Thursday, April 26, 2018

Patriots' Draft Night: With the 31st Pick In The 2018 Draft, The Patriots Select Running Back Sony Michel

1. Cleveland Browns: Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
2. New York Giants: Saquin Barkley, RB, Penn State
3. New York Jets: Sam Darnold, QB, USC
4. Cleveland Browns: Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State
5. Denver Broncos: Bradley Chubb, DE, North Carolina State
6. Indianapolis Colts: Quenton Nelson, G, Notre Dame
7. Buffalo Bills (From Tampa): Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming
8. Chicago Bears: Roquon Smith, LB, Georgia
9. San Francisco 49ers: Mike McGlinchy, OT, Notre Dame
10. Arizona Cardinals (From Oakland): Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA
11. Miami Dolphins: Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, Alabama
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Vita Vea, DT, Washington
13. Washington Redskins: Da'Ron Payne, DT, Alabama
14. New Orleans Saints (From Green Bay): Marcus Davenport, DE, UTSA
15: Oakland Raiders: Kolton Miller, OT, UCLA
16. Buffalo Bills (From Baltimore): Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech
17. Los Angeles Chargers: Derwin James, S, Florida State
18. Green Bay Packers (From Seattle): Jaire Alexander, CB, Louisville
19. Dallas Cowboys: Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State
20. Detroit Lions: Frank Ragnow, C, Arkansas
21. Cincinnati Bengals: Billy Price, C, Ohio State
22. Tennessee Titans (From Baltimore): Rashaan Evans, LB, Alabama
23. New England Patriots: Isaiah Wynn, OT, Georgia 6' 3", 315 pounds 
24. Carolina Panthers: D.J. Moore, WR, Maryland
25. Baltimore Ravens: Hayden Hurst, TE, South Carolina
26. Atlanta Falcons: Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama
27. Seattle Seahawks: Rashaad Penny, RB, San Diego State
28. Pittsburgh Steelers: Terrell Edmunds, S, Virginia Tech
29. Jacksonville Jaguars: Taven Bryan, DT, Florida
30. Minnesota Vikings: Mike Hughes, CB, Central Florida
31: New England Patriots: Sony Michel 5' 11", 215lbs

Surprise selection in that New England has a bucket full of runners, and he has some issues catching balls cleanly, so he may be one-dimensional.

That said, he is a no-nonsense, north-south runner with a thick lower body to power through tackles, and does his best work in zone blocking schemes. Has outstanding burst after cuts and has the body discipline to make several cuts to maintain an optimal path. Sets up his blockers well and doesn't dawdle at the line, not a dancer.  Is excellent at blitz pick up.

He has the mentality of a lead back and finishes runs by punishing the tackler, and while he didn't catch a lot of balls and had some ball security issues at times, one can't help but be wow'd by his nearly eight yards per carry average at Georgia.

Not a lot of mileage on his tires as he worked mainly as part of a committee approach in college, so he has a very high ceiling. Bottom line is that the Patriots picked up the most explosive back outside of Saquon Barkley, and he should be a good addition to the Patriots' backfield.

1 comment:

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