Would a running back like Doug Martin be your nightmare pick for the Patriots? (Photo: ICON SMI)
NEPD Editor: James Christensen
It is 11pm eastern on April 26th, the first night of the 2012 NFL Draft. Roger Goodell approaches the podium. “With the 27th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots select…”
Your friends and family barely have time to react to the pick before the sound of your shoe crushing the now black screen of your dying television.
Your eyes flicker open and you realize it was all just a nightmare.
What prospect in the 2012 NFL Draft would cause such a reaction for you?
According to NEPD writer Mike Loyko, his nightmare pick would be “…any offensive lineman. Any pick other than a defender in the first round is ignorant. They picked Solder in the first round last year and have three or four Pro Bowl caliber offensive lineman on the roster with some young players in ths mix. The defense has such obvious holes that spending a first round pick on OL would be a nightmare.”
Doug Kyed chose Syracuse DE/OLB Chandler Jones. ” I’ve seen Jones mocked a few times to the Patriots, and I don’t see a fit. Jones doesn’t have the flexibility or drop back ability to play OLB and he doesn’t have the size or growth potential to eventually play 5-tech without a lot of work. Jones plays very upright, and every movement he makes seems forced. The technique issues could be fixed, but I can’t see his change of direction or lateral quickness being fixed to the point that he could stand up in the Patriots system. If he were drafted, he would be purely a rotational third down 7-tech.
My nightmare pick would be Rueben Randle. I’m not sure he can run the precise routes necessary to build trust and rapport with Tom Brady. He has all the physical tools, but then so did Chad Jackson.
