Belichick Wishing He Took Beason?

Looking back, does Bill Belichick regret taking Brandon Meriweather over Jon Beason when he had the opportunity to do so in the first round of that 2007 draft?
A: I thought the Patriots would have selected Beason when he was available to them in the first round (24th overall), as he filled a need and seemed to have all the intangibles the team would want at the hard-to-fill position in their system. In the end, I think the team didn't pick him because his testing numbers (e.g. 40-yard dash) weren't great and there were some questions of how he'd hold up physically in a 3-4 defense. If they could do it over again, knowing what they know now, I'd be surprised if the Patriots (and as many as 15-18 other teams) passed Beason (25th overall) over. I was recently watching a replay of a Panthers game on NFL Network and Beason was consistently around the ball. Some of the tackles did come downfield as it was common to see him drop 15 yards into pass coverage on one snap, and then be playing more downhill on the next. Overall, Beason is probably a better fit for Carolina's 4-3 alignment, but I still thought he could have fit here -- his instincts are excellent. Meriweather could still have a nice career, but to me, Beason has been the better player to this point.



(boston.com)