2017 Patriots Off-season

It's a strategy they have used before on a lot of occasions. You keep looking at the Patriots like they are a static organization that always does things a certain way. That's just not true. They evolve and come up with new ways to exploit the market.

Isn't also true that drafting for football is materially different than baseball? The picks contribute sooner, sometimes in their rookie year (Mitchell, Butler - I know UDFA but still a rookie) often in their second year so the timeline to bring them in is way shorter than baseball where even a second year impact pro like Benintendi is fairly rare. Also I bet the percentage of draftees who make it to the 53 man NFL roster is a good bit higher than those who make the 40 man.

That being the case the Pats can rebuild fairly quickly if needed and a one year hiatus from draft picks during which they acquired fairly young proven talent needn't prove disastrous.

Go back and read your comments.  You said Jimmy because we can win with him if Brady goes down.  Your trying to argue against your own beliefs my friend.

Your argument is about Brady not the team. If Brady goes down and Jimmy wins a SB Brady doesn't get credit for that.

I can think the odds are better Brady wins with the number 12 pick helping vs Garoppolo and simultaneously thinking they should keep Garoppolo because I don't think this is about Tom Brady. I think it's about the Patriots.

Also, I've been clear that idk where I stand on JG and what they should do. IF BILL thinks he's a top QB in this league then I understand doing all you can to keep him. I'm not qualified to make that decisions nor do I know enough about him. None of us do.

I suspect the Patriots don't feel very good about this draft, as I saw somewhere they had a list of about 70-75 'draftables' on this draft... and by 'draftables', they mean players who filled the Patriots' requirements for their players, not the draftniks' assessment of skills.

Also, something that should be pointed out:

Part of the reason the Patriots had this much salary cap room in the first place was that they had the money allocated to signing their OWN FREE AGENTS.

Chandler Jones was traded to make the cap room.

Jamie Collins, I think, was going to get an extension, but then became a locker room cancer and a sloppy player on the field, so Belichick traded him to get him off the team.

Malcolm Butler turned down an extension because he wanted to be paid like an unrestricted FA.

With Butler now locked into the tender, suddenly, plus the money that was earmarked and extended for Collins becoming available because Collins was a moron, and Hightower being paid somewhat less than he was expected to get, there suddenly becomes a lot more money available.

With Butler being apparently an issue and the Patriots wanting to lock themselves into getting a CB for the future, they went for the best one on the market with the money that was originally earmarked for Collins and Butler's extensions, and then used the rest of the money up on the running backs they actually -wanted-, it seems.

Nobody would say boo, I think, if those free agents we signed had been our own picks, I think - the money that could have been spent extending Jones, Collins, Hightower, Butler was instead spent on signing Gilmore, Hightower, Burkhead, and Gilleslee. Doesn't seem like a bad re-allocation of funds, especially since Jones and Collins weren't going to stay in New England. (They -still- have plenty of room to extend Butler, actually!)

Also, I don't think the Cooks acquisition itself was out of character.

What they -did- pay for him was a bit out of character, but I'd point this out: the Patriots have been, for years, trying to find that sort of player that could replicate what Moss did. They traded up for Chad Jackson in the draft, they used a pick on Aaron Dopson, and we've seen parades of formerly great WRs come through trying to recapture when they were very good (Chad Johnson, Torry Holt, Joey Galloway, Reggie Wayne...).

I think once they had a chance at a young WR like that who checked all the boxes they wanted, they jumped on it. Put it this way - Chad Jackson cost a second rounder and a third rounder. Would you swap that second rounder for a first rounder in order to trade for someone the same age who already had two years experience with a couple more years available for about 10 million without the two/three years of discovering the guy can't play...? Especially if they were close to the same age at the time of acquisition?

Payton Manning Retired and they lost 3 key pieces to their defense without replacing them. They were not able to add to their team they only subtracted because of the cap situation they put themselves in.

