The Last Of The Patriots Draft Picks Of 2022

Sam Roberts defensive lineman northwest Missouri state 6'4" 293 pounds. Played in only 50 games (2017-2021) 1 interception. 184 tackles and 18.5 sacks. 

The Good

Hybrid End - Tackle. Plays at good level. Has good hands and footwork. Three down player with special teams upside. Required double teams.

The Bad

Injury History. Division II player. Combine snub. Below average strength and athletism to have a true position. 

No draft round or comparisons found.

Chasen Hines Interior Offensive Linemen LSU 6'3" 327 pounds. Played over 1500 snaps in 34 games

The Good:

Build with physical traits. Can play guard or center. Strong finisher with pass blocking and pulling abilities.

The Bad:

Everything. Needs Development every where.

His NFL Comparisons was Montrae Holland and he was projected to go in round 6th.

Andrew Stueber tackle Michigan 6'7" 325 pounds. Played 1580 snaps in 30 games

The Good:

Height and length. Acceleration, Hands, and Strength. Pass blocking is a plus. Right tackle who has experience at right guard. Screen blocker.

The Bad:

Build, run blocking, and footwork. Plays stiff, not a zone blocker. Inconsistent Anchoring. Needs development but has potential. Questions on if he has the ability to play left tackle.

His comparison is Cameron Fleming and his projected draft round was the 6th.

Kevin Harris Scouting Report

Kevin Harris Running Back South Carolina 5'10" 221 pounds. Started 16 of 28 games (2019-2021). Averaged 5.52 yards on 358 carries with 23 touchdowns. Rushed for 57 first downs. Had 17 first downs on 36 catches. Targeted 49 times. Only 1 fumble iver career but had 7 drops.

The Good:

Size built and runs like a true power back.

Hard to tackle. True north and south runner.

Ball security, doesn't fumble. Can run in multiple schemes. Isn't going to get cute or fancy, just run full speed at the hole.

The Bad:

Slow accelerator will take a second to hit top speed. Previous Back injuries. Change of direction ability is bad. Needs to do a better job of avoiding unnecessary contact. Limited route tree with sub par receiving ability. Drops may become an issue at the next level. Doesn't have home run speed. Should be a short yardage back at the next level.

NFL Comparison is Carlos Hyde and he projected as a mid day three guy.

Pierre Strong Scouting Report

Pierre Strong Running Back SDSU 5'11" 207 pounds. Started 34 of 48 games (2018-2021). Had a 7.15 average on 631 carries with 40 touchdowns. 62 receptions for 581 yards and 3 touchdowns. A 25.4 yard average on 5 kickoff returns. Went 9 for 9 as a passer for 208 yards and 6 touchdowns.

The Good:

Home run speed with second gear, runs a 4.37.

One cut back who can run to the outside. Fights for extra yards and isn't afraid of contact. Evasive running style, using his eyes to make up for lack of agility. Zone scheme runner with experience as a wild cat quarterback with above average accuracy. Committee back with three down potential can block and catch. Has a route tree. Some returner experience. 

The Bad:

Needs to learn to lower his center of gravity. He is not going to bull through tacklers. Nor going to break a lot of tackles. Not an instinctive hole finder and is inconsistent block reading. Inconsistent running north and south. Needs some development as a pass catcher. Taller running style may lead to fumbles.

Strong's NFL Comparisons are Tevin Coleman and Elijah Mitchell. He was projected to go in round 4 with a few projecting that he could slip into the end of round 3.

Bailey Zappe Draft Profile

Bailey Zappe quarterback Westen Kentucky 6'1" 215 pounds. Started 50 of 51 games (2017-2021). Completed 61.6 of his 2163 attempts for 15953 yards, with 140 touchdowns and 50 interceptions. Sack total unknown. 292 carries for a 1 yard average with 6 touchdowns. 1 catch for 21 yards. 2 fumbles in 2021.

