1--23 Connor Barwin, DE-OLB-TE, Cincinnati
The new Mike Vrabel. Can do anything you want him to do. Saves a roster spot when you go to 3 TEs.

2--34 Eben Britton, LOT, Arizona
Smart developmental LOT who is not huge but has good feet. A Matt Light clone.

2--47 Brian Robiskie, WR, Ohio State
Zero learning curve. High caliber hands and character.

2--58 Eric Wood, OG/C, Louisville
Not a workout warrior but can play three positions and is a football player.

3--89 Cody Brown, DE-OLB, UConn
Again...versatility and upside.

3--97 James Casey, TE-FB, Rice
Just another weapon who can do lots of things.

4-134 Kyle Bell, FB-RB-H-back, Colorado State
See James Casey.

5-170 Tom Brandstater, QB, Fresno State
Big, tall, developmental guy with an arm. (See Cassel and O'Connell)

6-199 Derek Cox, CB, William & Mary
Big corner who they hope is the next great small-school CB theft. Can play safety too.

6-207 Dorrell Scott, DT, Georgia
Just another big body with upside. But this is a need pick more than a BB pick really.

7-234 Tony Washington, WR, Sacramento State
The next Troy Brown? Has his size and hands...a bit slower though coming out.

I just think we have to go defense with those first two picks.


23 Connor Barwin - OLB/TE, Cincinnati Jason Taylor is 50/50 to come here at this point. But even if he comes he would be on loan for 1 year. Love the Barwin pick at 23 also and think he will play both sides of the ball more than people think. He was worked out as a TE by a lot of teams and looked great in the end zone.

34 Robert Ayers - DE, Tennessee Some have him as a mid first. I think he's a late first top half of 2nd round. With Green likely gone in F/A or cut if extra cap space is needed, Ayers is a pure pass rushing DE who should be an upgrade to Green.

47 Eric Wood - C/G, Louisville Love this kid. Played mostly center but I think would translate to OG for us. Give him a year to develop under Neal and replace him as the starter in 2010.

58 William Moore - SS, Missouri If he came out after his junior year people would have called him a mid first round talent. But Moore was slowed by a torn labrum last year. Has the size to be a big hitter but needs to learn to wrap up more instead of using his pads to deliver the big hit. Moore is a ball hawk and returned 4 of his 11 picks to the house.

89 Gerald Cadogan - OT, Penn State One of the smartest (3.68 GPA with a double major at Penn State) and best technicians at the position in the country. 6-5, 310 and 4.99 speed with the frame to add another 20 lbs. I project him as a RT at least to start his career. He is becoming a solid run blocker, good pass blocker who is seldom fooled by twists and has exhibited a nasty streak. Straight line speed among the best of any OT in the draft giving him the ability to reach and level LBs. Great character guy. When coached up has the potential to become an all pro. BB loves those 3-5 round value linemen and has been successful coaching many into starters.

97 Jason Williams - ILB, Western Illinois This pick is a bit of a surprise but the Pats are showing interest in him. He's another Mayo type player not that big but fast and a sure tackler. The Pats don't seem to be interested in a big run stuffer up the middle instead preferring quick cover guys who use speed instead of strength to get to the ball carrier.

124 Christopher Owens - CB, San Jose State Not a big corner 5-10, 181 but decent 4.44 speed. Has decent recovery ability if beaten initially but not big enough to win jump balls against taller receivers. Could be a solid nickel or maybe with good coaching the next 4th round CB find ala Asante Samuel.

170 Mike Wallace - WR, Mississippi 6-1, 199 Has elite sub 4.3 speed. Concern was is this kid a track star or a WR? Showed impressive hands and ran crisp routes at his pro day. Can certainly stretch the field and contribute on special teams.

199 Ian Johnson - RB, Boise State 5-11, 212 and runs an excellent 4.41. His production was off his senior year as Boise St went with RB by committee. He has decent hands and is an excellent special teams performer. At this point in the draft why not take a chance on a kid with these tools and see if he can be developed into the next Kevin Faulk.

207 Henry Melton - FB/DE, Texas 6-4, 280 with 4.65 speed. This is my interesting pick. Melton came out of HS as a RB and was a FB as a freshman and sophomore at Texas before converting to DE. He was arrested for a DWI as a junior so not sure if there are character concerns. His uncle is Ray Crocket who played 14 seasons in the NFL including being a part of the two Denver SB wins.

