Logan Mankins (AP)

Patriots offensive lineman Logan Mankins checked in at No. 64 overall in the NFL Network’s list of Top 100 players of 2012, presented Wednesday night.

The offensive guard, who just wrapped up his seventh season with the Patriots, was at No. 39 last year. The Fresno State product is the second member of the Patriots to make this year’s Top 100 — defensive lineman Vince Wilfork was the first member of the franchise to make this year’s list at No. 81.

One of the players who discussed Mankins and his impact was Indianapolis defensive lineman Raheem Brock. Brock and Mankins have been longtime foes, but it was clear Brock has a lot of respect for Mankins, saying he’s “a great overall offensive lineman.”

“He’s not just a great pass blocker — he’s a great run blocker, too. He’s pretty good at trying to disguise the run and the pass. In Indy, they know how we played: We spin a lot, and one play or another, he might set me up, knowing I’m going to spin and the other guy is coming to clean me up. They’d kind of laugh at you because it was kind of a setup.”

As for the idea that Mankins occasionally gets overshadowed by quarterback Tom Brady, Brock chuckled.

“I don’t see too many people pay to go see offensive linemen play, but he’s one of the best,” he said with a smile. “He’s one of the best.”

Mike Hartline (WEEI.com photo)

FOXBORO — When he first joined the Patriots as a free agent in March, wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez (who spent five seasons with Peyton Manning in Indianapolis), joked that when it comes to working with quarterbacks, he has a “very strict Hall of Famer-only policy.”

Mike Hartline can make the same tongue-in-cheek boast. The quarterback, a Kentucky product, spent last season as an understudy working with Manning and the Colts. Now, after signing with the Patriots in January, he’s doing the same thing with Tom Brady.

“Every player is different. Obviously, those guys are both arguably two of the best ever, so when you can get to work with them and to talk to them a little bit, you try to pick their brain,” Hartline said of Manning and Brady.

“They’re leagues beyond where I’m at. To try to dig too deep can get confusing sometimes. So you try to go at your own pace, you do your own style and hopefully, the things you do, show with the coaches and you get an opportunity to stick around.”

Hartline, who took part in Patriots rookie minicamp this past week at Gillette Stadium (it was OK because he hasn’t spent six games or more games on a team’s active, inactive or reserve list), said that to this point, Brady has been “nothing but supportive” since he joined the franchise earlier this year.

“But at the end of the day, I have to work by myself,” said Hartline, who passed for 3,178 yards with 23 touchdowns as a senior at Kentucky. “I have to go out there and try and do everything that I can in order to get an opportunity to be a part of something special. But he’s been great. A real nice guy. I look forward to working with him.”

Hartline is well aware of his situation: right now, he’s fourth on a depth chart that includes Brady, Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett. However, has a couple of things in his favor: First, he’s the brother of Brian Hartline, who has spent the last three seasons in the NFL (two of them as a fairly regular starter) as a wide receiver with the Dolphins. Thanks to his brother, he already has some insight as to what to expect at the professional level.

“We look to each other more of moral support, I want to say. We never really try to tell each other how to play, or what to be like,” Hartline said of his brother. “Just to mentally stay positive. Sometimes things won’t go your way. To have a guy like that to be a support system is really beneficial.”

He also stood to benefit from his situation: He was the only quarterback on the roster (among the invited players) at camp, and so he got plenty of work in practice situations. In addition, he was also to benefit from more individual coaching, as the numbers at camp were far less than what they might be during the regular season, and more conducive to one-on-one coaching.

“I was excited when they said I could do it,” Hartline said of the opportunity to take part. “I wasn’t sure with rules if I could or not, but I’m happy that I am. I’m learning a lot every day. Obviously, with CBA rules, it’s a little bit difficult to get more time in than you can with you coach, but I try to put in the extra time — come early, stay late. And do everything I can to be ready for the next step.”

Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker joined ESPN’s “Dan LeBatard is Highly Questionable” on Wednesday for what might best be described as a wide-ranging interview. It included his thoughts on when he believed he could be a consistent part of an NFL offense, how “brutal” a Super Bowl loss is, Tom Brady‘s house, and what former teammate Larry Izzo may or may not have done on the sidelines during a Patriots game:

Jabar Gaffney (AP)

Less than a week after his infamous Twitter rant — one that left him trending worldwide — Redskins wide receiver Jabar Gaffney told Washington’s 980 ESPN on Wednesday that the Redskins “are trying to trade me.”

If Washington is indeed interested in dealing Gaffney, one possible destination could be the Patriots. The 31-year-old, who played in New England from 2006 through 2008, still has great affection for the Patriots. In the days leading up to the New England-Washington game this past season, Gaffney reminisced fondly about his time with Bill Belichick and the Patriots.

“It was the best,” Gaffney said of his time playing for Belichick. “He pretty much … he gave me a lot of insight on the NFL. A great coach. He makes his players be students of the game. He helped me out a lot. He’s the man.

“I’ll never forget what I learned there, playing under Belichick. Like I said, he taught me a lot about the NFL and how to survive in the NFL and how to be a great player.”

Those feelings were returned in kind by both Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.

