FanHouse LeighBodden

After an injury-filled, $8 million season in Washington, Jason Taylor was back on the free-agent market this spring. Several teams needing a pass rusher showed interest, including the Patriots, who had previously traded veteran linebacker Mike Vrabel to the Chiefs.

Taylor ended up in Miami, where he started his career and played for 10 seasons. It was one of the few examples of a player turning down a chance to join the Pats; head coach and evil genius Bill Belichick has an incredible knack for convincing free agents -- through Charles Manson-styled brainwashing, no doubt -- to come to Foxboro. Not this time.

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

No team enjoys wheeling and dealing on draft weekend quite like the New England Patriots. The 2009 draft was no exception, as they made a series of moves resulting in 12 picks, and the stockpiling of even more selections in 2010.

As a result, the moves left the Patriots with no first-round selection for the first time since 2000, which is also the same year they selected some guy named Tom Brady.

Along with the 256 college players drafted last weekend, cornerback Ellis Hobbs also got a new home: the Patriots sent him to the Eagles for a pair of fifth-rounders. It was a surprising move, even for the trade-for-picks-happy Pats. Not only because cornerback was a liability last season in New England, but also because Hobbs is one of the best kick returners in the league.

The Patriots signed Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden this spring, and '08 second-rounder Terrence Wheatley will compete for playing time with his '09 counterpart, Darius Butler. Which made it easier to jettison Hobbs, despite the fact that he started every game the last two seasons.

With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

In 2008, the New England Patriots became the first team in over 20 years to win 11 regular season games and fail to qualify for the postseason. Considering they lost their franchise player -- Tom Brady -- just about five minutes into the season, forcing them to turn to a quarterback who hadn't started a game in eight years -- Matt Cassel -- an 11-5 campaign isn't all that disappointing.

With Brady back under center in 2009, the Patriots look to be a strong bet to return to the playoffs, especially if they address the one or two holes that remain on the roster.

Missing the playoffs for the first time in five years seems to have sparked a burning desire in the New England front office to bring in every available player this offseason. After already signing Fred Taylor, Joey Galloway, Shawn Springs, Greg Lewis and Leigh Bodden, NFL.com's Vic Carucci passes along the information that the Patriots may be ready to take a run at Carolina Panthers franchise player Julius Peppers.

That sound you're hearing is the opposing AFC East quarterbacks gently sobbing into their pillows.

The New England Patriots continued to re-tool their roster on Saturday by signing veteran wide receiver Joey Galloway to a one-year deal, as reported by Steve Duemig of WDAE (via PFT). Galloway, 37, was part of the offseason roster purge in Tampa Bay after catching only 13 passes in 2008.

With Randy Moss and Wes Welker cemented as starters, Galloway will be, at best, the No. 3 option in the passing game for quarterback Tom Brady, likely competing with newcomer Greg Lewis for passes.

It wasn't long ago that Leigh Bodden was the best cornerback most people had never heard of. And then one bad season in Cleveland got him traded to the Lions where, predictably, he flopped.

But Bodden's one of the lucky ones; the new regime released him and now his fortunes have progressed from woebegone to promising. On Tuesday, the Patriots signed Bodden to a one-year deal, which means there's a very good chance that he'll win 11-14 more games in 2009 than he did in 2008. That is the reality of Lions football.

There were no bright spots in the 2008 Lions season, except that it ended. Predictably, coaches were fired, players were released and the arduous task of rebuilding is now underway. (Although, to be fair, Detroit has been rebuilding for the entire decade, but that was part of some Matt Millen master plan gone horribly wrong.)

Whatever, change is on the way, as they say. New head coach Jim Schwartz is young, smart and seemingly motivated. The Lions have yet to make headline-grabbing personnel moves, but they have signed wide receiver Bryant Johnson and running back Maurice Morris, and parted ways with over-the-hill Jon Kitna and the ineffective Leigh Bodden. And Wednesday, they also added defensive tackle Grady Jackson.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

I'm going to do my best to avoid use of the phrase "Well, things can't get any worse," or anything like that. Really, I am. But it's worth pointing out that this is a true statement. Things are looking up for the Detroit Lions because they absolutely can't get any worse.

With two first-round picks and a ton of available cap space, a well-managed organization could make a significant dent in one year.