Patriots Take Wheatley In 2nd Round

Ian Logue Senior Writer · PatsFans.com since 2000

April 26, 2008 · 4:00 am 1 min read @IanLogue

The Patriots made their second selection Saturday night, selecting cornerback Terrence Wheatley out of Colorado with their 2nd round pick.

The pick comes as no surprise, as New England is obviously in need of help in the secondary. The good news is that most scouting reports call Wheatley a "shutdown cornerback", which is something New England is now in need of after losing Asante Samuel, Randall Gay and Eugene Wilson to free agency.

Wheatley had a solid 2007 season, playing at the left cornerback position and making 17 tackles (14 solo) with eight pass deflections and two interceptions. He caused a fumble and gained 506 yards on 19 kickoff returns (26.6-yard average). The only question that fans may have may be his health, as Wheatley had several surgeries on his right wrist which he fractured and limited his action early in his college career.

According to Wheatley, fans have nothing to worry about and he claims that the injury is no longer an issue.

"It's not an issue at all," Wheatley told reporters on Satruday. "I played with it for a whole year. It's not a big deal. There's really nothing more to say than that. I played the whole year with it and I've proven that I can play with it. It's completely healthy, so I'm going to go out there in training camp and see what I can do."

Wheatley may also be expected to see action in the kick return game, as Wheatley ranks second all-time in Colorado history with 1,350 career yards on kickoff returns, including a single-season record of 919 last year.

Here's a video from YouTube.com with highlights from his time in Colorado: