New England Patriots: Five NFL Draft Needs
By Hal Bent
Position: Cornerback
Expected Round to Target Position: Second Round/Third Round
Top Prospects Likely on the Draft Board at that Pick: Kendall Fuller (Virginia Tech), Cyrus Jones (Alabama), Daryl Worley (West Virginia), Xavien Howard (Baylor), Keivarae Russell (Notre Dame), Will Redmond (Mississippi State)
Potential Contributors Currently at Position: Logan Ryan, Malcolm Butler, Justin Coleman, E.J. Biggers, Darryl Roberts
Team Needs Overview: In the modern NFL there is no such thing as having too many good coverage cornerbacks in the secondary. Almost every team has a third cornerback who is going to play more than 50% of the snaps on defense. For the Patriots, the need for three starting caliber cornerbacks may even be stronger due to their offense consistently giving the defense a lead and having to face a higher percentage of multi-wide receiver sets.
New England has top cornerback Malcolm Butler locked up for the next two seasons for cheap money (he will be a restricted free agent who will cost just about $4 million for 2017 at the top tender) but young players Justin Coleman and Darryl Roberts are unproven. Logan Ryan is in the last year of his rookie deal and the Patriots may be drafting with an eye towards replacing him after 2016. Biggers is a veteran who is on the roster fringe and after the disappointments of veteran free agent cornerbacks last season (Tarell Brown, Robert McClain, and Bradley Fletcher), he cannot be expected to play a key role.
Cornerbacks are expected to fly off the draft board early and often on day one and two. While the top prospects will be gone by the time the Patriots pick on day two, there are some intriguing cornerback prospects. The difficulty Belichick has had in the past at the position is finding players who are physical enough to step up and tackle and intelligent enough to switch from man to zone concepts throughout the game.
Cyrus Jones would be a great fit with his versatility to play inside and outside and contribute on special teams. Kendall Fuller is a first round talent with medical concerns who is unlikely to slide to the Patriots at the end of the second round but if he does his talent may make him impossible to pass on. With Ryan a free agent next year and Butler needing to be paid soon, the Patriots should be looking to address this position with a day two draft pick.
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