The New England Patriots wear the bull's-eye this fall. Every fall, in fact.

The Patriots have won eight consecutive AFC East titles and 14 of the last 16. New England has advanced to the AFC title game 11 times and the Super Bowl seven times in that span, hoisting the Lombardi Trophy five times.

But if you want to compete with the Patriots in February, you must compete with them in April.

During the 20 years I spent focusing on the draft for this newspaper in my capacity as the NFL columnist, it became evident that anyone can find players in the first three rounds. Those are the premium rounds, and the talents of the top 100 players drafted are apparent. In many cases, those picks should be walk-in starters and, early into their careers, impact players.

If you're grading drafts, there are lots of As and Bs to hand out after the first three rounds. But it's what teams do in Rounds 4-7 that can make a good draft great.

And no one knows the draft board -- the entire draft board -- like Patriots coach Bill Belichick. There are no throwaway picks when the Patriots are on the clock. New England has become the NFL's dominant team because the Patriots own the back end of the draft.

Everyone knows about Tom Brady. How the Patriots found him in the sixth round of the 2000 draft and how he has developed into a quarterback for the ages -- a 12-time Pro Bowler, a four-time Super Bowl MVP, a two-time NFL MVP and the all-decade quarterback of the 2000s.

But Brady is not alone in his contribution to the Patriots from the later rounds. New England's leading receiver last season (Julian Edelman) was a seventh-round draft pick. Their leading scorer (kicker Stephen Gostkowski) was a fourth-round draft pick, as was their leading sacker (end Trey Flowers). Their leading interceptor (Malcolm Butler) was an undrafted college free agent, as was their punter (Ryan Allen).

The right side of New England's offensive line included a fifth-round pick at tackle (Marcus Cannon), a fourth-rounder at guard (Shaq Mason) and an undrafted college free agent at center (David Andrews). Also, New England's six-time Pro Bowl special teams ace, Matthew Slater, was a fifth-round pick.

Starting halfback James White rushed for two touchdowns in the Super Bowl and also caught 14 passes for 110 yards and a third touchdown in that 34-28 victory over Atlanta. He was a fourth-round draft pick by the Patriots in 2014.

Those later-round picks are not sure things. Only 46.5 percent of all seventh-round picks since 2000 have made NFL rosters of their drafting teams. So Edelman beat those odds. He was a college quarterback at Kent State whom Belichick projected as a wide receiver. He has caught 425 passes in his eight-year NFL career, including 98 for 1,106 yards in 2016.

Only 60.7 percent of the sixth-round picks since 2000 have made NFL rosters of their drafting teams. So Brady beat those odds. Six quarterbacks were taken ahead of Brady in 2000, including Gio Carmazzi, Tee Martin and Spergon Wynn. Brady was the 199th player selected in his draft as a compensatory pick by the Patriots. He has gone on to win 77.8 percent of his starts (183-52), the best mark of the game's modern era. He ranks fourth all time in passing yards and touchdowns.

The Patriots have won other Super Bowls under Belichick with an eighth-round pick at lead receiver (Troy Brown), a fifth-round center (Dan Koppen), a fourth-round cornerback (Asante Samuel) and an undrafted free-agent kicker (Adam Vinatieri). All became Pro Bowlers, Brown retired as the all-time leading receiver in franchise history, and Vinatieri left New England as the franchise's all-time leading scorer. He has since been passed by Gostkowski.

The Patriots have hit on their high-round draft picks as well. First-rounders Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, Logan Mankins, Devin McCourty, Nate Solder, Dont'a Hightower, Chandler Jones and Malcolm Brown all became starters on Super Bowl champions as have Matt Light, Deion Branch, Eugene Wilson, Sebastian Vollmer, Patrick Chung, Rob Gronkowski and Jamie Collins out of the second round.

There are seven rounds in every draft. That gives NFL teams seven chances to improve themselves each spring. If you want to compete with the Patriots, you need to start drafting like the Patriots. Every round matters.

Twitter: @RickGosselin9