Patriots: Best first-round options for New England in 2021 NFL Draft

The New England Patriots have three options available to them with the 15th pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

With NFL free agency in the rear view mirror, the New England Patriots are still making moves to solidify their roster. The flurry of early activity is an admittance from Bill Belichick the roster needed a serious overhaul.

While we’re still many months away from seeing how these additions pan out, the reality is a lot goes into building a roster, and every move is a gamble. Over the last two decades, most of those gambles have paid off for Belichick and the Pats.

So as the end of April nears, it’s time to take a closer look at the real gamble of every offseason: the NFL Draft.

Belichick has shown this offseason he is more comfortable filling key roster spots with proven NFL talent. The risk is just too great to fill so many holes with rookies, and one he was apparently not willing to take.

New England is coming off a 7-9 season and will draft from the 15th spot in the first round. While they have nine other picks, their first round selection is the most important. Not only for obvious reasons, but it could shape the organization for years to come.

With all that in mind, Coach Belichick and his staff really only have three options at 15: trade up, trade down, or stay put.

So let’s take a look at each option using Rich Hill’s draft value chart in order to value each selection. I’m sure each team has their own formula, but most Patriots fans are familiar with this chart.