Here you goIf you asked any person outside of New England what the Patriots biggest draft need is they'd probably tell you, CB. But, guess what, there wrong. Yes, the Patriots CB's don't look to good right now but that's because of the injuries. The Patriots have Asante Samuel, who is proven to be a solid CB, even though he'll get burned here and there, Randall Gay who's hurt right now and is on Injured Reserve but when heathly is a very good and physical CB. He'll most likley be our # 2 CB next year or # 3 depending on any free agent signings. Then we have the rookie from Iowa State, Ellis Hobbs. What a kid, not many thought he would play, most people had him as the Patriots 5th CB! He has shown a lot of guts, making big hits and taking chance on balls and that's what the Patriots need in a CB. Next year he'll probably be the number 3 or 4 CB. Okay, those are the young guns we have at CB. But, like every team we have washed up veterans, the list includes: Duane Starks, Tyrone Poole, and Chad Scott. Starks and Poole should be cut this offseason, with Scott leaving as well but through free agency. That leaves the Patriots with 3 CB's, so who will they sign as a big free agent to add depth? Remember Ty Law, Law as already stated that'd he like to come back and I bet the Patriots wouldn't mind him back. I see the Law coming home next offseason, which means we don't really need a CB in round 1 or even round 2 of April's draft. So your thinking, "then what are the Patriots needs". That's where I come in. Let me start off with the biggest need:1. LB - Tedy Bruschi is just amazing and I love the guy but he can't last forever. That goes for all the Patriots ILB's. Monty Beisel is the only Patriots ILB under the age of 30. Bringing in a young ILB that can learn from Bruschi would be a great idea, a guy I love for the Patriots is Abdul Hodge (Iowa). I think he fits this defensive system the best. Or even drafting an OLB like Manny Lawson, Lawson would give us youth at OLB.2. SS - James Sanders, Michael Stone, Guss Scott, Arturo Freeman, Artrell Hawkins, and Randall Gay all played Strong Safety for the Patriots this year, not including the starter Rodney Harrison. Harrison broke about 4 bones in his leg and might not even come back next year. I think drafting a big time Safety in round 2 like maybe a Greg Blue (Georgia) would be a great move.3. WR - Can you tell me what, David Givens, Troy Brown, Tim Dwight, and Andre Davis all have in common? They're all free agents this year. Givens is the big one, I'm not really sure if we'll re-sign him, the Patriots need to still re-sign Richard Seymour, Mike Vrabel, Adam Vinateri and Willie McGinest, so money will be tight. To Troy Brown, I'm pretty sure he'll hang it up this year. Tim Dwight isn't much of a WR so he really doesn't factor in here. And Andre Davis gets about 1 catch every 2 games, so he's not a factor. Lets say all go, the Patriots would be stuck with Deion Branch as the number 1 WR, with speedster Bethel Johnson the number 2, and practice squad and former 5th round pick, P.K Sam as the 3rd. The Patriots will need to either sign a big time WR or try and draft one like, Martin Nance (Miami Ohio). Or they could look for one in round 3 and try and find a hidden gem, in round 3 I like Sinorice Moss (Miami Florida), Greg Jennings (Western Michigan), and Jason Avant (Michigan).4. RB - Corey Dillon as been great when he's on the field but he's 30 years old. The Patriots change up back Kevin Faulk is also up there in age, so a young RB wouldn't be a bad thing. A guy that jumps out at me is DonTrell Moore (New Mexico), this guy is a great tough RB who fits the system of the Patriots. Moore is big runner and has smooth hands out of the backfield. I would love to steal him in round 3 with one of our two 3rd round picks.5. CB - Here ya go. The CB need. Lets just say we sign Law, that leaves us with 4 CB's, we could use one more. And plus Law isn't the youngest thing on the block anymore. At CB there are a bunch of opitions for the Pats, I think the need will be adressed probably on day 2 with a guy like Harrison Smith (California). A bigger type CB at 6-2, he'd help out a lot considering all the other Patriots CB's are 6-0 and smaller.Well that's it. Now do you have an idea of who the Patriots will draft?
I agree with your list, except I dont think that Ty Law will return to the Patriots, the one thing the guy has constantly shown is that he is all about the money and I cant see the Patriots winning a bidding war for this guy. Then if your stuck with Samuel/Gay/Hobbs as your cornerbacks for next season you might need to address this position early in the draft. Especially with how fragile you guys have been at this position in recent years.The Pats are starting to get old in some key positions (mainly RB, LB, SS) and they are going to be thin at 2 other positions (WR, CB) and are going to need to address at a minimum of 3 of these positions in the offseason.
I think that the Pats will land a LB or a WR in round one. I would love a guy like Manny Lawson in round one or maybe even a guy like Mathias Kiwanuka if he can play OLB. The I could see maybe a guy like Martin Nance or MAurice Stovall in round two or three. I also think we should address a CB in the later rounds and settle for a RB in round 2 or 3.
