FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- When New England Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio met with reporters before last year's draft, he said, "If we had to go out there and play today, we could play. But the season doesn’t start today, so we’ll continue to build the team and try to do what we think is best for the organization."

One year later, it's a similar picture.

Through a flurry of roster additions via trades and free agency, the club already has 76 players under contract (or will once all deals become official). That's a bit more than the norm at this time. Many of the most pressing needs have been filled, but there's still work to be done from both a short- and long-term perspective.

Could Devontae Booker be a Patriots target at running back early in the 2016 NFL draft? AP Photo/Rick Scuter

Here's one viewpoint of the positions that look most likely for the Patriots to target early in the draft:

1. Running back. From initial research, if a player like Utah's Devontae Booker is there late in the second round, he'd be an ideal fit for what the Patriots do offensively. I view him as a prospect who plays faster than his timed speed and who catches the ball well, which makes him a three-down option. Adding youth and playmaking skill at running back would be one of the final pieces to complement the team's other moves at the skill positions this offseason.

2. Cornerback. The top three players on the depth chart return in 2016 -- Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan and Justin Coleman -- and there's also 2015 seventh-round pick Darryl Roberts, who flashed quality ball skills before landing on season-ending injured reserve in the preseason. So any addition would be with the future in mind (Butler and Ryan enter the final year of their contracts) and a physical press corner like Maryland's Sean Davis stands out in initial draft research as a Patriots-type fit with one of their early picks.

3. Offensive tackle. With starting right tackle Sebastian Vollmer and swing tackle Marcus Cannon entering the final year of their contracts, feeding the developmental pipeline should be on the radar. Initial draft research leads to Texas Tech's Le'Raven Clark as a prospect who might pique the team's interest with an early pick based on his unique physical traits and system fit.

4. Defensive tackle. The projected No. 2 (Alan Branch) and No. 3 (Terrance Knighton) players at the position are closer to the end of their careers than the beginning, and have contracts that expire after the 2016 season. If Alabama's Jarran Reed ever slipped to the bottom of the second round, he'd be hard to pass up, while Texas' Hassan Ridgeway has some uncommon traits that could entice the Patriots to take a closer look with the future in mind.

5. Wide receiver. One of the older positions on the roster, the Patriots could benefit from adding a younger pass-catcher to the developmental pipeline. Pittsburgh's Tyler Boyd, who some scouts view as one of the better route-runners in the draft, looks like a possible fit based on initial draft research, while Will Fuller of Notre Dame brings an element of speed that could intrigue.