offseason workouts with Thursday's conclusion to minicamp, and they'll
break for about a month and a half before the start of training camp in
late July.
With that, let's forecast the Patriots' 53-man roster, which will officially be announced Sept. 4. If you missed NESN.com's first roster prediction of the 2010 offseason, click here.
Defensive Linemen (7)
Vince Wilfork, Ty Warren, Mike Wright, Gerard Warren, Damione Lewis, Myron Pryor, Derrick Burgess
Note: Ron Brace, a 2009 second-rounder, will need to emerge when the Patriots start contact drills in July and August if he wants to make the team. It's been all about technique for the linemen to this point.
Linebackers (8)
Jerod Mayo, Tully Banta-Cain, Brandon Spikes, Gary Guyton, Tyrone McKenzie, Jermaine Cunningham, Pierre Woods, Rob Ninkovich
Note: Cunningham has been grouped with the other edge rushers — Banta-Cain, Burgess, Marques Murrell — during some positional-specific drills, so it looks like he'll be used on a rotational basis. Youngster Thomas Williams is also a dark-horse candidate to make the roster, but the Patriots would probably love to sneak him onto the practice squad.
Cornerbacks (5)
Leigh Bodden, Darius Butler, Jonathan Wilhite, Devin McCourty, Kyle Arrington
Note: Butler has emerged as the starter at left cornerback, but Wilhite will get his playing time, too. McCourty has been brought along slowly on the defensive side. Arrington and Terrence Wheatley have switched spots between playing with the ones and twos, and then the scout team. Arrington's special teams value gives him the edge, and Wheatley is a cut in this prediction due to the addition of a seventh wide receiver (as you'll see below).
Safeties (4)
Brandon Meriweather, James Sanders, Patrick Chung, Brandon McGowan
Note: Chung has gotten a ton of reps all over the field during camp. He'll have a much-increased role in 2010. Sanders and McGowan seem to have gotten a balanced amount of reps next to Meriweather.
Offensive Line (9)
Matt Light, Dan Koppen, Stephen Neal, Nick Kaczur, Sebastian Vollmer, Dan Connolly, Mark LeVoir, Ted Larsen, Ryan Wendell
Note: At this point, it's impossible to include Logan Mankins, who will either get traded or continue his ugly holdout into the season. Wendell has been added in his place.
Quarterbacks (2)
Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer
Note: Zac Robinson has turned it around since a tough start at rookie camp, and he might be destined for the practice squad.
Wide Receivers (7)
Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, Torry Holt, Sam Aiken, Brandon Tate, Taylor Price
Note: Welker was a PUP prediction in the first installment, but he'll definitely be ready to go in September. Seven receivers is a lot, so Holt, Aiken and maybe even Price better be at their best in training camp.
Running backs (5)
Fred Taylor, Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, BenJarvus Green-Ellis
Note: I've got a feeling that one of these guys could get cut — potentially Green-Ellis or even Taylor — but for the time being, they're both safe.
Tight ends (3)
Rob Gronkowski, Alge Crumpler, Aaron Hernandez
Note: De facto offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien has been pretty hard on Gronkowski and Hernandez at times, but they've each produced well outside of a few mistakes.
Kicker (1)
Stephen Gostkowski
Note: The always-reliable kicker has looked good this spring.
Punter (1)
Zoltan Mesko
Note: Australian David King was a funny guy, but he couldn’t punt like the Zoltan.
Long Snapper (1)
Jake Ingram
Note: Remember when Ingram was battling Nathan Hodel for a roster spot in 2009? No such competition this time around.
On the Outside of the Bubble
Linebacker Eric Alexander, defensive lineman Ron Brace, linebacker Shawn Crable, safety Brett Lockett, linebacker Marques Murrell, offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger, wide receiver David Patten, wide receiver Matthew Slater, offensive lineman Thomas Welch, cornerback Terrence Wheatley, linebacker Thomas Williams
