NE Patriots and 2021 Free Agents

[nefansince75]

Which means we'll be getting a DT who had multiple knee surgeries and will be on IR all season.
A center because centers matter.
A left footed kicker from Europe with a third round pick.
Then trade the other 7 pics for future drafts.
Book it.

You have to recognize the difference between selecting at 16 and 30, right? Teams look to land a difference maker with their first round pick. The selecting of guys with injuries has been a gamble to get a difference maker. At 16 there should be no need to gamble to get a difference maker, but by the time 30 rolls around the pickings are slim, not for a good player, but a difference maker.

BB used that strategy with Gronkowski in the second round and landed arguably the best player drafted that year (either him or Antonio Brown). That one deal justifies a lot of the misses used for injured players. After the difference makers are gone draft misses are easier to fix through signing the right UDF or good free agent signings. Therefore, if no blue chip difference maker is left then whatever is lost can be fixed. Haven't the Pats had more success nabbing productive UDFs over the past 10 years than missing on drafting players with injuries?

It's easy to second guess the misses when we later see good players by other teams drafted after, but if those guys were considered blue chippers they would have been gone earlier.

 

[Southieinnc]

You have to recognize the difference between selecting at 16 and 30, right? Teams look to land a difference maker with their first round pick. The selecting of guys with injuries has been a gamble to get a difference maker. At 16 there should be no need to gamble to get a difference maker, but by the time 30 rolls around the pickings are slim, not for a good player, but a difference maker.

BB used that strategy with Gronkowski in the second round and landed arguably the best player drafted that year (either him or Antonio Brown). That one deal justifies a lot of the misses used for injured players. After the difference makers are gone draft misses are easier to fix through signing the right UDF or good free agent signings. Therefore, if no blue chip difference maker is left then whatever is lost can be fixed. Haven't the Pats had more success nabbing productive UDFs over the past 10 years than missing on drafting players with injuries?

It's easy to second guess the misses when we later see good players by other teams drafted after, but if those guys were considered blue chippers they would have been gone earlier.

AND, the cut-off to reliably pick difference makers is usually about the top 14 picks. After that it is usualy hit or miss.

 

[BigKen]

Our pending Free Agents and my thoughts...Yours?

OFFENSE
Cam Newton, quarterback - I hope his locker is empty and his name removed forever.

Joe Thuney, left guard - BB will make an offer. Thuney will test the market. He'll sign with the jets.

David Andrews, center - He'll resign

James White, running back - He'll be playing in Tampa even though he says he wants to come back.

Damiere Byrd, wide receiver - This Byrd will fly the coop

Rex Burkhead, running back - He'll check out the mark. There won't be much interest unless he plays cheap elsewhere. Houston.

Jermaine Eluemunor, tackle/guard - He'll get a decent offer elsewhere.

Jakob Johnson, fullback (exclusive rights) - He'll resign

Brian Hoyer, quarterback - He will be QB #3

James Ferentz, center/guard - He'll resign cheap

Marcus Martin, center/guard - He's 50/50. If he doesn't get an offer elsewhere, he'll be back.

DEFENSE
J.C. Jackson, cornerback (restricted) - Belichick will make him a decent offer and slap the 1st Tender on him.

Lawrence Guy, defensive tackle - He wants to come back and will resign.

Jason McCourty, cornerback - He said that he wants to come back and finish with Devin.

Adam Butler, defensive tackle - Gone

Deatrich Wise, defensive end - He'll test the market and could come back if there's no money.

John Simon, outside linebacker - Gone

Shilique Calhoun, outside linebacker - Gone (Miami or Houston

Terrence Brooks, safety - Gone. He'll get a better offer elsewhere.

Brandon Copeland, linebacker - He'll resign cheap.

Carl Davis, defensive tackle - Gone

Dee Virgin, cornerback - WWon't matter. If he doesn't ask, he won't be asked.

Nick Folk, kicker - He'll be back.

Justin Bethel, - BB will make it worth his while. He'll resign.

Cody Davis, - He'll test the market and may be back.

Bill Belichick has signed 10 guys to futures contracts already.

The New England Patriots have signed ten players to futures contracts for 2021, with one quarterback, three receivers, one guard, two kickers, two defensive tackles and one cornerback.

All ten of the players came off New England’s practice squad from 2020. Teams can extend futures contracts to anyone who wasn’t on a roster at the end of Week 17.

These contracts don’t take effect until the 2021 NFL season begins in March when the players will be added to the 90-man roster. The futures contracts are generally minimum-salary deals, with little or no signing bonus. The Patriots did not announce the terms to any of these deals.

Quarterback Jake Dolegala​

The 6-foot-7 and 242 quarterback entered the NFL in 2019 as an undrafted free agent out of Central Connecticut. He spent the 2019 season with the Bengals but Cincinnati waived him on Sept. 5, 2020 when the team cut down to 53-men. He signed with the Patriots’ practice squad on Sept. 16. The 24-year-old has not thrown a pass in the NFL.

Receivers Devin Smith, Kristian Wilkerson and Isaiah Zuber​

The Patriots have already begun putting together depth options for what has been a weak receiving corps in 2020.
Smith was a Jets’ second round pick in 2015. He has 15 receptions, 248 catches and two touchdowns on his career. He has spent time with New York, Dallas, Houston and New England. He signed to the Patriots practice squad on Dec. 9.
Wilkerson entered the NFL in 2020 as an undrafted free agent out of Southeast Missouri State. His NFL journey started in Tennessee but couldn’t make the Titans’ 53-man roster. He has been on the Patriots ever since, and even got one appearance as a practice-squad promotion against the Jets.
Zuber, 23, played in four games this season as a practice squad promotion. He managed two catches for 29 yards. The 6-foot, 190-pound receiver joined the Patriots as an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State in 2020.

