I am looking at all the mock drafts and am left wondering, with all of the picks the Patriots have on Day one, how many rookies can make the team?

We have a spots at:
OLB (Colvin's Slot)
ILB?
CB (Asnste's Slot)
CB (Gay's Slot)
TE (Brady's Slot)
WR (Stallworth's Slot)

I think the 3rd CB slot left by Gay is going to be filled via FA, and the Pats may pick up a LB too. (the guy from the Panther's that came in for a visit last week maybe or Spikes)

Guys like Alexander may end up cut, but right now I see 3 or 4 available slots for drafted rookies on the team.

Am I missing any?

I think it is reasonable to assume any player the Pats cut or put on the PS can be expected to be picked up by the Dolphins or Jets.

Based on my assumptions about available slots I think it's likely that at least one if not more of our day one picks with be dealt for picks next year or used to move up in the second round because the Pats don't have that many roster slots available and any player they draft and cut becomes a de facto selection for the Jets or Dolphins.

Any thoughts?

Holes in roster, with possible solutions:
Cornerback
Nickelback (Richardson, L Sanders, or Webster)
Depth DB (Richardson, L Sanders, or Webster)
#2/4 WR (Jackson, Washington)
Rotational Linebacker (2 if Seau retires) (Woods)
Reserve NT

Positions that could be improved:
LT
RT (possibly by the current LT)
RG (possibly by the current RT)
KR/PR
WR
Blocking TE

Positions where younger replacements could be drafted:
SS
ILB (x2)
3rd down RB

__________________
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-- Ty Warren, on his plans for celebrating his contract extension.

When it's fourth and 10, you can have the milk drinkers. I'll take the whiskey drinkers every time. -- R.I.P. Max McGee


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junior seau for ILB.....you missed his name
plus troy brown's spot

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Congrats to the rooks who made this team...

Now go out there and kick some ass

I may be in the minority by saying that I will be disappointed if
only 3 or 4 rookies make the 53 man roster. It would mean to me
that the Patriots are not interested in developing young players.
As the poster states the chances are not great that the Patriots
can waive promising rookies and re-sign them to their practice squad.

I would like to see the Patriots draft two cornerbacks and a safety.
Rodney Harrison, James Sanders, Lewis Sanders, Jason Webster, and
Tank Williams are all scheduled to be free agents next year.

At linebacker, the Pats need to draft both an inside and outside
linebacker. I still have hopes the Pats will sign Adam Seward to an
offer sheet and re-sign Junior Seau, but it would be ideal to begin
to assemble the next generation of linebackers. During his tenure
as Pats head coach, Bill Belichick has yet to develop a draft choice
into a good starting linebacker.

The prime need on offense is to draft a tight end to replace Kyle
Brady. The player's responsibily would primarily be run and pass
blocking. Lesser needs would be a running back, wide receiver,
offensive guard, and offensive tackle.

I think as long as BB is here this will ALWAYS be a veteran team. We would rather take another teams backup than let a 5th rd LB learn it here. And the way the pats manage their players you have to see the STAR system in place. In order to be able to have so many stars on the team not only do they have to play at a home town discount, but you have to balance ALOT of cheaper players(jags/undrafted FAs/vet minimum guys).
It becomes harder and harder to justify keeping lower round picks the better you get. We bring these rookies in to create competition, but our roster is pretty much made up on paper by BB/SP. We can say we have holes to fill and would like to add depth, but the truth is there will always be a weakness on ANY team. To read alot of these posts you wouldnt know we went 18-1.Read NO MIDDLE CLASS.
The average draft position for a starter in the league is like 83, and that is an AVERAGE team. On this team, we should have only 1 starter and maybe 2-3 backups/STers.That said, if you like a guy you do what you can to bring him in, trade value be damned.

I think the Patriots could have 5, possibly 6 rookies on their 53 man roster, but might only keep 2-3 active on game day.

We should see atleast one rookie CB, a rookie LB, and a rookie TE make the team.

We could also see an RB, WR, or CB drafted to be a return guy first and a position player second.

I think the Patriots also will add an Olineman in this draft. They took 3 last year and none panned out, I think they make sure to get one they like this year.

I agree with the premise of the orginal post, the Patriots really don't have room for 7-8 guys to make the team. If the Patriots trade down in round 1, that means they will have a mininum of 5 picks in the first 3 rounds. If they make all 5 picks, there won't be room for players in rounds 4-7 to make the team. It's unlikely the Patriots will be able to slide a player drafted in rounds 4,5, or 6 on to their practice squad.

Options:

1. Trade back up: Bundle some of the picks to get up in to the early 2nd round.

2. Trade for a veteran: Move a 3rd round pick for an established LB or CB (I hope this happens)

3. Trade for future picks: Patriots have done this very frequently. A 3rd this year for a 2nd next year?

4. Draft an injured player or two: If the Patriots have more picks than roster spots, they could draft a guy like Jack Ikegwuono who won't be able to play most of next year. He could be placed on IR and brought back healthy next season.

"The Patriots, like all NFL teams, have 61 roster spots that available to them. They have the 53-man roster of which they dress 45 players for each game. That means they have to have 8 inactive players from that roster each week. In addition to the regular roster they have 8 practice squad players. These players are not considered on the active roster and are technically free agents, therefore they can be signed to the active roster of any team that wants to employ them. Teams can not take a practice squad player and put them on their practice squad, only to the active roster. Players who are on the injured reserve or physically unable to perform lists don’t count against the roster totals."-soxanddawgs.com

According to Patriots.com they have 58 on the roster right now.

