new england patriots

Here’s the video from yesterday’s Path to the Draft where amazingly Charley Casserly pretty much nails the big points of where the Pats stand for this draft, what they need, and who they might look at. As I tweeted last night, even a broken clock is right two times a day.

If the Patriots aren’t an absolute force (not that they aren’t right now, but it’s clear they’re still developing) by 2013 I’ll be shocked. I’m talking a defense that can win games outright. There’s no excuse to have as many picks as the Pats have had, do have and will continue to have, and not build another shutdown defense.

Frenz has a good haul of prospects here, heavy on Wisconsin Badgers and Clemson Tigers, and brings up an interesting prospect (or better yet type of prospect) in Casey Matthews. I’ve wondered if the Pats have been looking at players who might not have the ideal size but might be a little more athletic and Matthews fits that mold.

I think the key thing to drafting a guy like that is if he’s not going to play first and second down he needs to play a lot of special teams. The difference is between guys who are 6-04, 250 and guys who are 6-2, 235 and it might not seem like much, 2 inches, 15 pounds, but in terms of speed and quickness it can be significant.

I’m sure that after the draft is over the Patriots will still have needs and based on this mock I think the leftover need here would still be interior offensive line. But it’s pretty much impossible not to be excited no matter who the Pats add.