The Patriots hosted Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant on a pre-draft visit at Gillette Stadium today.
Bryant is considered one of the top receivers in the draft, and the only reason he might be available at pick 22 is if teams shy away from him because of off-field concerns. The NCAA imposed a season-long suspension to Bryant after three games last season for lying about his relationship with Deion Sanders, who investigators thought might be courting him as a client for a sports agent.
There is somewhat of a Patriots connection with Bryant (6-2, 225).
Part of the reason Bryant committed to Oklahoma State was because of the presence of assistant coach Gunter Brewer, who had coached Randy Moss at Marshall.
NFL teams are allowed up to 30 in-house visits with prospects before the draft. The Patriots' hosting of Bryant would seem to indicate that the team still had follow-up work to do on him before closing his file, although some visits can be smokescreens to deceive other clubs.
Bryant previously visited Dallas, Pittsburgh, Miami and Cincinnati.