Ian Clark on Football: Draft buzzword for Pats is value

HELLO, BOYS AND GIRLS. Today's word of the day is value.

As the New England Patriots participate in this weekend's NFL draft, which begins today at 3 p.m., the bottom line in each decision from head coach Bill Belichick and his staff will be value.

Value is what makes the Patriots unlike many other NFL teams. Value is what makes the Patriots select the best player available rather than the best player available at a specific position of need.

"Who has more value? Who's better now? Who's going to be better in two years?," Belichick said last week during his pre-draft press conference. "You're never really comparing apples to apples. Very seldom are you comparing, sitting there talking about two receivers. It's usually a player at one position, a player at another position, often on the other side of the ball. It's a hard exercise."

And that approach is what makes it so hard to tell what the Patriots will do in any given draft. The Patriots have eight picks going into today. They lost their own first rounder in the Spygate aftermath, but own San Francisco's No. 7 through a trade from last year.

New England also holds pick No. 62 (second round), 69 and 94 (third rounders), 129 (fourth), 164 (fifth), 197 (sixth) and 238 (seventh). The NFL has changed the draft this year, with rounds one and two today and three to seven tomorrow. The first round is also shortened from 15 to 10 minutes per pick.

That seventh pick overall is a tricky one. While there will certainly be solid players to be had there, this year's draft is considered deep but not top-heavy. That means this year's No. 7 might not be as good as another year's seven but will command top 10 contract money just the same.

That's why the prevailing thought is that the Patriots will look to trade the pick for someone else's first rounder this year (likely in the high teens or low 20s) and next.

Cornerback and linebacker are the two areas where New England needs help. The cornerback pool is deep in the draft. Linebacker not so much, and is an area where Belichick has preferred to add veteran free agents rather than draft picks.

And even though there are several legitimate first-round corners, No. 7 might be too high a pick to spend on them. That's why it won't be a surprise if the Patriots use that seventh pick on an area of strength like the offensive or defensive line.

Here are some names to look for if the Patriots keep the No. 7 pick and don't go for a corner: Keith Rivers (outside linebacker, Southern California), Vernon Gholston (defensive end, Ohio State), Brandon Albert (offensive line, Virginia), Derrick Harvey (DE/OLB, Florida) and Ryan Clady (OL, Boise State).

And if Arkansas running back Darren McFadden somehow falls to them at seven, he'd be hard to pass up. McFadden and Laurence Maroney as a one-two punch would be a major offensive weapon.

Albert makes perhaps the most sense, however, as the scouting report on him says he will start in the NFL right away. With superb Pats' O-line coach Dante Scarnecchia, that happens in Foxborough a lot with great success (Logan Mankins, etc.).

As for the corners, Leodis McKelvin (Troy, 5-foot-10, 190 pounds) is the name that has been most associated with the Patriots leading into this weekend. The book on McKelvin is that he is technically sound and a good athlete with speed. He also returns kicks, adding to his value.

Other cornerbacks to keep in mind are Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (Tennessee State), Mike Jenkins (South Florida), Antoine Cason (Arizona) and Aqib Talib (Kansas).

However it plays out, the Patriots are in a rare position to be drafting in the top 10 after coming off a Super Bowl appearance. They have a lot of options and with the track record of Belichick and player personnel director Scott Pioli, it's hard to imagine them botching it.

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Ian M. Clark covers pro football for the New Hampshire Union leader and Sunday News. His e-mail address is iclark@unionleader.com.