The New England Patriots dealt the #31 pick (1st round) and the #126 pick (4th round) to the Denver Broncos to move up and take ILB/OLB Dont’a Hightower out of Alabama.  Hightower is a awesome run defender as he blows up RBs and blockers.  He can handle playing OLB but he’s better inside because of his size (6’3″, 266 pounds).  Hightower played in 13 games (all starts) at Alabama last year and he had 85 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks, 3 passes broken up and 1 interception.  He played in 43 games (42 starts) in his four years with the Crimson Tide in which he had 234 tackles, 21 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, 7 passes broken up and 1 interception.  I think Hightower will be starting somewhere in the linebacking unit when the 2012 season begins.  I love this pick for the Patriots.

The New England Patriots traded the #27 pick (1st round) and the #93 pick (3rd round) to the Cincinnati Bengals to move up to #21, where they picked DE Chandler Jones out of Syracuse.  Jones isn’t the most durable player, but he has a huge upside as a pass rusher and that is a big need for the Patriots.  Jones played in 7 games (all starts) for the Orange last year and he had 38 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks, 2 batted down balls and 2 forced fumbles.  Jones played in 32 games (28 starts) in his three years at Syracuse and he had 147 tackles, 27 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, 6 batted balls, 5 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.  The Patriots hope that Jones will be ready to start for them by Week #1 in 2012.

QB Steve Grogan played with the Patriots for a long time.  He was a starter most of his career, with his best season coming way back in 1979 for the Patriots.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Patriots in 1979 and he completed 206 of 423 passes (48.7%) for 3,286 yards with 28 TD passes (led the NFL) and 20 interceptions (77.4 QB Rating).  Grogan also carried the ball 64 times for 368 yards (5.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs in 1979.  Grogan played in 149 games (135 starts) in his 16 years with the Patriots and he completed 1,879 of 3,593 passes (52.3%) for 26,886 yards with 182 TD passes and 208 INTs (69.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 445 times for 2,176 yards (4.9 ypc) with 35 TD runs with the Patriots.  Grogan was 75-60 (55.6%) as a starting QB during the regular season for the Patriots.  He is the all-time leader in Patriots’ history in interceptions, with 208 of them.  He is also #3 in passing yards (26,886), #2 in passing TDs  (182) and #4 in rushing TDs (35) in Patriots’ history.

Grogan wasn’t too successful in the post-season though.  He played in 4 games (3 starts) for the Patriots in the post-season and he completed 48 of 95 passes (50.5%) for 571 yards with 3 TD passes and 7 INTs (49.1 QB Rating).  Grogan also carried the ball 9 times for 54 yards (6.0 ypc) in the post-season.  Grogan was 0-3 as the Patriots’ starting QB in the playoffs.

33-year old OT Matt Light has announced his retirement from the NFL.  He played in 15 games (all starts) for the Patriots last year.  He has now played in 155 games (153 starts) in his 11 years in the NFL (all with the Patriots).  Light made it to 3 Pro Bowls in his NFL career as he was a very good player.  He did the Patriots right by informing them of his decision in advance of next weekend’s NFL Draft.

I conducted a complete mock of the 2012 NFL Draft on bloglockers.com and here is who I saw the Patriots nabbing in it:

1. (27) Courtney Upshaw, DE, Alabama

1. (31) Kevin Zeitler, OG, Wisconsin

2. (48) David Wilson, RB, Virginia Tech

2. (62) Josh Robinson, CB, Central Florida

3. (93) Trenton Robinson, S, Michigan State

4. (126) Malik Jackson, DE, Tennessee

The Patriots have re-signed 32-year old center Dan Koppen to a 2-year deal.  Koppen played in only 1 game (1 start) last year for the Patriots.  He has now played in 121 games (120 starts) in his first 9 years with the Patriots.  Despite missing most of last season due to injury, Koppen is still a very dependable lineman with a lot left in the gas tank.

The Patriots seem to be signing someone new everyday, and that is a good thing.  Here is a look at the off-season moves so far:

Offensively:  The biggest move for the Patriots was the signing of WR Brandon Lloyd.  He will give the Patriots a WR that can stretch the defense, which is something the offense has lacked in recent years.  They also have re-signed WR Deion Branch and Matthew Slater as well as signing WRs Donte Stallworth and Anthony Gonzalez, giving Tom Brady even more options when he drops back to throw the ball.  The Patriots have also signed TE Daniel Fells and fullbacks Tony Fiammetta and Spencer Larsen to help out on offense and special teams.  The Patriots have re-signed center Dan Connolly and they have also signed OG Robert Gallery to help protect the QB in 2012.  QB Brian Hoyer has been re-signed to a 1-year deal to backup Tom Brady.

Defensively:  The Patriots have signed DE/OLB Trevor Scott, DE Jonathan Fanene and LB Bobby Carpenter to help out the forcing unit in 2012.  They also have signed safety Steve Gregory, CB Will Allen and CB Maurqice Cole to help out with the secondary in 2012, and they gave up a lot of passing yards last year.  The Patriots also have re-signed DT Kevin Love, LB Niko Koutouvides, safety Ross Ventrone and WR/S Matthew Slater.

OFF-SEASON GRADE SO FAR:  A

The Patriots have signed 28-year old outside linebacker Bobby Carpenter.  Carpenter played in all 16 games for the Lions last year and he had 29 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 pass defensed and a interception that he returned for a TD.  He has now played in 89 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 165 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 5 passes defensed and a interception that he returned for a TD.  This is exactly the kind of player that Bill Belichick loves to pickup, and get the best out of him.

The Patriots have released 30-year old fullback Lousaka Polite.  Polite played in 1 game for the Patriots last year but he didn’t touch the ball.  He did have 1 tackle with the Patriots last year.  Polite has played in 71 games in his NFL career now and he has carried the ball 95 times for 296 yards (3.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 41 passes for 233 yards (5.7 avg) with 1 TD grab so far in his career.  This isn’t much of a loss at all for the Patriots moving forward.

The Patriots have signed 26-year old fullback Tony Fiammetta.  He played in 10 games for the Cowboys last year and he carried the ball 4 times for 4 yards (1.0 ypc).  He also caught 3 passes for 39 yards (13.0 avg) last year.  Fiammetta has now played in 34 games in his first three years and he has carried the ball 11 times for 26 yards (2.4 ypc).  He also has caught 8 passes for 73 yards (9.1 avg) so far in his NFL career.  This is a good pickup for the Patriots as Fiammetta is a solid all-around fullback.