh respectively on Colorado's all-time interceptions and pass deflections leader boards. BB sees him as a possibility returning kicks, as well.
Round 3 (78th) - Shawn Crable, LB Michigan
Crable projects to be an OLB in the Pats' 3-4 scheme, so at least initially, it's not looking like he'll be seeing much game action at LB with the outside currently solidified by Adalius Thomas and Mike Vrabel. There's speculation the team may be considering bumping Thomas to the inside, so that would change the outlook quite a bit. Crable's got the size and speed to develop into a solid OLB in the NFL and should see plenty of special teams time right off the bat, as well. One of his biggest strengths is disrupting the run, something the Pats place a high premium on.
Round 3 (94th) - Kevin O'Connell, QB San Diego State
O'Connell's biggest detraction is that he's very raw, but as we've seen before, the Pats have no problem developing raw talent at the quarterback position. He has good size (6-5, 225 pounds), a strong arm, quick feet and can keep plays alive when he's forced out of the pocket. There's a big debate raging over whether it was wise to use a relatively high pick on a guy that likely will never be more than a backup QB on the Patriots, but consider the alternative (Matt Cassell) and the selection makes quite a bit more sense. Don't mistake this as an impulsive pick; Josh McDaniels privately worked out O'Connell in San Diego, so he was in the team's sights for some time.
Round 4 (129th) - Jonathon Wilhite, CB Auburn
Undersized but with great speed (4.379 40 time), Wilhite has a very physical style of play and could become a solid press corner if he learns some discipline (Lack of discipline? The New England Patriots? Seems like a good fit...). He performs well in zone coverage and plays with quite a mean streak. Mike Reiss sees him as competing for time in sub packages and as a potential special teamer.
Round 5 (153rd) - Matt Slater, WR UCLA
The Pats traded up to get Slater in yet another example of their strong emphasis on versatility and special teams play. Slater has put in time as a WR on offense and as a CB on defense but figures to contribute in the NFL as a special teamer. He could see time as a return man as he set the single season kickoff return for touchdown mark at 3 with UCLA last year.
Round 6 (197th) - Bo Ruud, LB Nebraska
Ruud adds to the infusion of youth the Patriots linebacker corps received this past weekend. Reiss breaks down the Pats' linebacker situation, which was significantly altered (and upgraded, hopefully) this past weekend. What Ruud lacks in pure athleticism he makes up for in speed/quickness, coverage and tackling. He's got football genes, so he's expected to have a great mentality and understanding of the game coming in. He'll compete for time on special teams initially, as is typically the case with picks in later rounds.
3 linebackers, 2 cornerbacks, 1 receiver/special teamer and 1 quarterback (and a grand total of zero linemen on either side of the ball) later, the Patriots' draft weekend is over. They've addressed some of their biggest need positions (especially QB, thank God we found that bum Brady's potential successor... [Ed's note: what preceded was a poor attempt at humor, please do not hold it against any of us in a general sense.]) and significantly upgraded next season's draft outlook as they added a valuable second round pick. They broke with what seemed to be the predominant Belichick era draft strategy of placing an overwhelming emphasis on value over need, but in doing so it appears that they've compiled a much more complete and well-balanced roster with the addition of these 7 young men. It's hard to deem any team's draft a "success" or "failure" until we see how these guys perform a year or two down the line, but BB seems very content with the Patriots' picks, so it looks to be a solid all-around performance from our favorite NFL franchise.
Round 1 (10th Overall) - Jerod Mayo, LB Tennessee
The first of 3 LB's to be selected by the Patriots in this draft. There are numerous positives (big, strong, athletic, versatile, intuitive...) and very few negatives (durability concerns). He's got higher upside than Keith Rivers, who was selected at 9 and was widely considered the top LB in the draft. Kiper says Mayo looks like a "young Junior Seau," so you may see both the young and old Junior Seaus in Pats uniforms next year. Great move trading the 7th overall pick to the Saints as they filled a huge need at ILB (where Mayo projects to play) with the 10th overall pick and likely saved themselves a good deal of money by moving out of the top 7.
