New England Draft
New England Draft
The Patriots, as they have been in the past, were very active on Draft Days 2&3 as well as signing Free Agents to fill many needs. Some bullet points:
Prior to the Draft:
- Lost eight Free Agents, significantly DE Trey Flowers, T Trent Brown, DT Malcolm Brown and WR Cordarrelle Paterson
- Signed Free Agents/Trade acquisitions, signficantly DL Michael Bennett (trade), DL Mike Pennel, TEs Austin Sefarian-Jenkins and Matt LaCosse, and WR Demaryius Thomas.
- Re-signing six players, significantly DE John Simon, CB Jason McCourty, and both Ks - Goskowski and P Ryan Allen.
- Their Cap Space after the FA signings and their Re-Signings was $13.48 million
- Their Acquisitions/Free Agents were all signed to one or two year contracts
- The two WRs and one TE signed one year contracts
- With four compensatory picks, the Patriots had eleven draft picks -- 1st rd - 1, 2nd - 2, 3rd - 3, 4th - 1, 6th -1, 7th - 4.
- Four of these eleven picks were from previous trades
Draft
- They made
seven trades, especially using the 7th rounders in packages
- Four of the trades were with the LA Rams
- The only picks that were their own was their 1st rounder and their seventh
- While they moved around within rounds - both up and back, ending up with one less 2nd rounder, one more 4th rounder, and two 5th rounders when they started with none.
- They ended up with ten picks/players
Needs
- They filled four (WR, Swing OT, Edge, IOL) of their top six needs and the fifth (QB) possible.
- The only clear starter at this time is their first round pick, N'Keal Harry, WR
- Curiously, they did not draft a TE and drafted a RB, who currently is listed as fourth string
- They have seventeen players who will be Free Agents next year, significantly starters Tom Brady, two WRs (Edelman, Dorsett) and Guard (Thuney)
- They are expected to receive four compensatory picks (two thirds, two sixths) in 2020
- Seven WRs and four Safeties are Free Agents in 2020
Conclusions and Questions
- Why no TE to replace Gronk, considered a top need? Are they switching to three-four WR sets most of the time? Potentially losing all or needing to re-sign some of those 7 FA WRs in 2020 makes this a continuing need. Irv Smith, Jr was available after the first round.
- Why draft a RB (Damien Harris) when you have four with one recently signed as a FA? Will Rex Burkhead who was injured most of last season be let go?
- Their Cap Space limits further FA signings this offseason
- They have filled their expected needs on the OL for next year with Yodny Cajuste, OT and Hjalte Froholdt who can play either G or C
- For the most part, they have filled the front seven on the defense for next year. Starter Van Noy, SLB will be the only significant FA. Will they re-sign or replace him with Winovich?
- Signing FA players to one or two year contracts seems to be a trend that may continue
- Moving up in the second round to draft Joejuan Williams, CB, who is listed as second string at this time and when they could have drafted Irv Smith, Jr TE indicates a primary need perhaps this year. They had trouble matching up with teams with taller, receiving TEs like KC's Travis Kelce. Williams could have been drafted for that or even switch to S next year.
- They had nine draft picks last year, ten this year and fourteen next year. They are getting younger.
- Will Stidham with coaching end up being Tom Brady's replacement?
- One of the trades with the Rams included their pick at 101 in a package, which the Rams then traded back to NE in a later trade.
Generally, draft grades on their picks were an A.
» Round 1: (No. 32 overall) N'Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State.
» Round 2: (45) Joejuan Williams, CB, Vanderbilt.
» Round 3: (77) Chase Winovich, DE, Michigan; (87) Damien Harris, RB, Alabama; (101) Yodny Cajuste, OT, West Virginia.
» Round 4: (118) Hjalte Froholdt, OG, Arkansas; (133) Jarrett Stidham, QB, Auburn.
» Round 5: (159) Byron Cowart, DE, Maryland; (163) Jake Bailey, P, Stanford.
» Round 7: (252) Ken Webster, CB, Mississippi.
(linked above, too)
NFL Draft 2019: Seven trades for New England Patriots, Bill Belichick over two days
