Patriots Draft Stock Watch: 5 Players Rising and Falling on New England's Board
There's no time of year like the run-up to the NFL draft. Just as quickly as scouting reports come out, new information becomes available that changes what we thought we knew about the prospects.
The New England Patriots are just one of 32 teams dealing with this process of watching tape, then workouts, then more tape, then more workouts and possibly even more tape before it's all said and done.
With each performance at the Senior Bowl and combine, with each school's pro day, the draft takes shape up until its climax. With nearly two-thirds of "draft season" in the books, which players have helped or hurt their stock the most from the Patriots' perspective?
Here's a look.
Stock Up: Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State
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Unless the Patriots have confidence that 2013 second-round pick Aaron Dobson will return from his injury with a bang, they could be in the running to select a wide receiver early in the draft.
Arizona State wide receiver Jaelen Strong has improved his stock during the run-up to the draft, clocking an impressive-enough 4.44-second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine. His performance helped validate the big-play ability he showed in two years in the Pac-12 with at least 1,100 receiving yards each season and a total of 17 touchdowns.
"You talk about a big-bodied guy who understands attacking the football at its highest point—at Arizona State he did a lot of back-shoulder catching, and I love that because you can never guard him," NFL Network's Curtis Conway said, per NFL.com's Bryan Fischer. "His stock is rising after the combine."
The Patriots have plenty of small and shifty slot receivers, but they lack big-bodied red-zone threats. Brandon LaFell and Rob Gronkowski are both solid weapons of that sort, but one more could put this offense over the edge and make them even more difficult to stop—as hard as that is to imagine.
Stock Down: Jarvis Harrison, OG, Texas A&M
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Anything that offensive lineman Jarvis Harrison did at Texas A&M's pro day doesn't matter as much as the fact that he was late, as reported by NFL.com's Gil Brandt.
That's not good when the "scouting community has questions about his desire to work hard and manage weight," according to NFL.com's Lance Zierlein, who quotes an AFC scouting director as saying, "I believe he has Pro Bowl caliber talent, but his work ethic is a major concern for me."
Zierlein gives Harrison a draft grade of 5.59, which puts him in the range of those who have a "chance to become an NFL starter," but if he can't dedicate himself to his craft, he'll never reach that potential.
The Patriots need interior offensive linemen, especially if they're not planning on bringing back veteran guard Dan Connolly (who remains a free agent), but Harrison sounds about the furthest thing from the Patriot Way that there is. The depth of the offensive line is too great in this year's class to take a risk on a potential headache.
Stock Up: Bud Dupree, DE/OLB, Kentucky
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With Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich and now Jabaal Sheard all listed at defensive end, the Patriots may appear to be all set at the position. That being said, with impending contractual decisions for both Jones and Ninkovich, as well as a relative lack of depth at the position overall, the outside linebacker spot could still be in play.
Enter Kentucky outside linebacker Bud Dupree, who has been a solid pass-rusher in his four-year career (7.5 sacks in 2014, 23.5 overall) and has the frame (6'4", 269 pounds, 32.6-inch arms) to play on the edge of either a 3-4 or a 4-3 front. He'd have to do both fairly regularly in the Patriots' defense, which switches back and forth between the two fronts from week to week, series to series and even play to play.
NFL.com draft analyst Charles Davis says the biggest concern with Dupree is "a lack of consistency," but Davis attributes that inconsistency to the fact that he "had to wear different hats in different systems at Kentucky." Dupree won't see any additional consistency in New England.
Still, with strong workout numbers and a continued need at the position, Dupree is worth a look for the Patriots. That being said, as a player projected by CBSSports.com to go in the middle of the first round, he may be a little too rich.
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Stock Down: Danielle Hunter, DE/OLB, LSU
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Once considered a top prospect, outside linebacker Danielle Hunter is suffering the same fate that so many other players have suffered thanks to a late-March pro day.
The 2015 draft is loaded with pass-rushing potential from the likes of Randy Gregory, Vic Beasley, Shane Ray, Dante Fowler Jr., Bud Dupree and others. Sticking out among that group would be hard enough on its own, but the fact remains that all those players have already shined at their pro days while Hunter continues to sit on his hands.
Make no mistake, Hunter made his impact at the scouting combine, measuring in at 6'5" and 252 pounds, and running a 4.57-second 40-yard dash, one of the five fastest times at his position. But as scouts pour over the tape, they'll notice a lack of sack production (4.5 in his three-year career) that could be alarming in comparison to other prospects.
Bleacher Report's Matt Miller sees big-time potential in Hunter, but also a big-time risk. His ceiling may be enough to push him into the first round, but his floor may be enough to scare some teams off.
Stock Up: Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
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The Patriots may have a solid trio of wide receivers in Brandon LaFell, Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola, as well as Aaron Dobson returning from injury, but with a player like West Virginia's Kevin White on the board, the value may be too great to pass up.
White measured in at 6'3" and 215 pounds at the scouting combine, and finished among the top five receivers in the 40-yard dash (4.35 seconds) and the 225-pound bench press (23 reps). Those numbers confirmed the scouting report on White, which is that he's a strong downfield threat who has the potential to be a press-man beater.
He followed up his strong combine performance with an even stronger pro day. It was so strong, in fact, that NFL.com's Gil Brandt noted that scouts were left wanting more.
"The scouts in attendance wanted to see more from White, so they had White do some additional work after his 15-minute session with Groh," Brandt said.
He may not leapfrog Amari Cooper as the best wide receiver in the class, but the Patriots may prefer it that way. White will probably be drafted in a spot that is well out of the Patriots' reach, but never rule anything out when it comes to Bill Belichick in the draft.
Unless otherwise noted, all scouting combine and NFL draft notes provided by NFL.com.
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