Traded second- and seventh-round picks for Wes Welker and immediately signed him to a long-term extension; traded fourth-round pick for Randy Moss [Brandin Cooks].
Signed Adalius Thomas to what was, at the time, the biggest free agent contract in Patriots franchise history [Stephen Gilmore].
Also signed Sammy Morris, Donte Stallworth, Kelley Washington, Kyle Brady and others [Rex Burkhead, Dwayne Allen, Kony Ealy, etc.].
Franchised and retained Asante Samuel [Malcolm Butler].
Re-signed Junior Seau, Troy Brown, Randall Gay, Heath Evans and others and signed Ty Warren to a long-term extension [Dont'a Hightower, Alan Branch, Duron Harmon, etc.].

Guy is a DT and will be a huge upgrade on passing down as he was one of best in league last year.  He's only a DE in a 3-4, he's a DT in a 4-3.  Maybe they play him at DE on sure fire running plays, but he's way to big to be a full-time DE in a 4-3.

Your massively overrated Sheard based on his first year and a half.  He wasn't starting by year's end as Flowers took his spot.  Ealy is a massive upgrade over Long in my opinion.  That's going to be his job getting after the passer.  Sheard replacement will be signed as they are still bringing​ in DE or more likely drafted.  Not going to be hard to replace a guy who's play was so bad he was benched last year.

You can't say Gilmore isn't a massive upgrade, otherwise they would have just kept Logan for a ton less.

As long as Bill's don't match Burkhead and Gillislee is a massive upgrade over Bolden and Blount.

TE might be a downgrade, but Allen's blocking might make up for the downgrade as a receiver.  Still most likely a downgrade.

Then there's the massive upgrade at WR.

As a whole they got younger and brought in guys that could really have huge seasons.  That's big upgrades at WR, RB and CB.  Along with an upgrade at DT on passing down.  I also don't think they are done, still expect a couple more Vets to be brought in.

I forgot Thomas, which is like Gilmore.  Your comps though just don't add up.  Moss had 3 straight declining years and was traded for a 5th  round pick.  It worked out and became an all-time move, that doesn't make it equal to getting a young stud WR. It was a buy low on a Veteran hoping he bounced​ back.  Your basing that off of hindsight.  People at the time thought Stallworth might be the best WR they brought in.  They did the same thing with Chad Johnson if you remember, only difference is that one didn't work. 

Players like Morris, Washington and Brady are all old Vets with no upside.  The type of players they used to fill out roster with for years hoping to hit on one of them or just for depth.  They just aren't in there prime young guys with upside like Allen, Burkhead, Elay, Guy and Gillislee.  Only Stallworth is like that.  Those guys are like Boldin, I just don't count depth only type players.  A rookie free agent could have a bigger impact.

Resigning older than dirt players well past their prime in Seau and Brown, and some OK players in Gay and Evans is nothing like resigning one of the top players in all of free agency.  Nevermind a good DT and a young 3 rd S to starter money.  Players like Gay got a one year 1.3 million deal, Evans got 2 years 1.575 million.

Your trying to compare volume to volume.  Sure they added a bunch of players, most of them were old Vets on there last legs.  I'm shocked that even Thomas was 30, compared to a 26 year old Gilmore.  30 year old Moss to a 23 year old Cooks.  That's what makes this year so special and different. In 2007 you had what two in there prime type players in Welker and Stallworth, along with 30 year old Thomas and Moss.  Then a bunch of old players.  This year the only older player is Branch.  Your looking at buy low and hope type moves on older Vets to getting young ready to breakout type players.

This is mostly selective memory on your part. Morris was 30, Washington was 28, and they were both much more comparable to Allen and Burkhead than to Brandon Bolden. The guys they signed in 2007 might have been older in the aggregate, but they were also much move proven players. Let's not pretend guys like Allen or Burkhead or Ealy are in-their-prime studs. They're younger, but they're also all fairly characterized as buy-low types for one reason or another.