12 picks
#22, 44jax, 47ten, 53, 119, 190, 205comp, 229, 231phi/den/no, 247comp, 248comp, 250comp
Rush Linebacker
The Patriots had the ninth lowest sack total in the NFL. More alarming, out of those 31 a good chunk of them (14 1/2) came from a pair of guys who spent 2008 playing for the dreadful Bay Area teams. Tully Banta-Cain, in his second tour of duty after two seasons with the 49ers, registered 5 of his 9 1/2 sacks in two games against Buffalo's horrific offensive line. Derrick Burgess, who was acquired via trade from Oakland and is now an unrestricted free agent, was not able to regain his form from 2005-2006 when he registered 27 sacks. Of the 5 he finished with this year, 3 came over the final four weeks and he had no multiple sack games. Don't even get me started on Adalius Thomas. They did retain TBC, locking him up for 3 years, but their only other move has been poaching Marques Murrell from the rival Jets. By the way, he was benched midseason. Also of note, tendered (no compensation) free agent Pierre Woods showed nothing last year to warrant future starter consideration. At any rate, the "defensive genius" label is wearing thin for the guy in the hooded sweatshirt, especially post-Spygate. Dean Pees is out as defensive coordinator and will not be replaced. Maybe Shawn Crable will exit the witness protection program and give them a boost. Stranger things have happened. If they don't find someone who can get in the quarterback's face this defense is going to be a mess and third place in the AFC East is a serious possibility.
Wide Receiver
It took a while, but the real Randy Moss finally reared his ugly head. I'm not sure what he expects to get paid as a 34 (when his deal is up) year old player at the receiver position. For him to mouth off about money at this point showed his true colors although in his defense I was surprised he didn't melt down when Brady missed the 2008 season. Any way you cut it, this is just about it for him. Coupled with freakish slot receiver Wes Welker coming off a brutal knee injury, suddenly the team misses Jabar Gaffney. I mean, Sam Aiken starting? Are you kidding me? Julian Edelman went wild in two games (Jets week 2, Texans week 17) and suddenly everyone thinks he is Welker's clone. Maybe he is, but he sure wasn't the answer in their blowout playoff loss to the Ravens. They will get last year's third round pick Brandon Tate back from injury. That's not nearly enough. Unless they're resting on signing old faithful David Patten, who was out of football last year, I would say this position gets serious attention in the draft. Let's just hope for something better than Chad Jackson.
Tight End
The position took a big hit in free agency with the loss of Watson (Browns) and Baker (Seahawks). Savvy veteran Crumpler (Titans) fills the blocking role at this point of his career, unless he has a renaissance as a receiving threat. Seriously though, they will use a premium pick on someone who can catch and considering the condition of their receiving corps Brady will be smiling when the pick is called in.
Running Back
Their backfield is like a retirement home. The Redskins have nothing on these old men. Kevin Faulk signed on for two more years. What in the world is a guy who was drafted before the Y2K scare doing getting 20 touches in a playoff game? I love his durability, but it speaks to exactly how thin they are in the backfield. Fred Taylor got "revenge" on his former team Jacksonville by being on the winning side of a 35-7 rout, but it was one of only six regular season games he made the box score with a mere 35 yards. Laurence Maroney is about as average as average gets. If you want someone to slosh through a season with 180 or so carries for about 800 yards he is your man. I keep waiting for them to get someone capable of taking over a game. I know Tom Brady is the star of the team, but does that mean they can't have a running back gain 1,000 yards in a season? The last one to do it was Corey Dillon in 2004. Coincidentally, their last Super Bowl winning campaign.
Inside Linebacker
Mayo and Guyton came in together two years ago, the former as a first round pick and the latter as a rookie free agent. They wound up starting alongside each other. The youth doesn't stop there. Thomas Williams was a fifth round pick by the Jaguars in 2008, and last year's third rounder Tyrone McKenzie is also around. However, if these guys were doing the job Seau would never have found his way back on the roster at 75 years old. Perhaps another year of development is what this group as a whole needs rather than another rookie coming in, but with the only sure thing, Mayo, coming off knee trouble they need to make sure there is enough talent on hand if he misses time. Also, Guyton is not really a true inside 'backer in the first place.
Defensive Line
The big "exhale" moment came from locking up Vince Wolfork to play the nose for the next five years. Having just drafted Ron Brace things are looking good, and at least one teams knows how to deal with the centerpiece of the 3-4. At end they lost Green (Broncos) but he didn't take advantage of the increase in playing time, 12 starts, after Seymour was traded. Their response was signing Damione Lewis, who was cut by the Panthers. No matter what, the Patriots will be on the hunt in the draft for someone to play end. Ideally it will be a player who is comfortable in a 3-4 or 4-3 front because they use both.
Special Teams
Last year I not only nailed them taking a long snapper, I had the player (Ingram) right. Yeah, I was off by a round so shoot me. This time the special teams need is at punter. Hanson is coming off a not so great season. His situational punting has been good in his three seasons with the team, but a 39.7 yard average is not acceptable on a playoff caliber team. They have worked out Mesko (Michigan) which is a sign he is in their sights as a potential replacement. After that they gave a contract to Australian rules player David King. Their kicker Gostkowski got a second round tender and should be back. Another need will be punt returns. They won't be asking Welker to do it coming off his knee injury, Edelman presumably is going to be taking on a bigger offensive role and Faulk is an emergency option. A wide receiver with punt return skills or possibly a cornerback could be explored in the draft.
Offensive Line
The only starter who has yet to hit 30 is Mankins at left guard. He was given the highest tender as a restricted free agent. The other guard, Neal, signed for two seasons but might not have that much left in his career. Someone needs to fill that spot pretty soon. At left tackle Light is a free agent next year and has been less than perfect. On the other side Kaczur struggles with consistency as well. Vollmer is in line to take one starting position, but someone else could be added with an eye on depth.
Secondary
Bodden was handed a suitcase of cash over four years. They have got some youth (Butler, White, Wheatley) which might translate to adding a veteran after a draft rather than putting another rookie in the mix. If Springs, who just turned 35, can't do it this season someone definitely will be brought in. At safety their starters are set with Meriweather and Chung, but someone with some cover ability as a backup free safety could be sought in the draft.
Backup Quarterback
Brian Hoyer has heard the rumblings about the team's interest in drafting Florida's Tim Tebow. He is fine with the move if it comes to fruition. Whatever happens, the Patriots need to explore their options behind Brady. Early on I pegged Tebow as a target for them because he would be given plenty of time to develop. There are a few projects available in this draft that is perceived to be very weak at the top, and I expect them to mull taking one.
