Ron Brace at rookie Mini Camp

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The New England Patriots signed six draft picks Thursday.

Signed were second-round picks DL Ron Brace and OL Sebastian Vollmer, third-round pick WR Brandon Tate, fifth-round pick OL George Bussey, sixth-round pick DL Myron Pryor and seventh-round pick WR Julian Edelman. Terms of the agreements were not announced.

In addition, the Patriots waived first-year WR Robert Ortiz and placed rookie RB Eric Kettani and rookie WR Tyree Barnes on the reserve/military list.

Lori Lyons (New Orleans Times-Picayune) New England Patriots' Darryl Richard is running down his NFL dream.

Richard served as Destrehan's Class of 2004 student body president, posted a perfect 4.0 grade-point average and finished as the class valedictorian. And he left a lasting impression, receiving a standing ovation for his rousing graduation speech.

He left Georgia Tech after four and a half years with two degrees, including a master's in business administration. When a knee injury kept him out of the lineup for the 2005 season, Richard doubled up on classroom hours. He finished his undergraduate degree in three years.

"I'm not one of those guys who are good with down time," Richard said. "I definitely want to have a life after football, and football is, really, a business. You have to think of yourself as a small business. Thanks to my MBA, I think I am prepared for the business of football."

LOCAL SHOTS

• Paul Perillo, Erik Scalavino and Andy Hart debate which veteran player would be the most surprising cut from the Patriots this summer.
• Erik Scalavino reports Pats' versatile Ray Ventrone is an ambitious fundraiser for pancreatic cancer research.
• Christopher Price focuses on Running Backs in his Countdown to Camp.
• Mike Reiss offers a snapshot of the Specialists leading up to Training Camp.
• Jim Donaldson asks some pressing questions on the eve of Patriots Training Camp.
• Jeff Howe looks at the AFC East competition, and focuses today on the Patriots.
• Mike Reiss hosted his online chat yesterday, offering plenty of pre-Training Camp insight.
• Mike Reiss notes Benjamin Watson is holding an autograph signing charity event Saturday at the Boston Billiard Club in Nashua, New Hampshire (5-7 p.m.), with proceeds going toward his One More foundation.
  

LONG SHOTS

• Charles Robinson (Yahoo! Sports) Preseason Storylines: How mobile is Brady?
• NFL.com NFL Draft's first round moves to Thursday night for 2010.  Well, that'll take the fun and anticipation out of next year's Draft Party.
• Michael Lombardi (NFP) New Chief's coach Todd Haley gets his shot, must control his emotions.
• Mike Florio (Pro Football Talk) NFLPA keeps trying to get a look at the NFL's books.
• Thomas George (NFL.com) Multitude of issues likely to delay Favre's decision on possible return.
• Brian Burke (NY Times) Cutler's interceptions: The context matters.