The NFL Draft is this weekend, and the New England Patriots have an interesting situation on their hands. Although they were revoked of their original first round pick, which would have been the thirty-first selection, because of “Spygate”, the Pats were still able to hold onto their pick from the San Francisco 49ers, which ended up being the seventh selection. With so many options, the Pats have many questions on their mind. Will they select a cornerback who can take the place of Asante Samuel? Will they select a linebacker who could eventually take over for Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau? Or will they trade down and look for more selections throughout the later rounds? The Clock’s draft experts, Dave Dyer and Jim Laurin, go at it once again to determine who will help the Pats make up for the Super Bowl disaster of 2008.
Jim Laurin: Well, Dave, I feel for the Pats in this situation because of the weakness of the draft this year, but most all of the best picks come from later rounds of drafts like these. With this said, I believe the Pats will look for the diamond in the rough that they have been so good at finding over the years. Let the Pats scouting department earn their money is what I say. That is why I feel the Pats will look to trade down in the draft and obtain more later round picks while at the same time looking to the ’09 draft when more impact linebackers (a desperate need for the Pats) will be on the board.
Dave Dyer: Jim, in the time we’ve been doing this, I figured you would eventually get smarter. The Pats do need an impact player, and they need one now. I don’t care if Bill Belichick and General Manager Scott Pioli are geniuses when it comes to the Draft, they need an impact cornerback this year. Leodis McKelvin of Troy is the number one rated corner on ESPN.com right now, and I suggest they take him. They could also select Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie out of Tennessee State or Mike Jenkins of South Florida. Any one of those selections would make me a happy man.
Jim Laurin: Dave If you had one wish from a genie would you wish for a Geo Metro or a Ferrari? The point is you don’t waste a pick on only-par-for-the-course-talent in the top ten. Yes, the Pats need help at corner but they are too smart to settle with a volatile pick like the seventh overall selection. I think they can trade down and still pick up a top-tear corner in this draft and then aim at a high draft-pick in ’09. In the worst situation, a guy like Vernon Gholston, a defensive end from Ohio State, could be a solid pick for number seven. But the question still remains, why settle. If they trade down, a corner like Aquib Talib or Rodgers-Cromartie may still be on the board and both fit the Pats system perfectly. Talib had 56 tackles last season and has good speed and great instincts.
Rodgers-Cromartie weighs 188 pounds, can tackle and has become an effective kick returner. With that, they may be able to obtain a high pick in a trade down and eyeball potential all-pro linebackers like Rey Maualuga from USC or James Laurinitis from Ohio State in 2009.
Dave Dyer: You lost me on the cars, Jim. I don’t even know how to drive a standard. Anyway, I’m sure you’re right with the possibility of the Pats trading down for more picks, but they shouldn’t. Sometimes you just need to grow some backbone and take a risk on a guy who could be an impact player for years to come. Not every late round pick turns out to be like Tom Brady, and if you look at last year’s Draft, not many of the Pats’ selections even stayed with the team by the end of the season. Between McKelvin, Rodgers-Cromartie, Jenkins and Talib, one or all of these guys could be the next Ty Law or Samuel.
Speaking of Law, if you look at history, he was a first round pick for the Patriots back in 1995, and he ended up being excellent. They were able to take a risk then, they need to take one now.