Tight End: The lack of a playmaker in the middle of the field became very apparent this season, especially after the loss of expected difference maker Kevin Everett to a neck injury. After the Everett injury, the team was forced to turn back to former starter Robert Royal, who has never resembled a player that teams must account for on every play. The team needs to provide its young quarterbacks with a sure-handed target in the middle of the field, so do not be surprised to see the team use its 16th overall pick on someone like Martin Rucker of Missouri, Fred Davis of USC or Travis Beckum of Wisconsin, should he declare for the draft. If the Bills decide to postpone this pick to the middle rounds, Martellus Bennett of Texas A&M and John Carlson of Notre Dame could be possible selections. The Bills may decide to wait until the later rounds of the draft to address tight end, and if so, Cornelius Ingram of Florida, Kellen Davis of Michigan State and Joe John Finley of Oklahoma all seem to be intriguing picks that can provide the athleticism at the position that the team so desperately needs.

Linebacker: The last few seasons have seen a complete turnover in the Bills’ linebacking corps. London Fletcher-Baker left for the Washington Redskins where he has revived his career, and Takeo Spikes has become a consistent force for the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bills thought this position had been addressed after the selection of Paul Posluszny in the second round in 2007, and while he showed flashes of brilliance in his three starts, a season-ending injury suddenly left the team with a huge void at the position. Angelo Crowell stepped up in the Poz’s absence and he looks to be a long-term starter at one of the outside linebacker positions; however John DiGiorgio and Keith Ellison are nothing more than role players. Depending on the eventual placement of Posluszny at either middle linebacker or his more natural outside linebacker, the team may go outside or inside linebacker. If the team uses its 16th pick on the position, players like Dan Connor of Penn State, Keith Rivers of USC, and Shawn Crable of Michigan all seem to be possible solutions to the Bills linebacker void. Mid-round solutions include Vince Hall of Virginia Tech or J Leman of Illinois, the selection of which would allow Posluszny to assume one of the outside linebacker positions. Ace Bowen of Iowa State and Jordon Dizon of Colorado would be great late-round selections, as they would provide an immediate upgrade in depth and the exhibit enough ability to be groomed as potential starters two or three seasons down the round.

Defensive End: The Bills defense struggled mightily this year compared to last, and some it can be attributed to the lack of a consistent pass rush, which had been present in years past. Aaron Schobel, who had posted five-consecutive seasons of 8-plus sacks entering 2007, including 14 in 2006, saw his sack total drop by more than half to 6.5. Meanwhile, the other starting defensive end Chris Kelsay managed only 2.5 sacks. Schobel is an established pass-rushing terror in the NFL, but teams are now able to double and triple team him on every down because of the lack of a threat on the opposite edge. As such, it is imperative that the Bills address this position in some fashion this offseason. Potential selections with the 16th pick include Vernon Gholston of Ohio State, Calais Campbell of Miami and Derrick Harvey of Florida. Any one of the three would start from day one. Chris Ellis of Virginia Tech, Lawrence Jackson of USC and Tommy Blake of TCU would be wise mid-round solutions to this position, as all three have built their reputations on getting to the quarterback. The Bills may be more apt to take a flier on Blake, despite his injury/emotional concerns, as they are very familiar with the TCU program through their selection of Schobel, and Blake is more of a playmaker than Schobel ever was during his time there. Later round solutions could include the Wallace Gilberry of Alabama, Brandon Miller of Georgia and the undersized Bruce Davis of UCLA.

New England Patriots
What can be said about the Patriots that has not already been said repeatedly over the course of the 2007 season? Not much. However, it is clear that Scott Pioli and Bill Belichick form the best personnel combination in the NFL, and there does not appear to be and end in sight to the genius that emanates from Foxboro, Mass. The team was much more aggressive in free agency following the 2006 season, but do not expect that to be a trend. The Patriots pride themselves on finding role players to surround their bigger stars, and this will continue following the 2007 season. The Patriots are seemingly always in a position to look for depth rather than starters, but the team may be faced with some difficult decision regarding some of their veterans in the next few seasons, so expect the team to start preparing for the impending departure of some of these players beginning this offseason.

Inside Linebacker: This position looked to be solid heading into 2007 with the free agent addition of Adalius Thomas, but again injuries to the linebacking corps have ravaged the depth that the Patriots so desire. Consequentially, Thomas was moved to outside linebacker and Junior Seau became a full-time starter at the ripe age of 38. Thomas has become much more of a presence at on the outside, so look for the team to keep him there entering 2008. But with Seau turning 39 before the Super Bowl and Teddy Bruschi seemingly on his last legs, the Patriots understand that it is time to get some young playmakers to integrate into the linebacker rotation. As such, do not be surprised to see the team use their first round pick (eighth overall) on James Laurinaitis or Dan Connor, both considered the best linebackers in the 2008 draft, assuming Laurinaitis enters. Both players would provide great value at this selection and could immediately contend for a starting position. If the Patriots decide to wait until the middle rounds to address this position, players like Vince Hall of Virginia Tech or Ben Moffitt of South Florida could be potential selections. Some more intriguing later-round selections could be Bo Ruud of Nebraska, Casper or Jasper Brinkley of South Carolina, and more notably, Willie Williams of Miami/Louisville. Williams has had several off-the-field transgressions, most recently being his dismissal from the Louisville team for his arrest for marijuana possession. However, the Patriots have been willing to take a chance on talented players with spotty off the field records in the past, so do not be surprised to see the team take a flier on this uber-talented yet much troubled linebacker.

Cornerback: Do not expect a resolution to occur between Asante Samuel and the Patriots this offseason, as Samuel met the playing requirements to avoid being stuck with the franchise label again and the Patriots seemingly remaining unwilling to offer him a long-term contract. The Patriots do have depth behind Samuel in Randall Gay and Brandon Meriweather, but Gay has not been consistent enough to merit full-time starter status and Meriweather seems destined to return to safety once Rodney Harrison hangs up his cleats. Consequentially, it makes sense for the Patriots to draft a young player that can be groomed for at least half a season behind Gay, and then eventually become the full-time starter. Players like Malcom Jenkins of Ohio State and Mike Jenkins of South Florida would be great selections as would Aqib Talib of Kansas, who may warrant top-10 pick status after his MVP performance in the Orange Bowl. Mid-round solutions include Terrell Thomas of USC, Chevis Jackson of LSU and Victor Harris of Virginia Tech. D.J. Wolfe of Oklahoma, and more importantly Ambrose Woodson of Notre Dame, could be late-round picks that meet the Patriots needs. Wooden is familiar with the Patriots style of defense due to his time at Notre Dame under Charlie Weis, who implemented a Patriots-like defensive scheme in 2007. Furthermore, Weis is known to advocate for his players, so him making a call to Pioli or Belichick encouraging them to draft Wooden is not out of the imagination.

Best Player Available: Because of their unmatched personnel skills, the Patriots have been in a position over the past few seasons to draft the best player available at each of their selections. This has allowed the team to stockpile talent, and the results are very evident. While the team had its second first round pick taken away due to Spy Gate, it still has the eighth overall pick along with what very likely will be the last pick in every other round. This draft slot alone tends to force a team to draft the best player available, but combine this with the already strong Patriots roster, and it is clear the Patriots will continue to adhere to this NFL Draft strategy.