Count the New England Patriots among the teams interested in Baylor wide receiver Kendall Wright. Members of the Patriots staff traveled all the way to Waco, Texas, to hold a private workout with Wright. Wright's draft stock has fluctuated in recent weeks, and he might be available for New England to draft at either No. 27 or No. 31 overall.
It's unclear how serious New England's interest in Wright is, but they do have a need for a playmaking wide receiver to go along with tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. All-pro slot receiver Wes Welker has yet to sign his franchise tender, and neither Deion Branch nor Chad Ochocinco showed playmaking ability for the Patriots last year.
Wright's subpar 40 times have led to his stock dropping. An AFC scout, though, believes that Wright's 40 times are misleading.
"You see him running by a corner every game," an AFC scout said after the combine about Wright. "If you would have asked me to guess (his time coming in), I would have conservatively guessed 4.45. I would have thought he easily would have run a 4.3. But for him to run to run what he did, I was completely shocked. It kind of reminded me of when Chad (Ochocinco) came out of Oregon State, he ran like a 4.6 after running by people at the Senior Bowl. He played a lot faster than what he timed."
While playing alongside Tom Brady might seem like a dream come true for Wright, the Patriots haven't had the best track record recently in developing wide receivers. New England cut 2010 third-round draft pick Taylor Price in 2011, and New England's 2006 second round pick Chad Jackson was a bust as well, lasting just two years in Foxboro.
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