I could see either wide receiver being a bust, ultimately. There's a bust factor there. Even taking aside the wide receiver position in general being so prone to busts, there's a bust factor unique to each player. Each prospect contains the instrument of his own potential downfall. Much as I like them, I think the three tackles in the draft are safer, especially Lane Johnson. He won't make it to 12 but he's a safe pick and if Jake Long picks the Rams then it scares the Jesus out of me what could happen if Jon Martin doesn't grow out of his "Big Weirdo" body and he has to protect Ryan Tannehill's blind side. I was as high on the pick as anyone when we made it. It's just a simple fact we lost games because of that guy. He scares me. Aside from the tackles I'm very confident in both Bjoern Werner and Tank Carradine. Both will be excellent NFL players.
You know, I am more of a defense type of guy, but for once...I would be VERY excited if we picked up T.Austin. The thought of him and the players we already have...you all know that dumb BB look has when he is made to look stupid; we would see that aplenty imo. The secondary in NE would have their hands full. There is something to be said for what adding him would do to defenses: Wallace draws a safety to cover the long ball; Austin torches you underneath like Welker has done to us for years. Bring safety down to help with Austin and Wallace torches you deep. Again, BB would have his hands full for years and I would be loving every second of it. Not trying to hype him up, but the way he cuts, turns on the gears, and switches the ball in his hand (smart ball player) has me giddy. There is something to be said for taking risks though. The best minds of business did so, some GMs have done so, and they all have reaped benefits from time to time in doing so. I believe we have positioned ourselves to be able to trade back up into the late first round and take Austin. Draft Star Lotulelei once he drops at #12 to replace Soliai or augment the rotation or both. If not Star, then Warmack, Johnson, or Joeckel (doubt he drops).
I just don't agree that Patterson is as dynamic as Austin. I also don't see near as much development in his route running. I also see better and more consistent hands on Austin. IMO you have to hope Patterson develops while Austin is not a risk there. The risk with Austin is that his size will make him more of an injury risk, but I don't see that as a concern given his build. The other concern is that he's limited to the slot, but I see that as exactly the complement you want for Wallace and Hartline.
I see more in the way of translatable NFL perimeter wide receiver routes in Patterson's one year at Tennessee than Austin's slot work in West Virginia.
And I see more of a positive effect early on with Austin taking into account our current personnel. Analysts can blast "slot receivers" all they want about not making as much money, but case in point is Percy Harvin's effect last year prior to the injury and the recent trade. It is a double-edged sword as I mentioned the injury; NFL players are prideful, someone making them look silly will not sit well. From what I have seen, Austin is more polished as a receiver than Percy Harvin, but that is debatable of course. He went out deep on a few routes and is seemingly capable of running the full route tree. Not to mention he is faster; if you put stock in 40s..
if by dynamic you mean faster, quicker, more agile...then yes, i would agree with you, then again, why would he be? Patterson's half a foot taller and like 40 lbs heavier dude so technically, pound for pound, Patterson is the better athlete. and Brian freaking Hartline should not keep you from drafting a guy this electric and special with the ball in his hands at that size. Hartline could be cut in 2 years because his limitations push him down to the 3rd or 4th option in the passing game, to which at that point we would overpaying him bigtime.
so then who's gonna help us move the chains more consistently? The positional opening/need is in the slot, so fill that opening with a special talent and don't screw around. No need to overthink it.
A few weeks ago I would have wanted OL or DE at 12....but the more I think about it, the more I want us to go WR or TE early...I'd be okay with a trade back for Eifert and a 2nd round WR, or something line/defensive there. The fact is - we've seen a ton of teams getting by with semi liable OLs, and we've seen a ton of games end up in shootouts at the end of a 4th quarter. I want to be in that position. When was the last time you saw a solid OL with bad playmakers do much? You can argue Ravens and SF all day - but they still had playmakers on both sides of the ball. We're still missing that. Its all about value - you can get value lineman and corners in FA and mid rounds of the draft, but elite talent is rare. I want to see us keep grabbing guys that give us big play ability. Eifert, Austin, Patterson - whatever. Just get one of them and build after that. I dont care if its a reach or a trade back or whatever...just hope some stars align for us on draft day.
That's a scary couple of sentences... Especially since I really don't think Bess is worth keeping around beyond this year. My hope is we drafted someone to be his successor. Ideally, Bailey in round 2-3. Maybe Swope if he gets recommended by Sherman. Let whoever it is, get his rookie year out of the way without really putting pressure on him to be an impact player now. And if Hartline/Wallace don't really fulfill their end of the(ir) deals, we'd have some guys ready to go. I forgot where I read it (somewhere on here) about the organization not being happy Bess didn't play hurt. What do you make of that? Heard anything different?
I wonder if they envision Gibson as being a better red zone receiver than the other 3? IMO, in another year or so, Matthews will be a better version of the same type of receiver Gibson is. Can't say the thought of signing him thrills me as much as addressing some of our other needs would.
Gibson is meh. Patterson, Wallace, Hartline and Bess... Oh my god. That's such a tremendous group of diversified receivers. Then again I'm to Patterson what Phinsational/Mr Clean is to Austin so I'm biased.
Tavon..quicker, faster, better agility and balance, unequaled vision, better hands.. I guess I'll sacrifice the inches and weight..
