2011 NFL Draft Grades: New England Patriots Day 2 Report Card
The New England Patriots entered day two of the 2011 NFL draft with five picks, and made four selections.
At least a couple of the selections were met with a fair share of skepticism from Patriots fans. Those selections came in the third round, when the Patriots selected a second consecutive running back and controversial quarterback prospect Ryan Mallett.
It's hard to question anything the Patriots do after they've had so much success in the NFL draft, but grading the picks right now is fun anyway.
If only to look back on the grades and laugh at myself for being terribly wrong. But who knows, I could be right.
Let's take a look at the picks.
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Round 2, Pick 33 (from Carolina Panthers): Ras-I Dowling, CB Virginia
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After all the speculation about a potential trade, the Patriots ended up staying at their pick.
The Patriots have a fleet of cornerbacks under 5'11" tall. In Ras-I Dowling, the Patriots have their tallest cornerback on the roster, a guy who can cover some of the bigger and more physical receivers in the league. According to ESPN's Scouts, Inc. Dowling has long arms and nice leaping ability, too.
Dowling's strong suit, though, is playing inside where he can help out in run support. He has a big frame at 6'1" and 198 pounds, but he knows how to use his body in a scrum. For that reason, he may be suited more as a nickel cornerback or as a deep safety. A knock on him has even been the need for safety support against receivers with above-average quickness.
The Patriots don't play as much man coverage as some defenses, so his weaknesses in that regard won't be as evident.
He could be the successor to Brandon Meriweather at free safety if the team chooses not to re-sign him after 2011. He has better technique as a tackler, and is just as savvy of a ball-hawk.
However, Dowling doesn't come without his question marks. There are some health concerns about Dowling concerning hamstring, knee and ankle issues.
Some fans will be upset with the pick based on the recent success rate of New England's second-round defensive backs. Terrence Wheatley and Darius Butler were both second-round cornerbacks that didn't pan out, and that will have fans wary. If he pans out, he will solidify New England's fleet of cornerbacks for a long time.
Of course, the other knock on this pick will be that the Patriots didn't take a pass rusher. Belichick puts a lot of value on cornerbacks and safeties, feeling that in a pass-happy league, you can never have enough of them.
Grade: A-
Round 2, Pick 56 (from New Orleans Saints): Shane Vereen, RB West Virginia
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Vereen has the classic Bill Belichick trait: Versatility. He is small, but he was a three-down back at California for the Bears.
He's not the most explosive back in the draft, but he showed great savvy as a runner and has good vision. Although the raw athleticism may not be very high, he has enough football skill to make up for it. That is to say, what he lacks in quick legs, he makes up for with quick reads.
He's a true Patriot, having served as a team captain at California. The Patriots targeted five team captains last year, and it's clear they feel it's a statement of character to be selected by the team as their captain.
The Patriots know that a good stable of backs includes at least four competent bodies. With the likelihood of injuries to running backs, there's no reason to have less than that. They already have Danny Woodhead and BenJarvus Green-Ellis, and they get one step closer to that magic number of four with the pick of Vereen.
His biggest contributions will likely be on passing downs. He is an experienced and natural pass-catcher. With 74 receptions for 674 yards and six touchdowns in his collegiate career, he can clearly make an impact as a receiver out of the backfield or split out wide.
Pass protection is very important for the Patriots, and Vereen also exhibits solid awareness in that regard, even if he is sometimes swallowed by larger defenders.
Overall, Vereen looks like a fit in the system. With 3,508 yards of total production and 35 total touchdowns in his three-year collegiate career, the production is there to warrant the pick in the second round.
Grade: A-
Round 2, Pick 60: Traded to Houston Texans for 73rd and 138th Pick
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I'm just as much an advocate of a solid trade as the next guy. When the Patriots traded the 60th pick for a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick, though, I was a bit surprised.
They missed out on at least one prospect on their radar, South Florida defensive linemen Terrell McClain. Justin Houston was also taken by the Chiefs with the 70th pick before the Patriots could get back on the board.
One has to wonder if they'll ever target an outside linebacker higher than the back end of the second round, but they set themselves up with back-to-back picks at 73 and 74. Who knows how they feel about the drop-off in talent from 60 to 73, but they must not feel it's too great if they only got a fifth-round pick to go with it.
Regardless of the end result, this is just the type of draft board manipulation Bill Belichick and the Patriots love to do.
Grade: B-
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Round 3, Pick 73 (from Houston Texans): Stevan Ridley, RB LSU
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Back-to-back running backs carries a similar feeling to the Patriots drafting two tight ends close together in last year's draft. It's an easy decision to question, but we have no idea how the Patriots intend on using these two backs.
