The New England Patriots 2009 Draft: Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios

(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

The 2009 draft is approaching quickly and there is a growing number of mock draft articles, but this is not one of those articles. The draft is not controlled by the fans and these mock drafts articles are spreading like wild fire as though it's actually going to happen the way they predicted.

The draft is controlled by the GMs and coaches. The man behind the Patriots dynasty is none other than the man with the raggedy grey sweatshirt "BB" entitled on it. Bill Belichick loves versatile players and the draft has a good depth of versatile players.

The Patriots currently hold the the 23rd, 34th, 47th, 58th, 89th, 97th, 124th, 170th, 199th, 207th, and the 234th picks in the 2009 draft. So if you do the math, that's one first-round pick, three second-round picks, and two third-round picks. That's a lot of picks for the first day of the draft.

With all those picks it's very possible that Belichick will trade up to try and the player that best fits the Patriots complex defensive scheme. As of right now the Patriots have no major wholes except for outside linebacker because of the Matt Cassel trade which Mike Vrabel was also a part of.

While the Patriots only glaring need is outside linebacker they also need younger players to add depth to positions such as tight end, offensive and defensive lineman, linebacker, wide receiver, running back, corner back, and safety.

Players like Brian Cushing could excel under Belichick and right now that would be a very good possibility because of NFL analysts saying that Cushing will fall to the middle of the first round. With all the draft picks that Belichick and the Patriots have stockpiled up right now it is a big possibility that they could move up in the first round.

Rey Maualuga is another player that the Patriots are looking at, but many scouts say that he will not be a three-down linebacker because he is a liability in pass coverage. That is something that Belichick will not put up with and that means that Maualuga is not as versatile as people thought.

Aaron Curry would be the best player for the Patriots to draft because he can play in any defensive scheme and is good in pass coverage, but he will be drafted in the top three picks of the draft.

Brian Cushing would be a good draft pick for the Patriots if they trade up, but if not I believe Connor Barwin will still be available and everyone in the Patriots Nation is falling in love with the Patriots drafting him.

Connor Barwin's stock has been rising recently and analysts now have the Patriots selecting Barwin with the 23rd pick overall. Barwin played outside linebacker at Cincinnati and is very similar to Mike Vrabel's build, Barwin stands at 6'4" and weighs 256 pounds.

Barwin is also very quick for his size and ran a 4.47 in the 40-yard dash at his pro day. Barwin has also played tight end and defensive end in his high school and college career, which is why I think that Barwin would be the perfect fit and pick for the Patriots in the first round.

Belichick loves versatile players as we all know and Barwin is about as versatile as a player can get, he is currently rated fourth out of this year's draft class and he should be available for the Patriots at 23.

Belichick also recently visited UConn's pro day to see corner back Darius Butler work out. Belichick rarely goes to college pro days and usually sends the scout or the positional coach for whatever player the Patriots are looking at the pro day.

Butler is the third-rated corner back in the draft class, but I think he could be the No. 1 or No. 2 corner back in the draft. Vontae Davis has character issues that teams need to worry about and he often takes to many chances or does his own thing instead of listening to the coach.

The No. 1 corner back in the draft is Malcolm Jenkins from Ohio State, but he ran a terrible 40-yard dash and will most likely be converted to free safety. The Patriots should be wary of him if he should fall to 23, anyone remember Michael Huff when he came out of college and he had everyone saying that he will be the best free safety?

Louis Delmas out of Western Michigan would be a good second round pick for the Patriots and has been compared by many people to Rodney Harrison

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