The NFL draft is right around the corner, two weeks from Thursday to be exact, so teams are focusing on needs and which positions should be targeted most.
With free agency pretty much over, needs for each team are much more apparent than they were at the start of the offseason.
The Patriots will have plenty of opportunities to address their needs early in the draft as they have four picks in the first 63 overall — two first-round picks and two second-round picks.
Here are the Patriots' top four needs entering the draft, which is updated from our list roughly three weeks ago.
1. Linebacker
As of now, the Patriots have Dont'a Hightower, Elandon Roberts, Kyle Van Noy, Harvey Langi and Nicholas Grigsby on the depth chart at linebacker, which doesn't exactly give off a ton of confidence, especially given Hightower's injury history. It's quite apparent the team needs a player who can help right away and is someone who is athletic enough to cover opposing running backs out of the backfield. It would not be a surprise at all to see the team use one of its first-round picks on a linebacker and the potential long-term replacement of Hightower.
2. Left tackle
This was the No. 1 priority entering the offseason and after losing Nate Solder to the Giants, the team was able to re-sign LaAdrian Waddle and sign Matt Tobin so it isn't as big of a need, but still is close to the top of the list. The Patriots also have 2017 third-round pick Tony Garcia on the roster, but he missed all of last season due to reported blood clots in his lungs and lost 40 pounds. It seems hard to depend on Garcia not only for this coming season, but also for the future. Waddle and Tobin are more stopgaps than long-term answers, so given how important the left tackle position is, this seems like a position worthy of a selection in the first two rounds.
3. Edge rusher
This goes along with the linebacker need, the Patriots need more athletic players in their front-seven. The addition of Adrian Clayborn will absolutely help, but looking back at the loss in the Super Bowl, the biggest issue wasn't the secondary, it was the inability to put any pressure on Eagles quarterback Nick Foles. It's also been something the team has lacked in the last several years, so adding someone other than Clayborn this offseason would be a positive. It's also important this player has the ability to set the edge, as that is something the team values in its edge rushers.
4. Quarterback
This is the most talked about position given Tom Brady's age and Jimmy Garoppolo no longer being in New England. But, it isn't an absolute position the team needs to draft like many say because finding Brady's potential successor can be done in other ways. On the flip side, ideally it would draft a quarterback this year to maximize the time spent in the organization before Brady steps away. Given the number of picks the Patriots have, they have the ability to draft any QB they want and who they like best. If they like someone who has a late first-round grade they should absolutely draft him there, and the same goes in the later rounds, but they also shouldn't reach for a player just for the sake of taking a quarterback.