The good:

Depending on who's report you look at, Zappe is either a field general or a game manager. He's extremely intelligent and makes reads both pretty and post snap. He has a good pocket presence and awareness and moves like a chess piece in the pocket. He has impeccable accuracy especially on the deep ball and throws a catchable ball with a tight spiral. He's able to fool and move defenders to get guys open. And while he's not a running back, he can move and will go get a fee yards if given a lane.

The Bad:

Arm strength is not the strongest. Throwing under pressure gets sloppy with mechanics. Lacks of DI experience and only 1 year of elite DI production. Is only 6'1" and for some reason after Drew Brees's career, being under 6'4" is still an issue. Occasionally high risk throw that will lead to a turnover but otherwise pretty secure with the ball.

His NFL comparisons are Chase Dainels, Case Keenum, Tim Rattay, and Chad Pennington. He was projected to go in the 4th. His biggest knock is that he played in D2 for a few years and is a sleeper. The good thing is one of his comps is Chad Pennington who was also a comp for Mac Jones.

Jack Jones Scouting Report

Jack Jones corner Arizona State 5'11" 170 pounds. Started 23 of 52 games (2016-2022), spent a year in the portal. 10 interceptions, 26 passes defended, 145 tackles, 1 sack, 5 forced fumbles, 1 recovery. 6 Kickoff returns for a 12.67 yard average. 7.10 yard average on 10 punt returns.

The Good:

Ball skills knows where it's at and attacks it

Play speed only runs a 4.5 but stays within the play and on his target. Intelligence can diagnose plays well. Awareness knows what's going on and when to make adjustments. Good Press man coverage and above average zone coverage ability. Physicality bullies receivers down field. Hips and agility, can stay with receivers in their breaks, isn't going to get lost. Vertical Jump, can go up and swat those high balls. Versatility, can be shuffled around the secondary.

The Bad:

Undersized being under six foor and well below weight. Aggressiveness, he tries to jump balls too often and can surrender the big play. Grabby when he gets beat. Eyes lock into the backfield too often. 50-50 balls are not one enough. He's got that jumping ability but surrenders too many catches. Block shredding is not there. He tries to tackle runners but he cannot get off receivers to get to the backs.

There were some that said if on talent alone, he was a first round pick. The question is what about him made him fall? He did have some off field issues but I think it was more to the fact that he never fully played up to his five star prospect ability in college. He's still developmental and that's why he fell.

He was an early to mid day three projection depending on the board. And his NFL comparisons are Chris Harris and Darney Holmes. To the Patriots fans saying they just got the next J.C. Jackson, media members are saying he's closer to Butler's ability than Jackson. The Patriots needed to get corner one and corner two and they got corner two. Malcolm Butler will be corner one in 2022 but they still need a corner one. In that aspect, they got their J.C. Jackson role replacement.

A Slim Possibility is Still A Possibility.

The college interpersonal speech communication course teaches that people tend to deal in garentees and impossiblilities. The course trains people to open their mind. To look for other possibilities. And to understand that just because somethings improbable doesn't mean it's improbable. People win the lottery all the time with odds of like a million in 1 chance. That brings me to Bill Belichick.

Bill Belichick said he believed that Cole Strange would not be available at pick 54. And people are calling bullshit and saying that Patriots general Bill Belichick did what he wanted and took the guy he wanted. Belichick does have a history of making decisions that fans initially disagreed without a second thought and has a history of surrounding himself with yes men. So can we say with certainty that what happened when it came to their draft pick, or are there other possibilities?

Well first majority of the people that are upset with the selection are claiming that everyone had Strange as a 3rd or forth rounder. However, that is fraudulent. For proof, I turn to the USA Today.

Natilie Miller of USA Today projected Strange as "an early day 2 (2nd round) pick."

So much for the arguement that everyone had Strange as a 3rd round pick or later. I could share more but one quote is all I need.

Now Belichick said he believed that Strange would not be there at 54. We also know that teams put out feelers to get information. Can we guarantee that no other team was interested in Strange and that no one was willing to take him before pick 54? The answer no, we can not guarantee that. 

Is there any reason to think a team might view Strange as an early second round pick? USA Today and Pride of Detroit sports writer Erik Schlitt may have something to say on it.

