Patriots Retaining Their Own

The Patriots continued to take care of their own today when they locked up cornerback Leigh Bodden to a four year $22 million contract with $10 million guaranteed. It was smart move by the team as Bodden has proved he is a solid defender, only 28 years old, and helps fill a void at the DB position.

Having signed NT Wilfork, OLB Banta-Cain, RG Neal, and now Bodden, its clear the Patriots have opted to invest money in their own rather than testing the waters of free agency.

The Patriots average age on offense is 27.9. With needs for explosiveness out of the backfield, and holes at wide receiver and tight end, the team will look to the remaining free agents as well as the draft to continue building the team.

The defensive needs are obvious: the team needs to get better penetration on the QB rush and the front seven defenders need to prove more athletic and agile coming off the edge. Banta-Cain was a solid resigning, and a fine stopgap, but frankly is not the long term answer.

Here's our remaining list of team's needs in order of priority:

1. Outside Linebacker
2. Wide Receiver
   
3. Defensive End
4. Tight End
5. Running Back
   
6. Kick/Punt Returner

It will be interesting to see how Belichick and the personnel staff address these obvious team needs. With four picks in the top 53, the Patriots' scouts have a chance to prove their worth in a deep and talented pool of incoming athletes.