Draft Day 2003.    Written on April 28th 2003

The New England Patriots select Ty Warren, Defensive Tackle from Texas A and M. After a wild first 12 picks the Patriots sit back watch all the comings and goings and got their man. They had 2 players they really wanted in the first round. First DT Dewayne Robertson but he went to the Jets at #4 and the other man was Ty Warren. Ty played in Bill Belichick's 2 gap Scheme at Texas A and M. He is sure to help the Patriots pass rush and run stop. Warren played end in his senior year but in his junior season he played nose. So now matter what position he will play for New England next season.

The talks have been that the Patriots would go to a 3-4 Defense. With that Richard Seymour would move to end and the Draft pick would play nose. Well that was when the Patriots were going to Draft Roberson or DT Jonathan Sullivan. But now with Ty, a guy who can play end better then nose, the Patriots might put Seymour at nose and put Warren at end. Warren is a solid run stopper which is what the Patriots need but he may be a better pass rusher which makes you think the Pats will have a dominating pass rush next season, with Colvin, Seymour, Mcginest, Bruschi, Hamilton, and now Warren.

The Patriots then traded the #19 overall pick to the Ravens for the #41 overall pick, which is a 2^nd rounder, and the Ravens 2004 1^st round pick. I think this is a great move. They Patriots ended up getting a projected 1^st round pick with the #41 pick and they also got a 2004 1^st round pick. It is reported that next years Draft may be more talented and plain old better. And you never know how the Ravens will do next season, could the Patriots get a Top 5 or 10 pick? I also thought that the Pats have Willie Mcginest, Bobby Hamilton, Troy Brown, Joe Andruzzi, and Mike Compton who can be effective for them next season but you never know after that they aren’t getting any younger. So the Patriots maybe thinking we can get something out of those guys in 2003 but they may need to replace them for 2004.

That projected 1^st round pick they were able to get in the 2^nd round was Corner Back Eugene Wilson. A great cover corner who’s only problem is he may gamble a bit but so does Otis Smith and he has been effective for the Pats over the past 3 seasons. After a stupendous junior year with 6 interceptions, teams did not throw Wilson’s way that much in his senior year so he only had 1 interception. He didn’t get worse in his senior year he got better.

The Patriots also added a Wide Receiver in the 2^nd round. Another one, another what? Another small slot receiver. A 5'11" Wide Out but with speed. He was spoke of as the fastest player in the Draft. He should help already solid group of Receivers.

In the 4^th round the Patriots Drafted the son of a former rival. We Drafted DT Dan Klecko, son of ex-Jets great Joe Klecko. Klecko is spoken very highly of throughout the NFL. He should actually compete for some playing time on the D line. Klecko lead the Temple Howls in most Defensive categories in 2002. Klecko will at least add depth to the Patriots. Also In the 4^th round the Pats Drafted a Cornerback from Central Florida, Asante Samuel. Samuel is a poor man’s Deion Sanders. Yes I’m comparing him to Prime Time. He is a big play Corner who is a great return man but couldn’t tackle if his life depended on it. He is a poor run stopping Corner but can pull down a pick.

In the 5^th round the Patriots stayed local by picking Boston College Center Dan Koppen. There is a chance he could be the future Center of the Patriots while Pro Bowl Center Damien Woody would move to Guard. This would happen if Woody continues to struggle with his shot-gun snaps. Woody has played Guard before when Mike Compton would move to Center to shot-gun snap and he has been effective at Guard so it may help him, Koppen, and the Patriots.

Quarterback? Yes a Quarterback was taken in the 6^th round. They took slinger Kliff Kingsbury of Texas Tech. He will add depth to a QB core with Questions still out on Rohan Davey and Daman Huard entering his last year under contract. If Huard leaves for a starting job in 2004 Kingsbury can move in as the backup to Tom Brady.

The Patriots had 3 7th round picks and they added 3 guys who may not necessarily make the team but you never know. Tight End Spencer Nead of Brigham Young, Defensive End Tully Banta-Cain of California, and Nose Tackle Ethan Kelley of Baylor were the 3 picks.

Was this Draft a Productive one? Well it was better then last years. But seriously we may not know for years. Hopefully Ty Warren can come in and start right away but the other guys may need some prepping. Eugene Wilson should play some nickel and maybe compete for a starting job. But everyone else is for the Future. One thing we do know after this Weekends Draft is that the 2004 NFL Draft will be a great one for the Patriots. The rookie class coming out next year is said to be one of the best in many years, that could change but most likely not and with 2 1^st round picks and 2 2^nd round picks alone with 3 4^th round picks the Patriots should have the monster Draft we all expected this year with the 2 1^st round picks except even more monstrous.