The Patriots moved up three spots to draft Utah offensive tackle Caleb Lomu on Thursday night. (AP photo)

It’s always a tough call.

The feeling among many was that the New England Patriots might go more defensisive in this year’s NFL Draft, after delving into offense on free agency.

Guess again. Of the nine players selected by the Patriots over three days, only four of them were on defense. They drafted two tackles, a quarterback, running back and tight end on offense; two edge rushers, a linebacker and corner on defense.

Saturday was a day in which they wheeled and dealed, end ended up with three seventh round picks. The guess here is half of the draft class will make the 53-man.In camp there’s always injuries, etc. that will create attrition.

“Day 3 of the draft is really the, I would say, scouts’ day,” Patriots Executive VP Eliot Wolf said last night. “It’s the chance for some of these unheralded players to have the opportunity to get drafted, maybe some of the guys that some of the coaches didn’t even look at.”

They did not draft a receiver, which tells you they either like what they already have or, more likely, know that A.J. Brown will be theirs in a trade with Philadelpia.

“Yeah, that’s how the board fell,” Wolf said. “There were some situations where there were some receivers that we liked that we – they just got picked in front of where we were. So, just how it fell, not a conscious decision, and I think we’ll probably be pretty competitive here with the undrafted guys at that position.”

The telling point is they drafted on the offensive line, and surprisingly, not the defensive line. That says that they like what they have on one side of the ball, not so much on the other. They were manhandled in the Super Bowl, and the drafting of two offensive tackles show you their vision of their offensive line, building on 2025 picks Will Campbell and Jared Wilson, and then Caleb Lomu and Saturday’s choice Dametrious Crownover.

“I mean, he’s 6’7″, 320 with long arms. He’s really light on his feet, and he’s going to have a chance to come in here and compete and obviously going to have to start playing more than one position,” Wolf said.

The one player who should stick out of the late round picks is QB Behren Morton out of Texas Tech; the Patriots needed a third QB. They’re more than happy to have a rookie spend time on that Sunday inactive list.

There just didn’t seem to be any ‘wow’ factor with this draft after the first three or four picks. That’s the way it should be, however, and the fact the Patriots were in the Super Bowl a year ago – still an unbelievable statement, isn’t it? – that’s the way the NFL Draft should be.

“As you get into Day 3, you’re looking for the best players,” Wolf said. “You’re looking for someone to fill a role. We’re obviously pretty excited about the guys that we were able to add.”

Probably more so than the fandom. They’re saving that excitement for Brown’s impending arrival.