90 Le Kevin Smith DL 6-1 308 7/21/1982
82 Stephen Spach TE 6-4 250 7/18/1982
28 Antwain Spann CB 6-0 195 2/22/1983
86 David Thomas TE 6-3 248 7/5/1983
96 Adalius Thomas LB 6-2 270 8/18/1977
92 Santonio Thomas DL 6-4 305 7/2/1981
41 Raymond Ventrone S 5-10 200 10/21/1982
50 Mike Vrabel LB 6-4 261 8/14/1975
94 Ty Warren DL 6-5 300 2/6/1981
15 Kelley Washington WR 6-3 215 8/21/1979
84 Benjamin Watson TE 6-3 255 12/18/1980
Jason Webster CB 5-9 187 9/8/1977
83 Wes Welker WR 5-9 185 5/1/1981
75 Vince Wilfork DL 6-2 325 11/4/1981
Tank Williams S 6-2 223 6/30/1980
58 Pierre Woods LB 6-5 250 1/6/1982
99 Mike Wright DL 6-4 295 3/1/1982
74 Billy Yates G 6-2 305 4/15/1980
Sam Aiken WR 6-2 215 12/14/1980
52 Eric Alexander LB 6-2 240 2/8/1982
23 Willie Andrews DB 5-10 190 11/2/1983
12 Tom Brady QB 6-4 225 8/3/1977
65 Wesley Britt T 6-8 320 11/21/1981
54 Tedy Bruschi LB 6-1 247 6/9/1973
16 Matt Cassel QB 6-4 230 5/17/1982
63 Dan Connolly OL 6-4 313 9/2/1982
38 Kyle Eckel FB 5-11 237 12/30/1981
44 Heath Evans FB 6-0 250 12/30/1978
33 Kevin Faulk RB 5-8 202 6/5/1976
10 Jabar Gaffney WR 6-1 200 12/1/1980
3 Stephen Gostkowski K 6-1 210 1/28/1984
97 Jarvis Green DL 6-3 285 1/12/1979
7 Matt Gutierrez QB 6-4 230 6/9/1984
6 Chris Hanson P 6-2 202 10/25/1976
37 Rodney Harrison S 6-1 220 12/15/1972
27 Ellis Hobbs III CB 5-9 195 5/16/1983
71 Russ Hochstein G/C 6-4 305 10/7/1977
53 Larry Izzo LB 5-10 228 9/26/1974
17 Chad Jackson WR 6-1 215 3/6/1985
19 C.J. Jones WR 5-11 195 9/20/1980
77 Nick Kaczur T 6-4 315 7/28/1979
67 Dan Koppen C 6-2 296 9/12/1979
72 Matt Light T 6-4 305 6/23/1978
70 Logan Mankins G 6-4 310 3/10/1982
39 Laurence Maroney RB 5-11 220 2/5/1985
Jimmy Martin OL 6-5 306 10/19/1982
31 Brandon Meriweather S 5-11 200 1/14/1984
25 Tim Mixon CB 5-9 184 7/8/1984
34 Sammy Morris RB 6-0 220 3/23/1977
81 Randy Moss WR 6-4 210 2/13/1977
61 Stephen Neal G 6-4 305 10/9/1976
68 Ryan O'Callaghan T 6-7 330 7/19/1983
66 Lonie Paxton LS 6-2 260 3/13/1978
35 Mike Richardson CB 5-11 190 2/18/1984
Lewis Sanders CB 6-1 210 6/22/1978
36 James Sanders S 5-10 210 11/11/1983
93 Richard Seymour DL 6-6 310 10/6/1979
T.J. Slaughter LB 6-1 233 2/20/1977

So that should leave them with 3 slots for the team.

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Sure...assuming all those guys make the team or practice squad, which isn't going to happen. If guys like TJ Slaughter and Jimmy Martin make the 61, I'll be disappointed.

__________________
There isn’t too much I need. It doesn’t take much to please me. As long as my wife and kids are healthy with a shelter over their heads and food on the table, I’m happy.
-- Ty Warren, on his plans for celebrating his contract extension.

When it's fourth and 10, you can have the milk drinkers. I'll take the whiskey drinkers every time. -- R.I.P. Max McGee


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I don't expect alot of them to make the final cut either, just trying to answer the OP's topic

Really I see anywhere from 5-10 getting dropped from the current roster.

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"There will be no siege on this Cassel" - Me...

Here's the way I look at it. The Pats currently have 58 on their roster. They've never started a training camp with less than the maximum 80 (excluding exemptions) to my knowledge. So, that leaves 22 spots for the Pats to sign players. I fully expect some of the players on the current roster to be gone.

Players who are by no means safe:
Pierre Woods
LeKevin Smith
Eric Alexander
Jason Webster
Wesley Britt
Sam Aiken
Ryan O'Callaghan
Willie Andrews
Kyle Eckel
Lewis Sanders
TJ Slaughter
CJ Jones
Antwain Spann
Dan Connolly
Santonio Thomas
Ray Ventrone
Tim Mixon
Mike Richardson
Stephen Spach
David Thomas

That is 20 of the 58 that are currently signed who have the potential to be outplayed and cut.