I'm surprise how shallow people's thoughts are about Tavon Wilson, and how so many have written him off already as being a productive starter, even after a fairly productive rookie season and despite the fact he was playing a relatively new position. Safeties usually DON'T come in and start right away. Rodney Harrison didn't start a single game in SD until his THIRD year in the league. So I guess all the personnel "experts" here would have dismissed one of the best Safeties in Pats history because he didn't make an "instant impact" for a few years.
There were a handful of rookies who saw valuable reps, actually more reps than I would have initially guessed at the beginning of the year. All of Dennard, Wilson, Jones, and Hightower (and even Francis) all received some great opportunities due to one reason or another. I think that bodes well for their potential for the future as young prospects.
As for Wilson personally, I agree with you that he showed more than some are giving him credit for. The problem was that he made those 2 huge mistakes in back to back weeks (SEA, STL) on the long TD passes that quickly put him in BB's doghouse for awhile, and that is likely what most remember when thinking of him.
I think that he rebounded in a decent fashion when given the dime back/TE specialty role later in the season though, so it was good to see him get another chance in that regard.
I wouldn't even think of writing him off, as you said it's just not fair to try and judge his future based on his first year here. There were things that he did which looked good, and things he did which screamed "green," much like most rookies. I don't think that any of us saw exceptional talent, but I also don't think there's any reason not to include him in the future for one of the prospects who could make a nice jump in the next 1-2 seasons.
I'd have him as the #3 or #4 safety right now behind McCourty and either a FA signing or a higher round draft pick, but Belichick may feel differently. Either way, I think we'll see a lot of him moving forward, so he should have his opportunity to prove himself in the next year or so. The position itself has the potential to be the deepest that we've seen in awhile though, especially if we can get a nice starting caliber safety opposite of McCourty (who is the 'real' reason that the secondary improved last year...not Talib).
Good point about playing time though, as even Meriweather as a 1st rd draft pick was blended in a lot slower in the 2007 season. Of course an argument could be made to the level of competition in front of him that year too though. I don't think that Wilson quite lived up to any 2nd rd statuses just yet, but if he'd have been a 4th or 5th rounder many would be high on him. It's unfortunate sometimes that the judgment happens like that, but many have high expectations for those 2nd rounders.