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Juli
2019

The Patriots may have an opportunity to land a star talent on the defensive

front if things line up."WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementPatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots 2019 NFL Draft CoveragePatriots Off-Season CoverageTop 10 Patriots Draft Fits #2: Mississippi State EDGE Montez SweatNew Womens Tedy Bruschi Jersey ,29commentsThe Patriots may have an opportunity to land a star talent on the defensive front if things line up. EDTShareTweetShareShareTop 10 Patriots Draft Fits #2: Mississippi State EDGE Montez SweatBrian Spurlock-USA TODAY SportsThe Patriots edge rusher position is about in similar shape to the DT postion. The team has veterans and rotation players manning the position, but could use an infusion of young talent at the position. The Patriots attempted to add Derek Rivers to the position two years ago, but it hasn�t worked out so far due to an ACL injury suffered in Rivers� rookie year. The team also has Keionta Davis, who saw less and less time on the field further down the season. The team could very well stick with their approach of picking up mid-round plug and play guys who had moderate ceilings as it�s worked in the past. However there is one prospect at the position that could be an intriguing add in the first round, it�s Montez Sweat from Mississippi State.Combine DataHeight: 6�6�Weight: 260Arm: 35 3/4�Hand: 10 1/2�40: 4.41225-lb Bench Reps: 21Vertical: 36�Broad Jump: 10�5�5-10-5 Shuttle: 4.293-Cone: 7.00StrengthsPrototypical size and length for the positionElite SEC productionPlug and play starterAdept hand fighterBends around the edge wellContains mobile QBs in the pocketAthletic enough to drop into coverage when askedWeaknessesReportedly has heart condition that�s given teams concernsWill need to add muscle weight to his frame to be sturdier vs. runPad level and leverage at times will be an issueWhy the Patriots Will Draft HimThe team does not need a starter at the position, but given the depth at the position of moderate ceiling players the team should not be afraid to take Sweat if he falls out of the Top 20. Sweat has ideal measurables for an edge rusher and is athletic enough to drop into coverage. From a scheme standpoint, Sweat can fit both a stand-up rusher role in a 3-4 or a hand-in-the-dirt linemen in a 4-3. The Patriots typically like to have edge guys who fit both schemes to disguise their ability to rush the QB. There is some upside in the kicking game as Sweat would be on the FG block unit, an edge blocker on FG unit (like Chandler Jones), as well as kick/punt coverage. The 4-down upside is something the Patriots should consider when thinking about a trade up or picking even at 32.Why the Patriots Will Not Draft HimSweat has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: a heart condition in which the heart is abnormally thick. The problem is not believed to be as severe as the case with Maurice Hurst went from Top 15 prospect to a 5th round pick. Some teams have taken Sweat off their draft boards, and I have zero idea if the Patriots are one of those teams. Sweat was allowed to work out at the combine vs. Hurst, who was shut down. The problem has not affected him in his Mississippi State career. The only other issue is a checkered off-the-field list from his days at Michigan State that had him kicked out of the program. The Patriots took a chance on J.C. Jackson last season, so I don�t believe that will disqualify him as a fit with New England. The other major reason is he simply won�t be available. Teams sitting in the late teens and early 20s might be salivating to draft a player of his talent and possibly execute a trade to get a player with DPOY upside. Who He Has to Beat Out: Derek Rivers, Keionta DavisRookie Year ProjectionSweat would start out 3rd in the rotation behind Michael Bennett and Deatrich Wise Jr. The Patriots would try to get him on the field on special teams and as a designated pass rusher on passing downs. Sweat�s pass rushing upside already makes him capable of being a quality contributor as a rookie on the defensive front with more upside to be had in future years. Sweat will require a bit of time in the weight room to bulk up from 260 to 270 to be sturdier on the edge vs. the run although he�s not a liability in that area either. Long Term ProjectionSweat would be the highest upside pass rusher the Patriots added since drafting Chandler Jones 21st overall in 2012. By the end of Year 2, Sweat will become the top edge rusher in the defense and the key matchup weapon against the weakness of the opposing OL. I�m curious to see if he can rush inside, not necessarily with his hand in the dirt, similar to how the Patriots utilized Dont�a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy in the Super Bowl. Against run formations and personnel, Sweat would play exclusively on the edge.Grade: 5/5 StarterRound: 1stIf Sweat makes it past the 20th pick, the Patriots have to consider a potential trade up to land a potential game-changing talent to the defense. Sweat is a player with Top 10 measurables and tape, and would otherwise be a Top 10 pick if not for the heart condition. While the Patriots are not starving for a starter, they could certainly upgrade a position that has a need 