The New England Patriots will have to survive the 2016 NFL Draft without a first round pick, but Bill Belichick and Co. can make up for their deflategate losses with a couple of smart choices in round two.

The Patriots hold their regular pick at No. 60 from their finish in last year’s season and the No. 61 pick as part of trading defensive end Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals.

New England has already been subject to an overly busy offseason, including a multitude of free agent signings as well as two blockbuster trades. With that being said, some positions are still lacking depth and are in need of some high impact rookies. Back-to-back picks can cause plenty of damage as long as the Patriots use them on the right positions.

Running Back

The Patriots should definitely invest in a running back during day two of the draft, but not in the second round.

The Patriots were able to re-sign LeGarrette Blount and also agreed to a deal with Donald Brown who spent last season with the San Diego Chargers. The two join Dion Lewis, James White, and Brandon Bolden as the halfbacks on the depth chart.

Many mock drafts have the Patriots using one of their two second rounders on Louisiana Tech prospect Kenneth Dixon. The creators of said mock-ups clearly have no understanding of Coach Belichick, who would not want anything to do with Dixon’s 13 fumbles in the past three seasons, including 11 lost fumbles.

Other than Dixon, no other running back that will be available by the time the Patriots are on the clock is worth taking.

With a running back corps already improved since last season, the Patriots’ best option would be to take Notre Dame’s C.J. Promise with one of their third round picks.

Wide Receiver

There are exactly ten wide receivers in this year’s draft that the Patriots should select without hesitation come pick No. 60. Five will almost definitely be taken by then (Will Fuller, Josh Doctson, Corey Coleman, Laquon Treadwell, Michael Thomas), but even after an early wide receiver run, the Patriots should have no issue finding an immediate impact receiver in the second round.

Danny Amendola could very well be testing free agency this Spring due to his large cap hit and Julian Edelman will turn 30 in May. Selecting a future starter out of the 2016 class is a priority for the pass-heavy Patriots.

Oklahoma’s Sterling Shepard, Pittsburgh’s Tyler Boyd, South Carolina’s Pharoh Copper, Ohio State’s Braxton Miller, and Rutgers’ Leonte Carroo are are viable options for New England.

Offensive Tackle

The offensive tackle position is a little bit tricky for the Patriots. Yes, they need to draft one. The Patriots need to find a permanent replacement for Sebastian Vollmer and their depth behind Nate Solder is very slim. Center Bryan Stork was forced to play at right tackle at times last season, even starting there on occasion.

The question is what prospects will be available at pick No. 60.

La’Raven Clark of Texas Tech, Shon Coleman of Auburn, and Jason Spriggs of Indiana are the three offensive tackles that will be targeted in the second round. Fortunately, the Patriots should have no problem drafting either of these players and expecting positive results from them. The downside is that there are only three of them and there is a good chance that none of them will have the chance to become a Patriot.

After Spriggs, the best offensive tackle lies in Jerald Hawkins of LSU, but he could be available on day three and would be considered a reach in the second round.

If Clark, Coleman, or Spriggs are available, the Patriots should pull the trigger. If not, they will have to wait until further rounds.

Defensive Tackle

A week ago, the Patriots could have used a sixth round pick on the position and been set. Between then and now, the Patriots released Chris Jones and Dominique Easley to weaken what had been one of the strongest units in the league.

Now with just Terrance Knight, Malcolm Brown and Alan Branch as reliable options, the Patriots could very well spend an early pick on a run stuffer.

Luckily, the defensive tackle position is as deep as its ever been in the draft and the Patriots should have some options even picking as late as they are.

With so many options available, the Patriots may not even have to worry about using a second round pick on a DT, and instead aim for Ohio State’s Adolphus Washington in the third round. However, if none of the said offensive tackles are available, one of the picks should be used on a defensive tackle.

Possible options include Mississippi State’s Chris Jones, Penn State’s Austin Johnson, UCLA’s Kenny Clark, and Notre Dame’s Sheldon Day.

Linebacker

Linebacker is most definitely not the first option for the Patriots in the second round, but it’s certainly an option. Drafting a linebacker would be drafting for 2017; the Patriots don’t necessarily need a player at this position this season, but they may in 2017 when Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower have expiring contracts.

The Patriots could possibly target the versatile Su’a Cravens from USC or Jordan Jenkins from Georgia. They could also take a risk on a talented player whose stock slid due to injury since they don’t need immediate performance from the position, like Arizona’s Scooby Wright III or Notre Dame’s Jaylon Smith.

Cornerback

Unfortunately, choosing a cornerback in the late second round is going to be a risk no matter what. The three best corners likely to be available (Clemson’s Mackensie Alexander, Mississippi State’s Will Redmond, and Virginia Tech’s Kendall Fuller) all have major injury concerns. The Patriots would have to draft an injury-prone talent or sacrifice talent for consistency with a player like Miami’s Artie Burns.

The cornerback position isn’t in desperate need of a second round talent, especially with young talents Darryl Roberts and Justin Coleman developing into capable back-ups to Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler.

Ryan, though, is likely spending his last season with the Patriots this year, and additional depth would be recommended.

Talent is there at cornerback, but it depends on how much of a risk the Patriots wish to take.

Trade?

Year after year the Patriots trade down in the draft to acquire more picks. They are the complete opposite of quality over quantity.

This year though, the Patriots aren’t in need of 11 picks.

With five sixth round picks and with a lot of depth already existing on the roster, it would make sense for the Patriots to trade for another second round or third round pick. The Cleveland Browns have two third rounders and the Tennessee Titans have three second rounders and are the best chances of the Patriots accumulating another day two pick.

Predictions

I do think that the Patriots will make at least one swap of picks during the three day period, and if they aren’t trading for picks earlier in the draft then they will be stacking up for 2017.

Here is who I think the Patriots are likely to draft, as if no trades are made.

Round 2, Pick 60: Jason Spriggs, OT, Indiana

Round 2, Pick 61: Leonte Carroo, WR, Rutgers

Round 3, Pick 91: Sheldon Day, DT, Notre Dame

Round 3, Pick 96: C.J. Prosise, RB, Notre Dame

Round 6, Pick 196: Deiondre Hall, CB, Northern Iowa

Round 6, Pick 204: Glenn Gronkowski, FB, Kansas State

Round 6, Pick 208: Devon Johnson, RB, Marshall

Round 6, Pick 214: Curt Maggit, OLB/DE, Tennessee

Round 6, Pick 221: Joe Bolden, MLB, Michigan

Round 7, Pick 243: Connor Rujciak, DT, Boston College

Round 7, Pick 250: Jake Rudock, QB, Michigan

The draft takes place on April 28-30 in Chicago.

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