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Trading down from 17 could cost Patriots 3-4 DE or OLB prospects

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One interesting thing to note is that with the Patriots at 17th overall, many of the teams immediately below them have similar pressing needs along the defensive line and at rush linebacker.

Walterfootball.com lists the needs below the Pats as:

18. San Diego Chargers (3-4 defense)

  • Rush Linebacker: Larry English has been a huge disappointment. The Chargers may still give him another chance, but they’ll probably spend a Day 2 selection this April as competition. 
  • Defensive End: Jacques Cesaire, a declining player, is a free agent. He needed to be upgraded anyway. Cameron Heyward would be a great fit with the 18th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft

19. New York Giants (needs listed as LT, C, RB, SLB)

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3 defense but…)

Two Defensive Ends: Tampa Bay desperately needs upgrades at both defensive end positions. The team loves Adrian Clayborn and won’t hesitate to pick him at No. 20 in the 2011 NFL Draft. 

21. Kansas City Chiefs (3-4 defense)

  • Rush Linebacker: Make it two rush linebackers if the Chiefs can’t retain Tamba Hali. Kansas City had nothing across from Hali, as Mike Vrabel failed to register a single sack all season. Justin Houston is currently the favorite to be chosen with the 21st pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. 

22-25 are all 4-3 defenses (Colts, Eagles (need OLBs), Saints (need DE, OLBs), Seahawks)

26. Baltimore Ravens (3-4 defense)

  • Defensive End: Cory Redding played well against the Steelers – way to be the only player to notice that Ben Roethlisberger fumbled – but he had a pretty pedestrian year overall. Allen Bailey makes sense with the 26th overall pick in April’s draft. 

So if the Patriots were to consider trading down from 17 they will have two other 3-4 teams just below them with similar needs who could pounce on a prospect the Pats might like.

Kansas City especially is a team that will be looking for a very similar player to what the Pats are. Reasons like this lead me to believe they actually might not trade down, at least from 17. 33 on the other hand…

Nick Kaczur to be released?

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Ian Rapoport reported over the weekend that Nick Kaczur is likely to be cut after refusing to take a pay cut from him hefty $3.4 million dollar salary. We can read a little bit into this…

I think this means it’s even more likely that the Patriots will want to bring back Matt Light, if they weren’t Kaczur would probably be in the plans as one of the starting tackles.

It also probably means that they were happy with Dan Connolly last year and can see him as a long term solution at one of the interior line positions, most likely right guard. Kaczur was in Logan Mankins spot over Connolly when training camp opened. Who knows if he would’ve stayed there had he not screwed his back up.

Clearly the Pats are looking to streamline the payroll along the offensive line as they prepare to deal with Mankins, Light at the next generation who will replace Stephen Neal and Dan Koppen.

Sebastian Vollmer is clearly entrenched as the right tackle, and if there’s no spot at for Kaczur there’s no way the Pats are paying him $3.4 million.

Brooks Reed Impresses at Combine

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From Todd McShay:

“Arizona DE Brooks Reed looked explosive without losing body control when forced to change directions and he’s shown on film that he can drop into underneath coverage. His lower body flexibility when asked to bend around cones or bags was a notch below elite but still above-average. He could play end in a four-man front or move to outside linebacker in a 3-4 front.


National Football Post: The (CBA) end is near: a primer

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National Football Post: The (CBA) end is near: a primer

While we’ve been keeping an eye on the combine results as the roll in today, it’s somewhat hard to concentrate as Friday looms large in the CBA negotiations. This article is a good primer for everything that’s going on. Like most, I’m feeling pretty pessimistic about it. Hopefully something can get done…

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fno0hYnQ5Ys

Mike Mayock breaks down Rob Gronkowski, and draws comparisons to potential draft pick Kyle Rudolph who is almost a physical clone of Gronk. Everyone might lose their shit if the Pats took another Tight End early, but with a surplus of picks why not? An offense with two tight ends that big and diverse would be incredibly hard to stop.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

https://www.patspropaganda.com/mike-mayock-breaks-down-rob-gronkowski-and-draws/