The name Connor Barwin continues to be tied to the Patriots this pre-draft season. The DE/OLB/TE out of Cincinnati has been compared so often to former New England OLB Mike Vrabel it’s actually starting to get a bit sickening. Now we have reports that the Patriots have scheduled a visit with Barwin at Gillette Stadium (one of the 30 such visits the team is allowed to have with prospects in Foxborough).

But I’m not sold that Barwin is quite the perfect fit that everyone seems to make him out to be at this point in the process. I see the Vrabel thing. Watch him on film and he really looks just like Vrabel, especially when catching TD passes for the Bearcats. He’s just under 6-4 and weighed in at 256 at the Combine. Vrabel was listed at 6-4, 261 last season in New England.

But just because Barwin looks like Vrabel doesn ‘t mean he’s his perfect replacement. First, he’s only played one season of defense and that’s as a defensive end. He was very productive in that one season with 11 sacks.  If he landed in New England the inexperienced defender would be on the move again, transitioning to OLB in the 3-4. I’m not saying he couldn’t make the jump — he clearly has the athleticism and skill potential to do so. 

The problem is that as his stock rises, and it surely is rising since the Combine, Barwin is now a potential first-round pick. So if the Patriots were to have to select him with the 23rd selection to get him, I think the expectation would be that he’d need to come in and contribute from day one. With Vrabel gone (and no Jason Taylor or Julius Peppers yet in the mix) I think the Patriots may need a rookie to at least play right away on the outside. I’m not sold on the idea of Pierre Woods and Tully Banta-Cain filling the void. I’m also not sold that Barwin is capable of coming in and playing right away on defense for a championship caliber team.

He looks like Vrabel. He’s athletic and versatile like Vrabel. Heck, he might ended up being better than Vrabel down the road. But let’s remember that Vrabel was a third-round pick in Pittsburgh and landed in New England as a low-money free agent addition. It took him four-plus seasons to make an impact in the NFL.

If I could get Barwin late in the second round or in the third, like Vrabel, I’d be all for it. But I’m not looking to take a guy who’s played one year of defense (and who’ll have to make another transition at the pro level) in the first round. I don’t think he’d be ready to add to the pass rush from day one like the Patriots could very well need.

That’s why I’d rather see Northern Illinois’ ultra-productive Larry English get the call on draft weekend. He’s proven in college action and in postseason bowl work that he can get to the quarterback. I don’t care too much about his Combine numbers or 40 time. He knows what life on the edge is like. I think he could come in and serve as a situational pass rusher as a rookie and evolve into more than that down the road.  Barwin may be the hot name and his ties to Vrabel may make him a fan favorite as a potential draft pick in New England, but I’d rather have the more productive guy that Barwin is supposedly pushing down the rankings  — Larry English.

The Patriots are Tuesday’s team of focus for ESPN’s pre-draft “On the clock” segment. New England’s draft needs and options will be broken down by Mel Kiper Jr. and Co. The segment is generally aired many times throughout the day on the various SportsCenter broadcasts.  I know many Patriots fans often object to ESPN’s coverage of the team over the years, but this is an interesting segment as we move closer to draft weekend. People like to make fun of Kiper, but he knows as much about these prospects as any media member out there. He invented the industry that now includes Kiper wannabes like Mike Mayock and Todd McShay. Kiper might not be able to pinpoint who the Patriots are going to draft, but it sure is interesting to hear him discuss the prospects. So keep an eye out for the Patriots “On the clock” segement Tuesday on ESPN.

New England will open the 2009 season as the first of a two-game doubleheader on Monday Night Football, September 14. The Pats will host division rival Buffalo, with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. Eastern.

The matchup is tantalizing on a number of fronts: Tom Brady’s return, Terrell Owens’ first game as a Bill, the 40th season of Monday Night Football, and the 50th anniversary of the Patriots (and other original AFL teams).

NFL owners gathered at the league’s annual meeting in southern California have finalized some of the 2009 season’s premiere nationally televised games, with the Pats getting one of the prime, primetime slots. The full NFL schedule will be announced in early April.

Despite a short note in the Denver Post (and a subsequent blog item on Boston.com) indicating that former Broncos backup Patrick Ramsey is mulling a future that could inlcude the Patriots, PFW has learned that is not the case.

The Patriots did reportedly host Ramsey for a visit at Gillette Stadium earlier this month, but there is no contract for Ramsey on the table.

NFL Network’s Adam Schefter just did a morning appearance on WEEI sports radio in Boston in which he shot down a recent NFL.com report indicating the Patriots were in the works of trading for Panthers DE/OLB Julius Peppers. Schefter said Peppers “will not be a Patriot” and that he was 99.9-percent sure that the deal would not happen. Pretty definitive stuff, although Monday’s report on NFL.com was also pretty definitive saying the deal was nearing completion. I guess it depends whose sources you trust more. Although Schefter isn’t wrong too often.

Schefter also brought up an aspect of the supposed trade that didn’t get much play in the NFL.com piece — the compensation that the 29-year-old Peppers would be looking for in a new contract. Schefter said any deal Peppers signs would likely be well north of $70 million and include $30 or $40 million in guaranteed money. It might not be quite Albert Haynesworth dollars, but would exceed what Jared Allen got last year from Minnesota.

While Schefter seemingly closed the door on Peppers coming to New England, he left it very much ajar for another All-Pro pass rusher — Jason Taylor. Schefter put the odds at 50/50 that Taylor could end up a Patriot. He included the Chargers as the other likely landing spot for the veteran former Defensive Player of the Year. He’s not a long-term answer off the edge, but Taylor would certainly be a big addition to the pass rush at outside linebacker. And he wouldn’t cost nearly as much as Peppers.

Funny that the addition of Taylor would feel like a letdown after all the Peppers buzz, but he’d certainly make the defense better than it is today and would be a more legitimate option to contribute on opening day than a potential early draft pick.