Brandon Spikes News

The second in a series looking at the Patriots ' 2012 NFL Draft picks, and the roles they might play for the Patriots next year.

Brian Waters, Logan Mankins and Sebastian Vollmer were among the absentees, while Rob Gronkowski and Brandon Spikes were present, but unable to take part in the workout, as the Patriots held their first public organized team activity Thursday.

A few quick notes before we come back in a little bit with a little more detail from the Patriots practice on Thursday.

Stevan Ridley took a step backward toward the end of the 2011 season, but he's poised for a big leap forward in 2012.

More than a handful of rookies will make experts eat their words, and backtrack on their criticism.

The New England Patriots move towards July's training camp with one of the most intriguing rookie classes they have had in years.

The most entertaining camp battles will involve highly touted rookies attempting to supplant veteran players and justify their selections in the draft.

They fixed their wide receiver problem by re-signing Wes Welker and Deion Branch, and by signing Brandon Lloyd, Donte Stallworth and Jabar Gaffney.

Field Yates reports the Patriots currently have 89 players on the active roster and speculates on who will get the final spot.

As most players head into rookie minicamp starting from ground zero, Patriots [ team stats ] first-round pick Dont'a Hightower can't help but feel ahead of the learning curve.

By Patrick Ouellette NFL Writer Now that the Patriots have revamped their defense through the draft and free agency, speculation can begin as to how the pieces will fit.

How does someone like Alfonzo Dennard who was graded as high a first-round pick by scouts and draft analysts alike slip all the way to the last round of the draft? A poor performance at the Senior Bowl, a fist fight in the middle of a game and a punch to the face of a police officer a week before the draft will usually do the trick.

The sec is the biggest and baddest conference in the land. Everyone, and their mother, should know this by now.