Your Lying Eyes

Posted by Mike Giardi April 25, 2008 at 9:21 am

If anyone sits here today and tells you they know who the Patriots will pick in tomorrow’s NFL draft, they’re either a) lying or b) guessing. I mean, how often have we decided that the Pats need linebacker and secondary help in the last few years? And how many times have the Pats ignored what “we” think and done their own thing? That’s pretty much the way business gets taken care of down in Foxboro, and its why the Pats have not only been a power for this entire decade, but one of the best franchises at the crapshoot that takes place in New York this weekend.

Maybe guards and tight ends and defensive tackles aren’t sexy picks, capable of stealing headlines and making the pundits gush, but that’s what’s allowed the Pats to build a consistent program. If the rest of the NFL would take notice, maybe the Pats wouldn’t go 16-0 as they did a season ago, or win 3 Super Bowls in 4 years

We’re already hearing numerous scenarios where some brain-dead organization is trying to trade up into the Top-5 or Top-10 for a Glenn Dorsey or Matt Ryan. All I can say to those GMs is you’d better be right, or you’ll set the franchise back 5 years and cost the Coaching Staff their jobs, and cost you yours as well.

For instance, on the Dorsey front, here’s a player that has been removed from some teams draft boards because of concerns about his lower leg injury. Doesn’t that seem absurd, then, to trade up and pay 25/30 million guaranteed for a physical question mark? Oh yeah, if he becomes a Pro Bowler for a half-dozen years, the GM’s that passed on Dorsey will forever have that as a blackmark against their name, but if he fails…build the man/men a statue.

The Pats go in with the 7th pick, but want out. I am certain they’ll get out for 80% of the value of that selection, just to save money and accumulate more choices. That allows for greater flexibility, and perhaps the chance to find those hidden gems, guys like Koppen and Samuel, mid-rounders who have given you first-round value.

What will they pick later in the opening round? Time to put my best guess on it. There’s a fair amount of corners in this draft who share similar overall grades, and there’s also a couple of “O” linemen who could push Kazcur and Neal and - who knows - maybe even Light. Its not the primary area of need - despite what happened in the Super Bowl - but its where the foundation can be laid for future success. That’s something no team has done better than the Pats. I don’t expect that to change now.