The Patriots continue to sign draft picks at a rapid rate, as it was learned Thursday three more members of the 2009 draft class have agreed to contracts and two others are likely just days from signing deals of their own.

Three more members of the 2009 draft class got their deals done -- second-round pick Sebastian Vollmer, third-round selection Brandon Tate and seventh-round pick Julian Edelman, all of whom signed four-year contracts with New England. (For more on those deals, click here.) That leaves New England with seven of their 12 picks in the fold -- Darius Butler, Rich Ohrnberger, Myron Pryor and Darryl Richard were already signed.

In addition, it now appears that second-round pick Ron Brace and sixth-round pick Jake Ingram are in the final stages of their negotiations with the Patriots, and sources close to both indicated Thursday the two should have deals done with New England sooner rather than later.

Patriots' rookies are scheduled to report to training camp on July 26.

Brace, who was the 40th overall selection in the draft, is finalizing a deal a source says is similar to the four-year deal signed by Butler. It certainly makes sense when it comes to overall salary structure -- Butler, who was selected 41st overall (one pick behind Brace) signed a four-year deal for $4.275 million with New England, with $2.06 million of that guaranteed.

At 6-foot-3 and 330 pounds, Brace is a native of Springfield who starred as a high schooler at Worcester Burncoat. At Boston College, he lined up alongside defensive lineman B.J. Raji (a first-round pick of the Packers), and was a second-team All-ACC selection in 2008 after earning honorable mention in 2007. In his last two seasons at The Heights, Brace combined for 54 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks

With the uncertainty surrounding the future of Pro Bowl nose tackle Vince Wilfork -- he is entering the final year of a six-year contract -- Brace could be seen a possible replacement for Wilfork down the road. He has shown some positional versatility in the past, with an ability to play defensive tackle in the 4-3 or nose in the 3-4.

The Patriots certainly seem him as a space-eater.

“He’s huge. This guy’s big. He’s big and he’s wide,” said Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio when he was asked about Brace. “It’s hard to find these kinds of guys.”

“[Ron] Brace is a bigger player, very powerful and explosive, [with a] different playing style,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said when asked to compare Brace to the other two defensive linemen New England selected this past April, Darryl Richard and Myron Pryor.

“[He’s] a little bit taller, so I think there is some degree of flexibility between playing on the center, playing on the guard, and playing between the tackle and the guard, or on the tackle in varying degrees with all three players. How that actually manifests itself, we’ll see.”

As for Ingram, a league source said Thursday night “the two sides have exchanged numbers, and are hoping to make more progress later this week.” No contract details were provided, but it’s reasonable to think that Ingram will receive something in the neighborhood of a four-year deal -- 23 of the 25 players taken in the sixth round who have signed so far got four-year contracts.

As for total dollars, Ingram’s worth may be skewed a bit because he’s a special teamer, but a player taken two spots after him -- cornerback DeAndre Wright of New Mexico, who went at No. 200 overall to the Giants -- got a four-year deal for $1.83 million, which included a $93,009 signing bonus.

The 6-foot-3, 232-pounder is looking to fill the shoes of the departed Lonie Paxton at the long snapper spot. A Hawaii product, he was selected with the 198th overall pick in the draft, and will battle veteran Nathan Hodel for the long snapping job. He certainly has an impressive resume: he was one of two long snappers invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, and he also garnered an invite to the Senior Bowl.

“He’s an athletic guy, a little bit smaller than some of the snappers in the league, but a little bit more athletic than most of the snappers in the league,” said Belichick.

“[He’s] an experienced guy. He’s done that. He can block. He can cover pretty well. His snaps are accurate; they had good velocity. So I think that he will be competitive for that position. I felt like he was a top player for his position in the draft.”