So I don’t know anything about college players and things like this help a lot.
The one player I’ve heard of is Tua. And his hip. Where is he expected to go? I’ve followed a bit of news on him since it started looking like 12 would leave.
Tua is likely a top 5 pick. The chances of the Patriots getting him are probably pretty close to zero.
everything ties him to Miami
I have seen some mocks that have the Dolphins grabbing some defensive help like Derek Brown or Jeff Okudah or one of the OT Andrew Thomas or Jedrick Willis with pick 5 and then targeting Justin Herbert at pick 18.
I’m not a draft guru nor a college football expert but I will say that I hope the Pats take the TE from the Irish I can’t remember his name ( old age is hell) and I’d have to believe that the Pats will take a kicker somewhere
Yeah I would think a kicker is a definite.
I am hoping for Randy Moss’s kid for TE.
Cole Kmet.
He is currently ranked as the consensus #1 TE. Unfortunately with no second round picks the Patriots would likely have to use their first rounder on him, and I don’t think anyone thinks he posesses first round talent. Its actually kind of a down year for TE.
Two guys linked to the Patriots in a lot of mocks are Daytons Adam Trautman and Washington’s Hunter Bryant.
Trautman
178 rec
2295 yes
31 TD
Bryant
85 rec
1394 yds
5 TD
Don’t fall in love with the name. He is a surprisingly limited athlete who is neither fast nor quick. He has fantastic hands, but struggled to separate at the college level. His best feature is his blocking. He was practically non existent on the draftnik scene until he blew up in the college football playoffs. At the beginning if the 2019 seadon he wasn’t even considered the best TE on LSU. And that was before he was found to have a lisfranc fracture in his foot. And even now he is mostly ranked in the lower half of the top 10 tight ends in a decidedly down year for TE.
Well, he did win Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2019, playing for a “meh” Golden Bears squad. Previous winners of that award include Tedy Bruschi, Junior Seau, Pat Tillman (for whom the award is now named), and Terrell Suggs.
Having said that, some of the most recent Pac-12 DPOYs have found homes in the NFL, but I wouldn’t call them marquee players.
I haven’t posted more in this thread because after a while all the mocks start looking pretty similar.
This one is a little different.
This is the logic path it takes. Burrow and Tua are drafted at 1.01 and 1.02 respectively. At 1.06 the Chargers select Andrew Thomas OT Georgia
I’m not sure I buy this because Tyrod Taylor can’t be that much better for a team operating in a one year win now window than a rookie but whatever. This is all fantasy right? Maybe they draft Thomas and then sign Cam Newton to a one year prove it deal?
Any way then the second obstacle. Pretty much every mock I’ve seen has Auburn DT Derek Brown going to Jacksonville at pick 9. But pretty much all of those mocks have Herbert off the board by then. If Herbert is available at 9 do the Jags pounce?
According to this mock the answer is no. The Jags still draft the best interior defensive lineman in the draft. Realistic? I don’t know. Is Gardner Exotic a legit starting QB? I don’t know. I guess this pick will all hinge on whether the Jags front office thinks they can win with him. Brown is a legit difference maker as a defensive lineman, and the Jags defense has numerous holes after losing several key starters over the last year. But a franchise QB is necessary. And Herbert is a guy who could be that guy. That’s hard to pass up. So I have my doubts that Jacksonville passes on Herbert here.
But, for the sake of the argument, assuming the Jags Jag this all up, after Jacksonville the next few teams all either have franchise QBs in place or bigger holes to fill than QB. Herbert slides all the way to pick 19, where the Patriots trade up to get ahead of the Jags second first round pick #20.
Other potential pitfalls: The Raiders at pick 12. The rumors of dissatisfaction with Derek Carr are pretty widespread. Tampa at pick 14. Tom Brady won’t live forever. Denver at pick 15. Drew Lock seems to be…uhh…locked in. But you never know. Maybe Jacksonville uses pick 20 to move up further than New England can.
Gutcheck: This all feels mighty precarious. Way to many moving parts for me to even begin to get my hopes up. But its a different take, and as a thought exercise its sort of interesting. If it plays out this way I would be pretty happy. Herbert is a guy whose main NFL comp is probably Josh Allen, but whose ceiling is Ben Roethlisberger. Big strong armed guy with deceptive speed and mobility. He can use his legs to extend a play or pick up a first down on 3rd and 8 when the pass rush goes by. His main downside is that he struggles with bouts of inaccuracy. Bottom line though Herbert is a guy who has all the tools to be really good at the next level and would be a steal if he slid all the way to the late teens.
I’m just not going to hold my breath quite yet.