2 years down the road. The 5th year option would give the Patriots 5 years of cost control for a potential elite player. (Editor�s Note: the following is not intended to be taken seriously, at all.)L.A., come in! Great to see you again so soon. Was getting absolutely manhandled and stuffed in a locker by a class-of-the-league Boston team already within the last three months not enough for you?And now you come at us with...the Rams?THAT�S the best you can do?The entire league, and really, the entire continental United States is like GOD I�M SO SICK OF THE DIRTY SCUM CHEATER PATRIOTS WILL SOMEONE PLEASE BEAT THEM IN THE PLAYOFFS FOR ONCE.....and this is what you come up with?Actually, now that I think about it, Rams fans are probably still too busy complaining about 2001 conspiracy theories to even be nervous yet.Eric Dickerson - pictured above as that one buddy that swears up and down they were on that awesome spring break road trip with you guys, but everybody knows you graduated two years ago.Credit where credit is due, though: it�s a legitimate testament to the legendary, world-renowned trademark sleaziness of your new hometown of L.A. when Nickell Roby-Coleman�s blatant headshot against the Saints that�d make Vontaze Burfict proud is somehow the LEAST trashy thing about you.Starting right here: we were told you guys in the City of Angels love a winner? Then explain this:More people in LA watched the Patriots than the Rams in the conference championshipsWhat, did the Rams game start too early on Sunday to shake off your hangover with a $78 mimosa and avocado toast?Actually, that makes perfect sense, now that you guys probably all had to trade in all of your Miami Heat LeBron James jerseys for Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. Might as well watch the greatest dynasty in the history of the game while you�re busy tanning!The only REAL fan you guys have is Halle Berry, and even that may be a stretch.You gotta hand it to Halle, though - just by knowing what an audible is http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-lawrence-guy-jersey , she already knows more about football than probably 80% of LA and 95% of the dudes in LA.Ndamukong Suh: yup, still trashAlexa, is Ndamukong Suh still a leg-stomping cold sore in the mouth of humankind that�d break his own mother�s collarbone if it set the other team back 0.3 yards? Survey says....oh, that was a serious question? Does Chipotle still destroy your bathroom the next day? Does LeBron still make passive-aggressive Instagram stories? Does queso still make everything better? Does a studio apartment in LA still cost as much as a year at Duke?? The world would be a better place if you�d just go ahead and jump into real estate like you want to, Suh, although surely you�d find a way to stomp on someone there too.Aqib TalibActually, never mind, Aqib rules. Carry on.Your terrible owner ripped a team from a great sports townIt really, truly takes a lot for us hardy New Englanders to feel bad for St. Louis, who, not coincidentally, is another team Boston teams have historically barbecued on the biggest stage, like this........and this!....and OH! Can�t forget this!Ah, memories...this must be what it�s like to look back through your high school yearbook if you were actually popular and good at sports or something.....but good god, if there was ever a man that�s enough of a combination of Gordon Gekko, Scarface, and every bad guy from Captain Planet to make New England collectively go �Damn, even St. Louis doesn�t deserve THIS�...it�s this Bond villain right here.Jake Roth-USA TODAY SportsWell, Bond villain or associate vice president of product development at Initech, I guess.It�s already heartbreaking enough to watch your team pack up shop and move to a bigger city in a blatant cash-grab sellout, and then this soulless piece of rotting foie gras told St Louis they were too poor and they could all go cry into their saltine-cracker pizza because he didn�t need them anymore.You know what, though? Let�s let Stan tell you himself, because fairness:Got that? The man who�s worth $8.5 billion dollars and owns Arsenal in the English Premier League, the now-Los-Angeles Rams, the Colorado Avalanche, and the Denver Nuggets isn�t going to just sit there and be VICTIMIZED by *checks notes* his football team playing smack dab in the middle of downtown St. Louis in his hometown state when he could be printing even MORE money somewhere else.Robert Kraft is an absolute saint for getting through any NFL owner�s meeting without slapping this guy upside his head with a hockey stick any time he opens his mouth.You guys needed to get Brandin Cooks from us before you even sniffed the Super BowlFun fact: while Tom Brady and New England re-set the Super Bowl passing record in February 2018 mostly without Brandin Cooks, the L.A. Rams couldn�t put up more than 13 points in the playoffs last year without him.Observe!