TMC
04-23-2008, 09:51 AM
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/football/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1088820&srvc=pats&position=2
It’s hard to imagine that the Patriots [team stats] are deeper at any position than defensive line.
Richard Seymour [stats] is a perennial All-Pro. Vince Wilfork [stats] made his first Pro Bowl last year. Ty Warren [stats]’s play has been egregiously overlooked. Jarvis Green could start for a number of other teams. Mike Wright and LeKevin Smith provide quality depth.
And yet it won’t be a surprise at all if the Pats call the name of a defensive lineman with the seventh pick in Saturday’s draft.
Why? Value.
Think back to 2001, coach Bill Belichick’s second draft. Michigan wideout David Terrell was considered the team’s natural target, a playmaker who could give Drew Bledsoe another weapon opposite Terry Glenn.
Belichick and Scott Pioli had other ideas. They set their sights on Seymour, a defensive tackle from Georgia. The position didn’t seem to be an overwhelming need for the 5-11 Pats, particularly if they re-signed free agent Chad Eaton.
But Belichick and Pioli weren’t merely looking at 2001 - though Seymour would immediately establish himself as a star. They took the long view and realized that down the road, Seymour would provide the most value for the sixth pick.
And that’s how they view their first rounders in general, as Belichick explained during a predraft press conference last week.
“What really means something is a year or two down the road, whether the player you’ve taken can do what you selected them to do,” Belichick said. “And if he can then that’s a good pick and if he can’t then it really isn’t.”
The Patriots face an interesting situation in the not-too-distant future. Both Seymour and Wilfork have contracts that expire after the 2009 season. Seymour will be 30, and if the Patriots let him reach free agency, he may go the way of Adam Vinatieri, Ty Law and Asante Samuel [stats].
Wilfork is the most important player on the defense, and the Pats will do everything in their power to extend him before he becomes a free agent. Yet if he hits the market, then he could become the highest-paid defensive lineman in the game.
With such uncertainty surrounding two of their best players on such an important unit, the Pats could very easily be tempted to ignore needs like linebacker and cornerback and instead jump on a defensive lineman like USC’s Sedrick Ellis.
An athletic beast at the point of attack, Ellis is considered a legit NFL nose tackle with the potential to play in the 3-4. He could serve as an understudy for the next two years and then be ready to step in should Seymour or Wilfork depart.
“I’m pretty comfortable with (the 3-4),” Ellis said. “Coach (Pete) Carroll has implemented a 3-4 scheme in the last two years into our defense, which was mainly a 4-3. I’ve been playing a lot of zero technique, playing the two-gap system, and I was actually pretty good at it.”
The 6-foot, 309-pounder plays with exceptional strength and is about 15 pounds away from being a prototypical nose.
“Teams need tackles and tackles aren’t something you can make from a different position,” Ellis said. “We’re kind of born. Not everybody has the body type.”
Should the Pats trade down or go in a different direction at No. 7, the odds of them landing an impact defensive lineman obviously take a big hit.
One name to watch for late is Wisconsin’s Nick Hayden, a hard worker projected to go at the end of the draft.
Dorsey and Ellis are two defensive players that I think can excel in any scheme. In a 4-3, they play DT....in a 3-4, they could play any DL slot because they both have strength and are explosive gap shooting players.
It’s hard to imagine that the Patriots [team stats] are deeper at any position than defensive line.
Richard Seymour [stats] is a perennial All-Pro. Vince Wilfork [stats] made his first Pro Bowl last year. Ty Warren [stats]’s play has been egregiously overlooked. Jarvis Green could start for a number of other teams. Mike Wright and LeKevin Smith provide quality depth.
And yet it won’t be a surprise at all if the Pats call the name of a defensive lineman with the seventh pick in Saturday’s draft.
Why? Value.
Think back to 2001, coach Bill Belichick’s second draft. Michigan wideout David Terrell was considered the team’s natural target, a playmaker who could give Drew Bledsoe another weapon opposite Terry Glenn.
Belichick and Scott Pioli had other ideas. They set their sights on Seymour, a defensive tackle from Georgia. The position didn’t seem to be an overwhelming need for the 5-11 Pats, particularly if they re-signed free agent Chad Eaton.
But Belichick and Pioli weren’t merely looking at 2001 - though Seymour would immediately establish himself as a star. They took the long view and realized that down the road, Seymour would provide the most value for the sixth pick.
And that’s how they view their first rounders in general, as Belichick explained during a predraft press conference last week.
“What really means something is a year or two down the road, whether the player you’ve taken can do what you selected them to do,” Belichick said. “And if he can then that’s a good pick and if he can’t then it really isn’t.”
The Patriots face an interesting situation in the not-too-distant future. Both Seymour and Wilfork have contracts that expire after the 2009 season. Seymour will be 30, and if the Patriots let him reach free agency, he may go the way of Adam Vinatieri, Ty Law and Asante Samuel [stats].
Wilfork is the most important player on the defense, and the Pats will do everything in their power to extend him before he becomes a free agent. Yet if he hits the market, then he could become the highest-paid defensive lineman in the game.
With such uncertainty surrounding two of their best players on such an important unit, the Pats could very easily be tempted to ignore needs like linebacker and cornerback and instead jump on a defensive lineman like USC’s Sedrick Ellis.
An athletic beast at the point of attack, Ellis is considered a legit NFL nose tackle with the potential to play in the 3-4. He could serve as an understudy for the next two years and then be ready to step in should Seymour or Wilfork depart.
“I’m pretty comfortable with (the 3-4),” Ellis said. “Coach (Pete) Carroll has implemented a 3-4 scheme in the last two years into our defense, which was mainly a 4-3. I’ve been playing a lot of zero technique, playing the two-gap system, and I was actually pretty good at it.”
The 6-foot, 309-pounder plays with exceptional strength and is about 15 pounds away from being a prototypical nose.
“Teams need tackles and tackles aren’t something you can make from a different position,” Ellis said. “We’re kind of born. Not everybody has the body type.”
Should the Pats trade down or go in a different direction at No. 7, the odds of them landing an impact defensive lineman obviously take a big hit.
One name to watch for late is Wisconsin’s Nick Hayden, a hard worker projected to go at the end of the draft.
Dorsey and Ellis are two defensive players that I think can excel in any scheme. In a 4-3, they play DT....in a 3-4, they could play any DL slot because they both have strength and are explosive gap shooting players.