Erik Schlitt wrote the following after the combine workout, "The only question surrounding him is: do teams think he is ready to start now? If they think he is, he could also go earlier than expected."

Again, I could go on but one is enough. So I have shown there were people who viewed Strange as a second round pick and people who thought he was worth taking earlier than projected. If people had him as a late second round pick, I moved it up just now to a possible early second. But was he that much better than the guards taken after him.

Uriel Klien of Belly up Sports wrote, "I think he deserves consideration even in the top half of the 1st round, even if he won’t be drafted until Day 2."

And Tyler Sullivan of CBS ranked Strange an 84.31 and said "He should be a long term starter," comparing him to Mark Glowinski.

So we have Klien being suggested as a possible first round consideration and being labeled a long term starter by Sullivan. That's all I need to show that he was better then the next guard.

Now one more thing we know is that Belichick views and treats later first round draft picks as a second round. Dean Blundell Network's Ray Rauth during his draft party on Thursday said the same exact thing. 

So now that I have shown that Strange was not only considered a second round draft pick but was also said that he should be considered to be taken in the first. And that he should be taken early if a team thinks he'll start immediately. I also have someone saying Bill treats that pick like a second round pick. What is the big deal for Bill Belichick to take the guy where he did, especially if he had first round consideration?

And to the question of did Bill Belichick take the guy he wanted regardless of what people thought, with everything I have laid out, in this case the only reason one would have an issue over which prospect with first round consideration was taken is because of personal bias. Furthermore, Bill passed on some of those prospects multiple times, meaning the Patriots didn't view those guys as high as everyone else. 

Marcus Jones draft profile

Marcus Jones defensive back Houston 5'8" 185 pounds.

Started 28 of 43 games (2017-2021). Had 154 tackles, 31 passes defended and 10 interceptions with a touchdown. Hr had 4 carries for 9 yards. Caught 15 of 16 targets with 4 first downs and a touchdown. 28.42 average on 73 kickoff returns with 6 touchdowns. Averaged 14.21 on 62 punt returns with 3 touchdowns. Fumbled 6 times only recovering 4 of back. Forced one fumble and recovered one fumble.

The Good:

Jones is a versatile defensive back who should play the slot but can play anywhere in the secondary. True defensive coverage back, is good in both zone and man. Quick, fast, and agile with smooth hips. Ballhawk, Intelligent and aware for his position. Plays bigger than his size. Does a good job with his hands for the at attacking the ball. Good tackler who's not afraid to take on bigger bodies. Can play all three phases and has the desired hands of a slot or possession receiver. Is a good red zone defender and excells in nickle and dime packages.

The Bad:

Jones can be occasionally grabby. Although he plays bigger, he needs to get more physical. He needs to improve tackling technique. Undersized and occasionally struggles against bigger pass catchers over 6'1". Small wing span could be a problem against taller receivers. Not A block shredder and will need his blitzes schemed and the path to the runner cleared. Has a history of fumbling as a returner. Overthinker, needs to trust instincts more. Coming off shoulder surgery after this past season. Is 24 years old.

I had Jones as the 16th best corner fit for the Patriots. A projected mid day three guy, who most agree would be a a top 50 pick if he was a few inches taller. His NFL comparisons are D.J. Reed, Devin Hester, Darney Holmes, and Gunner Olszewski. Jones may end up being a depth piece but if he can get his fumbles under control should be the favorite to be the team's long term Return man for the next few years.

Tyquan Thornton Scouting Report

Tyquan Thornton receiver Baylor 6'2" 180 pounds.

Started 32 of 47 games (2018-2021). Caught 143 of 210 targets (68% catch rate) for 2242 yards with 77 first downs and 19 touchdowns. Has thrown 1 career pass that went for a touchdown. Has 3 career rushes for -9 yards. 15.86 average on 7 kickoff returns. 