234 Thomas Morstead - P, Southern Methodist Why not? One of 5 punters invited to the Combine. Has a big leg and good at pinning the ball inside the 10.

I love him too, but even if he turns out to be a perennial Pro Bowler he would still have to qualify as a slight reach, as was Mankins a few years back. The only measurement stick you should go by is CONSENSUS positioning. If you know you love a guy more than anyone else, you've got to trade back. What happens later can not justify reaching, despite what some say, and I am not saying you say that, bro.



Not really a BB kind of guy IMHO. One-year wonder with a questionable work ethic...but he would look good in red, white and blue IF (and that's a HUGE if) he should actually slide this far.



No argument here at all! I would LOVE this choice at this spot in the draft.



See Eric Wood.



Late riser. I like Andrew Gardner from Georgia Tech better myself, but everyone else seems to prefer Cadogan.



Another spindly-legged guy, and he can't tackle in space. Not a big guy either. Not sure where they are getting the idea he should even make our roster, and I certainly wouldn't draft him before the 5th round.



This would be amazing, but he won't be there. Owens should be gone by the end of round 3.



Great pick and great value IF (again) you can get him at #170.



Yep...he'd be a solid choice here, but Kyle Bell is bigger, faster and has even better hands...



4th-round talent at worst. I'd love him in round 4...will never be here this late.

Where do we get out 3rd-string QB? Drew Willy is a young Tom Brady...Tom Brandstater...there are guys out there in 5th-7th who will return good value.

I am not sure if this was your version of a BB-type draft, or just another general scenario. But there is too much optimism here, bro.

Quote Late riser. I like Andrew Gardner from Georgia Tech better myself, but everyone else seems to prefer Cadogan.

Gardner is more of a 5-6 round talent IMO. At 6-7 he's a little too tall to play OT. He's too scrawny to play guard. I could see him getting out leveraged by shorter and stronger and faster DEs. Cadogan has way more upside in my book. With the premium placed on OTs I'm not sure Cadogan makes it to 89. I have him at 91 and rising.

Quote: Another spindly-legged guy, and he can't tackle in space. Not a big guy either. Not sure where they are getting the idea he should even make our roster, and I certainly wouldn't draft him before the 5th round.

I'm not that high on Jason Williams either but it seems the Pats are unless it's a smoke screen visit designed to get the Jets to take him. My thinking is if the Pats are interested it must mean they either want a back up similar to Mayo's skill set or they think he can play next to Mayo. This would seem to argue for a big SS to back those guys up.

Quote: 4th-round talent at worst. I'd love him in round 4...will never be here this late.

Where do we get out 3rd-string QB? Drew Willy is a young Tom Brady...Tom Brandstater...there are guys out there in 5th-7th who will return good value.

Quote: I am not sure if this was your version of a BB-type draft, or just another general scenario. But there is too much optimism here, bro.

I have him at 201 so it depends how you rank him. I see him as a FB for us and special teams player. There aren't any true big FBs in the draft. It's nice that he could give us depth at DE.

As for 3rd string QB I think we bring in a F/A veteran. BB usually has one on his team. Last year was the first year he took a chance and didn't have a vet on the roster and Brady goes down in Q1 or W1. He won't do that again. I don't see us drafting a QB in the late rounds that would be better options than O'Connell or Gutierrez.

I have Wallace at 167 so not much of a reach. Ayers is at 41 on my board precisely because of concerns that he's a one-year wonder. I think he might drop to 34 and if he does and we don't have Taylor, we need to find a pass rushing specialist to replace Green. Ayers could be the man. Hopefully Barwin can bring the heat too but for sure one of these guys will pan out.

As for this being a BB type draft I think most of these names I mentioned are. I'm not knocking your picks at all and would love it if your scenario happened. I think Britton, Casey and Scott will all go higher than where you have them so I guess it all depends how you rate them.

Do you really think Britton will be available there?

A new look. Not BB-oriented necessarily, but I like it the best of all of my mocks to date:....

1--23 Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State.

2--34 James Laurinaitis, ILB, Ohio State.

2--47 Eric Wood, OG/C, Louisville.

