Draft Day Approaching
Over at ESPN Boston, there is some talk about trading up in the first round. In the divisional bloggers mock draft, James Walker representing the AFC East took a wheel 'n deal approach to round one. Walker made trades with the Bills and the Jets, Bills and Giants, and Patriots and Seahawks. This moved Belichick into the #12 selection where he selects S Mark Barron from Alabama. The trade cost us #27 and #31 while netting Barron and the Seahawks 4th round selection.
The trade makes sense from a Seahawks perspective as Pete Carrol's team needs are diverse and depth related. The need for a top 15 pick is greatly overshadowed by the chance to get 2 players in the top 31. Likewise, the acquisition of Barron (allegedly the best Safety in a thin class) makes sense for the Patriots. However, I doubt that Belichick's files on draft value will concur.
I have gone on record saying that Mark Barron is not worth trading up to acquire. It is not that he is overrated, but rather that he is not the type of Safety that the Patriots are lacking. Barron is a true Strong Safety, and I think that the Patriots need to find a guy that has better sideline-to-sideline potential. Perhaps this is not the year to find such an athlete, and this supports my reason not to overpay for Barron.
The value of Barron is still unclear because of his hernia which forced him to miss the combine. He plays well on tape, but Nick Saban's Alabama defense was incredibly talented, and well schemed. It is very possible that Saban produces 4 first round picks from that defense (Kirkpatrick, Hightower, Upshaw, and Barron). The team talent and Saban's scheme surely masked the deficiencies of each player so that they were rarely exposed on tape.
Among Barron's deficiencies are sideline-to-sideline speed and ball skills. He is good enough to play centerfield, but he will never be an Ed Reed. Belichick likes his Safeties to play both SS and FS, and Barron would be capable of this, but I would like to see a pure cover guy more than I want to see an enforcer (especially with rule changes).
Overall, I just think that the Patriots can do better with the #12 selection. If we move up to that spot, I want to see them take a dominant pass rusher, not a hyped-up Safety that missed the combine.
The trade makes sense from a Seahawks perspective as Pete Carrol's team needs are diverse and depth related. The need for a top 15 pick is greatly overshadowed by the chance to get 2 players in the top 31. Likewise, the acquisition of Barron (allegedly the best Safety in a thin class) makes sense for the Patriots. However, I doubt that Belichick's files on draft value will concur.
I have gone on record saying that Mark Barron is not worth trading up to acquire. It is not that he is overrated, but rather that he is not the type of Safety that the Patriots are lacking. Barron is a true Strong Safety, and I think that the Patriots need to find a guy that has better sideline-to-sideline potential. Perhaps this is not the year to find such an athlete, and this supports my reason not to overpay for Barron.
The value of Barron is still unclear because of his hernia which forced him to miss the combine. He plays well on tape, but Nick Saban's Alabama defense was incredibly talented, and well schemed. It is very possible that Saban produces 4 first round picks from that defense (Kirkpatrick, Hightower, Upshaw, and Barron). The team talent and Saban's scheme surely masked the deficiencies of each player so that they were rarely exposed on tape.
Among Barron's deficiencies are sideline-to-sideline speed and ball skills. He is good enough to play centerfield, but he will never be an Ed Reed. Belichick likes his Safeties to play both SS and FS, and Barron would be capable of this, but I would like to see a pure cover guy more than I want to see an enforcer (especially with rule changes).
Overall, I just think that the Patriots can do better with the #12 selection. If we move up to that spot, I want to see them take a dominant pass rusher, not a hyped-up Safety that missed the combine.
If Bill does anything draft day, he'll likely trade down. If he doesn't I thought that Harrison Smith might fit, on the assumption that Patrick Chung can stay healthy and that Bill goes for a kind of rotational safety configuration. (Honestly, I'm surprised that many of the Patriots' predictions are for an LB, or a DE given that the safety position is gaining a disproportionate importance in the passing league).
ReplyDeleteDo you think that Welker will get a contract shortly after the Draft? Because it seems like all of the big shuffling free agency decisions have been made, it looks like Bill is waiting for the draft (and possibly Andre Carter) before he commits money to Welker.
Man I hope Chad returns to form.
We'll find out soon enough what he'll do, but I agree that Harrison Smith is the guy. I don't think Barron is worth trading up to get if Smith will be there at #27-31.
ReplyDeleteAs for the welker situation, I think that he will get a contract before the season. I think that he was assigned the tag so that he could not test free agency. I would think that they will structure his contract last once all other pieces are in place, thereby giving him as much as they can afford.
Thanks for the comment. Chad is getting old, but I think the form is not the problem, just chemistry. He should have that in 2012.