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NFL Draft’s Potential Patriots: Illinois RB Mikel Leshoure 01.26.11 at 4:33 pm ET
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Illinois running back Mikel Leshoure set a school record with 1,697 rushing yards in 2010. (AP)WEEI.com will continue to offer daily insight and analysis regarding options that may be available to the Patriots when it comes to the 2011 NFL draft.

Mikel Leshoure

Position: Running back

School: Illinois

Height: 6-foot-1

Weight: 230 pounds

Achievements: All-Big Ten (2010), Second-Team All-American (2010), 2010 Texas Bowl MVP, Illinois team MVP (2010)

What he brings: A classic power runner, Leshoure was a workhorse for Illinois in 2010, carrying the ball 281 times. Given his size, he has a surprisingly quick initial burst and uses his feet well to make defenders miss. Leshoure didn’t catch a lot of passes out of the backfield, but he has good hands and could develop into a solid receiving option. He has been compared to another Illinois product, Rashard Mendenhall, as well as LeGarrette Blount.

Where the Patriots could get him: No. 17

Notes: Leshoure set a single-season school record with 1,697 rushing yards in 2010, which included a 330-yard effort against Northwestern on November 20. He also set a Texas Bowl rushing record in his MVP performance, rushing for 184 yards in the 38-14 Illinois win over Baylor. By his own admission, Leshoure was overweight and immature as a freshman, but worked hard to transform himself physically and became a leader in the locker room.

Video: Here’s highlights of Leshoure’s 2009 season:

Read More: 2011 NFL Draft, Mikel Leshoure, Potential Patriots, Print  |  Bark It Up!  |  Digg It
  • Bags

    absolutely not- we need Dline/OLB and Oline– would it be nice to have someone like this, absolutely, but we really need some big dudes up front 1st– especially on the defensive side– hope they sign Logan, we need him

  • Dano

    Here is what I would do picking Pats Draft.1)Aaron Williams CB Texas 1)Corey
    Liuget DT Illinois 2)Danny Watkins OL Baylor 2)Cliff Matthews DE S Carolina
    3)Mark Herlich LB BC 3)Titus Young WR Boise St My thinking another shut down corner bigger and tougher on both sides of ball.Finally two very good pass rusher in Matthews and Herzlich.

  • Pat Fan

    Bags- We have 6 picks in the top 100. We have plenty of time to draft those other positions. Not to mention that there is free agency. BB is going to do what he always does and surprise people, but he doesn’t do it because he likes tricking people, he builds for the future and adds depth. I agree, I think we need D-line, O-line, and OLB, but O-line is hard to find in the first and the Pats are known for being successful at drafting O-lineman from the second on as well. D-line- we could use it, but we have a lot of depth there and I think BB will work on this in later rounds as well. WE have depth and Ty Warren coming back. I think our two first rounders (if not traded) go to RB and OLB. RB because the Patriots are trying to go back to their old ways. We have seen it by going back to small ball in the passing game. We have seen it with getting big tight ends who can catch the ball. The last step is a powerful, explosive back who can catch the ball out of the back field. Right now, there are two guys available that I see as future Patriots. One is LeShoure, the other is Thomas from NO. He is a free agent and the Patriots have been known to like him after being close to a trade for him during the season. This is a perfect Pats pick. Surprise people, compliment what you have (compliment the speed of Woodhead and Green Ellis with Power), add depth, and build for the future. The Patriots are still going to be a pass first team, but he adds a weapon like no other. This is all the Pats are missing in their offense expect for blocking.

  • Chip

    I think Ingram (Alabama) would be a better fit for the Pats O. Dread bringing in another Big 10 RB (See Maroney, L.) who for some reason can’t quite seem to move forward past the line of scrimmage.

  • http://www.josemarti.waw.pl/biznes,i,ekonomia/adwokat,warszawa,s,4108/ adwokat

    Bardzo niesamowity wpis informujący o ciekawych wiadomościach. Fajnie byłoby jakbyście wypisali pozycjonowanie warszawa. Gdyby taka prośba była zrealizowana to by było świetnie.

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