The Patriots have picked QB Zac Robinson out of Oklahoma State with the 250th overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Robinson is a very athletic QB as he is 6’2″, 214 pounds and he can run a 4.66 40.  It will be interesting to see if the Patriots keep him at QB because they have been converting QBs to WRs as of late (see Julian Edelman).  Robinson does not have a strong arm but his mobility buys him time in the pocket to make throws.  He played in 13 games at Oklahoma State last season and he completed 180 of 301 passes (59.9%) for 2,084 yards with 15 TD passes and 13 INTs.  Robinson also carried the ball 111 times for 305 yards (2.7 ypc) with 4 TD runs last season.  He played in 46 games in his four years with the Cowboys and he completed 610 of 999 passes (61.1%) for 8,317 yards with 66 TD passes and 32 INTs.  He also carried the ball 426 times for 1,858 yards (4.4 ypc) with 22 TD runs in his four years in college.  Robinson was worth taking a flier on this late in the draft for the Patriots.

The Patriots have picked DT Kade Weston out of Georgia with the 248th overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  He is a big guy at 6’4″, 317 pounds and if the Patriots get him to stay low they will have themselves another solid player for the interior of the defense.  He played in 13 games (10 starts) for Georgia last season and he had 29 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks.  He played in 49 games (21 starts) at Georgia in his four years there and he finished up with 74 tackles, 16.5 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks and he batted down 2 passes.  The Patriots got another bargain in Weston who slipped a couple of rounds lower than most projections had him going.

The Patriots have picked DE Brandon Deadrick out of Alabama with the 247th overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  He is 6’4″, 296 pounds and he can play inside at DT if needed.  He is not much of a pass rusher but he plays hard and he is a good run defender.  Deadrick played in 14 games (10 starts) at Alabama last season and he finished up with 23 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss and he has 1 sack.  He played in 48 games (32 starts) in his four years at Alabama and he finished up with 83 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss and 7 sacks.  Deadrick was projected to go as high as the 3rd or 4th round in this draft so the Patriots might have gotten a steal here.

The Patriots have picked OT Thomas Welch out of Vanderbilt with the 208th overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Welch is a big guy at 6’6″, 307 and he is a converted tight end so he is a solid athlete.  He is a much better pass blocker than he is a run blocker but that fits in with the Patriots’ style.  He played in 11 games as a senior at Vandy and he played in 41 games there in his four years.  Most didn’t expect Welch to be drafted at all so he will need to step up his game to make it with the Patriots.

The Patriots have selected center Ted Larsen out of North Carolina State with the 205th pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Larsen is 6’2″, 302 pounds but he has only been playing center for two years.  He played defensive tackle his first two years at N.C. State in which he had 5.5 sacks in 23 games (5 starts).  He has started all 25 games the last two years for the Wolfpack at center.  He is still a little raw due to his lack of experience.  But, he is a good pass protector which is a good thing for the Patriots.  He will likely need to be coached up some on his run blocking however.  Still, this was a solid pick for the Patriots as he was projected to be picked in the 4th or 5th round.

The Patriots have selected punter Zoltan Mesko out of Michigan with the 150th overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  Mesko is a left football punter who really has no weaknesses.  He’s also used to punting in bad weather so that won’t be a issue for the Patriots.  He played in 50 games in his four years at Michigan and he punted the ball 252 times for 10,703 yards (42.5 avg).  He also placed the ball inside the opposing 20-yard line 78 times (31%) at Michigan.  He will be a starter from Day #1 for the Patriots.

The Patriots have selected TE Aaron Hernandez out of Florida with the 113th overall pick (4th round) of the NFL Draft.  Hernandez is a big guy at 6’2″, 250 pounds and he runs a 4.65 40 as he is a good athlete.  He played in 14 games (13 starts) for the Gators last season and he caught 68 passes for 850 yards (12.5 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Hernandez played in 40 games (27 starts) in his three years at Florida in which he caught 111 passes for 1,382 yards (12.5 avg) with 12 TD grabs.  Despite having nice size Hernandez is not much help at run blocking.  But, he is a outstanding receiver who slipped a tad giving the Patriots great value in the 4th round.

The New England Patriots have released 32-year old OLB Adalius Thomas.  Thomas played in 14 games for the Patriots last season and he finished up with 34 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, he had 3 sacks and he defensed 2 passes.  In his three years with the Patriots, Thomas played in 39 games in which he had 146 tackles, defensed 14 passes, he had 14.5 sacks, forced 2 fumbles and he had 1 interception (which he returned for a TD).  Thomas didn’t really see eye to eye with Coach Belichick lately and his release saves the Patriots a lot of money so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

The Patriots have signed DT Gerard Warren.  The 31-year old played in all 16 games for the Raiders last season and he had 35 tackles, 2 sacks, he had 3 tackles for a loss and he defensed 1 pass.  Warren has now played in 135 games in his NFL career and he has made 295 tackles, he has defensed 13 passes, has 32 sacks and he has forced 7 fumbles.  Warren will probably backup Vince Wilfork in 2010 giving him a breather once in a while.

The Patriots have picked WR Taylor Price out of Ohio with the 90th overall pick (3rd round) of the NFL Draft.  Price is a big receiver at 6’0″, 201 pounds and he is super fast as he runs a 4.33 40.  He played in 13 games (all starts) last season for Ohio and he caught 52 passes for 735 yards (14.1 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Price played in 51 games (38 starts) in his four years with Ohio and he caught 145 passes for 1,970 yards (13.6 avg) with 14 TD grabs.  This was a solid pick for the Patriots as Price gives them rare speed at WR.