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Five weeks and change until the NFL Draft. Until then, it's all about the speculation. Yesterday I mentioned that the Patriots would love to trade out of their No. 7 overall pick, but that would require a team interested in trading up. The Boston Globe's Mike Reiss had some thoughts on potential trade partners (although, apparently, he needs to brush up on the Panthers' draft needs).

For shiggles, let's assume New England decides to stay put. Then what? Well, the secondary is an obvious need -- Asante Samuel and Randall Gay are gone, Rodney Harrison is a fossil, and Ellis Hobbs is recovering from third-degree burns and off-season surgery.

Another possibility is linebacker; Tedy Bruschi is 34 and he refuses to retire, and Junior Seau is 38 (he's still unsigned). Mike Vrabel is 32, and the spring chicken of the bunch, Adalius Thomas, is 30. Which is why it makes perfect sense for the Patriots to take former Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston.

New England put him through a private workout this morning and at 6-3, 266, Gholston projects as a 3-4 outside linebacker. With Rosie Colvin gone, Gholston seems like an obvious choice. Of course, Bill Belichick isn't known for his obviousness. The Pats traded out one of their two first-round picks last year after selecting safety Brandon Meriweather, and two years before that, they took guard Logan Mankins with the 32nd selection. Didn't see that coming.

However this plays out, the Pats are in pretty good shape, even after losing their other first-round pick. Assuming Arlen Specter isn't planning something sinister.