Patriots 2011 Draft Report

Going into the 2011 NFL Draft the New England Patriots seemed to be a team that was in dire need of a pass rusher. However, the Patriots surprisingly, never went in that direction.

With their first pick the Patriots decided to go the offensive line route and pick T Nate Solder out of Colorado. The 6-8, 319lb former tight end, is not one of those large, flabby-type of offensive tackles; he’s more svelte and agile, with an 81-inch wing span, which makes it extremely difficult for pass rushers to get around him. The only knock against him is his limited strength –at the combine Solder could only bench press 225lbs, 21 times. However, Coach Bill Belichick picked the native Californian for his football playing ability, not for his weightlifting; and Solder possesses all of the necessary tools to be a quality offensive tackle in the NFL.

The Patriots picked cornerback Ras-I Dowling out of Virginia with the 33 rd pick. This pick alarmed many fans and experts because Dowling only played in five games during the Virginia Cavaliers 2010 season. Dowling was riddled with several injuries last season, but when he’s healthy he has shown he can be a top notch cornerback. Dowling was All-ACC during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He possesses excellent size for cornerback about to play in the NFL (6-1, 198lbs).

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With their next two picks the Patriots picked running backs – Shane Vereen (California) and Stevan Ridley (LSU). These two picks make you have to wonder about the future of veteran running back Kevin Faulk.

The 74 th pick proved to be an interesting one. With this pick the Patriots, surprised to see how far he had fallen, decided to pick Tom Brady’s heir apparent in QB Ryan Mallett (Arkansas). Mallett may have possibly been one of the best quarterback prospects in the draft. Several off the field issues contributed to him falling to the third round. However, this may eventually be the best situation for Mallett, because he won’t have as much pressure on him like some of the quarterbacks drafted ahead of him. He will have time to be mentored by Tom Brady, one of the NFL’s top field generals.

In the later rounds the Patriots picked OL Marcus Cannon (TCU), TE Lee Smith (Marshall), and OLB Markell Carter (Central Arkansas), DB Malcolm Williams (TCU). Many NFL experts felt that the Patriots could have done a better job; especially with them not picking a quality pass rusher. However, Belichick has surprised the so called experts before, and you can’t really judge a draft until the players have taken the field and played football. And with the current NFL labor situation we can only hope that will happen this fall.

By: Ryan K. Lee
ProFootball-fans.com New England Patriots Correspondent