The good:

X receiver (deep ball guy) for a spread offense that can play the deep slot. He's fast with a second gear, ran a 4.28 at the combine. Has a large catch radius and capable of making jump ball catches. Limited Route that he excells in. Run blocking is comparable to N'keal Harry's. Does a good job getting seperation on deeper routes. It's a track meet after the catch once. Gunner and coverage team ability along with kickoff return man abilities.

The bad:

Undersized for an X receiver. Has small hands for a receiver. Not quick enough to run underneath routes or for the quick game. Gets knocked off routes easy. Hips allows defenders to catch up when changing angles or making turns. Not a contested catch guy with a past history of drops. Struggles with ball control in traffic. Is too worried about taking hits and getting injured. Struggles when a safety is put over the top. 

He will need schemed touches in the short passing game. Is better suited ability wise to play the Z and will need development at the next level to get there. Projected as a number three or four receiver. Struggles versus man coverage and allows corners to play him and not having to worry about focusing on the ball. Average intelligence for thr position. Knack of using his chest and pads to catch the ball too often. Runs a 7.25 three cone, slow for a Patriots receiver.

Was expected to be a mid day three developmental pick. Who has been compared to Robbie Anderson, Ashley Lelie, Tijuana Underwood, Mike Wallace and John Ross.

Pipe Down If You're Not A Professional Scout Working For An NFL Team, When It Comes To Cole Strange And How The Patriots Scouted Him.

People forget that draft boards are different. They forget that people scouts have different things they look for. They forget that people have biases that effect how they see things. While there are some boards that had Cole Strange as a day two pick, some boards had him as a day three pick. However, those who had him going on day two could not agree as to where on day two. 

A quick Google search gave me eight writers, who thought he was a day two pick including people who work for CBS, USA Today, and Patspalpit. Someone who makes a living off writing for sports wrote that it was possible for Strange to go in round one but everyone thought he was drafted too high right? Not according to Uriel Klien. 

Uriel Klien wrote, "I think he deserves consideration even in the top half of the 1st round, even if he won’t be drafted until Day 2."

So why did I bring this up? Because people are knocking what Bill Belichick had to say. Bill got asked if Strange would've been his pick at 21 if they had not traded down. 

Belichick replied, “Probably a good chance it would have been him. Glad Cole was there when we picked and I feel like we made the best decision that we could at 21.”

Of course because of Strange being from a smaller school people had the small school biases against Strange, keeping him as a late day two to a mid day three prospect. So someone asked Bill if he really thought Strange would not of been there when the Patriots picked at 54 (And I am sure there were some who would've said saturday night if allowed).

Belichick replied, “He wouldn’t have lasted much longer.”

The rest of Belichick's interview after day one was a bunch of walking in circles. 

I'm going to share one top 200 board from April 5th done on the Draft Network's website. This is just to show that not every board is the same. Remember, Cole Strange is at least a day three pick according to many, so keep an eye out for him. Also look to see if anyone else is missing.

Receivers

Tackles

Edge Rushers

Corners

Quarterbacks (only 2? Where's Willis and Pickett?)

Tight Ends

Interior Defensive Line

Interior Offensive Linemen

Running Back

Linebackers

Safeties and 6 Long Snappers (last six)

Punter

This board has only two quarterbacks and they're not Pickett or Strong. It has Wan'Dale Robinson, Justyn Ross, and Romeo Doubs ahead of Skyy Moore. It had Roger McCreary as the third best corner in the draft. And it didn't even have Cole Strange listed as a prospect. And I can assure you it wasn't because he's not good but instead because the person who made the board never heard of Strange until last night.

The point of this is not everyone's boards are the same. A friend of mine had Booth better than McCreary. Another thought Booth was light years ahead of Elam. When Buffalo picked Elam over Booth, I was like good pick and got told it was a "reach." Why? Personal bias and if that's what they think, it's fine.

The comments from almost everyone over that pick are insane. Why are people upset that Cole Strange went at 29? Personal bias. People as a group made up their minds that their rankings were correct, looked for people who agreed with them and used those people as vindication for their reactions. The funny thing is the same people are bitching about Belichick being surrounded by yes men. Now, I'm not trying to call out my friends but Pats nation and the media because of all the toxicity.

