Bill Belichick is rarely a guy who drafts for need, but he is a cat that enjoys toying with the mice in the media and in the fan base - not to mention keeping the other teams in the league guessing as to what direction he's headed in the draft.
That alone could explain why the Dark Master once again eschewed the conventional wisdom of draft experts and the millions of fans who generate mock drafts to bring value to the New England Patriots' roster - showing once again that he knows his team better than we do, and he has a different perspective on said value.
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| Patriots' picks Wynn and Michel were college roommates |
Leading up to the draft, visits with Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson had just about everyone on the planet thinking Belichick had the exciting and elusive Jackson pegged as his quarterback of the future, but out of that smokescreen came a pair of teammates from the University of Georgia who had such good chemistry with each other that they were roommates for the past two years.
To that end, very few of the aforementioned draft experts had either offensive tackle Ike Wynn or running back Sony Michel as first round picks for the Patriots, yet upon closer examination of the two Georgia Bulldogs - and the requisite 20/20 hindsight - it becomes obvious why Belichick filled his first round grocery bag with them.
When eliminating the group think angle, the focus becomes an argument that both do fill needs. With the loss of left tackle Nate Solder to free agency, a need arose to replace him the best they could, and in drafting Wynn with the 23rd overall pick, the Patriots have given themselves some intriguing options in how to do just that.
Usually, when a kid Wynn's size is coming out of college and having played tackle at that level, he is projected as a guard in the pros - but Wynn is the exception to that rule, being described as a tackle in a guard's body - and what cannot be overlooked is the fact that as a tackle at Georgia and playing in the rough-and-tumble Southeastern Conference, he gained second-team All-American and first-team All-SEC honors as a senior.
Yet it is his versatility, coupled with the depth already on the Patriots roster, that still poses questions as to where the 6' 3", 315 pound self-described "Very lovable guy" will fit into the lineup - and he will fit into the lineup because he is too talented an athlete to have languishing on the bench.
At left tackle, New England already has last season's selection of Antonio Garcia yet to see any playing time and swing tackle LaAdrian Waddle already on the depth chart, though Garcia is a huge question mark for the 2018 season as he continues to work his way back from experiencing blood clots in his lungs - a malady that kept him off the field all of his rookie season...
...though perhaps Wynn is also an insurance policy against the slow development of left guard Joe Thuney, who was primarily responsible for much of the abuse that Quarterback Tom Brady suffered last season. Even with no professional experience on his resume, Wynn is a clear upgrade at that position - and also a viable replacement for contract year right Guard Shaq Mason, should the Patriots not be able to negotiate an extension for the rising star.
Belichick has also given us reason to think that he's reworking the offensive line, as on Friday he sent his third round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for road-grading behemoth Trent Brown, given the fact that right tackle is a bit of a question mark with former All-Pro Marcus Cannon missing most of last season with a bum ankle, not to mention that he will be 30 years old before camp starts.
Brown is just 25 years old and graded out as Pro Football Focus' fourth best pass protector on the right side last season before falling victim to a torn labrum and landing on the IR, barely missing out on the top spot, just percentage points behind the Steelers' Marcus Gilbert in pass blocking efficiency. In exchange, San Francisco also sent their fifth round selection to New England to sweeten the deal.
Considering all of that, it's no wonder Belichick placed such a premium on drafting the best lineman available for his scheme. Patriots' Director of Player Personnel Nick Casario stated after the first round on Thursday night that Wynn would be fully invested in the competition to replace Solder, but it doesn't take a genius to think that Wynn could be a star elsewhere along the line, given his power and nastiness.
But perhaps the most unforeseen position grab in the entire first round of the NFL draft was when Belichick stood firm at pick number 31 - when most assumed he would trade down for extra day 2 picks - and took Wynn's college roommate, running back Sony Michel.
There are two schools of thought on why Belichick selected Michel. First, he is a powerful and electric runner whom many have compared to either Alvin Kamara or Todd Gurley and second, he is a no-nonsense, north-south runner that is adept at identifying his cutback lanes working behind a zone blocking scheme.
While not as elusive as the man he's replacing as the team's "lead back", he possesses elite burst and acceleration through the hole and has the requisite balance and discipline to make a series of sharp cuts to free himself in the open field, as evidenced by his 3.44 yards average after initial contact, which is assuredly Lewis territory.
Though he has work to do in receiving out of the backfield - he had several drops in this first three seasons at Georgia before being virtually ignored in the pattern as a senior - he has the skill set to become a three down back due to excellent blitz pickup and blocking. And while he certainly will have an impact for the Patriots in the ground game, it goes to figure that veterans James White and Rex Burkhead will join with Michel to form what could be one of the better committee approaches in the game.
In fact, one of the more important factors that will come from Michel's presence is that both White's and Burkhead's roles should become more defined, with Burkhead a violent change of pace option to help wear down defenses, while White can be freed up to be used all over the formation as a dangerous receiving option.
So while drafting Michel should prove a boon to the Patriots backfield overall, it could spell the end for the seldom-used Mike Gillislee and pose a serious threat to the roster spot for free agent addition Jeremy Hill.
Another surprise that came out of Belichick's Thursday night's slight-of-hand act is that he didn't target any defenders, perhaps because he saw how the board was shaping up and found that much of the elite talent on that side of the ball were still going to be available when they selected in the second round.
If Belichick covets edge defenders to play in his three-plus-one front in the Big Nickel, the undersized-but-explosive Harold Landry from Boston College is still on the board., as is Georgia's Lorenzo Carter - even though the team is stacked with defensive linemen. If it's going to be a corner, there are several elite prospects on the board, with Iowa's Josh Jackson and Colorado's Isaiah Oliver the top of that group...
...and if he is looking to bolster his linebacking corps, Indiana's Tegray Scales is an instinctive "Mike" linebacker, while BYU's Fred Warner is a hybrid cover 'backer that could eventually take over the team's Big Nickel from incumbent Patrick Chung.
But don't count out the possibility that Belichick opts for more offense - and it's all but certain that he will select a quarterback of the future with one of his second round picks or with his third rounder - r he'll just say screw the entire thing and go completely off the board of conventional wisdom and blow up the middle rounds with deal after deal.
After all, with the smokescreen that Belichick fooled us all with on Thursday night, would any scenario be a surprise to anyone?
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