01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Leading up to the NFL Draft, the Journal's Tom E. Curran will profile a player at a "need" position for the Patriots each day. New England has 11 picks in the draft, six in the first four rounds. The Pats' first-round pick is the 21st overall. Profiles are based on our own analysis and interviews, various draft resources and Pro Football Weekly's 2006 Draft Preview book.

TODAY'S PROFILE: HALOTI NGATA POSITION: Defensive tackle, nose tackle

COLLEGE: Oregon

HEIGHT: 6-foot-4

WEIGHT: 338 pounds

TIME IN THE 40: 5.19

THE LOWDOWN There's not much in the way of nose tackles in this year's draft, or on the planet, for that matter. The best one on the board by a lot is Ngata. Coming out of Oregon after his junior season, in which he had 61 tackles (that's a lot for an inside player), 9 tackles for losses and 3 sacks. Started from the fifth game of his freshman season. Tore his ACL in the 2003 season-opener and was redshirted for the year. Had an uneven 2004 as he continued to convalesce. Has father died in a December 2003 car accident; his mother died in January of this year of a heart attack.

PROS A massive human being. Agile, quick and able to employ his strength effectively inside. His rare size and agility and ability to play in the two-gap system make him very valuable to the growing number of 3-4 teams in the league. Plays hard, understands concepts, has good length in the middle to disrupt passing lanes, and actually blocked six kicks at Oregon.

CONS He needs to understand leverage a little more and the necessity to stay low and drive. His effort has lagged sometimes, likely because of conditioning issues. Pro Football Weekly said Ngata "was babied in college as one of the nation's top recruits and was not coached hard."

COULD HE BE A PATRIOT? New England needs a backup to Vince Wilfork at nose tackle. If they want to get a player with skills that complement the 6-foot-2, 325-pound Wilfork, Ngata probably isn't the guy. Their abilities are too similar. But if they see a chance to use them either at the same time or a way to develop one of them into a bigger pass-rush threat on third down, he'd be worth a look. After the Patriots took Daniel Graham in 2002, the likelihood of grabbing a first-round tight end again seemed remote. Two years later, they did just that, taking Ben Watson. If Ngata is on the board at 21 (or close to it), his 3-4 specific build and skill set may make him intriguing. He's not a likely draftee, but he's a name to keep in mind.