New England Patriots Links 2/16/12 - Mayock on Pats' Draft: 'It's Got to be All About Defense'

Mike Reiss highlights what Mike Mayock had to say about the Patriots in his conference call yesterday.

What do you see as the Patriots No. 1 or 2 need, and did anything that happened in the Super Bowl -- as far as the game itself -- make you lean one way or another as far as what they need?

"I'm less of a snapshot guy than I am a composite guy. They have two picks in the first round, what a surprise (tongue in cheek). Bill is a master at letting the board come to him, so I don't even think Bill will know really until that last week prior to the draft what specific players he's interested in. But the way I look at it is it's got to be all about defense. You're sitting there with two picks, with the ability to move up, down, or stay at 27 and 31. In a league where it's a pass-first league; I was kind of happy to see the return of defense in the playoffs and the Super Bowl, but let's be honest about it, there are a lot of teams, including the Patriots, that want a track meet every week, which means you have to rush the quarterback and you have to defend on the back end. I think those are the two areas of need that kind of cry out for some help in the draft for the Patriots."

If the Patriots go offensively in the draft, what position could you envision them targeting?

"Probably at wide receiver," Mayock answered. "Welker has had career years and those two tight ends are exceptional, which has kind of changed the way a lot of people look at offense in this league, and I think you have to give Bill and his coaching staff a lot of credit for crafting what they've crafted with that offense; however, having said that, between Welker and the tight ends they're based in the middle of the field more than they are vertically. I think a vertical wide receiver could really help them."

Christopher Price reports Wes Welker returns to Twitter for the first time since the Super Bowl.

I would like to thank all of my fans for your love and support. I looked outside and the sun came out. #vacationtime

TEAM TALK

• Erik Scalavino goes Inside the Helmet with Matthew Slater.

LOCAL LINKS

• Greg A. Bedard paints a picture of the 2011 Patriots by the numbers and looks at where Belichick will look to improve heading into next season.
• Greg A. Bedard issues the individual player grades for all 53 men that finished on the Patriots' roster.
• Mike Reiss thinks Devin McCourty will be back at corner on a full-time basis in 2012.
• Jeff Howe thinks reuniting Brandon Lloyd with Josh McDaniels is an interesting possibility, and 19 other Patriots thoughts.
• Ron Borges says if the Patriots want to do business with Tom Condon, and his client WR Brandon Lloyd, all they have to do is call him.
• Mike Reiss charts some of the risers and fallers when it comes to playing time on defense between the 2011 season and 2010 season. Interesting.
• CSNNE reports Kyle Arrington is rated a Top 5 tackler among NFL corners according to Pro Football Focus.
• Ian Rapoport writes how PGA star Ricky Barnes was impressed by Bill Belichick at the PGA event last week.
• Mike Reiss shares some nuggets from Draft analyst Mike Mayock's conference call Wednesday, with one being the DE/OLB crop is not strong.
• Christopher Price profiles free agent G Carl Nicks (Saints) as a possible fit for the Patriots.
• Mike Reiss tells us who Mel Kiper picked for the Patriots in his second mock draft: OLB Vinny Curry (Marshall) at 27 and DL Kendall Reyes (UConn) at 31.
• Ian Rapoport posts his interview with backup QB Ryan Mallett from Super Bowl media day. (1.39 min. video)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News) Expect two-tight end trend to take off in copycat NFL.
• Gregg Rosenthal (ProFootballTalk) Wes Welker takes the high road.
• Stephen J. Dubner (NFL.com) Football Freakonomics: Draft luck.
• James Walker (ESPN) Top 40 players in the AFC East: Nos. 21-24 and Nos. 17-20.
• Tom E. Curran & Gregg Rosenthal (NBC Sports) Who will get the franchise tag? (6.42 min. video)
• Mike Mayock (NFL.com) Pre-Combine position rankings for 2012 NFL Draft.
• Andrew Brandt (Nat'l Football Post) Receiver roulette: Five top level wide-outs set to hit the market.
• Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News) NFL top 100 free agents.
• Matt Bowen (Nat'l Football Post) NFL Draft: How to grade the safety position. Five keys to watch in your own tape study.
• Gregg Rosenthal (ProFootballTalk) It's a big draft for the big uglies.
• Matt Vensel (Baltimore Sun) NFL Scouting Combine preview: Running backs - Wide Receivers - Tight Ends.
• Jack Bechta (Nat'l Football Post) Are NFL fans getting tired of the stadium experience?
• Gregg Rosenthal (ProFootballTalk) ESPN removes Jaworski from Monday Night booth.
• Richard Deitsch (SI) Jaworski no longer part of MNF broadcast; calls move bittersweet.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Moss TV heads to the Bahamas.
• Alex Marvez (Fox Sports) Moss return may be far-fetched.
• Clark Judge (CBS Sports) Does Moss have anything left for comeback? Former coaches disagree.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Buccaneers cut Albert Haynesworth.
• Ben Shpigel (NY Times) Super Bowl matchup a 'cruel joke' to Ryan.