The Patriots wrapped up the second day of the NFL draft by selecting quarterback Jacoby Brissett from NC State and defensive tackle Vincent Valentine out of Nebraska.
Let’s start with Brissett. I didn’t get too in-depth on quarterbacks this year and I knew I should’ve. It’s just good business to continually invest in the most important position in the game whether they ever play for you or not.
Brissett has the size you want (6’4″, 231 pounds) and the personality for the position. He was behind a shaky offensive line in college and will need some time to develop. That, of course, is what the Patriots can offer.
I’ll be taking a look at plenty of film on Brissett in the coming days and weeks to get an idea of what he can do.
The interesting question now is whether the Pats will need to add a fourth quarterback to potentially back up Jimmy Garoppolo the first four games of the season. Clearly, Brissett isn’t going to be ready for that.
Tom Brady still has a few more years, but the succession plan must be constant and comprehensive, that’s why if you care about the long-term stability of the franchise beyond #12, you should be okay with this pick.
Another Fatty for DT
Vincent Valentine‘s selection answers an interesting question for me — that the Pats don’t really see the value in a three-technique one-gap penetrator defensive tackle anymore after a brief flirtation with them (aka Dominique Easley). Now they seem fully focused on size and strength above all else at the position. Granted Malcom Brown is especially athletic and a little more stout, but Alan Branch, Terrence Knighton and now Valentine are all tall and (at least) 320-plus.
This is essentially a 2-5 front now, with two space eaters inside freeing up space for five mobile and athletic players to make the plays.
I missed on Valentine because the red flags were injuries and desire questions. I can deal with injuries, but if it’s a guy who doesn’t work hard I usually reject him for the Patriots. Still, Valentine’s a big guy, and big guys who love to bust their ass are rare. Both Knighton and Branch have had issues with that in their careers.
Generally, I think this pick will be regarded as the biggest reach in a night where the Pats will get plenty heat for reaching. But Valentine’s body type clearly has a fit in this defense and it gives the Pats a developmental player to step in for Branch and/or Knighton when their contracts are up in 2017.
Overall, the names mostly weren’t the ones we thought they might be, but the positions (CB, OL, DT, QB) and traits all fit what the Patriots do. There’s always talent drafted up and down every round of the draft, so just because you draft a guy who the consensus ranked lower than where he was taken doesn’t really mean much.
Tom Brady was the 199th pick. If someone took him first overall in 1999 it would’ve been monumental reach. So who’s to say what a reach is.
Back for more draft fun tomorrow when I bet the Pats take some of the more popular players we all saw as fits.
