New England Patriots: Should They Participate in 2011 Free Agency?

It's a question New England Patriots fans ask every time the NFL offseason rolls around. With all the free agency rumors swirling, it's not surprising that fans want in on the buzz of the big-name players.

But don't get your hopes up. There's no reason to hope for those guys, and there's no reason to think they're coming to New England.

With the team so close to being "over the hump," it would seem that just one or even two key free agent acquisitions could guarantee this team a spot in the Super Bowl.

But it's no secret that the two Super Bowl teams made their way to the big game via the draft, picking up key contributors at a low cost. The Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers each had 35 home grown talents on their final 53-man roster.

The Patriots are well on their way, too, with a 2010 roster that featured 32 of their own draft picks (if you count Deion Branch, who left the team and was reacquired via trade) out of 65 total players.

Nineteen of their 22 starters were their own draft picks, and that's not counting undrafted free agents like BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Stephen Neal.

So the draft has clearly been working for them, and it has worked for championship-caliber teams. Why ruin a good thing?

With six picks in the first three rounds, the Patriots are bound to land some talented players. Three more players to round out the starting roster of home-grown talent? Why not?

The Patriots have had the chance to be big participants in free agency in years past, but have refrained each time. This year figures to be no different.

With six opportunities to land a young cornerstone in the upcoming draft, the Patriots have the ability to hand-pick the future faces of the franchise.

Wouldn't it be more prudent to give the Patriots' coaching staff young talent to work with than to kick the tires on a free agent and hope for a fit?

Of course, we all know that drafting talent doesn't always work out.

The Patriots had a few drafts in which they failed to pick up big-time building blocks for the team. From 2006 to '08, the Patriots drafted 26 players, and only five of them were with the team at the end of the 2010 season: Stephen Gostkowski, Brandon Meriweather, Jerod Mayo, Jonathan Wilhite and Matthew Slater. The latter two were mainly depth and special teams players.

Still, free agency is meant to serve as a supplement to a successful franchise and not as the foundation for one.

Back-up players and mentors are more than welcome to a growing franchise, as we saw with Alge Crumpler last year. The draft, however, is where you find the cornerstones of the franchise, as we saw with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

It was only through this year's hugely successful draft class that the Patriots were able to get back on the right track, but with six picks in the first three rounds, the Patriots have plenty of chances to pick up steam as they prepare for future runs at the Super Bowl.