Offseason Acquisitions: New England Patriots

I tell you what, nobody loads up in the draft like the New England Patriots.  The Pasts made twelve picks in the 2010 draft.  They snagged a lot of young talent in players like ILB Brandon Spikes(Florida), WR Taylor Price(Ohio), CB Devin McCourty(Rutgers), DE Jermaine Cunningham(Florida), and TE Aaron Hernandez(Florida).  It really doesn’t matter who you sign when you are bringing in that kind of rookie class.  The Patriots have already emassed numerous compensatory picks in next years draft as well.

New England also signed WR Torry Holt as an insurance policy in case Wes Welker hasn’t completely recovered from a  leg injury that kept him out of New England’s first round playoff loss to the Ravens.  Holt wasn’t a world beater last season (his only in Jacksonville), but still had 51 receptions.  He has over his, no doubt, Hall of Fame career had 8 80+ reception seasons with St. Louis.  Including in 2003 catching 117 passes with 12 TDs.

The Patriots are also notorious for not paying top dollar to retain players (outside of the QB position) that are aging or demanding long term contract extensions.  So, they did place the franchise tag on DT Vince Wilfork  and resign CB Leigh Bodden and LB Tully Banta-Cain.  The team also released CB Shawn Springs, LB Adalius Thomas and TE Chris Baker.

New England didn’t have a lot of holes to begin with.  But, with drafts like this and addressing positions with depth issues with signings of veterans like Torry Holt, the Patriots will be a force in the AFC East for years to come.