Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your Tuesday. Grab your coffee and let’s get to it.
Good to be back.
We've got a lot cooking this week, but the combine will likely take center stage for the bulk of the next few days. Honestly, the really fun stuff doesn't start until the on-field workouts on Friday (which will run through the weekend), but coaches and GMs (and prospects) are scheduled to talk before that. Bill Belichick and Nick Caserio are among those who are not scheduled to address the media.
Anyway, here's this week's schedule for the on-field portion of the combine:
Friday: Running backs, offensive line, special teams
Saturday: Quarterbacks, wide receivers, tight ends
Sunday: Defensive line, linebackers
Monday: Defensive backs
Now, on with the links...
1. As we mentioned, the combine starts Tuesday and runs through the weekend. The combine is great, but it's important to remember that when it comes to under-the-radar guys, Pro Days can be even more important. I talked to two guys -- Ted Karras and Keion Crossen -- who didn't get combine invites, but made it work when it came to reaching the NFL.
2. One last plug for my weekend notebook, which leads with my conversation with Adam Butler on his offseason priorities and some thoughts on the changes on the coaching staff. There are also and includes some thoughts on two guys who were off the radar pretty much all season, as well as a few nuggets that stood out to me this past week.
3. Miguel's latest mailbag takes a look at a bunch of different topics, including the Patriots' most notable compensatory picks, the cap consequences for some potential moves, the 2020 compensatory pick values for the 2019 Patriots free agents, the cap consequences of cutting a draft pick, and much more.
4. When Mike Mayock was the lead draft analyst for NFL Media, he would hold these marathon, three-hour conference calls. With Mayock in charge of the Raiders, that job now falls to Daniel Jeremiah. Jeremiah addressed a TON of questions on Monday, including a few potential fits for the Patriots.
5. Maurice Jones-Drew has three moves for each AFC East team this offseason. For New England, he says the first priority is doing something about the pass rush. "Even though the Patriots' defense had four sacks in Super Bowl LIII, the unit tied for 30th in the league in this category during the regular season," he says. "The team should let defensive end Trey Flowers hit free agency and bring in a guy who will consistently dominate off the edge."
6. Mike Renner of Pro Football Focus looks at some PFF college favorites who made a nice transition to the NFL. Among the group? Flowers.
7. And speaking of Flowers, he's seventh on the list of top 101 free agents, according to NFL.com.
8. Jeremy Bergman of NFL.com looks at the most impactful compensatory picks of the last decade. (Before you fly into a rage about not including a certain quarterback on this list, let me remind you this is just the last 10 years.) Anyway, Elandon Roberts gets a nod among the honorable mentions.
9. Here are some of the more notable records from combine history -- there are some current and former Patriots in the top 5 all-time when it comes to the broad jump, including Jamie Collins.
10. And a last reminder about my conversation with Jermaine Wiggins that ran late last week as part of our New England roots series -- the former Pats' tight end on his time as a youth hockey stud in Eastie, the importance of the Boys & Girls Club in his development, and his memories of Bird and Magic.
Extra Point:
.@Patriots @RobGronkowski has been the most dominant TE in the @NFL for a decade there isn’t a close #2. Will the college game ever produce another complete TE like the GRONK? #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/rXItYLYGEW
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) February 25, 2019