Depth Charts ¦ Offseason Review (Coming Soon!)
2012 Selections
| 1.21 | DE – Chandler Jones | Syracuse |  |
| I’m not as high on Jones as others, but I understand what the Pats see. New England loves to give multiple looks and Jones can transition back and forth to the 4-3 and 3-4. | |||
| 1.25 | LB – Dont’a Hightower | Alabama |  |
| Pats traded up to land Hightower, who like Jones, offer scheme versatility. He can play all over the field in either the “40″ or “30 front. He gives the Pats options on what to do on defense and should be a great fit in New England | |||
2.16 DB Tavon Wilson,Illinois
- Wilson is huge reach, but the Pats needed secondary help, so I guess it’s hard to fault them. Wilson can play both CB and Safety so he gives the Pats versatility, but he was not listed in my rankings, so I question this pick.
3.27 DE Jake Bequette,Arkansas
- Another player that gives the Pats versatility. He can play in both front from different spots on the field. Has great vision and solid speed off the edge.
6.27 S Nate Ebner,Ohio St.
- Another surprising pick at secondary for the Pats. Ebner wasn’t even a starter at Ohio St. Very athletic, but is practice squad player.
7.17 CB Alfonzo Dennard,Nebraska
- Dennard has solid 2nd round talent. If he keep his head on straight, the Pats get a major steal here
7 WR Jeremy Ebert,Northwestern
- On a position full of veterans, Ebert will have a tough time making the team.
Overall Draft Grade
Needs |
|
| Pos. | |
|---|---|
| OLB | Re-signed Tracy White;Signed Bobby Carpenter |
| CB | Signed Will Allen |
| DE | Signed Trevor Scott |
| WR | Franchised Wes Welker; Re-signed Matt Slater; Signed Brandon Lloyd and Anthony Gonzalez; Signed Deion Branch and Jabar Gaffney |
| C | Signed Dan Conolly |
(Other Possible Needs: FS,ILB,RB)
Due to youth on D, the Pats switched to more of a 4-3 base, instead of the 3-4 they usually run. If they can, I expect them to focus on finding pieces to fit that scheme. That means finding pass rushing OLB and solid 5 tech DE’s. They also need drastic help in the secondary. They need to find a better option at FS and get more talent at the CB spot. They could also use a mid-round selection at finding a C to help strengthen the middle of the O-line. Staying on the offensive side of the ball, New England needs to look for a tall vertical threat at WR. Also they need depth seeing that Wes Welker and Deion Branch are both set to be FA’s
- Franchised WR Wes Welker
- Tendered QB Brian Hoyer
- Signed DT Jonathan Fanene
- Signed S Steve Gregory
- Signed TE Daniel Fells
- Signed OG Robert Gallery
- Signed FB Tony Fiametta
- Signed RB Joseph Addai
2012 Free Agents |
|
| Player | 2012 Team |
|---|---|
| WR-Wes Welker |  |
| C-Dan Koppen | |
| DE-Andre Carter | |
| DE-Mark Anderson |  |
| WR-Deion Branch | |
| QB-Brian Hoyer | |
| DT-Gerard Warren | |
| S-James Ihedigbo | |
| RB-BenJarvus Green-Ellis |  |
| C-Dan Connolly | |
| CB-Antwaun Molden | |
| OLB-Gary Guyton |  |
| WR-Matt Slater | |
| RB-Kevin Faulk | |
| OLB-Tracy White | |
| DT-Shaun Ellis | |
| ILB-Niko Koutouvides |
2011 Draft
| Pick | Player | School | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.17 | OT-Nate Solder |  |
Started 13 games at RT and has the look of a franchise LT (16/13) |
| 2.33 | CB-Ras-I Dowling |  |
Started and looked good early, then landin on IR (2/2) |
| 2.56 | RB-Shane Vereen |  |
Never was full strength and lost in numbers game (5/0) |
| 3.73 | RB-Steven Ridley |  |
Was a solid RB all season and finished as the teams second leading rusher (16/2) |
| 3.74 | QB-Ryan Mallett |  |
Inactive for all 16 games (0/0) |
| 5.138 | OG-Marcus Cannon |  |
Returned late after battling cancer. Intriguing prospect for 2012 (7/0) |
| 5.159 | TE-Lee Smith |  |
Cut at end of camp and signed with Buffalo (0/0) |
| 6.194 | DE-Markell Carter |  |
Spent 2011 on Practice Squad (0/0) |
| 7.219 | S-Malcolm Williams |  |
Was on practice squad most of season (2/0) |