The Third Act.

[Soapy]

Patriots go with defense in first round, select Auburn's McCreary
The New England Patriots have selected cornerback Roger McCreary out of Auburn University with the 26th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.

McCreary, listed at six-feet tall and 190 pounds, impressed many at the combine with his 4.35 40-yard dash which he improved on at his pro day, getting his time down to 4.31 seconds.

A feisty cornerback who won’t back down from a battle, McCreary possesses great hip fluidity and good change of direction to stick with receivers at the top of routes. He has experience in press, off man, cover two and deep thirds which should ease his transition into New England's versatile and ever changing defense.

New England hasn't had much success drafting corners with a long list of selections that haven't panned out including Joejuan Williams and Duke Dawson.

2022 NFL Draft Selections
1. NYJ ‣ S Kyle Hamilton, Notre Dame
2. HOU ‣ DE Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan
3. DET ‣ DE Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon
4. CAR ‣ LT Evan Neal, Alabama
5. PHI ‣ DT Demarvin Leal, Texas A&M
6. NYG ‣ CB Derek Stingley Jr, LSU
7. NYG ‣ G Kenyon Green, Texas A&M
8. PHI ‣ WR Drake London, USC
9. PHI ‣ CB Andrew Booth Jr, Clemson
10. JAX ‣ WR Garrett Wilson, Ohio State
11. HOU ‣ T Nicholas Petit-Frere, Ohio State
12. MIN ‣ CB Kair Elam, Florida
13. WAS ‣ WR Treylon Burks, Arkansas
14. NYJ ‣ CB Ahmad Gardner, Cincinnati
15. DEN ‣ WR Chris Olave, Ohio State
16. CIN ‣ OLB Drake Johnson, USC
17. PIT ‣ QB Matt Corral, Ole Miss
18. CLE ‣ WR Jahan Dotson, Penn State
19. ATL ‣ QB Malik Willis, Liberty
20. KC ‣ HB Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M
21. BUF ‣ WR Justyn Ross, Clemson
22. TEN ‣ C Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa
23. DAL ‣ LT Rasheed Walker, Penn State
24. DET ‣ DT Jordan Davis, Georgia
25. NO ‣ QB Sam Howell, North Carolina
26. NE ‣ CB Roger McCreary, Auburn
27. TB ‣ QB Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati
28. BAL ‣ DE Kingsley Enagbare, South Carolina
29. ARI ‣ LT Sean Rhyan, UCLA
30. LAC ‣ G Ikem Ekwonu, N.C. State
31. GB ‣ DE George Karlaftis, Purdue
32. LV ‣ QB Carson Strong, Nevada

[djp73]

How much scouting did you miss out on by starting mid season?

[Soapy]

How much scouting did you miss out on by starting mid season?

do you wanna hear a secret?

I did the start today feature which is when you play a game from that week's schedule from the quick play screen and after the game, get the option to continue as a franchise. This forces you to do a cloud franchise and be a head coach which was fine or whatever, I didn't feel like starting from week 1 and doing the "force win" for every game to catch up.

Get to the off-season and realize, similar to Baze back in his Falcons chise a few years ago, I have no owner funds to buy any players so then i started a regular chise (offline mode) as an owner and simulated with the force win feature to get the same draft order/playoff results.

As far as scouting, it's definitely an adjustment as i was getting used to the new scouting feature (should have a ran a mock chise on the PS5) and most of my scouts were tier 1 so almost all positions, at best, have just 55 percent scouted so kind of drafting in the dark here, we'll see how it goes.

[Soapy]

Miami Hurricanes WR Charleston Rambo selected by Patriots in 2nd round
The New England Patriots have selected wide receiver Charleston Rambo out of the University of Miami with the 58th overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Rambo spent his first three seasons at the University of Oklahoma before transferring to Miami for his redshirt junior season, where he led the team in all major receiving categories. An explosive athlete that tested well at the NFL Combine (4.37 40-yd dash), Rambo averaged over fifteen yards per reception throughout his college football career and will be a down the field threat that the team hasn't had since Brandin Cooks.

Nelson Agholor was signed to be that last season and while he had his moments, he never quite developed that deep ball connection with quarterback Mac Jones and with his release this offseason, that role is wide open for Rambo to potentially fill.

At six-foot-one and 175 pounds, Rambo is slight of frame which might limit his role, especially in a New England offense that prioritizes running the football and asks a lot of its receiver in blocking duties. There's also been issues with drops, which he improved on at Miami but could still be a long term concern.

2022 NFL Draft Selections
1. NYJ ‣ OLB Nik Bonito, Oklahoma
2. HOU ‣ CB Trent McDuffie, Washington
3. DET ‣ WR Wan'dale Robinson, Kentucky
4. CAR ‣ RT Charles Cross, Mississippi State
5. PHI ‣ C Jarrett Patterson, Notre Dame
6. NYG ‣ LB Christian Harris, Alabama
7. CHI ‣ OLB Adam Anderson, Georgia
8. HOU ‣ LT Jaxson Kirkland, Washington
9. IND ‣ WR Zay Flowers, Boston College
10. JAX ‣ OLB Brenton Cox Jr, Florida
11. SF ‣ TE Charlie Kolar, Iowa State
12. MIN ‣ OLB Brandon Smith, Penn State
13. WAS ‣ OLB Owen Pappoe, Auburn
14. SEA ‣ G Emil Ekiyor Jr, Alabama
15. DEN ‣ RT Daniel Faalele, Minnesota
16. CIN ‣ LB Nakobe Dean, Georgia
17. PIT ‣ DE Zach Harrison, Ohio State
18. CLE ‣ LB Devin Lloyd, Utah
19. ATL ‣ CB Mykael Wright, Oregon
20. KC ‣ WR John Metchie III, Alabama
21. BUF ‣ S Daxton Hill, Michigan
22. ATL ‣ LT Trevor Penning, Northern Iowa
23. DAL ‣ OLB Nolan Smith, Georgia
24. LAR ‣ LT Zion Nelson, Miami
25. NO ‣ HB Breece Hall, Iowa State
26. NE ‣ WR Charleston Rambo, Miami
27. TB ‣ CB Derion Kendrick, Georgia
28. BAL ‣ CB Josh Jobe, Alabama
29. ARI ‣ DE Boye Mafe, Minnesota
30. LAC ‣ S Jalen Catalon, Arkansas
31. GB ‣ DE Zachary Carter, Florida
32. LV ‣ G Darian Kinnard, Kentucky

[Captain Canada]

I'm fuckin with the Charleston Rambo pick so much I'm willing to forget that horrid analytics playoff game.

