Warren94

I believe he would be a perfect fit in our secondary. ballhawker, little on the small side, but I think he would help our defensive secondary immediately.

mayoclinic

He'll be a late 2nd or early 3rd round pick. Do you really want us to take CB that high, unless we lose Leigh Bodden?

He sounds too much like Wheatley for me. If we do go after a CB in that area, I'd rather go after Kareem Jackson (my preference), Brandon Ghee or Amari Spievey.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

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DW Toys

Lindley from Kentucky?
DW Toys

BradyManny

I'm well behind on draft work, but I wasn't even really planning on spending much time on the secondary. That's one unit that - if we sign Bodden - will stay as it is. In fact, if anything, we might have to lose a guy to make room for Arrington, whose value on Special Teams and ability to get on the 45 man roster might bump off a guy like Wheatley, if we needed the roster spot badly enough.

Warren94

Bodden may want to finally get paid. Wilhite is more suited at nickel IMO. Wheatley with his wrist issues. I realize there are more pressing issues *no pun intended* but I feel that the secondary too needs to be addressed.

MagnumPI5

With the NFL leaning stronger to passing-centric offenses, I think that is becoming increasingly important to keep a constant influx of secondary talent through the draft. In fact, in six out of the last seven drafts, the Patriots have selected a secondary player in the top three rounds. We have the luxury of having four quality players at safety, so I wouldn't expect that area to be addressed in the draft (at least not in the early rounds); however, while our CB situation is solid, we do have some areas of apprehension (Bodden (contract); Springs (age); Butler (should be fine, but didn't quite progress as hoped); Wilhite (talent); Wheatley (numerous question marks)). Also, keep in mind, our assessment of CB need might be a little more positively skewed in contrast to previous seasons, as overall we did not have a lot of injury concerns. If we had had a serious injury or two more, I think that we would diagnose the CB position as a more urgent need, worthy of being one of our top picks.
With that said, Thompson would be a great pick if he drops to 2b or 2c. Size will probably make him drop a little. If he were 1.5-2 inches taller, he'd probably be considered a solid 1st round talent.

mayoclinic

Unless Leigh Bodden leaves, I really don't want to use a top pick on the secondary. I think we have a lot of talent in the secondary. We just need to give it time to mature and gel, and we need to get more pressure up front so that opposing QB's don't have all day to throw. No secondary is going to stop Manning, Brees and Rivers when they aren't under pressure.

I'd like to see us stand pat with our secondary for this year and address other areas. We have a top pick from the Raiders in 2011, and arguably the best CB prospect since Champ Bailey likely coming out in LSU's Patrick Peterson. I see no need to draft more Wheatley smurfs in the meantime if we can possibly help it. JMHO.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi

WhiZa

Wheatley's wrist issues may be tied to all the free time he has been spending on the bench.

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Seneschal2

He's on my short list for the Pats (no pun intended).

Also on my short list.

The Wheatley critics are being a bit too harsh IMO. If you had seen him play in college, most here would have the same opinion of him that I do -- he's a really talented cover corner. And most would be waiting (as I am) for him to show his skills. Currently, I'm classifying him as an enigma. Is he finally healthy? Why has he been inactive in many games but not on the injury list? Is he unimpressive in practice and slow to develop?

His talent was obvious enough to select him in round two. So I'll give him one more season -- then re-evaluate.

Regarding drafting a CB early. Bodden is the starter unless he departs -- then Butler will step right in. But the other side is a concern (IMO). I'm not a fan of Springs, and lack confidence that Wilhite can man the position full time. I won't close the door on him developing further...but right now I see him as a quality nickel. Now, if BB's opinion differs about the aforementioned two, then chances are he'll bypass the CB position early (through R-2). But if it's a concern, then round two seems like the proper place to address CB -- especially since he's done so twice in that round, and he's w/o a third round pick.

Finally, of course an improved pass rush will help the secondary. But it won't mask inadequate cover skills -- IF that's what exists.

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NePatriots

We interviewed Syd'Quan a month ago or so, and he was a great guy. Team guy, versatile (punt return, corner, nickel corner), and a film rat. I'd love to get him in the late 2nd/early 3rd.

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