Trade at 23
Saturday, April 25th, 2009The Pats have traded their first round pick at 23 to the Ravens.
The Pats have traded their first round pick at 23 to the Ravens.
So, the Pats have not moved up as of yet, and as some people predicted. Based on the way everything has gone thus far (Cleveland’s on the clock at #17), New England will have its pick of linebackers likely at #23. Two of the three USC guys are still there along with combo DE/LB Robert Ayers from Tennessee who played with Jerod Mayo.
Biggest move has been the Jets trading all the way up to #5, grabbing QB Mark Sanchez out of USC. No surprise that they wanted an upgrade at that spot, but we’ll get to find out if all the hype surrounding him is for real going up against some of the best defenses in the NFL in the AFC East. Welcome to the league, rookie.
Here’s the Pats schedule for the upcoming 2009 season:
A couple things that jump out to me right off the bat: Tons of national games once again, two Monday nighters, two Sunday nighters, a few Sunday evening games, plus the oh-so-popular London matchup with Tampa. Some good tests on paper with what has the potential to be a tough AFC South and what almost always seems like a crapshoot with the NFC South.
Definitely some good storyline type matchups outside the division as well: Mentor vs. Protege when McDaniels meets Belichick, Matt Ryan returns to the Boston area, probably no love lost with the Ravens from 2007, plus the Pats TRAVEL to Indy for what seems like the eighth straight year.
Here’s a list of guys who are clearly on the Patriots radar. All these players have either been scouted at their school’s pro day or have visited Foxboro for a workout.
Quite an extensive list courtesy the staff writers over at the Boston Globe headed up by Mike Reiss. Pretty clear that the Pats are doing their due diligence in terms of adding depth to the defensive side of the ball. We’ll see if any of these names pop up April 25 & 26.
Here’s the Pats preseason schedule leading up to the September 14th Monday night opener against Buffalo.
The Patriots have recieved three additional draft picks for this coming April. After each round of the draft the NFL has to option of giving a team what is known as a compensatory draft pick for losing a free agent the previous offseason. New England’s three picks come at the end of the third, fifth and sixth rounds due to the losses of Asante Samuel, Randall Gay and Donte Stallworth after the ‘07 season.
According to Mike Reiss of the Globe, the Pats third round choice (97 overall) is the highest of the compensatory picks doled out (presumably for Samuel). That addition gives New England six day one picks, all in the top 100 spots of the draft (1 first, 3 second, 2 third), and 11 overall picks in the 2009 draft.
Just more chips at the table for Bill Belichick which only makes him all the more dangerous. A lot of focus on getting younger last year, and it appears much the same in this offseason, despite all the veteran signings. Expect a highly competitive training camp come this summer.
While Matt and I certainly have spent a lot of time talking about our expectations for the Pats draft in April, our team has been quite the busy bee in free agency. New England confirmed deals with backup defensive tackle Mike Wright, cornerback Leigh Bodden, and free agent wideout Joey Galloway this past weekend. For our complete wrap-up of all of the Pats’ work thus far in free agency, be sure to check out the next episode of the podcast coming up later this week.
Galloway is obviously the more intriguing of these two names so we’ll address him first. He turns 38 this coming November, yet has managed to continuously put up good numbers over the course of his career. Many will see his 13 catch, 138 yard effort from last season and assume he’s way past his prime. Not true, Galloway struggled with an ankle injury which is now 100% healed. With less attention than he was getting in Tampa, it’s possible that he could become the same kind of receiver who finished 2nd in the NFL in yards per catch in 2007 (17.8), and had back to back to back 1000 yard seasons with an anemic offense, unsettled QB situations, and no other discernible threat on the outside. Now you give him Tom Brady, Randy Moss and Wes Welker? I like his odds to succeed.
Wright and Bodden are both depth signings along the lines of the Tully Banta-Cain variety. Bodden likely will get a shot to compete for the #2 slot behind Ellis Hobbs, but for the moment I’d favor Shawn Springs for that job. Wright showed some good stuff last year when he needed to fill in for Vince Wilfork. Let’s just hope Big Vince doesn’t have to miss too much time this season.
CHECK OUT THE NEW PODCAST UPLOADING TONIGHT. MATT AND BEN BREAK DOWN THE MATT CASSEL DEAL AND DETERMINE IF THERE’S ANYTHING FISHY TO NEW ENGLAND’S NEGOTIATING.
- Free agent DB Shawn Springs expected to sign with the Pats: The 33 year old was a cap casualty after the Redskins shelled out major money to re-sign DeAngelo Hall. He’ll give New England some depth at the corner position and could compete for a starting job.
- Eagles WR Lewis dealed to NE: The Pats picked up a third wideout in Greg Lewis from Philly plus a 2010 pick in exchange for an undisclosed pick this year (expected to be a 5th rounder). Lewis can provide a nice deep threat opposite Randy Moss, and might be able to shine with a lot less attention thrown his way. Plus, he’s locked up for the next three years, making less than 750,000 each year.
- Pats re-sign Hanson: New England brought back punter Chris Hanson after a strong finish in 2008. Assuming the offense can play at least near its capability, Hanson won’t be seeing the field much anyway.
Russ Hochstein and the Pats have agreed to one year deal. The lineman has proved a versatile backup in his tenure with New England, filling in at both guard and center.
Another low budget move for the Pats who continue to shore things up before April’s draft.
James Sanders and the Patriots have agreed to a three-year deal. Supposedly, the safety could’ve signed elsewhere for better money, but instead chose to come back to New England, where he will likely start the season as the free safety.
Not a huge surprise, now that the Pats have their cap space they can address whatever issues they want on their terms. Sanders was disappointing at times last season, but obviously inspires confidence with this 3 year deal. Let’s hope he can inspire some in me this year.
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