Video: Reaction roundup

Mike without a doubt this is a vote of confidence for Shawn Crable. The Pats did not select a guy like Clay Matthews,Everette Brown, or Shaun Cody numerous OLB prospects on the board all avoided.

Shawn Crable wont get the nod right away but more than likely he will be the starter day 1. Thats a guy feeling and him being 100% going into the year.

The DB situation is very interesting because now the Pats have the depth to push down Hobbs to the nickel role where he belongs. I love Hobbs and think hes an underrated player at times but he is more suited for that nickel slot. With Leigh Bodden,Dairus Butler,Shawn Springs and Terreance Wheatley Hobbs can without a doubt go to a more natural position.

Overall this was a good draft. You get more run defense help along that line because lets get real. We saw what happened last year and how many guys went down so fast. If the worst case scenario happened on D and Wilfork went down where would the Pats go? Mike Wright? LeKevin Smith? Not good enough depth there.

Chung was a great pick also. Meriweather is the future at FS and Sanders is also a FS but can play SS. So you have two true FS and both of them are starting and you have an injury prone future HOF safety. What do the Pats do? Draft a physical, strong safety who can play all over the field. Remember what the Pats tried to do with Tank Williams last year? Thats Chungs role here his first year depending on how he swallows the playbook. Down the line that SS spot is Chungs.

Mayock said it today. Bill is way outside of the box and thats why the Pats draft so well. They draft for team needs and future needs.

No longer any doubt--- BB, Kraft, etc. absolutely DO NOT want to pay the going prices for first and second round draft choices--------------------- they see trading down for additional choices, the way to go. Clearly Brace was taken to intimadate Wilfork, and count on at least one D lineman taken on Sunday as a message to Seymour. HARD BALL is the name of the game in Foxboro!!!!! Clearly BB is satisfied with his last year additions, to develop into starters at CB, OLB and ILB.
The negative comments about Chung appear accurate, what a waste of a draft choice! My allegiance to the Patrots is wavering!!!!

what is that board behind you Mike, with the NO ACCESS stuff on it?

I agree that adding Brace is great for depth at the NT spot...I think it could mean some more 4-3 this year...especially since the Pats haven't drafted a LB yet.

Nice job, Mike.

Do we want a Fan-Boy, hype-ster, moron for a GM/Coach? Of course not! We don't need a guy making our picks that is just going to pick the same names that the pundits hype. The big money names are there every year, and bust teams cap space every year, and most are overpriced. Value is the word. The NFL is not the salary-cap-free MLB, and the Pats are not the Yankees who can cover-up bad decisions with mo' money, mo' money, mo' money....

Next year potentially is an uncapped year. Pats want to have as much $$ as possible available to spend on a key player or two @ a time when they'll cost more than ever before. No reason to saddle the organization with high salaries on unproven players. Though not the only reason to trade down, for this reason, moving down (and down again) was the absolute right thing to do.

Mike,
Excellent analysis. The networks will be knocking soon. I was thinking maybe the Brace pick was taken for Carolina as part of a Peppers deal? Any thoughts. Great work.

They get the best potential 3-4 Nose Tackle in the Draft. They get the 3rd best safety, that is the most seasoned. They get the 2nd best corner. They get a planet for O Tackle. This is all on the 1st day. They clearly felt Crable and Banta Cain were better than the LB prospects available in the late first early-second range. I say a solid B+ pending the outcome of today. Need to add 2-3 additional picks for next year. They will not draft 4 3rd rounders.

Too many homers on this board. Letting Mathews or ILB Rey M. go and pick up a slow, poor coverage safety in Chung was an absolute mistake. I have watched 15 years of pretty solid drafting but this was sickening. I would rather have 3 first round guys and no other picks in any round. Instead we have a bunch of 2nd rounders (some with 3rd round talent) and 3rd rounders. Not a good day at all. Homers take off the rose coloured glasses and look what the Jets and Bills did. (Improved) Did we, NO. In Bill I trust, but calling a spade a spade is required. Grade D-

Chung = best SS out there for the Pats system, will fill Harrison's shoes nicely.

Brace = that much needed sub/back-up for Wilfork that they haven't had since Traylor left, I wouldn't read much more into it than that, the D-line has found itself hurting whenever Wilfork was out or not 100%, this should fix that flaw.

