Patriots 7-round Mock Draft: Prioritizing the offense will bring massive improvements

Another position they can't afford to pass on is offensive tackle, especially left tackle, if they don't re-sign Trent Brown in free agency. The offensive line has been one of the more problematic areas of the team over the last few years, so prioritizing taking one of the best of the class as early as possible should be the way to go.

Fortunately, the class of tackles is said to be deep this year, at least according to NFL draft expert Daniel Jeremiah, which works in the Patriots' favor. That allows them to still take a highly-ranked player at the position, Troy Fautanu, out of Washington in the second round.

He is the 7th-ranked tackle by PFF and had a good 2023 season by only allowing two sacks in 15 games. Fautanu has only played on the left side, which limits his versatility. But the right side is handled if the Patriots can keep Mike Onwenu with a new contract despite the rumors claiming he will be signing elsewhere for next year.

Fautanu could be a day-1 starter in Brown's place, who appears uninterested in returning. But since we're still a little less than two months away from the start of free agency, we'll just assume he won't be back hence this pick in the second round.