^The real miracle there is that someone somehow got 8 minutes of highlights out of that game.13 points, against basically the same Falcons defense that Tom Brady wreaked unspeakable terrors on while leading a 31-point comeback. Yikes.But hey, all your draft picks can�t be Cooper Kupps, right, so why not strike a friendly deal for a BAMF wide receiver with the team you know is basically the final boss in the AFC and very well may be the team you see in the Super Bowl *if* you somehow make it that far? What could possibly go wrong!And look at the results - Jared Goff threw for almost 1,000 yards more than he did in 2017, tossed about 70 more complete passes, his completion percentage went up almost 3% Andre Tippett Jersey , and he threw 4 more touchdowns!Now peep Brandin Cooks� numbers from this year:1,204 yards, 80 receptions, 5 touchdowns, 68.4% catch percentage.Probably just a coincidence.The Rams were *supposed* to beat the Patriots by 14 points in 2001For those of you who aren�t gamblers among us, first of all, congratulations on actually keeping all your money, and second, here�s what this means:The Greatest Show on Turf, with MVP and all-time great Kurt Warner slinging the rock and a receiving corps so loaded even your Madden Ultimate Team is like DAAAAAAAAAAAANG BRO, were supposed to beat this pathetic little bunch of dorks with a sixth-round rookie QB and a kicker that played for NFL Europe that aren�t even from a real city by two or more touchdowns.TL;DR - this game was supposed to be a BLOODBATH. A boat race. And basically a three-hour coronation for the greatest offense in NFL history! For reference purposes, in the 2013-2014 season when the Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning smashed all the records the �07 Patriots set, they were favored by 2.5 in the Super Bowl.And then you get hit in the mouth a few times, throw a few picks, and leave Tom Brady A FULL MINUTE AND 30 SECONDS on the clock in the 4th quarter, and every last Ram on that team will swear up and down that they got cheated out of a championship.To quote the immortal Sean Connery, losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and...well, you know.The Rams somehow COMPLETELY screwed up their massive treasure chest of picks from the RGIII tradeFile this one under the same category as my all-time favorite Belichick-in-a-nutshell line:Imagine, if you will: you�ve already drafted Sam Bradford at quarterback with the first overall pick and paid him the biggest rookie contract ever. Then, your abysmal 2-14 season nets you the 2nd overall pick in the 2012 draft. THEN, a team even dumber than you calls you up, basically gives you a blank check for the #2 pick and says �name your price�.Now imagine having three first-rounders and a second-rounder AND a couple other dumb teams (sup Cowboys?) just dying to trade up and let you rack up even MORE picks to build your team into a decade-long NFC powerhouse and doing...this?I legitimately am at a loss for what�s more impressive - the strikeouts, or the �even a broken clock is right twice a day� finally drafting someone good and then...trading them or just letting them go to free agency.We did get this magically delicious moment out of it, though, so, chin up, kids, there�s always that.Jared Goff is a system QBSomething we here a lot around these (frozen) parts is that a TRULY GREAT quarterback is transcendent enough that no matter what coach or offensive scheme they play in, they rise above and post rockstar season after rockstar season, leaving defense after defense sobbing and begging for mercy.Peyton Manning, they say. Great no matter where he played.Brett Favre. Same.Heck, Michael Vick did it with his arm and his wheels.(Hey, don�t get mad at us. We�re not the ones who looked at Mike Vick in 2009 like �You know what, you�re cool Womens Irving Fryar Jersey , let�s just bury the hatchet�)The Goffster, on the other hand...oh boy. Where to begin?2016: 1,089 yards, 5 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 54.6% completion percentage(To be fair, he didn�t start until November, but still. WOOF.)Sean McVay and his baller-in-2013 haircut show up: Heard you guys needed a coach?2017 Goff: 3,804 yards, 28 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 62.1% completion percentage2018 Goff: 4,688 yards, 32 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 64.9% completion percentageSorry Jared, you�re doing great and everything, but nobody will believe you are TRULY ELITE because all your fantasy-gold numbers are obviously the Sean McVay system giving you easy throws every single down that basically let you play Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl football every week, that�s how this works. Just ask the ultimate system quarterback, Tom Brady. I mean, Tom Brady hasn�t even beaten all 32 NFL teams. SMH.Last but certainly not least....GOOD GOD THAT�S GUNNER THE SAINTS FAN�S MUSIC!To try and restore some sense of balance to the Force, we enlisted the services of Gunner the Saints Fan, who�s been kicked in the dick by unfathomable last-minute shenanigans for the past two years in a row. The man made an entire pot of legit home-recipe crawfish gumbo and bought enough Airheads to feed a pee-wee soccer team, and then the universe goes and...well, you know.Take it away, Gunner!Who Dat Nation and Pats Nation, gatebreauxs for life, man. Gatebreauxs for life.Oh, and one more thing...IN-N-OUT Burger sucksOooooooooh, Animal Style!Taking the most basic fast food and putting salad dressing on it, huh? A stoner in Burlington, Vermont could figure that one out.Also, everyone else in the entire United States and most of Europe has cracked the code to at least C-minus French Fries except...for you. Do better.