The Patriots went to the AFC Championship game last season with a very poor corps of wide receivers, so they’ve decided to rectify that problem in the off-season.  The Patriots had already added Donte’ Stallworth, Wes Welker and Kelley Washington to the team, but, the Patriots felt the need to get a true #1 WR and they hope they got one yesterday.  Moss hasn’t been himself lately in Oakland, but they haven’t had good QB play either which should not be a problem for him in New England.  Moss played in 13 games last season for the Raiders and he caught 42 passes for 553 yards (13.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Over his 9 year NFL career, Moss has played in 138 games and he has caught 676 passes for 10,700 yards (15.8 avg) with 101 TD receptions.  He also has carried the football 23 times for 159 yards (6.9 ypc).  Moss has even completed 4 of 8 passes (50%) for 106 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 interception (95.8 QB Rating).  A 4th round pick is not much to pay for a Hall of Fame WR.  This is why Belichick and Pioli are masters of the Draft.

The Patriots made another great move as they traded the #28 pick in the first round to the 49ers for their 4th round pick this season (#110) and the Niners first round pick in 2008 which should be a much higher pick than #28 next season.

1. (24)  Brandon Meriweather, S, Miami (Fla)

4. (127)  Kareem Brock, DT, Miami (Fla.)

5. (171)  Clint Oldenburg, OT, Colorado State

6. (180)  Justin Rogers, DE, SMU

6. (202)  Mike Richardson, CB, Notre Dame

6. (208)  Justise Hairston, RB, Central Connecticut State

6. (209)  Corey Hilliard, OG, Oklahoma State

7. (210)  Oscar Lua, LB, USC

7. (247)  Mike Elgin, C, Iowa

 

Punter Todd Sauerbrun filed a grievance against the Patriots saying that he should have become an unrestricted free agent and he won in court.  He became a free-agent and then signed a 1-year deal with the Denver Broncos.  The Patriots will have to decide whether they trust Josh Miller with the punting job or if they want to use one of their late draft picks next week on a punter.

The Patriots have made another outstanding move in signing Tory James to a 1-year contract.  James played in all 16 games last season for the Cincinnati Bengals and he made 41 tackles, had 4 interceptions and defended 10 passes.  The Patriots also re-signed WR Kelvin Kight.  He played in 4 games for the Pats last season and he caught 1 passes for 9 yards and he ran the ball one time for 8 yards.  He also made 3 tackles on special teams which is where most of his value lies.

I have conducted a complete 7 round draft for every team in the NFL.  If you want to see what I have projected for any other team in the NFL, click on the team name in the right hand margin and go to the team’s Draft Report page if you don’t see the article on the front page of the site.  This was a lot of work so I hope you enjoy it.

The Patriots favorite day of the year is fast approaching as Draft Day is on the near horizon.  The Patriots will likely have another productive draft and here’s who I think they will wind up with when the dust clears:

1. (24)  Patrick Willis, MLB, Mississippi

2. (28)  Brandon Meriweather, FS, Miami (Florida)

3. (91)  Ryan Smith, CB, Florida

4. (127)  John Wendling, S, Wyoming

5. (171)  DeShawn Wynn, RB, Florida

6. (180)  Anthony Waters, MLB, Clemson

6. (202)  Isaiah Stanback, QB, Washington

6. (208)  David Patterson, DT, Ohio State

6. (209)  Justin Hickman, OLB, UCLA

7. (247)  Duane Coleman, CB, Clemson

You just know the Patriots are going to do a good job on draft day because they always do.  Imagine the luck if the Patriots can nab Willis and Meriweather in the first round as they try to inject some youth into their fine defense.

The Patriots decided to keep Sauerbrun to compete with Josh Miller for the punting job next season.  He played in 2 games for the Patriots last season and he punted the ball 10 times for 408 yards (40.8 avg).  He pinned the opposing team inside the 20 yard line two times and he had a net average of 30.7 yards per punt.

The Patriots have re-signed Wesley Britt.  The 6’8″, 320 pound Britt played 10 games (1 start) for the Patriots last season and he will provide depth along the O-line for the Pats.