With Tuesday's release of LB Oscar Lua, the Patriots have just two of the nine players they selected in the 2007 draft on their roster.
Here is the breakdown:
1st round -- Brandon Meriweather -- Defensive back played in every game in 2007 with the Patriots, mostly as a reserve/special teamer.
4th round -- Kareem Brown -- Defensive lineman was waived in late November and claimed by the Jets. He played in one game for the Jets last season.
5th round -- Clint Oldenburg -- Offensive lineman was initially signed to the practice squad, before being cut in mid-September. He hooked on with the Jets practice squad and was activated for two games at the end of 2007. He is under contract through 2008 with the Jets.
6th round -- Justin Rogers -- Outside linebacker was waived on the final cutdown to 53 players last season and was claimed by the Cowboys. He played in all 16 games, primarily on special teams.
6th round -- Mike Richardson -- Cornerback spent last season on injured reserve and figures to compete for playing time with the Patriots in 2008.
6th round -- Justise Hairston -- Running back sustained a hamstring injury in training camp and was waived. He later hooked on with the Colts practice squad. Hairston, who is signed through 2010 with the Colts, did not play in a game last season.
6th round -- Corey Hilliard -- Offensive lineman was cut at the end of the 2007 preseason. He later hooked on with the Colts practice squad, was activated for three games, and is under contract with Indianapolis through 2009.
7th round -- Oscar Lua -- Inside linebacker was released on Tuesday. He had hurt his knee in the 2007 preseason and spent last year on injured reserve.
7th round -- Mike Elgin -- Center/guard was cut at the end of the 2007 preseason, before hooking on with the Jets practice squad. The Jets cut him and he recently signed a three-year deal with the Colts.
FACTORING IN WELKER AND MOSS: While at first glance it might appear to be a poor draft, the acquisition of WR Wes Welker (for 2nd/7th-round picks) and WR Randy Moss (for 4th-round pick) should be factored into the mix. Also, the 2007 draft was considered to be generally weak. The chatter at the NFL combine is that the 2008 draft has more quality players.
The draft wasn't weak for the Giants. We heap a lot of praise on BB/SP for some of their drafts, they didn't fair very well last year.
Any idea why, as a coach, BB really seems to enjoy coaching the LBs, but the Patriots have not drafted a single starting linebacker under BB?
Sort of amazing how the Colts and Jets keep jumping on the players the Patriots cut ...
I think the draft was ok. You got welker and moss. Plus all those guys are currently employeed in the NFL. They just weren't good enough to beat out the guys that went 18-1.
I agree the Pats did not fare well compared to the G-Men in the draft, but you have to remember that we used a 2nd Pick on Wes Welker and a 4th on Randy Moss.
Mike,
While I appreciate that we may have had a very good "draft day" because of Welker and Moss, I still think we can independently evaluate the draft and ask what value they got for each pick they actually chose. Without a doubt having 6 picks in the 6th and 7th round means that those picks are of lower potential value and more of a crap shoot and are less likely to be able to crack the roster of a deep team like the Patriots. None-the-less, cutting both the 4th and 5th round pick by late November and going 0-6 with the late round picks seems to portend an overall poor job of picking talent last year. No doubt Belicheck and Pioli have done a fantastic job through the years, but I think it is difficult to sugar coat last years draft. When they were on the clock, their picks were not the qaulity we have come to expect from them.
Mike...unless we sign Moss to a long term deal, then we're really only getting Welker out of this draft...Merriweather while still very much green in our system is still a question mark...and Richardson coming off IR in 2007 is by no means a lock to stick on the roster...I agree with JG above that the Giants reaped rewards almost instantly from their draft...so did Cleveland in shoring up their previously weak offensive line...as much success as BB and SP have had over the past few years I have to say they really dropped the ball on the 2007 draft...
yea, I don't think it was a bad draft...Remember, the team was so deep last year. It shows, most of the players drafted are on other teams (JETS and COLTS) and not out of the league.
The PATS should get some money for drafting these players for the JETS and COLTS...hahaha. Bill Poilian is not going to worry about scouting just takes the PATS scraps.
Seriously though, I am sure the PATS wish they still had Kareem Brown and Justine Rogers...They seem like the will be more than practice squad players
Where is Bobby Grier when you need him?
When you have a good team year to year it is a lot harder to draft lower round players that can take the place of your existing players. Most of their 2007 draft picks are still in the league. With the turnover this year, there will probably be more draftees that stick. However, it may not make the team better than the 2007 team. I think drafting and free agent pickups should be viewed more by team record than by numbers that stick. Also we have a first round pick this year coming from last year, when the consensus was a weak year.
Draft undersized players with poor work ethics. DB's from kansas state are a personal favorite.