2--58 Chip Vaughn, S, Wake Forest.

3--89 Rashad Jennings, RB, Liberty

3--97 Myron Pryor, DT, Kentucky.

4-134 Everette Pedescleaux, 3-4 DE, Northern Iowa.

5-170 Derek Cox, CB, William & Mary.

6-199 Nate Swift, WR, Nebraska.

6-207 Raphael Nguti, OT, Albany (NY).

7-234 Tony Washington, WR, Sacramento State.

Rich,

I spent a lot of time this weekend looking over team's needs and at this point I think there is a 50/50 chance that all 6 of the top OT prospects are gone in the first round possibly even before we pick at #23. But I think either Britton or Beatty will be there at #23.

In doing up my mock for the first three rounds I think the Pats may give a very hard and long look at Ziggy Wood at #23. First we all know that we have 4 of our top 6 DL coming up as free agents at the end of the year. We know that the Pats have brought Ziggy to town and worked him out. I think Seymour is going to be too expensive and will be gone. Ziggy I think could play end in our 3-4 and provide depth at NT or even move there if we lose Wilfork. We also know BB has a history of taking his DL in the first round with all three starters being first round picks.

Potter, Pedescleaux, Moala, Gilbert, K. Moore---maybe even OT-conversion project, Lydon Murtha--- those are the guys you would target as possible 3-4 DEs to replace Seymour.

Hood is a pure DT who would have to be a candidate if they thought Wilfork was the one they couldn't/wouldn't resign.

I like Hood too...no problem here if he's their first pick.

That's what I thought at first too but here's the story from the Globe.

The Patriots are scheduled to host Missouri defensive lineman Evander “Ziggy” Hood on a pre-draft visit at Gillette Stadium, according to league sources.

The 6-foot-3, 300-pound Hood is one of the more experienced linemen in the draft, as he started 32 of 48 games over his college career. He is projected to be selected as high as the mid-to-late first round.

Hood fits a different profile than what one might consider the Patriots would be seeking, as he was utilized as a “3-technique” defensive tackle at Missouri, meaning he usually lined up between the guard and offensive tackle and was most often shooting gaps. In the Patriots’ 3-4 defense, Hood would project to be an end, which would be a different assignment.

NFL teams are allowed up to 30 visits with out-of-town prospects at their facility before the draft.

A visit could mean a variety of things – from genuine interest, to a smokescreen, to a final medical check. It’s possible that such visits end up ruling a player out of a team’s plans (e.g. if the player doesn’t show the acumen needed for a specific scheme).

Faucet--I never know which is the best forum to reply to BUT I agree with you on the Pat White situation and the use of pick #47 to acquire him. (Jerry Jones has mentioned he will be utilizing the WILDCAT formation next year) In addition, I have given support to a defensive tackle at pick #23 but instead of Evander Hood, I feel it will be the ultimate nose tackle in this draft--RON BRACE nt BOSTON COLLEGE. This allows the Patriots to add a player at a position which is critical to a 3-4 defense while keeping him away from the other 13 teams who will be playing a 3-4 next year as well as the COLTS who have expressed an interest in him with their first (1st) round pick. The Pro Football Weekly (PFW) recently published an article concerning the five riskiest picks in the first round. They polled five high ranking league executives and their list is as follows: 1) Percy Harvin 2) Michael Crabtree 3) Rey Maualuga 4) Vontae Davis and 5) BJ RAJI. With Raji being mentioned as a risky pick, then Ron Brace might actually be the #1 nose tackle in the draft and allows the Patriots some security in case Vince Wilfork cannot be re-signed as well as some position flexibility and insurance in case of injury. I do not think this is a power play against Wilfork because he has said he wants to retire a Patriot and is willing to give a HOME TEAM discount in negotiations BUT one never knows what the Patriots feel the cap number should be for that position and it is THE most important position in the 3-4 defense. By the way, others whose draft stock could be affected by character issues were Brandon Tate, Michael Oher, Hakeem Nicks, Travis Beckum, and Dannell Ellerbe. These certainly are not Bill Belichick type players and I will not consider them in my next mock. I also think it is telling that neither Clay Matthews or Brian Cushing have been asked for a visit as the rumors surrounding them may have put a red flag on their draft status.--thanks for listening--rich from newport