Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your Friday. Grab your coffee and let’s get to it.
I know you have to take the list of pre-draft visits with a grain of salt -- when it comes to the Patriots, it's always a challenge to figure out which ones are legit and which might be smokescreens. But at this point, it's easier to list the high-level pass catchers (both receivers and tight ends) who are in this draft who haven't visited with New England than those who have.
Another group reportedly came through Thursday, one that included one-half of Iowa's dynamic tight end combo, Noah Fant. When you hear the stories of the players they've been in on throughout the offseason in free agency (from Adam Humphries to Sterling Shepard -- more on him in a second) and the pre-draft process, this is clearly a team that knows it needs more depth at receiver and tight end. Either that, or they've dedicated more time the last couple of months to crafting the most elaborate offseason smokescreen in franchise history. In the end, while the trade market remains a viable option for New England, the Patriots' apparent interest in so many pass catchers simply adds another layer of intrigue for draft weekend.
Now, on with the links...
1. Had some fun doing this story -- while I was waiting for a call-back on Thursday, I wrote this on Tom Brady as a high-school baseball talent. F.P. Santangelo chaperoned him for a day at the ballpark after Brady was drafted by the Expos, and Santangelo (and some other Expos) basically told him to forget the bus leagues and stick to football.
2. Gil Brandt of NFL.com looks at some receiver fits when it comes to the draft -- among them, Ohio State receiver Parris Campbell. Brandt thinks Campbell would work in Foxborough. "The catch-everything prospect is Bill Belichick's type of guy," Brandt says.
3. Baylor wide receiver Jalen Hurd had a pre-draft visit with the Patriots on Thursday. The 6-foot-5, 226-pounder showed a flair for versatility in his college career, having played running back and receiver. Last year, he led the Bears in receiving with 69 catches for 946 yards and four touchdowns.
4. Hurd wasn't the only visitor, per reports. New England also hosted tight end Noah Fant (Iowa), wide receiver A.J. Brown (Ole Miss) and wide receiver Deebo Samuel (South Carolina). The 6-foot-4, 249-pound Fant had 39 caches for 519 yards and seven TDs last year. As for Brown, he's 6-foot and 226 pounds, and had 85 catches, 1,320 yards and six TDs in 2018. And Samuel is 5-foot-11 and 214 pounds, and had 62 receptions, 882 yards and 11 TDs last year with USC.
5. The Patriots were interested in Shepard before he recently signed an extension with the Giants, according to the New York Daily News.
6. Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report has a look at the top pre-draft questions for each team. For the Patriots: How do they go about replacing Rob Gronkowski? "The organization doesn't need to replace Gronkowski, per se," he writes, "but it does need to find a mismatch or two in the passing game."
7. Mike Mayock agrees with Bill Belichick when it comes to all trade value charts being roughly the same. “I think I saw Coach Belichick quoted the other day about them, they’re all within points of being the same thing," he said. "If you’re on the clock and you’ve got two minutes left and somebody’s calling about a trade, unless it’s for an existing NFL player, you’ve got to have a way to see what a benchmark is quickly. And I think all teams are using these trade charts that are very, very similar.”
8. We discussed a few buy-low draft possibilities for the Patriots the other day, and it sounds like one of them -- Marquise Brown -- has made progress medically. Meanwhile two others (Jeffery Simmons and Bryce Love) are still question marks, at least at this point. A group worth keeping an eye on.
9. Jets signed Ty Montgomery. Always struck me as a Patriots' type of player (other than that botched kick return last year with the Packers, I mean) in that he can do a few different things
10. Tim Tebow was in Pawtucket Thursday night, and talked a little about his brief stint with the Patriots six years ago. "I have so much respect for Tom (Brady) -- he was so nice to me when I was there," Tebow said. "I feel like we had a friendship going in, and we still do."
Extra Point:
As we get set for the draft in Nashville later this month... with all the talk about who’s going where in the 1st round...remember this: 13 of the 22 starters on the Pats Suoer Bowl winning team were drafted in the 4th round or later. It’s about all 3 days
— trey wingo (@wingoz) April 11, 2019