mayoclinic

Oh well, you can't win them all.

Actually, if Tebow falls to the 2nd round, with 3 second round picks I think he has Pats written all over him. The Pats were clearly interested in Pat White, and BB has been open in his admiration for Tebow and his belief that Tebow in the right system could revolutionize NFL offenses.

The Tim Tebow experiment is inevitable in the NFL - Tim Layden - SI.com

Not saying anything pro or con, just that I could see it happening, especially with 3 picks in the 2nd round.

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BillBelichickFan79

CJ Spiller has been my favorite player for the last few years and i would love to see the Pats add that type of home run threat to their backfield and return game. He hasn't put up the stats he is capable of putting up due to a horrendous o-line at Clemson. Now with James Davis gone, Spiller will have the spotlight all to himself to showcase what he can do.

I also wouldn't mind adding Brandon Spikes. I'd love to have a combo of him and Mayo in the middle for the next 5 to 10 years.

mayoclinic

I love Spikes. He and Ndamukong Suh were my 2 leading candidates for #23 if they had come out this year. I think both will be out of reach, but you never know.

I've never been on the CJ Spiller bandwagon, but time will tell.

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mayoclinic

Here's one of the first 2 round mocks for 2010, from Walterfootball.com:

WalterFootball.com: 2010 NFL Mock Draft

For the Pats:

32. Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma.
41. Arthur Jones, DE/DT, Syracuse.
55. Eric Norwood, DE/LB, South Carolina. At 6' 270# I don't see Norwood playing OLB for us, but I think he could be a dynamite SILB.
64. Jordan Shipley, WR, Texas.

Other players of note:

21. Jonathan Dwyer, RB, Georgia Tech.
22. Sergio Kindle, OLB, Texas.
27. Brandon Spikes, ILB, Florida.
38. Marvin Austin, DT/DE, North Carolina.
40. Greg Hardy, DE/OLB, Mississippi.
42. Adam Ulatowski, OT, Texas.
50. Vince Oghobasse, DE/DT, Duke.
56. Marshawn Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati.
63. Brandon Lang, DE/OLB, Troy.

I like his picks for the Pats, but I like the following even more:

27. Brandon Spikes, ILB. Trade up from 32 using our 3rd round pick to get the perfect SILB complement to Mayo.
41. Adam Ulatowski, OT. 6'8" athletic former TE who has played tackle and guard. Would be a nice bookend complement to 6'8" Sebastian Vollmer as our future starting OT's.
56. Brandon Lang, OLB, Troy. 6'4" 245# athletic guy in the DeMarcus Ware mold.
64. Leonard Marsh, DE, Florida. 6'5" 305# junior with tremendous athleticism and upside.

I would really love to see us get one of Spikes, Sergio Kindle or Jonathan Dwyer in the 1st at this point, depending on need. I think all 3 will be monsters.

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mayoclinic

Wes Bunting from NFP has posted his top 60 for 2010, in three 20 player installments:

The National Football Post | NFP Top 20 Prospects
The National Football Post | NFP Prospects 2010: Part II
The National Football Post | NFP Prospects 2010: Part III

Players of particular interest:

7. Ndamukong Suh, DE/DT, Nebraska. 6'4" 305#. Would be a phenomenal 3-4 DE.
10. Brandon Spikes, ILB, Florida.
17. Rolando McClain, ILB, Alabama.
18. Brian Bulaga, OT, Iowa. My #1 LT prospec for 2010.
19. Greg Hardy, DE/OLB, Mississippi. 6'5" 265# pass rusher. Not sure if he can play 3-4 OLB.
20. Everson Griffith, DE/OLB, USC.
23. Jonathan Dwyer, RB, Georgia Tech. Big, physical back with breakaway speed.
29. Sergio Kindle, DE/OLB, Texas. 6'4" 255# player with 4.5 speed and great pass rush and pursuit ability.
34. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida. BB has professed admiration for Tebow and is intrigued with how to use him.
36. Antonio Coleman, DE/OLB, Auburn. Somewhat short at 6'2".
42. Jerry Hughes, DE/OLB, TCU. Somewhat short at 6'2".
43. Eric Norwood, DE/LB, South Carolina. 6' 265# spark plug who can rush the passer, play the pass, and has a nose for the ball. I'd love him at SILB.
44. Brandon Lang, DE/OLB, Troy. 6'4" 245# pass rusher from Troy.
45. Adam Ulatowski, OT, Texas. 6'8" 310#, former TE with good feet who can play inside or out.
48. Vince Oghobasse, DE/DT, Duke. 6'6" 310#.
51. Greg Romeus, DE/OLB, Pittsburgh. 6'5" 265#. Not sure if he is a pure 4-3 DE or if he could play the elephant.
56. Marshawn Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati.
58. Brandon Graham, DE/OLB, Michigan. 6'2", 270#, strong against both run and pass. May have the athleticism to play OLB, though he's a bit on the short side for the Pats.
60. Lawrence Marsh, DE/DT, Florida. This kid has the physical ability to be another Richard Seymour, and may jump up boards ifhe has a strong season.

