No. 7

Pick by SB Nation Leodis McKelvin Cornerback Troy

We are up to pick number seven in the 2008 SB Nation NFL Mock Draft, and with that selection the New England Patriots will select Colt Brennan, QB, Hawaii.  What?  He had good college numbers!  OK, OK... Leodis McKelvin, cornerback, Troy.  We had a lot of help on this pick, folks - first, the fine folks at Pats Pulpit suggested McKelvin and a couple of other names; SB Nation's AFC East bloggers narrowed the selection down to cornerback, and voila, McKelvin is the pick.  Since the Pulpit is blogger-less, however, we have a special guest poster to make the announcement: Chris Pokorny, who blogs about the (draft pick-less) Cleveland Browns at Dawgs By Nature and also has his own (excellent) general NFL site, Pro Football Critics, explains the McKelvin selection:

  When you finish a season as the only team in history with a 16-0 record during the regular season, you don't have a lot of holes to fill. That seems to have been the case the past several seasons with the Patriots, due to the talented group of individuals that Bill Belichick has been able keep under contract, while also taking a few one-year fliers to fill in any gaps.

After the Patriots signed big names like Randy Moss and Adalius Thomas last season, they finally lost a big name this offseason -- cornerback Asante Samuel. Beyond Samuel, the team also lost cornerback Randall Gay and safety Eugene Wilson to free agency. The Patriots don't view want those absences to be the downfall of their entire defense, so drafting Leodis McKelvin is most certainly the best pick for the Patriots (considering who has already been drafted) after selecting Brandon Meriweather last season. There are quite a few talented corners in the draft, so in theory the Patriots could trade down and acquire someone with just as much skill at the position.  As we have all become so accustomed to though, Belichick covets players who are versatile. That's where McKelvin is a step above the rest of the corners in the draft -- he is a dynamic return man.

McKelvin had eight kick returns for touchdowns at Troy, and would probably take over for Ellis Hobbs and Wes Welker on kick returns and punt returns, respectively. The Patriots may have lost their "true" first round pick due to Spygate, but they'll still reap all of the benefits they could have asked for in the first round of the draft with McKelvin.

Matt Miller, host of this site as well as owner of New Era Scouting, provides his analysis below:

  What a great pick for New England! This is a classic Pats pick, identifying a need and drafting to fill it. McKelvin will not only start at the left cornerback position vacated by Asante Samuel, he's a dangerous return man who will add another dimension to the insanely deep Patriots.

The team's only real need was at cornerback, and with McKelvin on the roster the Pats are able to draft for depth with their remaining picks. Not much to say about this pick, it was a slam dunk.

Grade: A  ::  Leodis McKelvin Scouting Report - New Era Scouting :: Matt Miller's Top Five Prospects Remaining - 1.  QB Matt Ryan, 2.  OT Ryan Clady, 3.  LB Keith Rivers, 4.  CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, 5. CB Mike Jenkins  

We've got one more selection to go today, folks, and it's going to be made by the Baltimore Ravens.  Rexx, blogger extraordinaire over at Baltimore Beatdown, will be making the selection.  The Ravens are now officially on the clock.