By PFW staff
July 22, 2008

And then, there was just one. The Patriots signed second-round pick Terrence Wheatley on Tuesday, leaving first-round ILB Jerod Mayo as the team’s only draftee yet to ink a deal. Rookies were due to report to Gillette Stadium for training camp on Monday, with the veteran arrival set for Wednesday.

Wheatley is expected to be among the chief challengers for the starting CB job vacated by Asante Samuel, who’s now with the Eagles. Fellow rookie Jonathan Wilhite and veteran newcomers Fernando Bryant and Jason Webster are considered the other options to plug in opposite incumbent Ellis Hobbs.

The small (5-9, 187) but speedy Wheatley enjoyed a solid, yet injury-plagued career at the University of Colorado, and has been effectively used as a returner in addition to his defensive work.

In PFW’s 2008 Draft Preview book, PFW draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki writes that Wheatley was a “productive college corner who could be undone by his lack of size and questionable durability at the next level. He could fill a role as a nickel defender and kick returner but might be too fragile to hold a full-time job.”