New England Patriots: May in review
As we wind down the month of May, let’s take a look back on the events that transpired in New England Patriots that we journaled here at Musket Fire.
- The 2016 NFL Draft spanned the end of April and the beginning of May. Bill Belichick commented on his picks and we gave you those excerpts.
- Not everyone enjoyed watching the draft. See why our very own David Smith boycotted the event.
- After the draft, the Patriots signed a slew of undrafted rookies and over the course of the month we forecasted each prospect’s future with the Patriots: Woodrow Hamilton, C.J. Johnson, Steven Scheu, Cre’Von LeBlanc, Jonathan Jones, D.J. Foster, V’Angelo Bentley and Devin Lucien.
- After the dust settled, it was time for analysis on the Patriots’ 2016 rookie class. We evaluated roster chances of every Patriots draft pick and handed out grades for every selection. Of course, Cyrus Jones was at the center of the conversation, so we listed five things you should know about the Alabama product and provided his full college highlight reel. Jacoby Brissett also drew analysis from our very own Andre Menice.
- Soon after a draft in which the Patriots addressed cornerback and linebacker, the Patriots released Rashaan Melvin and James Vaughters.
- Danny Amendola restructured his contract, leading us to note three ripple effects of the deal and to reassess the wide receiver depth chart.
- The lull after the draft prompted David Smith to project roster cuts, and then this guy followed suit by listing 12 Patriots veterans in added danger of being cut in training camp.
- As May entered double digits, the Patriots smartly traded Jon Bostic and Devin McCourty was placed into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni.
- My co-editor Cyrus Geller called Julian Edelman being ranked the No. 87 best player in the NFL “the dumbest thing of all time”.
- Midway through the month, Rob Gronkowski earned the Madden NFL 17 cover and Joe Cardona was cleared by the Navy to play football in 2016.
- Hal Bent dished out some great analysis, pointing out that recent drafts are key to the Patriots’ success in 2016.
- Boredom was passed by listing all 61 colleges represented on Patriots roster.
- We began a weekly discussion series… here is Musket Fire Thursday Roundtable 5/19 and Musket Fire Thursday Roundtable 5/26 in case you missed them.
- As Deflategate reared its ugly head again, David Smith asserted that the Ravens are cheaters and should be treated as so.
- Cyrus Geller noticed that Martellus Bennett took the beginning of OTAs by storm, and Yours Truly listed five developing storylines during OTAs.
- At the tail end of the month, we brought you 30 roster locks and the 10 best names on the 90-man roster.
We here at Musket Fire hope you enjoyed our Patriots content in the month of May, and we look forward to bringing your further fresh points of analysis in June as Week 1 inches ever closer.