Apr 26, 2013; New York, NY, USA; NFL former player Deion Sanders announces the number sixty overall pick to the Atlanta Falcons during the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

Setting the table for day 3 of the NFL Draft .

The Patriots have 4 selections. They have a fourth and 3 sevenths. The 4th rounder is one to watch. It is the 5th overall in the round. The Pats could go many ways with this pick. They could trade it for more picks this year or a 3rd next. They could select a player that could contribute on special teams. They could select a QB like Matt Barkley, similar to the Mallett selection two years ago. This could make Mallett and after draft trade candidate to the Browns for a conditional 2nd round pick.

Players I could see the Patriots going after are

Jesse Williams DL Alabama

He would fill a nice need next to Wilfork. He is big and strong. He is probably best fit as a nose tackle in a 34 alignment but could team well with BIG Vince and ultimately become his replacement. He played for Nick Saban so you know he can play for BB. His selection would also allow good versatility on the defense and allow the team to switch between odd and even fronts.

Quinton Patton WR Louisiana Tech.

I am quite surprised that Patton is still here. I have seen around the web that he had first round potential. This could be the classic double tip the Patriots have done in the last few years. In 2010 they selected 2 tight ends in Gronk and Hernandez. 2011 Running back with Ridley and Vereen. So Patton teamed with Dobson could give the Pats 2 shots to groom a nice rookie receiver. I have seen comparisons to Reggie Wayne. His route running and quickness could be a nice asset for the Patriots.

Alex Okafor DE Texas

While the Patriots have already selected Jaime Collins, a second pass rusher could help. Okafor has good speed and is tall at 6’4″ and 260 lbs. Versatility could be the question. Could he stand up and cover as well as play with his hand in the dirt?

Marcus Lattimore HB South Carolina

Had Lattimore not been injured last season, a devastating knee injury with torn ligaments and a dislocation, he would of been the first back off the board. Patriots fans may remember former HB Robert Edwards who after a dislocated knee injury on the sand in Hawaii was never the same. Someone is gonna take him and get a great back. The Patriots look set at HB but this may be a spot to bring in the best available player on the board.

Barrett Jones C Alabama

Another Alabama player and another position of need for the Patriots. They need interior line depth. Jones centered an amazing line at Alabama and could be brought along well by Scar. He has a high football IQ and played for Saban so he could be just what the Patriots are looking for.

One of the previous 5 players will be there when the Patriots draft in the 4th round. Maybe Belichick will see it my way. I highly doubt that. I can see him seeing the value in Alabama players. Belichick has a history of taking players from coaches he knows.

I expect the Patriots to Trade 2 of the 7th to move up to the 6th round. With their final pick I could see the Patriots brining in a QB. I would look for players like Sean Renfree from Duke or Jeff Tuel from Washington State.

Follow Jeff Kane on Twitter
@BostonFatGuy

One thing that I like to do when looking at a draft is look at who was selected. The next thing to look at is who was selected within the next 5 picks that would have been better. Finally the trades that were made.

The Patriots went into round one with a pick at number 22. The Patriots traded that pick away and dropped down to 24 before trading that pick away for pick 27. The Patriots selected CB Devin McCourty with the pick. McCourty had a pro bowl rookie year. Great selection for a player that not many of us knew about. McCourty’s first 3 seasons have shown a great first season followed by a down 2nd. His third season showed a swap of positions to safety a position he has manned quite well. No one picked in the 5 picks after Devin have done much.

Lets look at the trades. At 22 the Patriots could have selected Demaryius Thomas. Instead they traded back and received a first 24 overall and a 4th round pick. They traded 24 to Dallas who selected Dez Bryant. With the 4th rounder the Patriots selected Aaron Hernadez. The Trade from 24 to 27 netted the Pats a 3rd. With the third the Patriots Selected Taylor Price. While Price didn’t work out and Thomas and Bryant have turned into good players, the trade did net the Pats 2 solid players in McCourty and Hernandez.

One final note on the first round. I believe that the Patriots wanted tight end Jermaine Gresham that went to the Bengals at 21. Had he been there the Pats may have stayed at 21.

In the second round the Pats selected Rob Gronkowski 42 overall. The Patriots acquired this pick ultimately through Jacksonville. The pick they traded the year before was the Packers 3rd round pick. That pick was acquired for the Patriots 1st round draft pick they received by Baltimore then traded to the Greenbay Packers. The Pack selected Clay Mathews. In the trade the Pats got Gronk, Edelman, Tate and Darius Butler. Win win for both teams.