Similar to the differences between Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, though, Ridley and Vereen are very different in their style of play and can be utilized in different ways. Where Vereen will make a big impact in the passing game, Ridley does most of his damage between the tackles.
He doesn't add a great deal of versatility, and won't impact the passing game. He only had 17 receptions in his collegiate career, 11 in his final year at LSU. He does his job as a pass protector, although he needs a bit of work.
Where he excels is running between the tackles and protecting the ball, which makes him a commodity in the Patriots offense which preaches ball control.
One of his best assets is his field awareness. He's not the fastest guy on the field at 5'11" and 225 pounds, but he uses his eyes well to make up for it. His quick reads allow him to make his own destiny in the running game.
This pick could signal a shift in the focus of the offense. Perhaps the post-Brady era will be less about the quarterback than the Brady era. With two big, physical offensive linemen, two talented tight ends, and four capable backs, the Patriots could be just as deadly running the ball as they were throwing it last year.
Grade: B
Round 3, Pick 74 (from Minnesota Vikings): Ryan Mallett, QB Arkansas
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This one could be remembered for awhile as "the Randy Moss pick" acquired from the Vikings for the record-setting wide receiver during the 2010 season.
With that, the Patriots shocked the world with yet another one of their draft choices, going with Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett with their 74th overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft.
A quarterback? Really? Why? Tom Brady is still under contract for four years, and the Patriots have a viable back-up option in Brian Hoyer already.
Bill Belichick has very much been in the business of developing quarterbacks and creating value in that way. He did it with Matt Cassel in 2009, flipping the former seventh-round pick for a second-rounder. Brian Hoyer has been that type of prospect for the past few years, showing his mettle in preseason games and late in blowouts.
In that regard, Mallett has a lot of potential. He had 8,388 yards, 69 touchdowns and 24 interceptions in his collegiate career. He didn't have such great completion percentages in his first two years, but completed 64.7 percent of his passes as a junior in his final year as a Razorback, to go with 3,869 yards and 32 touchdowns.
There is little doubt about Mallett's physical abilities. He showcased his rocket arm and mobility at the combine. The questions are around his character, rumors of drug addiction, and his maturity.
He's in a great environment, with Brady to help coach him up, no pressure to start right away, and a strong locker room full of great character guys to hopefully keep him in line. Even if Mallett never plays a game for the Patriots, he could potentially be traded for a solid pick later on. Who knows, maybe Hoyer will be the trade bait?
Either way, this is Belichick investing in the Ryan Mallett stock with a third round pick, a low price to pay for a player who could eventually translate into a first-round pick given the right circumstances.
Grade: B
Round 3, Pick 92: Traded to Oakland Raiders for 2012 Second Round Pick
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The Patriots packaged pick Nos. 92 and 125 to the Oakland Raiders for the 219th pick and the Raiders' second-round pick in 2012.
This is just another typical Bill Belichick move, and just like that, the Patriots have come out of the first two days of the draft with two first round picks and two second round picks stocked up for the 2012 NFL draft.
This seems to be a perpetuating prophecy of picks. There's a good possibility that this will be a high second-round selection, and will give similar value to what the Patriots were able to obtain with their third-round pick in last year's draft.
Fans will undoubtedly remain upset that the Patriots passed on a pass rusher. Taking a wholistic view of the draft—not just this year, but next year—they made a smart move.
Grade: A-
Overall
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This wasn't exactly the draft strategy many Patriots fans and analysts had envisioned going into the second day of the draft.
Drafting a cornerback in the second round wasn't the biggest surprise. The Patriots have taken one in the first two rounds of the draft in each of the past three years, so it was almost to be expected. Belichick relates the value of cornerbacks in football to pitchers in baseball, and strongly believes you can never have enough.
After that's where it gets a little questionable. Three players on offense, two running backs and a quarterback? Not exactly top positions of need to fill.
Still, the selection of two running backs hearkens back to the two tight ends drafted last year. Something tells me that with two talented backs who excel at different things, the Patriots will find ways to use both effectively.
As for Mallett, I view the pick as more of a bargaining chip. Either they'll try to develop Mallett and eventually trade him, or they will continue to develop Brian Hoyer and eventually trade him. Either way, I don't expect the Patriots to carry all three quarterbacks for a long period of time.
The immediate return on today's draft picks may not be that great, but the Patriots did add a great deal of versatility to their backfield. It's the quarterback pick that will easily be the most questionable over the next few weeks and months.
Think of it like an investment, though. With time, that pick could be worth more than it was this year. It could be worth less. It's a solid low-risk, high-reward option by one of the savviest drafters in the league.
Grade: B+
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