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New England Patriots: Seven 2019 NFL Draft predictions

By Hal Bent

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 03: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots looks on prior to Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 03: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots looks on prior to Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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2019 NFL Draft
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 09: Former New England Patriots player Rob Gronkowski raises the Lombardi Trophy over his head before the Red Sox home opening game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park on April 09, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

The Patriots DO NOT draft a tight end in the first round

The initial overreaction to losing a generational talent at tight end in Rob Gronkowski is to hit the panic button and reach for a tight end in the first round.

But uh… that sounds like the plan of a desperate front office trying to hold onto their job, not the strategy of the NFL’s most diabolical mastermind and entrenched head honcho: Bill Belichick.

Belichick has maneuvered around playing without Gronkowski for quite some time. Since being injured in the AFC Championship Game after his historic 2011 season, Gronkowski has missed 29 regular season games over the past seven seasons. Other than picking up Martellus Bennett prior to the 2016 season (after Gronkowski had played 15 regular season games), New England has still somehow managed to survive without him.

Replacing Gronkowski is already a work in progress. It might not be a tight end, but Belichick will zig while the rest of the league expects him to zag. As teams around the NFL load up on the passing game, the Patriots have recently invested in a power rushing attack… the same rushing attack that carried them to a Super Bowl win last season.

So yes, the offense will look different without Gronkowski, undoubtedly… but there is no panic in Foxborough just yet.

New England will probably draft a tight end, but it will happen around the third round or later. There is no real replacement to Gronkowski available where they are scheduled to pick at the end of the first round, and the Patriots are too disciplined to trade up and reach for a tight end who may or may be able to handle the NFL transition.

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