By Marc Thaler
Managing Sports Editor

In recent weeks, far too many football fans questioned the future success of their beloved New England Patriots.

The team couldn’t possibly survive after taking what frantic followers labeled a nasty nose dive.

Adam Vinatieri vaulted to the Colts. Willie McGinest moved on to the Browns. David Givens agreed to a lucrative deal with the Titans, and Tom Ashworth accepted an offer from the Seahawks.

Losses of such gridiron personnel had guardians of the gate to Patriots Nation prepared to sound the alarm.

Last month, I said fans who nearly pushed the panic button were foolish (“Patriots 101,” March 30).

More articles • This is it • Nitwit nation • Closing argument • Patriots 102 • Show me the funny! • Tito has veto power • Impact was (mid) major • Patriots 101 • First-ever 'Noddies' • Pigs are flying • Coming to my senses • Farewell to this King • Preseason pressure • New blood • Beautiful day • Game may spark a Super discussion • Boy, his actions make me wonder • First night • Spill on a slippery slope • Groundhog Day on Yawkey Way • Saving the best for last • This Boss born to coach USA • Pa, it appears, still knows best • Giving thanks, gridiron style • Still not convinced they're Super • A costly lesson in time management • Unchallenged and unimpressive • Final thoughts on the '05 season • Story could have horrific ending • Man behind the Mike • Less than Wild about this finish • That's all, Foulke • Several holes in these Sox • Making a generous Pey-ment

Clearly, they don’t understand what’s made the Pats the National Football League’s model franchise, I added.

Of course, that column only addressed one of the reasons the Patriots are prepped for several future successful seasons. Along with acting in a fiscally frugal manner, Bill Belichick & Co. remain highly competitive by adding bulk through the NFL Draft.

Seven rounds of selections will take place on April 29 and 30. A total of 255 amateur athletes will become the 2006 draft class.

Entering professional football’s Selection Saturday and Sunday, the Patriots have 11 opportunities to pick players capable of helping the team in ’06 and beyond.

The three-time Super Bowl champs have six selections assigned by the league, which occur in the first, second, third, fourth, sixth and seventh rounds.

New England also picked up single picks from Baltimore, Detroit and Oakland. Those selections, received in trades during last year’s draft, are for the third, fourth and fifth rounds.

In addition, Bob Kraft’s bunch is slated for the 36th and 37th selections in the sixth round, called “compensatory picks.” The Pats received these picks based on a formula that accounts for teams “losing more or better compensatory free agents than it acquires in a year,” according to nfl.com.

Previous drafts indicate New England will trade some of its ’06 selections for future picks. This strategy ensures the Pats won’t enter any draft with limited picks, thus limited options.

There isn’t a franchise that’s better at keeping an eye on tomorrow.

Still, for the disgruntled group that, unlike the Pats, prefers to live in the past, let’s rewind the clock.

For first-round picks like Logan Mankins, Vince Wilfork, Richard Seymour and Benjamin Watson, the Pats have uncovered plenty of buried treasure – athletes of supreme value located deep in past drafts.

After the first two rounds, casual fans will likely lose interest.

However, the final five rounds – where New England has nine possible picks – are exactly where the Pats keep a keen eye.

Certainly, the draft status of Tom Brady in ’00 is well documented. Brady was a sixthround pick out of Michigan, 199th overall.

Though Givens is gone, he was an ’02 seventh-round pick out of Notre Dame, 253rd overall. In ’03 alone, the Pats picked Dan Koppen, Asante Samuel and Eugene Wilson.

While Wilson was a secondround pick, Samuel and Koppen were snared in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively.

Hopefully, fans recently sick to their stomachs are ready to once again fill their plates with all things Patriots.

Like folks who belly up to the buffet might say, this is where New England makes its money back.