- Bobby Grier
I'm more upset at Oscar Lua being flushed than Colvin. Yet another draft pick that the coaching staff refuses to coach up. Why can the Steelers find linebackers in the draft and coach them into servicable if not great linebackers in the 3-4, yet the Pats can't even keep a draft pick for a year? How about if the Pats packaged all their picks from rounds 4-7 last year to a team for a late first day pick and got a linebacker they felt they could coach? Instead we got Merriweather, and that's it. What a wasted draft class - and don't give me this crap about Welker and Moss were "drafted". We flushed the entire class of rookies except Merriweather, and now we're stuck with no one in the wings to take over... How about the drafts of 06 and 05 and 04 and 03 - where are the linebackers from thsoe drafts ready to step up to starting?
Mike you forget that they also got the 49ers #1 pick and the Raiders 3rd round pick (4th overall if I'm not mistaken). Trading for future picks clearly shows that the pats didn't think this was a deep draft. When you take that into account they really got
1a Merriweather
1b 49ers #7 pick
2 - Welker
3 - Raiders pick
4 Moss
5-7 - gimme picks that the pats took a shot on but the team was too deep to keep. Were they really going to keep a guy for the sake of keeping a guy?
Timmy!!!!
Learn football. The Pittsburgh 3-4 zone blitz defense is different then the patriots 3-4 defense. The patriots require more responsibility from their linebackers. Besides, outside of Vrabel has a Pittsburgh LB ever gone somewhere and continued having a good career?
Why a poor draft? When a very deep team drafts rookies it should not be expected that very many of those rookies will make the team. What is a better indicator of the team's drafting capabilities is how many of the rookies are still playing in the NFL. And the answer is... all of them. Heck the Colts alone seem to be cornering the market in Pats draftees.
So - if you're going to say it's a poor draft because these guys aren't on the Patriots still, then you have to poinbt out someone you'd cut instead. Hard to do on a Super Bowl team. If you want to say it's a poor draft because the Pats did not end up drafting in their areas of greatest need, then that might be a better argument. But arguably their greatest need was at DB, and the 2 DB's they drafted are still with them.
Every article about Patriot cuts should be prefaced by: "Despite the astronomical ticket increases..."
Mike #13
Get a grip. I used Pittsburgh as an example. Since Belichick has been here he hasn't drafted a single starting LB for the Pats. Not a one. Name one other position on the team that is true for? Not any other. So we sit here today with no young backers, two free agents that should retire, and the left over starting ones that are themselves south of 30 years old. Other 3-4 teams get starting backers in the draft, why can't Belichick? If the scheme is that complicated then maybe it should be simplified. If the coaches can't coach a first or second year LB to play in this defense ( like they do at DL and DB ), then maybe they need new coaches. All I know is watching Bruschii and Seau make tackles 8 yards after the line of scrimmage, AND not getting a pass rush from Vrabel or AD ( more like Over Rated ) is going to kill this team in 2008. If we had developed backers through the draft then we wouldn't have paid AD or Colvin so much, and would have had $$$ to keep Asante. In 7 years not one starting drafted LB - gotta admit that is pretty SAD.
It was obvious the Pats were not very enthused about the talent in last year's draft and kept trading out of picks for players and future picks. If Merriweather pans out, which I believe he will, this draft will be a positive for me especially with Welker and Moss.
my feeling is...who cares? if bb knows how to run a team (who to draft, who not to draft, who to sign as a free agent, etc), then why does it matter? so, since BB has been here he hasn't drafted a LB...um, they seem to be doing a good job so far...it's not like they're in the bottom of the league each year...why fix something if it's not broken? would you rather draft a LB first this year just to say we drafted a LB and finish 4-12 or keep doing what he's doing and keep getting to the playoffs and winning? if the only LBs that can play in this system are experienced, then why not keep picking up experienced players? the system works...just go with it.
ps if you told me the giants were going to score 17 pts in the SB, i would have bet my house that we would have won...the "slow" LBs didn' t lose the game.
Hindsight is 20/20. I remember reading that the 2006 draft was weak AFTER the 2006 season when players didn't catch fire out of the gate. Now the 2007 draft is also weak? seems like revisionist history to me.
I don't understand the criticism here. They had only ONE first day pick. The draft will be measured by whether or not Meriweather becomes a good player, not whether a 5th round pick makes it onto the deepest roster in the league. Besides, I think Richardson looked excellent in preseason. I think he has a very good chance to become a solid nickel corner this season.
I think the 2007 draft was very medicore by the Pats. The Pats could have Beason, LB who went to Carolina and led the team in tackles. The Jets play a similar defense and were able to land David Harris ILB in the 2nd round. A draft can be weak; but, you need to find the good players or the cream of the crop. Others did; but, the Pats surely didnīt
Mediocre is generous for last year's draft. In fact, their drafting hasn't been great recently. They can't sustain success if 1 player out of 10 draftees is on the field in the final game. All they really have from 06 is Maroney and the kicker. Mankins, Kaczur and Hobbs have worked out from 2005.
What happened to picks like Samuel (4th), Koppen (5th), Green (4th) and Givens (7th)? And, of course, you know who.
Belichick needs a strong draft this year.
the scout from years past went to the Falcons about a month ago.
Mike;
You are white washing, the 06 and 07 drafts were BAD period. And they better start signing or drafting some linebackers. The Giants draft was awesome last year.
It's time to stop making excusing for Pioli and the scouts.
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