By TomE. Curran
CSNNE.com
The Patriots parachuted out of the first round Thursday night, trading the 28th overall pick to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for New Orleans' second rounder (56 overall) and a first-rounder in 2012. That move, following on the heels of their selection of Colorado tackle Nate Solder, makes their Thursday night work less than scintillating. In making the decision to trade out of the first, the Patriots passed on a couple of front-seven defenders who seemed to fill needs. Muhammad Wilkerson from Temple and Cameron Heyward from Ohio State went 30 and 31 to the Jets and Steelers respectively. Both of those teams run 3-4 defenses like the Patriots do.Their decision to stand pat -- at least in Round One -- is an indication they think their pass rush is good enough, their edge defenders are young enough to bring pressure that won't leave their secondary hung out to dry in coverage. So while Solder fills a need and the trade down yields depth and promise for next year, the Patriots still haven't taken a player in the 2011 draftfrom what Bill Belichick calls the best group of defensive line prospects he's ever seen.Tom E. Curran canbe reached at tcurran@comcastsportsnet.com.Follow Tom on Twitter at http:twitter.comtomecurran