FOXBOROUGH - The Patriots aggressively recalibrated their roster the last two days - wheeling and dealing around the draft board to make 12 picks, and trading veteran cornerback Ellis Hobbs - but one area was left completely untouched.
They didn't add a pass-rushing outside linebacker.
Unless another move is in the offing, that could be viewed as a vote of confidence for the incumbents, including four-year veteran Pierre Woods, 2008 third-round draft choice Shawn Crable, second-year man Vince Redd, and six-year veteran Tully Banta-Cain.
If training camp started today, one player from that group - or perhaps a combination of them - would be filling the rather large shoes of Mike Vrabel, an ironman who seldom left the field during his eight years in New England.
For all the needs the Patriots addressed the last two days, and even accounting for the impressive way they turned two third-round picks in 2009 into two second-round picks in 2010, this was one area that stood out.
As for not addressing the position, coach Bill Belichick said his decisions were guided by the best players who were available at the time of the picks. Reading between the football tea leaves, it seemed he wasn't enamored by his options - relative to how those players would fit the Patriots' specific 3-4 system - even though analysts called it one of the deepest groups they've seen in recent memory.
"I think the outside linebacker group this year was a little bit different," Belichick said. "Generally speaking, I'd say there were more shorter players, maybe a little less speed than what we've seen, but maybe a little more power with good production. There weren't a lot of 4.6, 4.65 guys in the [40-yard dash], and not a lot of 6-[foot]-4[-inch], 6-5 guys. There was a much smaller pool of those players."
The Patriots' prototype outside linebacker, based on the selection of the 6-5, 245-pound Crable last year, is the taller, faster type.
So where do the Patriots go from here?
There is one big name on the free agent market - Jason Taylor. Owner Robert Kraft has said that if Taylor wants to play for the Patriots, it could happen. Taylor said he'd make a decision after the draft, although some believe his preference seems to be rejoining the Dolphins, who didn't select a pass-rusher until the seventh round and thus might be more inclined for a Taylor return.
Yet until Taylor decides his destination, or the Patriots officially close the door on him, the spotlight in Foxborough is shining a bit brighter today on the players already in house.
The most intriguing possibility is the tall, rangy Crable.
The Patriots picked 12 players in this year's draft, but Crable might as well have been the 13th because his 2008 season was essentially a redshirt year.
Taken 78th overall after totaling 7 1/2 sacks in his senior season at Michigan, Crable made the club out of training camp but was inactive for the first eight games. A shin injury then landed him on season-ending injured reserve in early November, but he was regularly seen around the locker room, presumably to keep learning about the difficult transition to outside linebacker in the team's scheme.
Belichick couldn't project where Crable would have rated had he been in this year's draft, but he's long made the point that players making the jump from rookie to Year 2 are usually in a better position to emerge.
As for Woods (6-5, 250), he developed from undrafted free agent in 2006 - when he arrived from Michigan as a defensive end - into the team's No. 3 option last season behind Vrabel and Adalius Thomas. He's started three career games, all last season, but questions remain if he is a viable long-term answer.
Meanwhile, Redd (6-6, 260) was promoted off the practice squad in late November and appeared in five games, mostly on special teams.
Banta-Cain (6-2, 265) is back with the club after two disappointing seasons in San Francisco, and part of the reason he returned is that he didn't cut it as a full-timer with the 49ers. Both would seemingly be long shots to be a starter.
So for those analyzing the Patriots' roster today, it makes sense that outside linebacker would shoot to the top of the list of needs. For all the club's shrewd maneuverings, the position left untouched remains one of the team's greatest unknowns.
Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com. 
