2014 Patriots Offseason Thread

Seriously, this dude is going to be an absolute monster at three-tech and will be a fine long-term replacement for Tommy Kelly. Elite first step, will be in the backfield at will, is going to destroy interior linemen on third down. Stick him and Armstead on third-and-long, combine them with a much-improved secondary, and the Patriots defense will hopefully get off the field better than they have in recent years.

I definitely trust The Hoodie.

I trust the Hoodie. And, more importantly in this case, I trust Dr. James Andrews.

Well let's talk Mallet, Texans.

Edit: I don't think there is anyway the Texans take Derek Carr. They do have a better offensive line than they did for his bother.

He went to Jacksonville, they forgot about him. Depending on how you look at it it's good for him.

There are a bunch of QBs out there Carr, McCaron, Mettenberger, Garoppalo, Savage etc etc etc so maybe he think he can work with what he has and won't force the issue.

Kiper's Day 1 report, has the Easley pick under the questionable tier, but does say if the injuries are behind him this could be a good pick.


ESPN.com - Kiper's Winners/Losers

Mike Reiss gave the pick a thumbs down citing the same high risk high reward mantra, and questioning his health


ESPN.com - Mike Reiss


More from Reiss

@mikepouncey
Great pick! I can't wait for our gifts he's getting us lol
4:31 AM - 9 May 2014



No comment...

I watched quite a bit of tape on Easley, and it tempered my enthusiasm somewhat. That first step still looks great, and he plays with a lot of energy and tenacity, but he's not a terribly well-rounded player.

For instance, he's a boom-or-bust run defender who will make some highlight tackles-for-loss but will also play with poor gap discipline. He struggles to stack and shed and loses track of the ball-carrier pretty regularly, which leads to a lot of plays where he gets into the backfield but the runner just goes around him and hits the gap that he just vacated. He's definitely a one-gap-only guy-- while there are some instances where he holds up pretty well against double-teams, he just lacks the size and vision to two-gap efficiently, and forcing him into a read-and-react scheme takes away his best trait (his quick first step). You hear a lot about his versatility, but while he lined up at a lot of different spots, he pretty much did the same thing at all of them-- penetrate and get up the field.

But he's a hell of a pass-rusher whose college production undersells how disruptive he can be on an every-down basis. He has strong and violent hands and keeps good leverage, with his relatively short height helping him get under offensive linemen and walk them right back into the QB. His two main moves-- a speed rush and a bull rush-- play to his strengths, as he has a great getoff but also the ability to transfer speed-to-power.

However, at this point, he's mostly a straight-line rusher who can be neutralized by blockers who are smart, quick, and strong enough to cut off his first move and anchor (that's easier said than done, of course). He's got the same surprising power that other undersized defensive lineman like Geno Atkins and Aaron Donald have, but he lacks their overall athleticism. For instance, for a guy with such a great first step, his closing burst can be pretty mediocre, and he doesn't flash much lateral agility. He still tries to go through guys rather than go around them, and he doesn't have any of the feints and hesitation moves that undersized guys need to have to win against bigger, stronger opponents.

But that's a pretty minor criticism considering he came out as a true underclassman (no redshirt year) who missed basically an entire season due to injury. He still has incredible untapped potential, and he has as high an upside as any interior defensive lineman in the draft. Assuming the medicals check out, I think it's a very good pick.

Interesting stuff. Really highlights how much the public doesn't know about the draft process for all teams. This reads like an FBI dossier with all the inside sources it cites.

Dammit, apparently that deadspin thing is fake. That's pretty crazy.

That was a really elaborate hoax.