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mgteich

I expect that you will spend yet another entire year lusting after Suh and Spikes. They will likely be top 10 picks and we won't have the will to trade a 1st and two seconds for either one of them.

mayoclinic

I'm not lusting after Suh and Spikes now. Or even Sergio Kindle for that matter. They're all good players who I think would be great for the Pats, and who probably will all go earlier than we will have an opportunity to get them. There are going to be a lot of good players available next year, and we'll get several of them - probably not whatever ones I end up lusting after. There are so many good one's that a bunch will slip to the 2nd round where we have 3 picks. For example, on Bunting's list I like the 43-45 players (Eric Norwood, Brandon Lang, and Adam Ulatowski) plus Leonard Marsh at 60. I like Marsh at 60 almost as much as Suh at 7, and Norwood at 43 for SILB as much as Spikes at 10.

I just think it's worth keeping loose track of who different people project. Here's a new mock out from NE Patriots Draft:

2010 NFL Mock Draft ~ NE Patriots Draft

They have the Pats taking Rolando McClain at ILB at #32, which would be great value, and certainly better than trading up to #10 where they have Spikes going. They have Sergio Kindle going #18 (to San Diego), Greg Hardy at #20, Mark Herzlich at #25, and Jonathan Dwyer at 30. Players not in their first round include DE's Leonard Marsh and Arthur Jones; DE/LBs Eric Norwood and Brandon Lang; OT Adam Ulatowski; and RBs CJ Spiller and Jahvid Best. No matter how you cut it good players will fall to the 2nd round. I'd be psyched with McClain at 32 and Marsh/Davis at DE, Ulatowski at OT, and Lang at OLB in the 2nd, or possibly a trade up to 30 to get Jonathan Dwyer.

For the record, I wouldn't advocate any trade into the top 10. The most I could see the Pats trading up would be from 32 to the early 20's, using a 3rd round pick or something of that nature, if BB coveted a specific player.

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mayoclinic

Here's part IV from Bunting, with prospects ranked 61-80:

The National Football Post | NFP Prospects 2010: Part IV

Some of these guys will end up in the 1st round next year. Of particular interest:

62. Joe Haden, CB, Florida. I don't see us going CB next year, but Haden could easily end up in the 1st round come April.
67. Sam Young, OT, Notre Dame.
71. Eric Decker, WR, Minnestoa. 6'2" 215# WR who runs terrific routes and has nice hands, but lacks elite speed.
78. LeGarrette Blount, RB, Oregon. 6'2" 238# bruiser.
79. Arthur Jones, DE/DT, Syracuse. One of the best 3-4 DE prospects out there.

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Wheelssps

I've watched Blount, the RB from Oregon this past year, and he would be fantastic on the Pats. He reminds me of Brandon Jacobs but with more speed and quickness. He's absolutely an adventure for any defender to tackle. Maybe possible??????????

mayoclinic

I like Jonathan Dwyer the best of all draft eligible RBs, but I think Blount would be awfully nice on the Pats as well.

Here's NFP's early rundown on the senior RBs for this year:

The National Football Post | NFP Senior Running Back Breakdown

Bunting rates Blount, CJ Spiller and Chris Brown as the top 3. His take on Blount: "Blount is a massive, physically imposing back who runs with good power and toughness between the tackles. He isn’t afraid of contact and does a nice job on short-yardage situations, making himself small and driving for the tough yards. He finished the 2008 season with 17 touchdowns and should see an increase in carries as the Oregon lead back in 2009. Blount isn’t just a power back, though. He possesses good balance, footwork and body control at the line of scrimmage and is shifty enough to make a man miss and attack the second level. He has as much potential and talent as any senior in this group, and if he can keep his nose clean, I think he has a chance to go in the first round. However, he showed up to spring practice out of shape this past year and was suspended during the offseason for 'failure to fulfill team obligations.' Either way, this guy is a big-time talent with big-time size and power who can definitely help enhance a team’s running game as an every-down back."

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