Brandon Spikes Patriots’ Highlights (by thedraftthinker)

myaliasisbones:

Frenz and I are back on the podcast train this week with some offseason discussion, including OTAs, Spikes’ absence and the wide open wide receiver competition.

The largest individual guarantee among the Patriots undrafted rookie free agents belongs to Missouri wide receiver T.J. Moe, who received an $8,000 signing bonus and will receive $22,000 in fully guaranteed base salary regardless of whether or not he makes New England’s 53-man roster for a total of $30,000 in guaranteed money. The 5-foot-11, 204-pound Moe excelled in the three-cone drill at the 2013 combine, posting the second-fastest time among all invitees. As explained here by Christopher Price of WEEI.com, the Patriots have shown a tendency to target players who perform well in that particular agility drill, so that Moe was a “priority free agent” for the Patriots does not come as much of a surprise. (Had Moe played at Rutgers, the Patriots might have requested that Foxborough officials award him the key to the town or make him an honorary selectman.)

Behind Moe on the Patriots’ list of large guarantees is Nevada tight end Zach Sudfeld, who received the team’s largest signing bonus ($12,000) and also has a $5,000 base salary guarantee for a total of $17,000 in guaranteed money. Sudfeld, who a month older than Rob Gronkowski and a few months older than Aaron Hernandez, caught just two passes in his first five seasons at Nevada catching 45 passes with eight touchdowns after being granted a medical redshirt for the 2012 season. Offensive lineman Elvis Fisher, Moe’s former teammate at Missouri, received $15,000 in guaranteed money from the Patriots, while guard Josh Kline ($14,000), fullback Ben Bartholomew ($10,000) and linebacker Kanorris Davis ($10,000) also received five-figure guarantees.

It’s certainly intriguing to have both of those guys. I really love how the Pats are rebuilding their receiver corps, though I have no idea how it will play out. But just based off the rookies alone I’ve never seen more young talent at the position. There are slot receivers (Amendola, Edelman, Moe), there are big outside guys (Dobson, Harrison, Jenkins), there are explosive guys (Boyce). 

This will be a different Patriots offense this year. Sure, there will be elements of the last couple years, like Gronk and Hernandez, and I’m sure Amendola will run a lot of Welker’s routes, but how teams matchup on the outside will have to totally change. There are now new elements of size and speed that will be sprinkled in for opponents to deal with. It won’t always be consistent, especially early, but I think in the long run the Patriots offense is going to be well set for the next few seasons.

Good signing, this receiver competition in camp is gonna be nuts.

It’s not an understatement to say that statistically Mark Harrison had the most impressive 2013 NFL Combine performance of any participant. During February’s combine Mark weighed in at just under 6’3″ tall and 231 lbs. When Harrison posted a 40 yard dash time of 4.46 seconds, a broad jump of 10’9″ and a vertical jump of 38.5 inches, people immediately took notice. A human being as big and heavy as Harrison isn’t supposed to put up those kind of agility numbers.