While the conclusion of the seventh round brought an end to the 2013 NFL Draft, the addition of young players to the Patriots summer roster is far from over.
After drafting seven players over the last three days, Bill Belichick, Nick Caserio and the rest of the New England scouting department will now go about contacting, recruiting and signing undrafted free agents.
With 75-ish players on the roster when accounting for the draft picks, the Patriots could sign somewhere in the range of 15 rookie free agents in advance of next week's rookie mini-camp at Gillette Stadium. There is also the possibility the team will invite unsigned players to that camp to compete for a potential contract in a tryout setting.
Beyond looking to sign the best players who didn't get picked in the draft, the group of free agents and tryout players will also be assembled with an eye on having the proper number and mix of players to have productive, functional practices in rookie mini-camp.
Despite having a relatively young talent-filled roster that competed for an AFC title last season, the Patriots do offer as much opportunity to undrafted players as almost any team. Belichick likes to say that it's not about how you got to New England, but what you do when you get there. He proves that by keeping undrafted players who become contributors seemingly every fall.
Playing for Belichick, competing for a job in New England and history of a team that gives undrafted players a shot at success is a recruiting tool that many an undrafted player will be faced with in the coming hours.
