Rick Gosselin

DALLAS -- When the recruiting services took roll of the blue-chip high school receivers in the Class of 2004, future NFLers Calvin Johnson, Ted Ginn, Dwayne Jarrett, Early Doucet, Jordan Shipley and Adrian Arrington all turned up.

The name of Edmond Gates did not appear anywhere. Nor should it have appeared. But Gates, from Abilene Christian, could become one of the best wide receivers from the Class of 2004, projecting as a potential second-round draft pick in the 2011 NFL draft.

Never heard of Gates? Join the crowd. He wasn't on the radar screen of a single college football team coming out of Vernon (Texas) High School in May 2004. And for good reason. He was a basketball player, not a football player.

Defensive linemen are too expensive at the back end of their careers, so NFL teams are realizing they'd better grab them when they can at the front end.

That entry point is the draft -- and the NFL could be selecting defensive linemen in the first round this April at a record pace.

The best team in the NFL is also among the youngest teams -- and may be getting younger.

The New England Patriots, the AFC's top seed with a 14-2 record, finished their season with a roster that includes 23 players in their second year or less. Coach Bill Belichick fortified his team with the NFL's best draft in 2010, adding eight selections. Four became primary starters and one took over the punting chores.

In all, New England's draft class started 57 games this season, tops in the NFL. The Patriots figure to build on their draft success in 2011 with six of the top 100 selections, two in each of the first three rounds.

BALTIMORE -- The Pro Football Hall of Fame will induct its Class of 2011 next August. But Canton will not be enshrining any safeties -- again.

The Hall of Fame announced its 26 semifinalists for the Class of 2011 last month and there were five running backs, three wide receivers, a tight end, two offensive linemen, four defensive linemen, one linebacker, three cornerbacks, a punter, two owners, a coach, a general manager, a commissioner and the founder of NFL Films.

But no safeties -- for the ninth consecutive year.

Productivity in April is an annual NFL tease.

C.J. Spiller was the only player in college football to score a touchdown in every one of his team's games in 2009. He was named the ACC Player of the Year at Clemson. He also set the ACC career all-purpose yardage record with his productivity on runs, receptions and kick returns.

Fullback is a dying position in the NFL. But there's a small handful of players trying to trigger a resurrection in 2010.

Peyton Hillis, Jason Snelling, Mike Tolbert and John Kuhn are trying to prove this fall that there is still a place in NFL offenses for the big back.