So I have this goal to make a Patriots draft board for the first 3-4 rounds of players who may be of interest to them. The Patriots are known for their small boards because they are deliberate on prospects they want to draft. Caserio said it himself much better than I just did (this is an
article from last year), "We are trying to find players that we feel comfortable with on all levels that we would actually draft. Not that are
going to get drafted. Three-hundred players or whatever it is are going to get drafted. It's players that we would draft, that we would actually feel comfortable with in our program in some capacity."
There is a separate list for the anticipated undrafted guys they are interested in as well.
This year though you can make an argument that WR (as SuperNomario pointed out, both slot and more traditional X type), TE, RB, OT, G, QB, Edge, LB (WLB and MLB), IDL, DBs are all positions of either current or soon to be future need. Obviously they are not going to fill all their needs through the draft. They consistently fill out their roster with 1-2 year deals for average starters as well as mining the scrap heaps for gold. Even considering smart free agent moves they could go in so many directions with the draft. We know they like to be developing a QB, that their receiving depth past this year is thin and questionable given injury history and/or age. At tight end Gronk could always call it quits earlier than anticipated, is always an injury concern, while Hollister is still just developing. As for guard, Mason is a free agent after next year. They have Karras, but I think he is more likely a capable backup then a starter from the limited about of information I've read about him. That's the offense.
Defense has more bodies but I question the top end talent in the front 7. As for positions of need in 2019: DT, CB, LB, slot. Most of these positions, even with guys taken in the first 3 rounds, should not be counted on to be significant contributors in year 1.
Thanks to inside the pylon we know how much draft capital the Patriots spent developing players vs free agency at each positional grouping but that is their information and it is also just for 2014-2017. I think this helps explain how rosters were built and it could predict how teams like to operate but it also might be too circumstantial or contextual to use for how a team will act in the future. The Patriots in the past have invested 2nds and 3rds on WR/RBs/TEs and could in the future even if they haven't recently.
Where would an upgrade at talent given your roster construction in 2018-2019+ help the most?
I tried to narrow it down. Please let me know your thoughts - I feel a bit lost in the weeds here.
On Offense: WR, OT, TE, QB
On Defense: DT, CB, Off-ball LB, Slot/Saf/weapon, Edge (And I love Rivers but he is now a bit behind and coming off of an injury), and Chess-piece.
A chess piece is someone like a Lorenzo Carter who can rush the passer, drop into a zone, possibly give you some man coverage skills, and lineup in multiple positions in the front 7. Shaquem Griffin is a later round version of a chess piece. There could be some overlap here as a guy like LVE could play MLB or possibly line up on the edge and rush the passer (not his strong suit but it's been tossed around).
That's 9/10 positions of need where you might want to build up the pipeline. I feel like this is a bit much or I must be crazy... and just to reiterate I know you can't build the entire roster through the draft. Just that if they wanted to they have more future needs than usual.