Hell, I remember watching some of the mock drafts and people including Evan Lazar (when looking at fan boards) didn't want to look at other mock draft sites due to how they ranked players. Idk how many times I heard people say other draft simulators don't rank people correctly. What they were really saying is, "they don't place the same value on guys as I do, so they're wrong and I'm right. So I'm not using them" People surrounded themselves with mock drafts that were "yes men". The Patriots don't care about consensus picks, they rarely do.

Here is a mock draft from the simulator almost everyone was relying on (PFF) because it was the most realistic according to pretty much everyone.

When this simulators trade system got called out as broken or unrealistic. Locked on Patriots supported the trade part of the simulator claiming there was truth to its trade system due to it's algorithm and inferring that the trades were realistic. Nothing in the mock draft above was forced, so if this mock draft was possible it had to be less than a 1% chance. I mean it has the league giving Belichick 11 top 100 picks and all the Pats basically did was trade down from 21.

If people want they can come up with reasons why it makes sense for the Patriots to draft Strange at 29. Here's a few:

1) He was mis-scouted by those outside of the team and is that good.

2) The Patriots are planning to run an spread zone scheme RPOs 

3) Ball control offense - The longer the Patriots have the ball, the less time Josh Allen has to hurt them.

I am sure people can come up with more. Now let's run off the he was mis-scouted. Let's say he's as good as Zion Johnson, Kenyon Green, or Tyler Lindenbaum, would people be upset if one of those three were drafted at 29? It was a question I heard last night, If you wouldn't be upset about one of those guys, then there's no reason to be upset about Cole Strange going at 29.

The Best Defense Is A Good Offense

Josh Allen, Josh Allen, Josh Allen... A guard isn't going to stop Josh Allen. Cole Strange doesn't make the Patriots any better. Bill's losing it. Ever heard of "the best defense is a good offense?" That old quote works both ways before someone says I have it backwards.

At first I thought this selection was because of the last five picks basically being second round picks. Someone did ask Bill if he thought Strange wouldn't be there in the second and Bill said "yes." Bill could've probably traded down a few spots but people would probably be just as outraged.

Mario from hashtag sports will tell you that if a team that runs the E.P. offense only gets three yards on a play, that's probably by design. The Patriots run an E.P. system. We also know Belichick likes to play ball control offense. With Strange it seems like they're going back to a spread offense using the RPO to achieve their death by 1,000 paper cuts. Regardless if it's a run or pass causing the cut.

How much time can the Patriots run off the clock if they run double digit play drives? Eight minutes? Ten minutes? Twelve minutes or more? How effective is Josh Allen and the Bills offense gone be if they're getting fewer positions because the Patriots are playing slow methodical football? How bad does it hurt their rhythm if they're barely on the field?

I heard the past few weeks how Parker was a number one. How good Bourne was. How good Meyers is and how good Agholor will be in year two. I've heard about how good Henry, Harris, and Stevenson are. And I've heard White is back. So after spending weeks praising this offense, especially after the Parker trade, Don't start telling me now that y'all been full of shit about the offense the past few weeks.

So unless people been lying about what the Patriots have on offense, there's no reason the Patriots cannot play ball control offense and keep their own defense off the field. I get that when Allen finally gets the ball that they have to stop him but the Patriots still have a large amount of draft picks to use. So they can still get better.

Let's be real about the Strange pick. Y'all wanted a lambo and daddy Belichick went out and got you a Volvo wagon (Strange) and it's not something you can show off to your friends. However, you're not gonna be as reckless with your Volvo and it should last you longer because of. And let's face it most lambos are built for show and not performance. Meaning one of those names that was available at 29 that everyone wanted, may have been as productive as N'keal Harry. 

We spent so much time talking about how good Harry was going to be but when it came go time, Harry has basically been there to say he's been there. Y'all know it's true. We got a little more out of Chase Winovich but still, he was just another flashy toy that was worthless after his rookie season. Y'all know what I'm saying. Just be thankful Goodell let the Patriots have a first round pick.