DALLAS -- The next big part of the Patriots' offseason is the NFL Draft (April 28-30), where they have six of the first 92 selections. With this in mind, the question was asked to Sirius NFL Radio and NFL.com draft analyst Gil Brandt: For teams with such ammunition, where is the strength of this draft?
"One thing we have to wait to see is how fast some of these guys are going to run, but it seems like there are a lot of corners, defensive tackles and defensive ends. I think defensively it will be a good draft," he answered.
That's good news for the Patriots, because that is where some of their bigger needs fall.
Overall, one thing that stands out to Brandt in general is the sheer volume of talent available.
"The amazing thing now about the draft is that last year we had 59 undrafted free agents make the final 53-man squad. When you look around and see how much some of those players have contributed, I think it shows that we probably have more players out there than we've ever had before," he said.
Asked to compare the strength of this draft to past years, Brandt said he is still gathering information to answer that question.
"All drafts are a little bit different," he said. "For example, last year the player you got at 35 or 40 was a better player than you got the year before [at that spot]. But last year's draft might not have been as good with the top players. Historically, one way or the other, I think you can look at every draft and find good parts about it."