Patriots fans can only hope Bill Belichick and friends return from the scouting combine with a long list of defensive back options to sift through over the next couple months.  

If the Patriots are able to use some of the cap space saved with Tom Brady’s new contract to bring back Wes Welker, wide receiver will become a significantly smaller area of need (though still an area of need), making defensive back further stand out as a priority for the Pats.

There are a couple of free agents in Aqib Talib and Kyle Arrington whose futures with the team will be determined prior to the draft (assuming Patrick Chung departs), but the uncertainty of Alfonzo Dennard’s situation, Devin McCourty’s shuffling between safety and corner and the never-ending injury concerns of Ras-I Dowling creates a cloudy picture of New England’s defensive backfield. 

Assuming the Patriots are in agreement the defensive backfield needs upgrading, there should be options when they choose in the first two rounds. They’ll be able to get a name guy, but developing him will be another story, and the history there is scary for the Pats.

McCourty, Chung, Dowling, Terrence Wheatley and Darius Butler were all taken in the first two rounds. McCourty was an All-Pro cornerback as a rookie but has regressed since, while the rest have either stuck around and have underwhelmed, or they’ve been cut (Wheatley, Butler).  

This year’s draft class presents a decent amount of options in the secondary. While Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro and Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner will likely be off the board by the time the Pats get around to picking at 29th overall, guys like Xavier Rhodes, Johnthan Banks and Matt Elam are just a few of the defensive backs who could be available. 

If the Pats opt for a cornerback early, Rhodes (out of Florida State) and Banks (from Mississippi) would be their two best options. 

The 6-foot, 210-pound Rhodes is strong and physical. NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock views the former receiver as the type that could potentially be moved around between corner and safety, though he’s only played corner to this point. He has good speed, running a 4.43 40-yard dash at the combine -- and for a Patriots connection, he was mentored by former Pats cornerback Terrell Buckley at FSU. 

Banks is a tall guy at 6-foot-2, but his 185-pound weigh-in at the combine leaves more bulk to be desired, which he says will be there at his pro day. Another issue with Banks is that he’s slow, but -- and pardon the Mayock-ism here -- taller defensive backs can get away with subpar speed. Banks ran a 4.61 40-yard dash Tuesday, but keep in mind that Joe Haden ran right around that range (4.57) in Indy in 2010 before posting a better time at his pro day. 

Blidi Wreh-Wilson is seen as a potential first-round pick, but would the Patriots draft another UConn cornerback that high after getting burned with Butler in the past? Maybe not. 

There’s a handful of safeties who could also be there early and Elam might be the most logical fit. He’s physical, rangy and he was recruited by Urban Meyer at Florida. He’s a hard hitter who might go out of his way to delvier that hit, but don’t worry, he’s a lot more responsible on the field than Brandon Meriweather, a former first-round pick of Belichick’s who became a posterchild for ill-timed hits. 

D.J. Swearinger out of South Carolina is another one to keep an eye on. His 6.70-second performance in the three-cone drill was fifth-best among defensive backs at the combine, and the Patriots have been known to fancy the three-cone drill. 

In the second round, Washington’s Desmond Trufant (the younger brother of Marcus Trufant) would be a good option at corner, but he likely impressed teams quite a bit with his 4.38 40 time, potentially making him an earlier selection. 

Lastly, don’t sleep on University of Houston’s DJ Hayden, a guy we got to speak to at length in Indianapolis. A second-round talent, he nearly died after tearing the vein that sends blood to the lower body in freak collision during practice in November. Veins heal well enough for him to not be at risk of suffering the same injury, but the lost time on the football field could hurt Hayden’s stock. A junior college transfer, Hayden had only played 22 games at Houston before his injury, so the limited FBS sample size could make him something of a risky pick earlier on. The good thing for Hayden is that he packed a lot of production into the time he did get in Conference USA, playing both man and zone in a 3-4 and a 4-3, proving to be a sound tackler and returning three of his six interceptions for touchdowns. He could be in intriguing pick in the third, assuming the Pats like what they see when he works out next month. 

If the Pats want to finally develop a star (or even just an above-average contributor) in the secondary, the options should be there. This draft class is kind of like the 2010 one at cornerback, where there was one guy at the head of the class (Haden in 2010, Milliner now), and then there’s a bunch of names that are still waiting to sort themselves out. 

The Pats got McCourty, the third cornerback off the board, in that draft. If they can get a Rhodes, a Banks or one of the safeties late in the first, they’ll have added yet another promising young player to their defensive backfield. The tougher part will come after that, and it always seems to be the toughest part for the Patriots.