Patriots Rumors: New England was interested in Dan Feeney during NFL Draft

The New England Patriots drafted offensive lineman Antonio Garcia in the third round of the NFL Draft. However, recent Patriots rumors are that they had their eye on another lineman.

Coming into the 2017 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots didn’t have too many immediate needs. After making some trades and doing well in free agency, the Patriots were able to have their starting roster pretty well.

With their eye toward the future, the Patriots used two third-round picks to help ensure they had some talented depth in the trenches. Using their first pick, the Patriots selected defensive end Derek Rivers. With Rob Ninkovich being in the final season of his contract, Rivers figures to be his replacement.

Following the Rivers pick, the Patriots then traded up to select an offensive tackle, Antonio Garcia. While Garcia was one of the best pass-blocking tackles in the draft, the Patriots had their eye on an another player according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com.

"The Patriots came close to drafting a potential challenger to Andrews’ starting job in the third round, Indiana’s Dan Feeney, but the Los Angeles Chargers nabbed Feeney before the club was on the clock at No. 72. Would the Patriots have extended Andrews if they’d drafted Feeney? It’s an interesting question to ponder."

Just recently, the Patriots gave starting center David Andrews a contract extension, which signed him through the 2020 season. If they would have selected Feeney, that extension might not have happened.

Due to left tackle Nate Solder being a free agent at the end of the season, it made sense that the Patriots drafted Garcia to be a possible replacement. However, the Patriots might have instead tried to get a deal done with Solder if they had selected Feeney.

Next: Breaking down the quarterback position in 2017

After being benched in 2015 down the stretch, Andrews played really well for the Patriots in 2016. The offensive line as a whole did very well, and Andrews was a big part of that. If the Patriots took Feeney, it would have been interesting to see what Andrews’ future would be.