Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

Fresno State Bulldogs free safety Philip Thomas is an interesting prospect to look at, and Daniel Jeremiah believes that Thomas should be drafted in the Patriots range in the late second round of the draft or the early third round. Thomas, as Jeremiah notes, has excellent ball skills, but he is the worst tackling safety of anyone in this draft class. He racks up the MTs, but Thomas would fit in perfectly for a team that has a need for a safety who excels in deep coverage. The Patriots already have one of the best coverage safeties in the game in Devin McCourty, so they almost certainly won’t take Thomas.

D.J. Swearinger is a more intriguing option, and I’ve been touting him for a long time. The South Carolina Gamecocks strong safety has some coverage concerns, but sometimes those are overstated. He actually played at cornerback for a bit with South Carolina, but it is true that his biggest assets are his run defense and tackling ability. He is good enough to hold his own in coverage, but Swearinger is simply on another level elsewhere. He is the most explosive safety in this draft class, and he plays with a real viciousness and mean streak that reminds me of Brandon Spikes at the strong safety position.

Daniel Jeremiah views Swearinger as one of his favorite prospects in this draft class and tweeted this great nugget, “Watched another game on DJ Swearinger…He’s one of my favorites! He plays without brakes…always at his top speed and looking to hit someone.”

Swearinger is one of my favorite prospects too, and I think if the Pats draft a safety this year, it will be D.J. Swearinger. Mike Dussault of Pats Propaganda is also high on him and agrees that Swearinger would be a fit for the Pats in the second round of the draft.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Even though there is all this talk about what the Ravens are doing with Flacco, there is pretty much no chance of him leaving Baltimore. The question is all about how much money Flacco will get from the Ravens organization, because his contract will dictate what the Ravens do with their other players (most notably the receivers) as they have some cap issues. Flacco bet against a top-five QB deal last year, won the Super Bowl, and now he wants an even bigger deal.

2. Miami Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland loves second-year running back Lamar Miller, and it seems like the entire Dolphins organization is extremely high on Miller. They want to give him the chance to start next year, and all this talk about Miller’s upside and how much the Dolphins want him means that Reggie Bush will likely be playing elsewhere next season- even if he really wants to stay in Miami. Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel  tweeted that it is “universally understood” the Dolphins will give Miller “every opportunity” to start next year.

3. WEEI’s Christopher Price tweeted that South Carolina Gamecocks safety D.J. Swearinger met with New England Patriots scouts, while LSU’s Tyrann Mathieu did not. I am extremely high on Swearinger and hope he falls into the Pats laps in the second-round at pick 29, because he has terrific aggressiveness, explosiveness, hard-hitting ability, and enough coverage skills to fit as an SS in the pros. He said he likes New England’s defense, as well as Bill Belichick and his coaching discipline (also from Price).

4. Nick Underhill tweeted that Oregon State Beavers cornerback (mocked to the Patriots by FanSided.com at one point) Jordan Poyer also met with Patriots scouts, but this came during the Senior Bowl. I hope Poyer is available in a favorable spot for the Patriots as well, because he would be a nice selection for this team a bit after the first round (second or third, hopefully).

5. Below are two interesting quotes that Florida Gators safety Matt Elam (another guy I really like in this draft at safety) shared with ESPN Boston.

“My physicality, I play very hard. I love to strike people, I feel like that will help me stand out the most. I’m very versatile, I can cover slot receivers, I can go in the box and tackle, I can play in the post. I feel like that makes me stand out the most.”

“I’m very athletic. Growing up I was very athletic, and I feel like that separates me. I’m not the biggest safety I guess, but I feel like I play hard, and that makes me stand out.”

His older brother, Abram Elam, has been a safety in this league for a while, but Matt Elam said that he molds his game on Ravens safety Ed Reed. So do you want Reed or Elam? Personally, I think this defense needs youth so I’ll take a safety in the draft instead of Reed- even if that safety isn’t Matt Elam.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Last season, there were just two elite safeties in Mark Barron (Alabama) now of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Harrison Smith (Notre Dame) now of the Minnesota Vikings. This year’s draft boasts top talent in guys like Kenny Vaccaro, Matt Elam, Eric Reid, Tony Jefferson, D.J. Swearinger, Baccari Rambo, J.J. Wilcox, and Phillip Thomas, and Johnathan Cyprien.

Chicago Bears General Manager Phil Emery said that there are “six true” starting safeties in this year’s draft, and those six are likely Vaccaro, Elam, Reid, Swearinger, Cyprien, and maybe Jefferson. I’m still not sure about the sixth guy.

This crop of safeties is extremely deep, and it’s not often that you can name nine quality safeties in a draft, but this year’s draft is filled with options for the Patriots. My two favorites for the Pats? Elam and Swearinger. I also like Reid as a potential option.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.