Bill Belichick and the Patriots’ front office are outstanding on draft day.  They improved the defense, offense and special teams last April and they hope they will have that kind of success again in the 2011 NFL Draft.  Here’s a look at how the rookies did in 2011:

Devin McCourty:  23-year old CB Devin McCourty was the Patriots’ first round pick (#27 overall) last April out of Rutgers.  McCourty played in all 16 games for the Patriots last season and he had 82 tackles, 1 sack, 3 tackles for a loss, 17 passes defensed, 7 interceptions (110 return yards) and 2 forced fumbles.  McCourty made the Pro Bowl as a rookie showing just how outstanding he is.  Last season was just the tip of the iceberg for McCourty.

Rob Gronkowski:  21-year old TE Rob Gronkowski was the #42 overall pick (2nd round) out of Arizona last April.  He played in 16 games for the Patriots last season and he caught 42 passes for 546 yards (13.0 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  Gronkowski was outstanding as he always seemed to be on the same wave length as Tom Brady.  I see Pro Bowls in this future.

Jermaine Cunningham:  22-year old OLB/DE Jermaine Cunningham was the overall #53 pick (2nd round) last April out of Florida.  Cunningham played in 15 games for the Patriots last season and he had 34 tackles, 1 sack, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 2 forced fumbles.  Cunningham looks like he’s going to be a good pass rusher down the road for the Patriots.

Brandon Spikes:  23-year old inside linebacker Brandon Spikes was picked in the 2nd round (#62 overall) out of Florida.  He played in 12 games for the Patriots last season and he had 61 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception.  Spikes was suspended for four games as a rookie last season so the Patriots will need him to mind his P’s and Q’s going forward.  But, he has the look of a really good run stuffing inside linebacker.

Taylor Price:  The Pats took 23-year old WR Taylor Price in the 3rd round (#90 overall pick) out of Ohio U.  Price played in only 1 game for the Patriots last season and he caught 3 passes for 41 yards (13.7 avg).  The Patriots essentially red-shirted Price last season but they like him so he might be alright down the road.

Aaron Hernandez:  The Patriots used the 113th overall pick (4th round) out of Florida last April.  He played in 14 games for the Patriots last season and he caught 45 passes for 563 yards (12.5 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 21 yards (7.0 ypc) last year.  Hernandez along with Rob Gronkowski gives the Patriots a fine pair of TEs going forward for both the present and the future.

Zoltan Mesko:  The Patriots drafted 24-year old punter Zoltan Mesko out of Michigan with the 150th overall pick (5th round) last April.  He played in all 16 games for the Patriots last season and he punted the ball 58 times for 2,505 yards (43.2 avg).  He only had 5 touchbacks (8.6%) and he placed 19 punts inside the opposing 20-yard line (32.8%) which is pretty darn good. 

Ted Larsen:  The Patriots picked 23-year old center Ted Larsen out of North Carolina State  in the 6th round with the 205th pick.  The Patriots cut Larsen on September 4th.  He then hooked on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for whom he played in 12 games (11 starts).

Thomas Welch:  The Pats took 23-year old OT Thomas Welch in the 7th round (#208 overall) out of Vanderbilt.  Welch was cut on September 4th by the Patriots.  He was picked up by the Vikings but didn’t get into any games for them.

Brandon Deadrick:  The Patriots picked up 23-year old DE Brandon Deadrick out of Alabama in the 7th round (#247 overall).  He played in 10 games for the Patriots last season and he had 10 tackles and 2 sacks.  This was a nice find for the Patriots so late in the draft.

Kade Weston:  The Patriots took DT Kade Weston in the 7th round (#248 overall) last April out of Georgia.  Weston was placed on the Injured Reserve List on August 24th due to a abdomen injury.

Zac Robinson:  The Patriots took 24-year old QB Zac Robinson out of Oklahoma State in the 7th round (#250 overall).  They released him on September 4th.  The Lions signed him on November 9th where he served as their #3 QB without getting into any games.

GRADE FOR 2010:  A

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A+++++++++++

58-year old Bill Belichick has been named the NFL’s Coach of the Year for the third time (2003, 2007) in his tenure with New England.  Belichick somehow coaxed a 14-2 record out of a team with a very young defense that gave up a lot of yards.  He did so by playing a little more ball control than usual.  The season ended with a thud against the Jets in the playoffs but Belichick and his troops still had an outstanding year.  The Patriots are now 126-50 (71.6%) in Belichick’s first 11 years with the team during the regular season.  The Patriots are also 14-5 (73.7%) during the post-season in Belichick’s tenure.  The Patriots won the Super Bowl  in 2001, 2003 and 2004 under Belichick and they lost to the Giants in 2007 to finish the season with an 18-1 record.

33-year old QB Tom Brady has been named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press.  Brady played in 16 games for the Patriots last season and he completed 324 of 492 passes (65.9%) for 3,900 yards with 36 TD passes and 4 INTs (111.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 31 times for 30 yards (1.0 ypc) with a TD run last season.  Brady finished last season with 11 straight regular season games without an interception, which is pretty amazing!  He also finished the season with 8 consecutive games in which he had a QB Rating of 100+.  Brady had a QB rating of 100+ 12 times in 2010 and the Patriots were 12-0 in those games!  Brady threw at least 2 TD passes in 9 consecutive games to end the 2010 season and he did it 12 times over the year.  Brady seems to keep getting better which is amazing, especially due to the fact that he never had a clear cut #1 WR in 2010.

UPDATE:  Tom Brady has also been named the MVP of the NFL.