New England might be willing to part with one or some of its many draft picks for the right player.

01:00 AM EST on Friday, February 27, 2004

BY TOM E. CURRAN
Journal Sports Writer

Will the Patriots make their annual run at a restricted free agent this year?

Last year, they took a run at Seattle defensive end Cedric Woodard. The year before, they nearly had Kansas City linebacker Mike Maslowski. Steelers running back Chris Fu'amatu Ma'fala is another player they targeted a few years back. In each instance, the teams matched the Patriots' offer and the player stayed put.

This time around, the Patriots certainly have a complement of draft picks to use as compensation if they can find a player who meets their needs.

A restricted free agent is a player who's been in the league three seasons and is one year away from unrestricted free agency. Other teams can make contract offers to the restricted free agents, but the original team has a right to match the offer or let the player go and take compensation in the form of draft picks. Depending on which "tender" a player is given by his team (tenders must be made by Monday), the team taking the player may have to give as much as a first and a third-rounder as compensation.

The Patriots only have one restricted free agent on their roster -- offensive lineman Russ Hochstein, who has reportedly been in contract negotiations with New England the past few days.

Many of the recognizable names on the restricted free agent list are likely to remain where they are. Players like running backs Rudi Johnson of Cincinnati, who unseated Corey Dillon, and Dominick Rhodes of the Colts, who is the main backup to injury-prone Edgerrin James.

A few players who might catch the Patriots eye, though, are out there. San Francisco tight end Eric Johnson might be a player they will look at. The Pats missed the boat on him three years back when Johnson came out of Yale, but with Christian Fauria getting older and Daniel Graham still an inconsistent pass catcher, Johnson -- who's got excellent hands -- might be worth an offer.

Jets tackle Kareem McKenzie is another player worth looking twice at. With Pats tackle Matt Light entering the final year of his deal and neither of the team's two right tackles -- Tom Ashworth and Adrian Klemm -- undeniably the long-term answer at that spot, although Ashworth's performance last season was encouraging, McKenzie could be a fit.

The Patriots have a need for youth at linebacker and Cincinnati's Riall Johnson is a 6-foot-3, 243-pounder who has explosion off the edge (he had 15 sacks his senior season at Stanford). Then there's former Boston College guard Paul Zukauskas, now a member of the Cleveland Browns. With Damien Woody and Mike Compton headed for unrestricted free agency, Zukauskas could be an answer at left guard if the team doesn't retain Compton.

The Patriots are in an advantageous situation because they have so many picks in the upcoming draft (four in the first 100) that they can afford to make a run at a player who has some experience instead of drafting a player who may not be immediately ready to step in.

Don't expect them to make a run at a restricted free agent right away. If the team wants to solve an issue at a particular spot through free agency, it would make sense for them to try and do so through unrestricted free agency. But if they can't find anyone that way, they'll start targeting restricted free agents before the draft.