New England Patriots: What is the team’s 2019 NFL Draft strategy?
By Hal Bent
So where is the talent in the 2019 NFL Draft?
In reviewing this year’s draft class, one observation on the talent distribution stands out above the rest: the defensive line depth is unbelievable. There are so many big, athletic, and talented players at defensive end and tackle. Quinnen Williams of Alabama, Ed Oliver of Houston, and Josh Allen of Kentucky are just a few of the top-ranked prospects expected to go in the top-ten… maybe even the top-five.
The other observation of importance related to this assessment is that there are multiple positions of need for most of the teams picking ahead of the Patriots. That means that there’s a decent chance that at least some of these defensive linemen are likely to drop.
The positions of need without enough first-round talent available are at offensive tackle (or the offensive line in general), quarterback (as usual), wide receiver, tight end, and cornerback. While the Patriots have pressing needs at wide receiver and at tight end – and could certainly use a young quarterback to draft as Tom Brady’s heir – the mock drafts that have New England over-reaching for second and third-round talent at No. 32 overall is laughable.
With the defensive end and defensive tackle positions also being areas of need after the exodus of Trey Flowers, Malcom Brown, and Danny Shelton (presumably) this offseason, the question really becomes: do the Patriots stand pat and take a top-20 talent on the defensive line, or do they move back and accumulate picks? As noted above, they could gamble and still get a defensive lineman with first-round talent in the early second-round if the chips all fall a certain way.