The Patriots once again reached for a need with the selection of Terrence Wheatley from Colorado in the 2nd round.  Most draft experts had Wheatley graded as a 4th or 5th round pick.  Wheatley is only 5′9″, 187 pounds but he has great speed as he runs a 4.4 40.  Wheatley played in 40 games (29 starts) in his career at Colorado and he made 156 tackles, broke up 29 passes, had 14 interceptions and returned 2 of them for TDs, forced 2 fumbles and recovered 2 fumbles.  This pick was another reach for the Patriots but at least it was a position of need.

The Patriots reached for need if the first round when they selected OLB Jared Mayo from Tennessee.  Mayo was projected to get drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round by most experts but the Patriots needed to inject some youth into their linebacker unit.  Mayo is 6′1″, 230 and he can run a 4.65 40.  Mayo played in 32 games (26 starts) at Tennessee and he finished with 236 tackles, 21 tackles for a loss, had 6.5 sacks, broke up 4 passes and intercepted a pass.  This was a reach for the Patriots this high in the draft.

The Patriots have signed 36-year old TE Marcus Pollard.  Pollard played in 14 games for the Seahawks last season and he caught 28 passes for 273 yards (9.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has now played in 191 games in his NFL career and he has caught 349 passes for 4,280 yards (12.3 avg) with 40 TD grabs.  Tom Brady likes to throw to his TEs so this was a nice signing by the Patriots.

The Patriots have signed 38-year old punter Scott Player who will compete with Chris Hanson for the starting job.  Player played in 3 games for the Browns last season and he averaged 45.6 yards on 13 punts.  He also placed 6 punts in side the opposing 20-yard line (46.2%) and he had a net average per punt of 40.3 yards which is amazing.  Player has now played in 142 games in his NFL career and he has punted the ball 727 times for 31,345 yards (43.1 avg).  He has placed 185 punts inside the opposing 20-yard line (25.4%) and he has a net career average of 37.8 yards per punt.  I have a feeling that Player will beat Hanson out for the starting punting job for the Patriots in 2008.

The Patriots had one of the worst drafts in team history last April.  Six of their picks were released and signed with other teams and two of their picks did not play last season due to injury.  Safety Brandon Meriweather was the first round pick of the Patriots and he didn’t show much as he appeared soft.  Meriweather played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Patriots last season and he only made 28 tackles, forced 1 fumble and he defensed 3 passes.  4th round pick DT Kareem Brown was released and signed with the Jets.  5th round pick Clint Oldenburg (OT) was also released and signed with the Jets. The first of the 4 6th round picks of the Patriots was OLB Justin Rogers.  Rogers was cut by the Patriots and then signed by the Cowboys.  Rogers played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Cowboys last season and he made 18 tackles.  CB Mike Richardson was placed on the Injured Reserve list before the season even started for the Patriots.  The Patriots’ third 6th round pick was RB Justise Hairston was released and signed by the Colts.  OT Corey Hilliard was the final 6th round pick of the Patriots last season and he was cut and also signed with the Colts.  Inside linebacker Oscar Lua also missed his rookie season due to injury.  OG Mike Elgin was the final player selected by the Patriots last season and he was released by them and also signed with the Colts.

GRADE FOR THE 2007 SEASON:  F

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  F-