Guard Ross Reynolds​

The 6-foot-4, 300-pound offensive lineman completed his second year in the NFL. He’s 25 and played college at Iowa. He spent time with the 49ers during training camp in 2019.

Kickers Roberto Aguayo and Justin Rohrwasser​

New England’s kicker, Nick Folk, is a pending free agent, which makes these two additions intriguing.
Aguayo was a second-round pick in 2016, but fell out of favor with the Buccaneers after just one season. He has bounced around the NFL from the Bears to the Panthers to the Chargers to the Patriots. Aguayo has hit just 71% of his field goals with a long of 43 yards.
Rohrwasser was the Patriots’ fifth-round pick in 2020, but he struggled enormously in training camp this offseason. New England resorted to re-signing Folk after Rohrwasser failed to prove himself. And Folk surpassed Rohrwasser on the depth chart.

Defensive tackle Bill Murray​

The Patriots signed 23-year-old Murray to a contract after he went undrafted out of William & Mary in the 2020 NFL Draft. Spending the season on the practice squad and injured reserve, he did not play in a regular-season game.

Cornerback D'Angelo Ross​

Ross joined the Patriots in 2019 as an undrafted free agent out of New Mexico. He spent 2019 on New England’s practice squad before heading to injured reserve. He spent 2020 on the practice squad, with a promotion to the game day roster in Week 17.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

You have to recognize the difference between selecting at 16 and 30, right? Teams look to land a difference maker with their first round pick. The selecting of guys with injuries has been a gamble to get a difference maker. At 16 there should be no need to gamble to get a difference maker, but by the time 30 rolls around the pickings are slim, not for a good player, but a difference maker.

BB used that strategy with Gronkowski in the second round and landed arguably the best player drafted that year (either him or Antonio Brown). That one deal justifies a lot of the misses used for injured players. After the difference makers are gone draft misses are easier to fix through signing the right UDF or good free agent signings. Therefore, if no blue chip difference maker is left then whatever is lost can be fixed. Haven't the Pats had more success nabbing productive UDFs over the past 10 years than missing on drafting players with injuries?

It's easy to second guess the misses when we later see good players by other teams drafted after, but if those guys were considered blue chippers they would have been gone earlier.

NE has certainly found UDFs that have outshined a handful of Bills bs reaches. How many 1-3 rounders has BB swung and totally missed on? A lot. There's taking a gamble then there is taking a gamble.

Would I trade the past 20 years? No not for anything. But BB has wasted a lot of potential. Very rare is it that his questionable reaches in the draft have been quality starters. Would love to see how much time they've spent on IR or the PS.

 

[BigKen]

5 of his 2020 draftees are starting or playing full time by game 16.

Round 2, pick 37: Kyle Dugger, S, Lenoir-Rhyne Starter

Round 2, pick 60: Josh Uche, OLB, Michigan Starter

Round 3, pick 87: Anfernee Jennings, OLB, Alabama Full Time

Round 3, pick 91: Devin Asiasi, TE, UCLA Starter

Round 3, pick 101: Dalton Keene, TE, Virginia Tech Full Time

Round 5, pick 159 (from Raiders): Justin Rohrwasser, PK, Marshall Practice Squad

Round 6, pick 182 (from Colts through Lions): Michael Onwenu, G, Michigan Starter

Round 6, pick 195 (from Broncos): Justin Herron, OT, Wake Forest Starter

Round 6, pick 204 (from Texans): Cassh Maluia, LB, Wyoming Practice Squad

Round 7, pick 230: Dustin Woodard, C, Memphis Released


Not that one year makes up for others. Thing is that BB tried to maintain a healthy team that could compete every year for the Championship. Considering that he won the AFCE 17 times and 11 years in a row from 2008 - 2019 shows that he filled the rough spots pretty well. It started to go to hell after the 2018 SB Championship and crashed and burned in 2020, but the 2020 draft looks pretty damn good.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

5 of his 2020 draftees are starting or playing full time by game 16.

Round 2, pick 37: Kyle Dugger, S, Lenoir-Rhyne Starter

Round 2, pick 60: Josh Uche, OLB, Michigan Starter

Round 3, pick 87: Anfernee Jennings, OLB, Alabama Full Time

Round 3, pick 91: Devin Asiasi, TE, UCLA Starter

Round 3, pick 101: Dalton Keene, TE, Virginia Tech Full Time

Round 5, pick 159 (from Raiders): Justin Rohrwasser, PK, Marshall Practice Squad

Round 6, pick 182 (from Colts through Lions): Michael Onwenu, G, Michigan Starter

Round 6, pick 195 (from Broncos): Justin Herron, OT, Wake Forest Starter

Round 6, pick 204 (from Texans): Cassh Maluia, LB, Wyoming Practice Squad

Round 7, pick 230: Dustin Woodard, C, Memphis Released


Not that one year makes up for others. Thing is that BB tried to maintain a healthy team that could compete every year for the Championship. Considering that he won the AFCE 17 times and 11 years in a row from 2008 - 2019 shows that he filled the rough spots pretty well. It started to go to hell after the 2018 SB Championship and crashed and burned in 2020, but the 2020 draft looks pretty damn good.

I don't disagree that last years draft was a good one. However, thanks to the Rona some of these guys got a lot more playing time than they normally may have.

Looking forward to this offseason and draft.

Lots of cap money, lots of picks, having the #15.

Yeah I feel good about next season. The AFCE could be a beast minus the Jesters.