With the 2015 NFL Draft no more than a few weeks away, the Last Word On Sports NFL department will be analyzing all 32 teams’ three most pressing needs. Here we feature the New England Patriots, fresh off a scintillating Super Bowl XLIX title, the fourth of the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era. If there’s a more crystal clear example of the idea “the more things change, the more they stay the same” in the NFL, it’s the continued excellence that this tandem exudes in New England.
The Pats lost a few key cogs from the team that took home the title in free agency. Veteran defensive tackle Vince Wilfork signed with the Texans, adding to a formidable defensive front that includes J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney. Cornerback Darrelle Revis returned to the team he spent his first six seasons in the league with, signing a lucrative five-year, $70 million deal with the New York Jets on March 10th. Running back Shane Vereen also departed, inking a three-year contract with the Giants.
In his dual role as general manager of the team, Belichick has never been one to overpay for free agents. It’s one of the reasons the Pats tend to get a compensatory selection or two year in and year out. The 2015 draft is no different, as New England was awarded two of these picks as compensation for the losses of Aqib Talib and Dane Fletcher in free agency preceding the 2014 season. Ironically enough, Brady himself was drafted via a compensatory pick way back in 2000.
This is a team that has also been a shrewd dealmaker on draft day. A perfect example was back in 2010 when the Pats made a total of seven trades of draft picks that year. A few of those moves enabled New England to draft cornerback Devin McCourty (27th overall) and tight end Rob Gronkowski (42nd overall). Suffice it to say those two have gone on to do great things for the franchise since.
The Pats have nine total selections in the 2015 draft, but if their history from a draft day deal perspective is any indication, we could have a very fluid situation on our hands. Here are the specifics for the time being:
First round (32nd overall)
Second round (64th overall)
Third round (96th overall)
Third round (97th overall) – compensatory pick awarded as a result of free agent cornerback Aqib Talib signing with Denver.
Fourth round (101st overall) – acquired in trade that sent offensive guard Logan Mankins to Tampa Bay last season in exchange for tight end Tim Wright.
Fourth round (131st overall)
Sixth round (178th overall) – also acquired in above deal with Tampa Bay.
Seventh round (219th overall) – acquired in trade that sent Pats sixth round pick to Tennessee in exchange for linebacker Akeem Ayers.
Seventh round (253rd overall) – compensatory pick awarded as a result of free agent linebacker Dane Fletcher signing with Tampa Bay.
Time to get to the crux of the discussion. What are the most pressing needs that the Patriots need to address in this year’s draft?
New England Patriots 2015 NFL Draft: Top 3 Needs
Wide Receiver
It just serves as further confirmation of Brady’s greatness that he was able to accomplish what he did with the receiving corps he had to work with. Yes, Gronkowski is an elite tight end and Julian Edelman’s 109 yard, one touchdown performance in the Super Bowl was stellar. Nevertheless, Gronk was the only New England pass catcher to eclipse the 1,000 receiving yard mark during the regular season. Both Edelman and Brandon LaFell, in his first year with the Pats after being signed from Carolina, were short of that benchmark and combined for one-third of the team’s 33 passing touchdowns.
The rule changes within the game from a player safety standpoint is clearly favoring wide receivers in addition to quarterbacks. Though the talent at the position in this year’s draft isn’t as game-changing as we saw last year (at least on paper), there are still a handful of players with the potential to make an instant impact. Will it be of the Odell Beckham Jr. or Kelvin Benjamin variety? It’s hard to tell at this point but more than ever the rookie wide receiver has the tools at his disposal to shine right off the bat if he makes good use of them.
I know Brady’s getting up there in age and his arm strength is expected to decline at some point, but having a deep ball pass catching specialist still can’t hurt. Ohio State’s Devin Smith was superb in catching the deep throws for the Buckeyes, especially late in the season when they made their run towards the national title. He could still be available when New England makes the final selection of the second round.
Dorial Green-Beckham has serious red flags from a character standpoint but the talent is undoubtedly there. He also has great size at 6’5″ 225 pounds. Ironically, Drafttek.com has him listed as the 32nd best player overall, which is where the Pats pick in the first round.
Defensive Tackle
Wilfork’s departure for Houston means the middle of the defensive front has become a glaring need going into the draft. Currently, the frontrunners to start on the interior of the Pats 4-3 defensive scheme in 2015 are Alan Branch and Chris Jones. Branch was released by the Bills during the preseason last year (signing with New England on October 29th) while Jones has bounced around between the Texans and Bucs over his first two seasons in the league before arriving at Foxborough. It’s pretty clear that adding depth through the draft should be a priority at this position.
I hate to continue to bring up former Ohio State players (sorry, I do cover them for LWOS!) but a few of them really could pop up on the Pats’ radar come draft time. In the case of defensive tackle, it’s Michael Bennett. Bennett had seven sacks and 14 tackles for a loss for the Buckeyes during their 2014 championship season and is currently projected as a late second-round selection in most mock drafts. If they decide to address this need with their first pick of the draft they could target Jordan Phillips of Oklahoma or Carl Davis of OSU’s Big Ten rival Iowa.
Cornerback
Given the ginormous roster bonus he was due if he was still on the team a few days after the start of the new league year in March, it’s not surprising Revis ended up signing elsewhere. We’ve already elaborated upon the Belichickian philosophy with regards to doling out the big bucks in free agency.
Even though Malcolm Butler became an instant hero for “the jumped route interception heard ’round the world” to win Super Bowl XLIX for New England, that remains the only pick of his two-year career. The eight cornerbacks listed on the most recent depth chart had a combined six interceptions between them in the 2014 regular season.
Pay attention to Miami (OH) defensive back Quentin Rollins. The 6’0″ 203 pound Wilmington, OH native played basketball for the Redhawks for the majority of his time in college before switching to football his senior season. To say that he impressed was a gross understatement, receiving MAC Defensive Player of the Year honors after leading the conference in interceptions with seven and finishing fourth on the team with 72 tackles. He’s another possible late second-rounder that has the potential to shore up the secondary.
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