FanHouse

With each pick of the FanHouse mock draft, we get into the head of an NFL general manager and let you know who he'll pick and why.

Thanks to some 2007 draft-day wheeling and dealing, the Patriots have the seventh-overall pick in 2008. The most glaring needs on the roster reside on the defensive side of the ball, specifically in the secondary (which is why the team, in typically unpredictable fashion, could look to fill any number of positions).

Asante Samuel, one of the top-5 cornerbacks in the NFL, signed with the Eagles early in free agency, and backup Randall Gay is now with the Saints. New England has signed four warm bodies but are without a legitimate big-play cornerback. Which is why it seems logical that they would take Leodis McKelvin or Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

Except that the Patriots also have concerns at linebacker. In FanHouse's mock draft, if the Jets hadn't selected Vernon Gholston with the sixth pick, he'd be coming to New England. Even with Gholston off the board, the Patriots could still take a linebacker, and one that's more versatile than Gholston.

USC's Keith Rivers can play either inside or outside linebacker, and with Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel on the downside of solid careers, and Rosevelt Colvin no longer with the team, New England could use an athletic playmaker. And more than the athleticism, Rivers offers flexibility, something head coach Bill Belichick values.

Of course, Scott Pioli and Belichick could do anything (nobody had them drafting Logan Mankins in the first round a few years ago), and if they're looking for flexibility on offense, they could take somebody like this, much to the consternation of Steelers fans everywhere.

The Skinny:
Team Needs - DE, LB, CB, OL
Player Selected - Keith Rivers, LB, USC
Also Considered - Leodis McKelvin, CB, Troy; Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Tenn. St.; Branden Albert, G/T, Virginia.

Previous Pick: No. 6, Vernon Gholston, Jets

Next Pick: No. 8, Baltimore Ravens