“Of course, we know Jabar’s an excellent route-runner,” Belichick said of Gaffney. “He’s a good receiver. He’s a very disciplined, dependable guy. He and (Santana) Moss do a good job for them on the outside. They do a number of different things. They change their passing game around from week to week.

“And Jabar, we know, is a real intelligent receiver and very instinctive and I’m sure he handles those things well for them, taking routes they haven’t really run before and putting them in for that game and then running them in a way that hurts the team they’re playing. That’s a big part of what they do, also.”

“Jab could do everything well,” Brady recalled. “I think that’s his versatility, he’s got good size, he’s got long arms, he’s got good speed, he’s got good quickness, he plays every position, he’s smart.

“He’s just one of those guys that, from the day we got him here, he was just so reliable and dependable because he knew what to do and he did it well. You gain a lot of trust from the quarterback when all those things match up. I was bummed when he went to Denver, and I was bummed when he went to Washington.”

New England has already brought in several new faces at wide receiver this offseason, including Brandon Lloyd, Anthony Gonzalez and Donte Stallworth, and wouldn’t likely offer the Redskins much in the way of a trade, seeing that Gaffney has gone public with the news that Washington is trying to deal him. (This report indicates that the Redskins could simply cut him loose after the draft.)

However, Gaffney’s experience in the Patriots’ system, Belichick’s good working relationship with Washington coach Mike Shanahan, Gaffney’s overall production while with New England (he caught 85 passes for 1,059 yards and eight touchdowns in three seasons) and the fact that he’s been the best and most consistent No. 3 wide receiver that Brady has had since he assumed the starter’s job in 2001 could at least be enough to cause the Patriots to inquire about his services.

Dan Koppen has reportedly agreed to a two-year deal to return to the Patriots. (AP)

With the news that veteran Dan Koppen has agreed to a two-year contract to return to the Patriots, it creates an interesting dynamic along New England’s veteran offensive line.

The 32-year-old Koppen, who was out for the bulk of the 2011 season with a fractured ankle, now faces a strong positional battle from Dan Connolly, who started in his place last year and has moved from versatile backup to important cog in New England’s offensive line. Earlier this offseason, Connolly signed a three-year deal worth more than $9 million, suggesting that he would now assume the role of primary starter and Koppen would be free to look elsewhere for work. (Koppen did reportedly have one free-agent visit with Tennessee.)

However, Koppen has been a steady and dependable presence up from since he was a rookie — a 2003 fifth-round pick out of Boston College, has started 120 of 121 games over nine seasons with the Patriots, and went to the Pro Bowl in 2007. When it comes to winning his spot back on a permanent basis, Koppen can lean on a lot of things in his favor, most notably the fact that he is close friends with quarterback Tom Brady.

If Koppen is at 100 percent — as many believe he is — that would free up Connolly to serve as either a stopgap for left guard Logan Mankins if Mankins is forced to sit for a stretch because of ACL surgery the Fresno State product underwent following an injury in the Super Bowl. Connolly could also provide support at the other guard position, as it remains unclear as to whether or not starting veteran Brian Waters will be back for a second season with the Patriots.

This move also means that Ryan Wendell returns to his role as a primary backup among the interior offensive linemen, leading a group that includes Nick McDonald and Donald Thomas.

Rob Gronkowski has had a busy offseason. (AP)

Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski joined Toronto’s 590 The Fan on Wednesday to talk about his offseason, the addition of wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, his injury and what it takes to earn the trust of quarterback Tom Brady. Here are a few quick highlights from the Q&A:

The Patriots went out and signed a deep threat in Brandon Lloyd. How great is it to have another weapon? “I’m excited to have Brandon Lloyd coming in. I heard he’s a great guy, great player. It’s just always exciting to meet new players coming in that want to work hard, that want to get better, that want to help out the team. … He knows the system, coming from the Denver Broncos with Coach McDaniels there, so it’s just going to be a blast. I’m definitely excited to get rolling this offseason.”

When you started the 2011 season, did Belichick come to you and tell you you were going to be a bigger part of the offense? “No, it doesn’t really work like that. It’s what you do in practice, just going out there and working hard in practice every day. You create your own roles on the team. It’s just going out and getting on the same page as everyone else, getting on the same page as the QBs to get open and basically just going out in practice and showing what you have, going out in the preseason games to earn a job. Whatever you show, that’s what they do for that season with you.”

Was it intimidating at first trying to earn the trust of a great QB in Tom Brady? “Yes, definitely. It’s pretty wild first going in. You just sit in the huddle and you’re kind of star-struck a little bit. … The next couple years now, I’ve settled in and everything and it’s just great going in and feeling comfortable now.”

Were there moments leading up to the Super Bowl where you didn’t think you’d be able to play? “Not really, because your mindset is it’s the biggest game of the year and your mindset is you’re playing no matter what. That was my mindset going into the game and I was basically just doing everything possible in the training room, rehabbing and everything, to make sure I could get out there.”

Did anyone in the organization have problems with the pictures of you that filtered out where you were partying after the Super Bowl loss? “That was a while ago, man. I’m just looking forward in the future, just trying to get better now in the offseason training program.”

Patriots receiver Wes Welker‘s latest commercial is out. He doesn’t have the same sort of juice on Madison Avenue that Tom Brady has, but … well, I’ll just leave this here and let you guys figure it out.