[Soapy]

Patriots go back on defense with third selection, drafting Western Kentucky OLB DeAngelo Malone
The New England Patriots have selected outside linebacker DeAngelo Malone out of Western Kentucky University with the 90th overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.

It wouldn't be an NFL Draft without Bill Belichick and New England selecting an obscure player. Standing at 6’4″, 240 pounds, Malone’s size immediately stands out. He has an extremely long, lean frame that offers plenty of reach. His natural length serves as an exceptional conduit for artificial power generation, and his thin, compact frame makes him incredibly slippery as a rusher.

Malone possesses good mobility in addition to his length. He shows solid explosiveness off the line, and his long strides can cover ground with impressive quickness. His pursuit speed, when playing at maximum pace, is stellar. He has impressive range as well. He can chase down quarterbacks with ease, and he’s also a threat to bat down passes. Going further, Malone flashes suddenness and twitch when moving laterally. He has some natural cornering ability, and he can change directions well for his size. There are some flashes of uncanny fluidity when changing directions in space, and Malone also has the lateral mobility to manipulate rushing leverage with inside-outside moves.

Many did not expect Malone to go this early in the draft so it remains to be seen if New England found a gem or reached.

2022 NFL Draft Third Round Selections
1. NYJ ‣ S Jordan Battle, Ohio State
2. HOU ‣ S Lewis Cine, Georgia
3. DET ‣ TE Isaiah Likely, Coastal Carolina
4. CAR ‣ OLB Sam Williams, Ole Miss
5. PHI ‣ DE Jermaine Johnson III, Florida State
6. NYG ‣ G Cade Mays, Tennessee
7. CHI ‣ CB Tiawan Mullen, Indiana
8. HOU ‣ QB Kevon Slovis, USC
9. IND ‣ OLB Demarvion Overshown, Texas
10. JAX ‣ TE Jalen Wydermyer, Texas A&M
11. SF ‣ CB Tre'vius Hodges-Tomlinson, TCU
12. MIN ‣ HB Zamir White, Georgia
13. WAS ‣ HB Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State
14. SEA ‣ LT Myron Cunningham, Arkansas
15. DEN ‣ DT D.J. Dale, Alabama
16. CIN ‣ CB Martin Emerson, Mississippi State
17. PIT ‣ CB Jermaine Waller, Virginia Tech
18. CLE ‣ S Demani Richardson, Texas A&M
19. ATL ‣ WR Reggie Roberson Jr, SMU
20. KC ‣ DT Perrion Winfrey, Oklahoma
21. BUF ‣ LT Thayer Munford, Ohio State
22. TEN ‣ HB Tyler Goodson, Iowa
23. DAL ‣ WR Jalen Tolbert, South Alabama
24. LAR ‣ LT Zion Johnson, Boston College
25. NO ‣ WR David Bell, Purdue
26. NE ‣ OLB DeAngelo Malone, Western Kentucky
27. TB ‣ WR Ainias Smith, Texas A&M
28. BAL ‣ S Kolby Harvell-Peel, Oklahoma State
29. ARI ‣ DT Devonte Wyatt, Georgia
30. LAC ‣ OLB Will McDonald IV, Iowa State
31. GB ‣ OLB Jack Sanborn, Wisconsin
32. LV ‣ TE Cade Otton, Washington

[Soapy]

Patriots select Utah OL Nick Ford with fourth round pick
The New England Patriots have selected offensive linemen Nick Ford out of the University of Utah with the 122nd overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.

A better than expected athlete, Ford has the versatility to play at either tackle or inside at guard although he projects to be more of a right tackle at the next level. He struggled with penalties at time last season playing left tackle for Utes due to his hand placement.

He'll need to get a lot more experience and seasoning under his belt before becoming an NFL left tackle and his lack of physicality will likely prevent him from being a starting caliber interior linemen at the next level. This is a project for New England and one they wish former OL coach Dante Scarnecchia was around to help oversee.

[Soapy]

Patriots end draft with four selections in final two rounds, three in seventh round
With four picks in the final two rounds of the NFL Draft, New England selected Boise State offensive tackle John Ojukwu, SMU tight end Grant Calcaterra, Miami quarterback D'Eriq King and Texas A&M safety Leon O'Neal Jr.

The most notable of the selections were Calcaterra and King with Calcaterra having stepped away from football in 2019 due to a high number of concussions before transferring from Oklahoma and unretiring to play for the Mustangs this past season.

King is another product of the transfer portal that's also dealt with injuries. After being a star quarterback for the Houston Cougars, King transferred to Miami where he led the Hurricanes to an eight-win season before a knee injury in the bowl game affected his redshirt super senior season which was again cut short due to additional injuries, particularly a shoulder injury.

It remains to be seen if King, who worked out at both running back and receiver for teams, ends up making a positional switch in New England.

[Captain Canada]

You couldn't help the D'Eriq King pick, could you?

[James]

That QB class was ass.