Butler = added depth and security in what was their biggest weakness last season, hopefully Hobbs can be moved down to 3rd or 4th on the depth chart by the end of the season, that would be a great sign for the Defense.

Defintely could have been better served trading up that #58 and grabbing Barwin or Kruger to add depth and talent to the OLB position, Thomas is 32 and Bruschi is 36, LB help in general was/is needed.

Mike:

Any thoughts on Lawrence Sidbury from Richmond going to the Pats?

Rob

Hi Mike,
I do not believe what this person before me said about the draft and especially about Patrick Chung. At first I was mad At Bill, another year not picking value picks but I know all the prospects, study , research them. Chung is not slow at all. He was a kick returner and ran a 4.51 forty at the combine which means if he ran at a pro-day it would have been more like 4.44. I do not like the Brace pick. Wilfork makes it clear all the time that he wants to be a Pat for life. Darius Butler? All the experts and I had him possibly being the first cornerback going in this draft.

Realist, the Jets and Bills improved because they were terrible to begin with. The Jets got a QB because they HAD to get a QB. Who, exactly will he throw the ball to once teams double Cotchery (who isn't a real #1 receiver to begin with)? The Bills had no pass rush when Schoebel went down, so they HAD to grab a guy like Maybin. They also trade away their all-pro left tackle and grab a center? Sure, they needed an upgrade, but I have a feeling Trent Edwards will spend some time on his back this season. Do you honestly think that the Pats won't still be significantly better than the Jets and Bills (and Dolphins) this season?

John Connors - see ya. Maybe the Jets or Redskins are more your flavor. You're clearly a bandwagon/Mel Kiper type fan. Good riddance.

Slow? Seriously, where do get your info? He ran a 4.54 40 - and the list of top 20 safeties shows only 2 ran under 4.5 a couple ran 4.53 and one ran 4.51 (and someone near the bottom of the list ran 4.50).

And 3 picks and that's it? We wouldn't have Brady, Koppen, Vrabel, Bruschi, Harrison, Light, Welker, Gostkowski, or any of the MANY key backups and role players. You obviously have no clue about putting together an NFL roster ot planning for the future. You wouldn't know a spade if jumped up and bit your nose.

Realist - whay is it that you know so much more thean BB and the Pats org? You do know they're the best run franchise in the NFL, right? You do know they've won 3 SB's in the last 8 yrs, right? BB and staf is the best there is in knowing which players can play in t he Pats system. Maybe we should replace BB and Caserio with you? Reality: BB and co know 100x more than you. Reality: There is SO much information and SO much going on behinf the scenes that we - and even Reis & Gasper don't know. Have some faith - at least until they start sucking and show they can't win anymore.

the Realist just showed his stupidity with that comment he made on BB and the Pats. the pats success speaks for itself so for you to question the patriots draft expertise and prep, makes you look pretty ridiculous. i read your comments and i just felt sorry for you....simply pathetic!

Smart. Trade out of this weak draft for better picks next year. I hate to see us pass by what talent there was in the first round, but this rookie salary thing is way out of hand. There has to be a rookie salary cap, and soon! I know we don't want to spend that kind of money on unproven rookies, but what's the option? Keep being cheap and passing on the best talent and watch the Patriots get worse every year?
Chung will be good. VERY good. Brace? Just what we need...another fat, slow d-lineman who will be more interested in getting to the bank than the QB. They are just letting Wilfork know they have options if he demands too much money. Should have packaged some picks in a trade and taken Orakpo. What was Mcdaniels
thinking???! Pass on Orakpo for Moreno????! Wow, that is inexplicable. Any of you geniouses notice how Pioli waited until draft day to sign Cassel so the fact that he and Belichick ripped off the Patriots might not resurface with all the draft coverage?

Hey arok, you might want to be careful who you call stupid or ridiculous....you apparently aren't even smart enough to find the "caps lock" or "shift" keys on the computer, YOU are "simply pathetic!"

This was a great draft. Pat Chung is a brilliant pick for his position. Most people had him as their #1 strong safety, and James Sanders and Meriweather are both more suited for the FS position.

IN BILL WE TRUST

I WANT JULIUS PEPPERS!!!