Pioli clearly knows what he's looking for

Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli says preparing for the draft is a yearlong process. (File/ROBERT E. KLEIN/The Boston Globe)

Everything Patriots coach Bill Belichick does is calculated, so when he led off his predraft media conference with plaudits for the team's personnel department, it was his way of doffing his cap to vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli and the Patriots' scouts for their preparation.

They've spent a year gathering information, reviewing film, and writing reports on prospects. In fact, information is already being gathered for the 2009 NFL draft.

"I turn the page on the '08 draft as soon as it's over. There is no reason to spend more time on it. It's a yearlong process," said Pioli.

The draft is the personnel department's time to shine, and under the leadership of the 43-year-old Pioli, who works in concert with Belichick to construct the Patriots, it has done just that.

The Patriots have pulled at least one starter out of every draft since Pioli and Belichick arrived in 2000, with the exception of last year. When the Patriots became the first team in NFL history to go 16-0 last season, they did it with 14 starters procured through the draft under Belichick and Pioli. The only draft not represented among the 2007 starters was the 2002 draft, which was one of their best.

That draft produced tight end Daniel Graham, now with Denver; wide receiver Deion Branch, a Super Bowl MVP who was traded to Seattle; and wide receiver David Givens, a starter on two Super Bowl title teams who left for Tennessee as a free agent. The lone holdover from the class is defensive end Jarvis Green, who would be a starter on most teams.

The Patriots have been particularly successful in the latter half of the first round. Pro Bowl nose tackle Vince Wilfork was the 21st overall selection in 2004, and Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins was the 32d pick in 2005. This year the Patriots have the seventh pick in the draft, which commences today with Rounds 1 and 2.

However, a top-10 pick doesn't mean the Patriots will deviate from their philosophy.

"I don't think your philosophy changes," said Pioli. "The philosophy of our draft is to find good players that fit our system, scheme-wise and makeup-wise. I don't think it really matters where you're picking in the draft or in the first round. You're trying to accomplish the same thing. It's just a different pool of players.

"You want to be right, whether you're picking at No. 1 or No. 32; you want to be right in the decision."

The best-laid draft plans can crumble with one pick by another team. Pioli and Belichick have been masters at maneuvering in the draft to either pick up extra picks or players they covet.

The No. 7 pick this year came from trading their second first-round pick in 2007 to the San Francisco 49ers. In 2001, they moved up from pick No. 50 to No. 48 to draft Pro Bowl left tackle Matt Light, taking him out from under the nose of the New York Jets.

Pioli said the Patriots try to establish a feel for what other teams want to do in the draft, but don't spend time trying to predict selections. He used the example of former Patriots director of college scouting Thomas Dimitroff, now the general manager of the Atlanta Falcons, who hold the No. 3 pick.

"Thomas is one of my closest friends, but I don't know what's going on in Thomas's draft room," Pioli said. "You sit there and prepare and watch things as they unfold. You've got to be both reactive and proactive."

The hiring of Dimitroff by the abysmal Falcons is a sign of the respect that the Patriots personnel department has earned around the league. That respect isn't just for the way the Patriots handle the draft but their entire team-building process. Pioli and Belichick have pulled off big trades (Corey Dillon and Randy Moss) and prospered in free agency (Mike Vrabel and Rodney Harrison).

"No one has done a better job in free agency than Scott Pioli and Bill Belichick," said Oakland Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, a former Patriots linebackers coach. "They've done a super job. They know what they're looking for, and I think it's somewhere in there between smart, athletic, and tough. That's what they go with, and it's been great for them, obviously."

So has a certain mantra that is standard operating procedure for Pioli and the Patriots - "Do what's in the best interest of the team." It may be a boring bromide, but what it translates to is that Pioli and Belichick will leave no option unexplored in improving their team.

Judge them by past patterns at your peril.

"It sounds very simple or cliché, but it's not," said Pioli. "What is in the best interest of the team, both right now and tomorrow? That may be different than what it was four years or eight years ago."