New England Patriots Need To Select An Offensive Guard In NFL Draft
By Cyrus Geller
The 2015 NFL draft is slowly approaching, and the needs for the New England Patriots are becoming increasingly clear. Coming into this offseason, I put the interior of the offensive line at the top of the priority list, and even after losing Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner via free agency, I still believe that is the top need.
Now, of course New England could use some help in the defensive backfield, but I don’t think they need to go out of their way to reach for a secondary pick in the early rounds. Instead, they should be targeting the trenches on both sides of the ball, with a specific emphasis on the offensive side.
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Right now, looking at the Patriots’ offense, they have the potential to be the best unit in the league. They have the best quarterback in the NFL in Tom Brady, best offensive weapon on Rob Gronkowski, a top three receiver in Julian Edelman, and a new humongous toy in Scott Chandler. The only thing that can slow them down (aside from injuries, which are a part of the game) is the giant hole the Pats currently have at left guard. Dan Connolly was the starter last year, and he was mediocre for most of the season. I think Bill Belichick should find a replacement for Connolly, or at the very least re-sign him for another year.
However with all the good prospects in this year’s draft, I hope the Pats add another young stud to the offensive line not only to fortify it for 2015, but for years down the road. They already have a great player in Bryan Stork at center, so if they could add another guy to help anchor the interior, this offense will be unstoppable.
A.J. Cann and Laken Tomlinson are two guys I’d like to see the Patriots take a chance on, especially since they could snag them in the second round. This draft is ripe for Belichick to kill value-wise, so I could see New England trading out of their first round pick to get an extra selection in the second round. It’s not always about drafting high, as Belichick has constantly shown, drafting for value is often the way you win championships.
With all of this said, obviously I’d still like to see the Patriots add some talent in the secondary. Right now, things aren’t looking too great back there after Revis and Browner bolted, and while nobody in the draft will replace them, getting some depth will certainly help. However I’d wait until the third or fourth rounds to target corners, so the Pats can focus on the trenches with the earlier selections.