The question is did those teams draft well enough to shore up areas of need that will make them more competitive this fall? Conversely, did New England counter with enough new blood to keep some distance between its division rivals?
The defending champions had needs at linebacker and in the secondary, but coach Bill Belichick refused to reach and ended up with what appears to be a two-day haul of the kind of players who have made his team a dynasty for the New Millennium -- versatile ones who give him flexibility.
Selecting two offensive linemen on the first day, including surprise first-round choice Logan Mankins, added depth and youth to a unit that lost Joe Andruzzi and Adrian Klemm, not to mention Stephen Neal's checkered injury history. New England drafted two massive and mean power blockers in Mankins and Mid-American Conference star Nick Kaczur. Both are 300-plus pounds, rugged, and have experience at tackle but also have shown the ability to move inside to guard and hold their ground against bigger men. What that means is the Patriots should have solid depth at the positions where offense really begins for some time to come.
In Rounds 3 and 4, New England reinforced a secondary that proved a year ago you can never have enough bodies. Cornerback Ellis Hobbs is a solid corner and possible return man and James Sanders is an undersized safety who is the kind of situational player and special teams demon Belichick tends to get the most out of.
It's no coincidence that Mankins and Sanders came out of Fresno State, either. Former Belichick offensive line coach Pat Hill is the head coach there, and Belichick likes to draft players who have played for coaches he knows and trusts. Hill recommended both highly.
Belichick then took another versatile player in Ryan Claridge, who was an outside linebacker at UNLV but has the ability to move inside as well. He's added insurance because of the questions about Tedy Bruschi's future and the age of Ted Johnson and Willie McGinest.
So what of the rest of the AFC East? Here's a look:
