TPS

The new rankings reminded me of a comment I wanted to make about Mock1, I was surprised RB Jaylen Wright wasn't picked. Someone will covet that speed at the position. I was considering him at 68 for the Pats because of the run on WRs. Ps. Not that I put much stock in his Mocks, but Reuter has a new 5-round mock out and he as the Bills taking my guy Tez Walker at 60.

Ok, give me Miami then. Might as well take another hated AFCE team.

@Virgil I'll let someone get in who missed out on 1, but if you get to a point where you're struggling to fill the last spot or two, then go ahead and put me in to fill it.

He might fall down the board a bit, but that's the kind of things the Bills shy away from. No chance now.

With the 68th pick in the 2024 TSW Mock Draft, the 6-time Super Bowl Champion** New England Patriots select Tez Walker, WR North Carolina. While the WR carcass has nearly been picked to the bone, with the Patriots WR room being such a mess, so they take a flyer on the flyer Walker (4.36 combine 40). Two years ago they took another speedster Ty Thornton, but the thin-framed track star has been injury prone. Walker is a somewhat under the radar prospect as he spent the first two years at Kent State before transferring to NC and did not become eligible until the fifth game of the season, yet he was 12 yards shy of leading the team in yards, averaging 17 ypc, and lead the team in TD receptions with 7. [If you haven't seen his highlights, I'd suggest checking them out.] The Patriots end the TSW draft with their QB of the future, his blind-side protector, and a WR prospect who could blossom into a WR1. We're satisfied with the outcome. The Chargers of LA and @BigdaddyinOrlando are on the clock. ** Kudos to Darth @Mark Vader for suggesting the asterisks to indicate this questionable statistic.

I wouldn't call this a ringing endorsement of your argument given it took a miracle reception by David Tyree to upset the Patriots and ruin their almost perfect season.

Yes, but the difference between us is you are a very serious evaluator, and my method is ad hoc. I wish I could remember the assessment I relied on, but he said something similar, go by the tape, not the measurements (I seem to recall he flat out bombed the combine, yes?). Since I only look at a few highlights for players I'm interested in, I didn't have the steadfast belief that someone like you would have. I think my picks followed the rankings more closely after that first pick. 😅

It might even be longer than that? That's one of the few things I remember from these drafts, so checking the year he was drafted tells me that was 2018. I certainly don't remember if 2018 was the first draft I participated in?

Btw @Virgil, your "running of the draft" goes back to at least 2018 because my current pick reminds me of my R1 pick in that draft. Can't remember what team I as picking for, but it was late in R1 and they needed a lot of OL help. Despite the consensus on him, I selected Orlando Brown Jr in R1. I certainly got panned by a few participants, but he turned out to be a pro bowl player. Just shows you drafting is as much a crap shoot as it is good evaluation. For me it's the former, not the latter.

With the 34th pick in the 2024 NFL draft, the 6-time Super Bowl Champion (I hope you hate reading this as much as I hate typing it) New England Patriots select: Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma. @gonzo1105 and the Arizona Cardinals are on the clock. Having taken their QB of the future in R1, the Patriots are extremely happy find Guyton available to protect McCarthy's blind side. The Patriots are much higher than most teams on the athletic but raw Guyton and would've considered jumping the Ravens had trades been an option. With former Bill Conor McDermott currently slated in as the starting LT, we expect Guyton to learn the" Patriot Way" quickly and will transition him into the starter's role over the course of the season.

It's not the cap that did him in. He gambled on Watkins and (eventually) lost. For Many reasons of course. That said, I'd be more supportive of a move like this with last year's roster vs the current one, which is in the middle of a rolling reboot. I could be convinced to get behind your move though. There's more than one way to get to the big dance.

When folks suggest giving up significant 2025 draft capital for a WR, one name comes to mind, Doug Whaley...

It seems to be clear cut. Unless you're expecting a batch of mail-in votes....? 😁

Yeah, he was already trying to wheel and deal, offered me a boatload for #3!

Yeah, sorry about that. I thought for sure it would start this morning. Good thing I checked before going to bed...

With the 3rd pick in the 2024 NFL draft, the 6-time Super Bowl champions select J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan. @gonzo1105 and the Arizona Cardinals are on the clock. While most expect the Patriots to select the LSU QB, Eliot Wolf seeks to have lightning strike twice from the same college with another Michigan QB.

Patriots, Jax, or anywhere you need to fill in.

You did state that you could see the Bills moving up or back here, and I think that is more likely than Beane picking a WR who is a borderline R1/2 talent over a top 15 talent. Again, this is just based on your scenario.

Given @GunnerBill’s scenario here, I think Beane would take Newton, because he sticks to his board, not decisions about possible playing time. Newton is a top half talent and Mitchell a (very) back half one. if the Bills are truly set on picking a WR, then I would think the optimal decision is to trade back if Newton is there.

So, you would've passed on Aaron Donald?

Thanks for clarifying. I think Badol provided an answer right after your post too. There aren't a lot of Ted Washington's in the league anymore, so the C doesn't have to be as physically dominant anymore, though I imagine that a C who has all attributes is ideal in order of importance--intelligence, agility to pull and/or get to the second level, and strength to take on a bull rush solo.

To be specific. Do you mean physically strong or do you mean agile? I imagine LTs have to be more agile than strong to deal with speed rushers, and I imagine RTs need a little more physical strength to deal with strong-side DEs. The ideal C I think would be physically strong, agile, and intelligent.

I'm not sure what you mean by "physically easiest"? Centers have to deal with the biggest, strongest dudes on the DL, the 1-techs (yes, they often get help). I remember reading an article where Bill Parcells talked about bringing in Kevin Mawae specifically because he needed someone who could physically match up with Ted Washington.

About time Beane got off his a$$. It's been a boring few days.

They desperately need another body or two.