After Day 3 of the draft, the Dolphins added some safety depth and special teams help by picking up Kavon Frazier. But, before that, the Dolphins chatted with ex-Patriots safety Tavon Wilson about a minimum salary contract, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (on Twitter) hears. Wilson, who is presumably gunning for a better deal, declined.
With that, Frazier will fight for his place in the Dolphins’ sardine-packed safety group. Meanwhile, the 30-year-old Wilson will look for his next opportunity. Last year, Wilson made 13 starts for Detroit and registered 98 tackles, five passes defensed, two fumble recoveries, and one sack. Meanwhile, Pro Football Focus ranked him as the No. 26 safety in the entire NFL. Still, he hasn’t been able to score an offer to his liking and he hasn’t heard much, if anything, from the incumbent Lions.
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- The Jets‘ draft has drawn positive reviews from most in the football world, but ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini isn’t sure if they did enough to strengthen the cornerback position. Jets GM Joe Douglas waited until the fifth round to take a corner and, when they did, they tapped Virginia product Bryce Hall, is coming off of ankle surgery. As Hall heals up, the Jets may look to explore what’s left of the league’s free agent cornerbacks.
- Did the Patriots reach with third-round tight ends Devin Asiasi (UCLA) and Dalton Keene (Virginia Tech) in the third round? Mel Kiper Jr. and one scout that spoke with ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss say that’s the case, though Reiss notes that they were both near the top of the Pats’ TE board heading into draft weekend. On the whole, this was viewed as a soft TE class, but that was one of the Pats’ biggest needs. Of course, they’d be in a much better spot if Rob Gronkowski opted to make his return with New England. Instead, Gronk will reunite with Tom Brady in Tampa Bay.
- On draft week, the Bills picked up Tre’Davious White‘s fifth-year option, a no-brainer move that will keep him in the fold through the 2021 season.
“Of course, they’d be in a much better spot if Rob Gronkowski opted to make his return with New England”.
I doubt he could run down an old man on crutches trying to steal the teams Gatorade.
Patriots reached with a lot of their picks.
Dugger was a reach at #37 with Delpit and Winfield still there.
The kicker was a reach in the 5th; many didn’t have him ranked in the top 10 of kickers, but was first kicker taken.
Of the TEs, Keene seemed to go in the 4th/5th range while Asiasi was seen as a 5th-7th.
Sure TE was a need. Oj Howard/Cameron Brate, Njoku was probably available once Browns took Harrison Bryant.
It’s never a good sign when your draft grades have trouble matching the Jets.
Asiasi wasn’t graded as a late round pick. He was considered by some to be the third best TE behind Kmet and Trautman due to his ability to stretch the field and all around skill set.
Many are going to say a lot of the Patriots pics or reaches but we seem to hear that every year and a couple years down the line we always see majority of their pics turning out to be stars. They just seem to know what players fit best in their system I think the tight end from UCLA is going to be a star for them.
Here’s the problem: that strategy works great when you’re just supplementing a really good roster. That’s what the Pats have been doing for years. Not any more. They need top-flight talent, not projects who might/will probably be good in a couple of years. They need 4 & 5 star players, not “reach” guys. They’re not re-loading, they’re re-building. You don’t do that by over-drafting lower level “fit to the system” guys when better players are available and you certainly don’t do it with UDFAs.
I’m shocked you don’t work in an NFL front office dropping all that knowledge like that.
How much knowledge do you really need to dominate a division that contains the Bills, Jets and Dolphins? These teams always self destruct in you show some patience.
@crosseyedlemon
This comment is not going to age well. Keep on living in the recent past if that makes you feel good but don’t get upset when things change. The tide is turning in the AFC East. “Always” is an absolute and anyone who has been following the NFL for more than a few years would know not to count on anything being absolute.
I’m shocked you don’t work for a political party dropping all that sarcasm like that.
For all we know, the prospects could turn out to be special and we’ll all be proven wrong. However, the players chosen were selected way earlier than their projected landing spot and that’s indisputable. The Pats could’ve obtained the same players with better value. For instance, they could’ve used their fifth rounder on Asiasi instead of trading up in the third round
The projections and rankings you see online mean nothing. The people making the rankings get paid by the players agents to move them up boards. The scouting system most teams use was invented by BB and the Pats front office. Questioning them is a waste of time. I’m a Bills fan and I can say with clarity that counting out the Patriots now that Brady is gone is ill advised.