2011 projection:
QB - Should be solid at starter with the usual turnover at 2 & 3.
RB - Rookie starters are not unusual for RB, there has been a regular pool of veteran talent cycling through. Not an area of concern.
WR - The rule of thumb is they start to hit their potential in their third year. A serious consideration.
TE - Graham, Watkins, Thomas all saw playing time as rookies. A starter can be drafted this year or next, no urgency.
OL - Four of the NE starters and one of the reserves were used as starters in their rookie seasons. No urgency.
DL - Top contributors are better for having a year in the system, if 2011 is your lookout then you can draft this year or next, however; Seymour, Wilfork, and Green are all UFA in 2010, Smith is RFA in an uncapped year - it may be necessary to target a DE in this draft, though there will be two Franchise Tags available in an uncapped 2010.
LB - Mayo is still onboard in 2011. At the moment, no other LB can be expected to be there - looks like a substantial hole in the defense given the standard transition time using the careers of Bruschi, Vrabel, Adalius, TBC, and Woods as benchmarks.
CB - Wheatley and Wilhite will be in their final seasons, though CBA rules may impact that. We've seen Gay, Hobbs, and Wheatley develop in the system and begin starting about eight games in. Asante had a season+ as a Nickelback before being thrust into a starting role. Wilhite had most of a season as Nickelback before taking over as a starter. BB has successfully (more or less from a fan perspective) used veteran stopgaps to buy time for his rookies to develop. No hurry to draft a 2011 starter.
S - Sanders and Meriweather both had time to develop behind veterans, Eugene Wilson was thrown into the fire as a rookie alongside a veteran and behind two veteran CBs. This is looking like a position that needs at least one year of development, preferably two...but it does not require a first round pick as Geno and James demonstrate...it can also be filled by veteran CBs as well as Ss.
ST - Punters seem to require extended development time if recent seasons and Practice Squad assignments are to be trusted, but BB seems capable of staying ahead of that by using the Practice Squad and a variety of veteran and Free Agent Punters.
- PK is likely set, but if necessary, Gostkowski is not the only rookie who has filled in around the league.
- LS will probably get sorted out before 2011.
Based on this, LB and S would seem to be the most critical needs for starters in 2011, with LB the higher priority.