I just looked up Brandon Tate for the first time since the draft.  It seems like he was really more of a return specialist (and a very, very good one) until his senior year.  He played well over the first half of the season at receiver before tearing his ACL and MCL.

This would lead me to believe he is on a similar recover path as Brady.  He may see some action but I wouldn't count on this guy to step in as a receiver.  Coming into the league off of a major injury in the midst of a break out year is a huge jump.

 

The Patriots drafted him in the middle of the third round so, considering that is their supposed “sweet spot” for value players, they obviously feel he can make an impact.  I would guess they’re hoping he’ll be an explosive kick returner – not just a reliever for Faulk, Welker and Maroney – and that he’ll contribute in the receiving game as well.  This pick isn’t that much different than Bethel Johnson in terms of where he’ll contribute in my opinion.

BBRules - Why are you even on this forum?  It's supposed to be a resource for discussing what is not known.  If you just want to sit back and watch what happens without having a conversation about the options being floated around the team then don't bother to contribute here.

In Response to Re: The truth about Tate:


Moron.

Bethel had more straight line speed. Tate is more of the shifty type.

His potential for Yards After Catch should be pretty good even this year, if he's healthy. He sounded pretty healthy even at the beginning of the season, so we might have seen him a few weeks ago if the PUP rules were different.

He has proven to have exceptional vision as both a returner and a receiver, and might already have the most YAC potential on the team.

Surely some easy screen passes and other dump-offs can be thrown his way without too much complication.

My guess is he contributes quickly as a receiver, and at least as much as Edelman by the end of the year.

Fly routes and dump-offs don't take too much experience or qb chemistry to run, and the more complicated stuff can be added more gradually.

Compare Tate to Hakeem Nicks, 1st Round pick of the Giants (and team mate at UNC).

Tate has a lot of talent and potential. Unless he's 100%, I hope they put him on IR, and let him come in totally healthy next year. Give a Nunn a shot.

In Response to Re: The truth about Tate:


I agree with you man, if you can't speculate about Tate or anyone else then what are we suppose to talk about?  (I think Randy Moss is going to work out for us). LoL


Go Pats!!!!!

In Response to Re: The truth about Tate:


No way, you want the guy to get his feet wet and get as much experience in actual gameplay while he can.  That way Tate can come in next year and contribute from day one without any of the rookie growing pains.  Just think about it, if he's got half a year under his belt (and surely some playoffs) that will make him that much more experienced to where he'll be ahead of the curve compared to if he went on IR and didn't get to participate in any of it.

From Scouts Inc: Overall Football Traits
Production	2	2005: Tate appears in 11 games. He returns 21 kickoffs for a total of 542 yards (25.8-yard avg.) and 29 punts for a total of 267 yards. (9.2 yard avg.) 2006: Tate appears in 12 games during the 2006 season catching five passes for a total of 72 yards and carrying the ball three times for a total of 20 yards. He returns 38 kickoffs for a total of 902 yards and two touchdowns and 20 punts for a total of 194 yards. 2007: Tate starts in all 12 games catching 25 passes for a total of 479 yards and five touchdowns and carrying the ball 12 times for a total of 131 yards and a touchdown. He returns 39 kickoffs for a total of 939 yards and 23 punts for a total of 216 yards and one touchdown. 2008: Tate starts the first six games of the season before sustaining a season-ending knee injury. He catches 16 passes for a total of 376 yards and three touchdowns and carries the ball 11 times for a total of 151 yards and a touchdown. Tate returns 11 kickoffs for a total of 305 yards and seven punts for a total of 158 yards and a touchdown. He breaks the all-time NCAA mark for combined kick return yards with 3,523. Tate completes one pass for 12 yards.
Height-Weight-Speed	2	Adequate height and top-end speed but marginal bulk.
Durability	4	2008: Tears ACL and MCL in right knee during the sixth game of the season. (Notre Dame)
Intangibles	2	Communications major and there have been no off-the-field incidents to our knowledge.

Wide Receiver specific Traits
Separation Skills	2	Does an adequate job of gearing down and getting head turned around on comeback routes. Shows a second gear going across the middle of the field, he does a nice job of avoiding contact and separates from corners on slants/crossing routes. Flashes the ability to stick foot in the ground and explode out of breaks but footwork is inconsistent and rounds some routes off. Needs to do a better job of working back to the quarterback when protection starts to break down.
Ball Skills	3	Rare body control and can adjust to passes thrown outside frame without breaking stride. Appears comfortable catching passes thrown above head. Flashes the ability to snag the ball out of the air but arms are on the shorter side and lets the ball get to frame a little too much so can drop passes that should catch.
Vertical Speed	2	Doesn't have great timed speed but appears faster on film and flashes the ability to get behind defensive backs. Does an adequate job of tracking the ball downfield. Does a good job of setting up post routes with head fake to the outside and knocked a safety off balance in first quarter of 2008 Miami game.
Run After Catch	3	Catches the ball in-stride and reaches top-speed quickly. Above-average vision. Flashes an adequate stiff arm but isn't going to pick up many yards after contact. Doesn't always carry the ball with outside arm.
Competitiveness and Toughness	3	Not afraid to work the middle of the field and will try to get away with subtle push offs. Passive downfield blocker that flashes the ability to wall defenders off but gets caught flat footed too much. Can run out of bounds instead of fighting for extra yards.

Scale
1 = Exceptional	2 = Above average	3 = Average	4 = Below average	5 = Marginal