Bill Belichick on Patriots draft picks: 'The strong will survive'

Getting drafted into the NFL is only half the battle. 

Draft picks will face some of the toughest challenges of their young career over the next few months as they try to crack an NFL lineup. New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick made it very clear during his post-draft news conference that roster spots are earned, not given. 

"The biggest challenge for all these players is to get on our program," Belichick said, according to Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com. "For the last six months, they've been a man without a country – no team, their own individual whatever it is, situation. And they’re trying to figure out, 'How do I best get ready for the NFL?'"

"... Right now, that's all changed. They can forget about all that. They need to become New England Patriots, and that’s what we're going to start getting to work on. They've got to get out of that mentality of, 'I'll get up when I feel like it. I'll go to work when I feel like it. I'll eat what (I want), all that. I'll train the way I want to train.' They’re done with that. That will be a huge adjustment for them."

The Patriots selected 11 players in this year's draft and will sign several more in the coming days. It's unlikely all of them will make the team's 53-man roster. 

"The strong will survive," Belichick said. "The other ones will fall off, and we'll keep going."