Gronk has become the best tight end in football. This is a homerun pick as the next 5 picks after Rob Gronkowski were Sergio Kindle, Lamarr Houston, Zane Beadles, Linval Joseph and Daryl Washington. None have meant to there team what Gronk has.

The second pick of the second round saw the Patriots choosing Jermaine Cunningham. The team missed on this pick. Cunningham has flashed but has not done what the team had hoped. The next pick college teammate Carlos Dunlap had a great rookie season with 9.5 sacks and has 20 sacks in his career. Cunningham has 3.5. MLB Sean Lee was also selected 2 picks later. Ben Tate the solid back up HB for the Houston Texans was also selected.

The third pick for the Patriots in the second round was Brandon Spikes. Spikes has become a solid run defense linebacker. While he can be a liability in pass coverage. The pick was acquire along with a 5th rounder for the 58th overall pick which was Ben Tate. The running back from Houston while good is not Spikes and the 5th rounder punter Zoltan Mesko.

In the third round the Patriots had picks 89 and 90. They traded 89 to the Panthers for the panthers 2011 2nd round pick. That pick was 33 overall and was used to select Ras-i Dowling. While Dowling cant stay on the field a move up of 56 picks the next year is a hit.

At 90 the pats selected Taylor Price. A head scratcher in my mind. This wide out came from a run oriented scheme at Ohio. He was cut by the Pats in 2011 and has 5 career catches. The following selection was linebacker Navorro Bowman for the 49ers. That would of been a great pick. Other good players selected within 5 picks were Tony Moeaki and Jimmy Graham.

In the 4th round the Patriots hit big time on Aaron Hernandez. While he can be a bit fragile he is a matchup nightmare. Dennis Pitta was selected right after. No other players selected within the next 5 picks would be worth what Aaron is to the Patriots. This finalized the first round trades. I would take McCourty and Hernandez any day over the players selected in the first round instead

The 5th round brought the Patriots punter Zoltan Mesko. Mesko’s big leg has been a good field position changer for the Patriots. This finalized the trade with Houston. This is another case of the Pats playing the draft board game and coming away for a solid two for one. No player of note was taken in the next 5 picks. This was a very solid 5th round selection for a position of need at the time.

The sixth and seventh round brought nothing much as the Pats selected Ted Larson, Thomas Welch, Kade Weston and Brandon Deaderick. Deaderick was a good 7th round pick. He has 5 career sacks including 2 last season with 2 forced fumbles.

No special players have turned into surprise all pros after the Patriots selection of Ted Larson. Larson was cut and has become a very solid offensive lineman for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This draft was a complete success in my eyes. With starters McCourty, Gronkowski, Spikes, Hernadez and Mesko, the Pats added 5 quality players in a single draft. This draft looking back is an A or A- at worse. Hindsight ofcourse is 20/20. Mel Kiper on draft weekend gave this draft a B-. Pro football weekly was ahead of the curve giving the Pats an A. Todd McShay offered a B Grade.

The draft is a crap shoot. While sitting down this weekend and taking in the sites while enjoying your favorite adult beverage, remember post draft grades are worthless.

Jeff Kane

Follow Jeff on twitter
@bostonfatguy

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Hernandez was supposed to have massive workout sessions with Tom Brady in Los Angeles, but his shoulder injury will not allow him to do that. But maybe Hernandez’s plan all along was to hang out with Brady and work with Brady’s renowned personal trainer in order to increase his ability to stay healthy. Expect a lot of successful rehabbing from Hernandez, and he will need to stay healthy in order to be his explosive self in 2013. Hernandez has “breakout player” written all over him, and by that I mean that Hernandez can entrench himself as one of the most dangerous offensive players in the game when healthy. If it wasn’t for a nasty sprained ankle that really put a damper on his 2012 campaign, Hernandez could have been the second most productive pass-catcher on the Patriots behind Wes Welker.

But I digress. Hernandez has never played in all 16 games through his first three seasons, so I’m hoping the Florida product can play in all 16 this year and have that kind of a breakout season. He is getting plenty of time to rehab and rest until the 2013 season, and the Patriots are wise to take things slow with Hernandez. If he gets placed on the PUP, who cares? As long as he is fully healthy to start the regular season (and gets a chance to shake off some rust in the preseason), then I’m fine. With Hernandez, health is clearly the number one priority.

Since the recovery period is likely set at four months, that would put Hernandez’s training camp debut on a slight delay, hence the chances of the Pats wisely putting him on the PUP. If the Pats needed to have him healthy by then, then Hernandez could make that date. But they don’t; what they need is to have him healthy and well-rested.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.