The second pick was actually 1 of four extra's they recieved from when Adam went to the colts, so they lost nothing on that one. Looks like they signed Welker for under 1.7 mill a season, which is a good replacment for Troy/Branch. I say this is a good pickup for them, because we all know how effective Branch was. Branch is now in Seattle making 6.5 million a year.This kid has comparable stats to him, with the added ability to return kicks. So in reality, they used a second rounder, and they are paying this kid 1.7 million a year. But, they gained a first rounder by letting Branch walk. Branch is also making big bucks.They replaced Branch for a fraction of what they would have had to pay him, and got a 1st round draft pick. Which can be traded down into several picks. The thing about Welker is he has comparable stats to Branch in an awful system, with a awful qb. We saw what Brady turned Gaffney and Caldwell into. He makes guys better. With the versatility to return kicks, Welker also takes the heat of maroney and hobbs ( who was injured on a kick return last season) With the yearly salery cap inflation, this was a good pickup for that system. Typical guy the pats look for. High moter, versitile, good hands and explosive. Just a good football player. A lot of upside in this kid in that system. Stallworth wants a one year deal to prove himself with the pats? Looks like a good pick up. Missed 4 games last year but played in all sixteen the previous two years. With the inflation of the cap every year this was a good pickup. The homers will talk, but this was a nice grab. Patriots could suddenly be rich in receivers By Adam Schefter NFL Analyst Adam Schefter's "Around the League" reports and commentaries can be seen regularly on NFL Total Access. (March 5, 2007) -- To the relief of quarterback Tom Brady and the rest of Patriot Nation, New England signed one wide receiver and could soon add another. After trading 2007 second- and seventh-round draft choices to Miami for wide receiver Wes Welker and signing him to a five-year, $18.1 million contract that included $9 million in guaranteed money, the Patriots were scheduled to host a visit with Philadelphia free-agent wide receiver Donte' Stallworth. The Dolphins and the Patriots avoided a feud over Wes Welker. Around the league, there are questions about Stallworth's character. But Stallworth is willing to take a one-year deal with New England, the team he would love to play for if he doesn't return to Philadelphia, to prove his value to the Patriots and around the league. Stallworth recently talked about how much the Patriots appealed to him, and now New England is giving him a chance to say the same thing to its coaches and front office. Stallworth still might also return to Philadelphia. But his decision is expected shortly. As for Welker, the key to completing a trade between the Patriots and Dolphins was the work of their owners, New England's Robert Kraft and Miami's Wayne Huizenga. Kraft stepped in, not wanting his organization to engage in any type of public battle for Welker's services. The Patriots were poised to sign Welker to a seven-year, $38.5 million contract that contained a "poison pill" that said if the wide receiver played four games in Florida, his contract would become fully guaranteed. Knowing the feud that developed last year between Minnesota and Seattle over free-agent guard Steve Hutchinson, Kraft helped engineer the trade with Huizenga. The Patriots would have had to give up the second-round pick to sign Welker anyway; the seventh-round pick was added partly as a goodwill gesture, and mostly to avoid any protracted hearing between the two sides. Now New England has Welker, it could have Stallworth, and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has at least one weapon he needed.
I think this Welker pick up is redundant. His numbers aren't comparable to Deion Branch. Branch played two fewer games in a system he had no prior experience in and still outgained Welker(five games with Seneca Wallace, who was only marginally better than Joey Harrington). Welker is best compared to Reche Caldwell, who also outperformed him. Is Caldwell going to get a similar contract now? Meanwhile, Jabar Gaffney showed excellent rapport with Brady in the playoffs. Picking up Stallworth on a one year deal is a no brainer. Stallworth gives the Pats a dimension that is missing from their offense. Welker does not. He's a classic 65 catch 800 yard guy, which is something they already have. You don't pay a premium because a guy can return kicks. The Pats would have been better served spending that 2nd rounder on their aging defense up the gut. -X-
