Did the Patriots have the best rookie class in the league?
Over the past week or so we put out pieces reviewing all of the Patriots rookies this season.
It was kind of a unique year for the Patriots, with so many young players playing such key roles. The Patriots had four rookies in starting roles at different points this season. It's not only impressive that they were able to pull this off and still get to the AFC Championship, but also encouraging for next year. Theoretically these young players will get better in their sophomore year. Of course, some might get worse (a la Devin McCourty). That's definitely something to watch with Alfonzo Dennard. Much of the criticism of the Patriots was that their secondary players seemed to play worse as time went on.
Anyway, here's the round up of all our reviews
Chandler Jones comes from a family of serious athletes. Of the three boys in his family, Chandler is the youngest, and I cannot imagine his two older brothers babied him... Mine sure did not baby me. Adding onto the already aggressive nature of older brothers, Chandler had a....(more)
While the Patriots 2012/13 season ended in extreme disappointment, corner back Alfonzo Dennard's emergence as a capable starting corner back was perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the year. Especially considering he was selected in the...(more)
Bolden went undrafted, despite being rated as "worth a 4th round pick" on nfl.com. He fell out of the draft presumably due to his character issues, having previously been suspended in...(more)
Patriot’s fans, including myself, were giddy when the Patriots traded up to draft linebacker Dont’a Hightower with the 25th pick in the NFL draft. Hightower was considered one of the premier linebackers and defensive players of his class. Hightower had a tremendous four year run under...(more)
Justin Francis was a stand-out pass rusher at Rutgers throughout his college career. He went undrafted but was picked up as a free agent by the Patriots for the 2012 season.
Francis proved to be a pleasant surprise, and played a vital role filling in when Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich went down with injuries. The 6'2", 270 pound defensive end saw his first action in...(more)
As the second round of this past year's draft moved into the second round, I was hoping the Pat's would take troubled corner Janoris Jenkins, who was grabbed with the 39th pick by the Rams. Eight picks later, the Patriots selected relatively unheard of safety/corner Tavon Wilson. Wilson had showed up on almost...(more)
It was kind of a unique year for the Patriots, with so many young players playing such key roles. The Patriots had four rookies in starting roles at different points this season. It's not only impressive that they were able to pull this off and still get to the AFC Championship, but also encouraging for next year. Theoretically these young players will get better in their sophomore year. Of course, some might get worse (a la Devin McCourty). That's definitely something to watch with Alfonzo Dennard. Much of the criticism of the Patriots was that their secondary players seemed to play worse as time went on.
Anyway, here's the round up of all our reviews
Chandler Jones comes from a family of serious athletes. Of the three boys in his family, Chandler is the youngest, and I cannot imagine his two older brothers babied him... Mine sure did not baby me. Adding onto the already aggressive nature of older brothers, Chandler had a....(more)
While the Patriots 2012/13 season ended in extreme disappointment, corner back Alfonzo Dennard's emergence as a capable starting corner back was perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the year. Especially considering he was selected in the...(more)
Bolden went undrafted, despite being rated as "worth a 4th round pick" on nfl.com. He fell out of the draft presumably due to his character issues, having previously been suspended in...(more)
Patriot’s fans, including myself, were giddy when the Patriots traded up to draft linebacker Dont’a Hightower with the 25th pick in the NFL draft. Hightower was considered one of the premier linebackers and defensive players of his class. Hightower had a tremendous four year run under...(more)
Justin Francis was a stand-out pass rusher at Rutgers throughout his college career. He went undrafted but was picked up as a free agent by the Patriots for the 2012 season.
Francis proved to be a pleasant surprise, and played a vital role filling in when Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich went down with injuries. The 6'2", 270 pound defensive end saw his first action in...(more)
As the second round of this past year's draft moved into the second round, I was hoping the Pat's would take troubled corner Janoris Jenkins, who was grabbed with the 39th pick by the Rams. Eight picks later, the Patriots selected relatively unheard of safety/corner Tavon Wilson. Wilson had showed up on almost...(more)