Round 2 (62nd) - Terrence Wheatley, CB Colorado
Another selection seemingly based on need as much as value (Wheatley was a fourth rounder on Kiper's big board), Wheatley comes with even bigger durability concerns as he dealt with a slew of injuries in his college career. Wheatley's a bit undersized at just under 5-10, but he's quick, versatile, athletic and productive as evidenced by the fact that he's third and seventh respectively on Colorado's all-time interceptions and pass deflections leader boards. BB sees him as a possibility returning kicks, as well.
Round 3 (78th) - Shawn Crable, LB Michigan
Crable projects to be an OLB in the Pats' 3-4 scheme, so at least initially, it's not looking like he'll be seeing much game action at LB with the outside currently solidified by Adalius Thomas and Mike Vrabel. There's speculation the team may be considering bumping Thomas to the inside, so that would change the outlook quite a bit. Crable's got the size and speed to develop into a solid OLB in the NFL and should see plenty of special teams time right off the bat, as well. One of his biggest strengths is disrupting the run, something the Pats place a high premium on.
Round 3 (94th) - Kevin O'Connell, QB San Diego State
O'Connell's biggest detraction is that he's very raw, but as we've seen before, the Pats have no problem developing raw talent at the quarterback position. He has good size (6-5, 225 pounds), a strong arm, quick feet and can keep plays alive when he's forced out of the pocket. There's a big debate raging over whether it was wise to use a relatively high pick on a guy that likely will never be more than a backup QB on the Patriots, but consider the alternative (Matt Cassell) and the selection makes quite a bit more sense. Don't mistake this as an impulsive pick; Josh McDaniels privately worked out O'Connell in San Diego, so he was in the team's sights for some time.
Round 4 (129th) - Jonathon Wilhite, CB Auburn
Undersized but with great speed (4.379 40 time), Wilhite has a very physical style of play and could become a solid press corner if he learns some discipline (Lack of discipline? The New England Patriots? Seems like a good fit...). He performs well in zone coverage and plays with quite a mean streak. Mike Reiss sees him as competing for time in sub packages and as a potential special teamer.
Round 5 (153rd) - Matt Slater, WR UCLA
The Pats traded up to get Slater in yet another example of their strong emphasis on versatility and special teams play. Slater has put in time as a WR on offense and as a CB on defense but figures to contribute in the NFL as a special teamer. He could see time as a return man as he set the single season kickoff return for touchdown mark at 3 with UCLA last year.
Round 6 (197th) - Bo Ruud, LB Nebraska
Ruud adds to the infusion of youth the Patriots linebacker corps received this past weekend. Reiss breaks down the Pats' linebacker situation, which was significantly altered (and upgraded, hopefully) this past weekend. What Ruud lacks in pure athleticism he makes up for in speed/quickness, coverage and tackling. He's got football genes, so he's expected to have a great mentality and understanding of the game coming in. He'll compete for time on special teams initially, as is typically the case with picks in later rounds.
3 linebackers, 2 cornerbacks, 1 receiver/special teamer and 1 quarterback (and a grand total of zero linemen on either side of the ball) later, the Patriots' draft weekend is over. They've addressed some of their biggest need positions (especially QB, thank God we found that bum Brady's potential successor... [Ed's note: what preceded was a poor attempt at humor, please do not hold it against any of us in a general sense.]) and significantly upgraded next season's draft outlook as they added a valuable second round pick. They broke with what seemed to be the predominant Belichick era draft strategy of placing an overwhelming emphasis on value over need, but in doing so it appears that they've compiled a much more complete and well-balanced roster with the addition of these 7 young men. It's hard to deem any team's draft a "success" or "failure" until we see how these guys perform a year or two down the line, but BB seems very content with the Patriots' picks, so it looks to be a solid all-around performance from our favorite NFL franchise.
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