You know patterson has great measurables but when he played against good teams he was invisible.That scares me.
I just voted on my phone, thick thumbs and small screen resulted in a vote for Austin instead of Patterson! Although, to be honest, I wouldn't be too disappointed if we did pick Austin.
Austin, to me, is that guy that every team that didn't draft him before he's drafted will regret for about a decade. I'd rather be the team that simply enjoys his production, rather than be envious.
I don't care about height and weight at all on these guys. To me, if their athleticism is about equal, then who is the most consistent and proven? Austin. We're talking about the 12th pick. You go with the guy that has shown he can do what he does consistently.
Good debate here. If I had to pick just one of those it would be Tavon Patterson lol. Personally I would go with Xavier Rhodes or Bjoern Werner and then trade up for one of those 2 if they fall to the late 1st or Keenan Allen.
IMO either one would be a great addition. Although Patterson has great elusiveness for his size, I don't see it nearly to the degree that Austin has. Austin's speed and ability to make defenders miss is unique to my eyes. Right now Austin is my favorite first round pick but I wouldn't cry if Patterson was taken instead.
Both have bust potential but I would rather take my chances on Austin.I believe Patterson is one of those players who have all the measurables but who will be slow to develop and maybe even bust.
I don't think I have seen a board more down on a player that hasn't even been signed yet than in the kid Gibson. There is a part me of me that hopes they sign him and he goes off in Dolphin land. Really goes off.
If, by some miracle both are available when we pick, I'd go with Patterson...the main reason for that is while both are physically amazing in what they can do, Patterson is the one that may be able to play inside or outside... Austin looks to me to be strictly a slot guy. Perhaps if the get Patterson, we've got our replacement for Wallace in two years and we've "developed out own" instead of having to go big in FA....Part of Philbin's overall planning...
I am a Georgia graduate and a SEC homer, and he (Patterson) kind of disappeared in the big games. He did not have a great game against Georgia. There is no doubt he is gifted, and I would not pout if he were drafted. I just have this vision of what Austin can do. CK may be right and Miami may not sign either. But if Miami goes defense in the first, you can still get nice offensive pieces in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. However, we will see. If believe what folks have been saying about the time Jeff has put in at West Va. you have believe he had his eye on Mr. Austin.
Merr? Preeeettty sure he tore Georgia up on that ridonkulous touchdown run, which was actually supposed to be an option pass but he decided the guy he was going to throw to was covered and he just created something immense out of absolutely nothing. Rarely seen anything like it. Had a pretty big drop on a vertical, but the drop did more to scare Georgia than anything else because he was wide open and it became obvious Branden Smith couldn't be trusted to cover him. They switched Sanders Commings onto him. He still got open against him. He should have had another touchdown pass in the end zone but Bray (surprise, surprise) sailed the ball. And on another touchdown the Vols scored with a dumpoff to the back underneath the defense specifically because Cordarrelle drew three defenders to him.
Cordarrelle Patterson had a 5 game stretch were he caught 10 balls for 127 yards. That scares me. He was pretty productive running in those games 13 carries for 157, but really 10 catches in 5 games. By comparison Tavon Austin had 8 games with 10 or more catches.
I personally do not see Miami making a big offer for Brandon Gibson or outbidding someone else for his services. I keep coming back to Jeff Darlington's comments where he stated that he has heard some of the preliminary draft talk out of Miami, and if they do what he's hearing, it will be wild. To me, drafting a Jonathan Cooper or a Sheldon Richardson isn't a wild move. To me, that can mean two things. 1. This is the first thing that jumped out at me when he said it. My thinking was that he's heard of their interest in Tavon Austin, and it would definitely be wild to add him to Mike Wallace. That's some serious speed. I thought of Austin because of Miami's known interest in him, but that could also be Cordarrelle Patterson. To me though, the way the dots are connecting with Tavon, it is very similar to 2009 with Percy Harvin. Had Harvin been available, the Dolphins would have taken him. Heck, they flew him into Miami the night before the draft just to have one more meeting with him. With Austin, the team has scouted him personally at least three times with Jeff Ireland personally attending at least one of those meetings. Now, he's coming to Miami for a private workout. All of this interest has been there knowing that the team was going to make a major push to sign Mike Wallace, so I definitely think Austin is in play. 2. The other thing I though of was Tyler Eifert at that pick. To me, that isn't as wild a concept as adding Tavon Austin to the mix, but Tyler does have impressive physical skills for a tight end to add to the mix. Plus, you've got Nick Buoniconti(sp) banging his drum for Miami to draft Eifert. I have to admit though, I'd be very intrigued with getting Eifert in round 1 and coming back in 2 and getting Ryan Swope. That would be a good haul there, but with Eifert, Hartline, and Swope, the receiving corps may be too white for some folks.
After attending West Virginia's Pro Day on Thursday, ESPN's Ron Jaworski predicted WR Tavon Austin will be a top-15 pick. "This guy is absolutely lightning quick," said Jaws. "He's one of the quickest guys I've ever seen and I've been around the game since 1973. This guy just accelerates when he gets the football and, although he's a little bit diminutive, I think this guy's gonna go in the top 15." Carolina would be an intriguing landing spot at No. 14. New Panthers GM Dave Gettleman -- a former Giants exec -- could see some Victor Cruz in the versatile Austin. I generally like Jaws assessments because I know he watches film for miles.
