The Patriots get more talent in the trenches

while adding two likely starters at wide receiver and tight end."WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementNFL DraftPatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots 2019 NFL Draft CoverageMichael McDermott’s Mock Draft: Patriots bolster defensive line Womens Montee Ball Jersey , offensive line, and pass catching corpsNew,41commentsThe Patriots get more talent in the trenches while adding two likely starters at wide receiver and tight end. EDTShareTweetShareShareMichael McDermott’s Mock Draft: Patriots bolster defensive line, offensive line, and pass catching corpsMark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsThe Patriots enter the draft with 12 picks, six of which will be in the first three rounds. This mock draft will cover the first four rounds and mostly consists of my own speculation of how the board will go tonight. The biggest needs I considered were DT, EGDE, OT, WR, TE, and QB for the draft although there aren’t any positions outside of maybe CB where you can say the team is set for the next 3 years with their current personnel. With the 32nd Pick, the New England Patriots select Clelin Ferrell, EGDE, ClemsonI anticipate that Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence, Jeffery Simmons, and Greedy Williams will all be off the board by the time the Patriots pick at 32. So here the Patriots are choosing between edge rusher Clelin Ferrell, interior DL Jerry Tillery, WR A.J. Brown, and TE Irv Smith Jr. Considering the value of the players available, Ferrell has the highest chance of starting on Day 1 of those picks with Brown being the next highest value of the picks. Given that the Patriots can get a player with 90% the talent in the second round in J.J. Arcega-Whiteside http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-troy-niklas-jersey , I decided to go for Ferrell since he profiles pretty well for what the Patriots like in a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end. He sets the edge and is a strong run defender with moderate pass rush upside (8-10 sacks) and has been very consistent each year. Ferrell would be contribute to start right away even though the Patriots have Michael Bennett and Deatrich Wise Jr. penciled in as their top 2 defensive ends in the rotation with John Simon, Derek Rivers, and Keionta Davis getting playing time with the Patriots in 2018. Ferrell also comes with NCAA postseason experience, as he helped Clemson win two national titles in the past three seasons.With the 56th Pick, the New England Patriots select J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, WR, StanfordWhen looking at potential plug and play guys at the WR position, I expect A.J. Brown, Riley Ridley, and Deebo Samuel to go between picks 32 and 56. As I see it, the Patriots could either vote to optimize the OL depth with a player like Scharping, who I mocked to the Patriots with their next second round pick, go with a plug and play outside WR in Arcega-Whiteside, or add to their defensive front 7. Arcega-Whiteside is a big-bodied with a big catch radius with 33 1/2” arms and a background in basketball, which would allow for Tom Brady and the next QB to hit him on back-shoulder passes away from the defender in the red zone. He’s not an explosive vertical threat, but is a very fluid route runner and knows the nuances of the skill fairly well. Belichick has tapped the Stanford program under David Shaw twice in the last five seasons with the selections of Cameron Fleming, who went on to be a quality swing tackle, and Jordan Richards, who I will not talk about further. Arcega-Whiteside has a pretty moderate ceiling but also a high floor as a WR2 in a high-powered offense.With the 64th Pick, the New England Patriots select Max Scharping, OT Ja'Whaun Bentley Jersey , Northern IllinoisThe Patriots have had bad luck at developing tackles with their last two major selections at the positions combining for zero snaps played. Wynn is recovering from a preseason Achilles rupture last season and the team doesn’t have much depth at the position behind Wynn and Cannon on the OL. The Patriots will likely find a way to solve this issue in addition to selecting Scharping, a 4-year starter on the OL. Competition level is a concern since Scharping played in a mid major program, but that’s otherwise the only major flag as a draftable player. Experience at both tackle spots in college makes for an interesting dynamic on the OL and whether or not Scharping ends up at LT or RT depends on if Wynn can recover from his injury and assume the LT spot. With the 73rd Pick, the New England Patriots select Jace Sternberger, TE, Texas A&MThis year’s TE class is very shallow if you’re looking for draftable players before the 4th round. Hockenson is the closest to a complete TE with the other players in the draft class more glorified receivers. After the first round, the only 2 TEs I liked are Irv Smith Jr. and Jace Sternberger as fits. Smith will likely go in the Top 50, leaving the Patriots with just Sternberger as an option on Day 2. Sternberger doesn’t have ideal size or speed measurables and certainly isn’t a great run blocker either, but he is an excellent route runner from the TE position with TE1 production potential down the road after he bulks up over 260. Sternberger isn’t going to likely end up as an inline blocker due to his smaller frame relative to the position, but could develop into a decent blocker on the move and a quality pass receiver.With the 97th Pick, the New England Patriots select Will Harris, Safety, Boston CollegeHarris offers great versatility to a New England secondary that has aging starters at the safety position. Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung will be 32 when the season starts, so they're closer to the end of their respective careers. Duron Harmon is a quality 3rd safety in the rotation, but his lack of top-end speed caused him to be phased out of the gameplan against KC and played sparingly in the Super Bowl as the Patriots employed the Four Corners defense. Harris can play any role you can ask a safety to do: deep, box, man coverage, robber, or even the slot. His CB level athleticism combined with an ideal build for a safety makes him a great fit for covering TEs and RBs in the slot or wide. Throw in the fact he's also likely to develop into a core special teamer, there's too much value here to pass up.With the 101st Pick, the New England Patriots select Brett Rypien Womens Phillip Dorsett Jersey , QB, Boise StateThe backup QB spot is a position that gets neglected by teams, but in certain cases having a quality backup can be a season-saver. Rypien is the son of former Super Bowl winning QB Mark Rypien and has been around the game his whole life. His arm talent is pretty average but does have 4 years starting experience with quality production and sees the field well. The Patriots offense requires the QB to be able to process the defense pre and post snap, although the Patriots do a great job at forcing the defense to tell. Worst case scenario Rypien develops into a quality backup for 4 years behind Tom Brady and best case scenario he is able to be a solid starter down the road.With the 134th pick, the New England Patriots select Renell Wren, DT, Arizona StateWren is an interesting player from a fit perspective. He has ideal size and length to be both a 3-4 end and 4-3 interior DL, although he has a tendency to play out of control at times. However the upside as a potential 3-down starter if his feet and hands are coached up is undeniable and worth taking a mid-round gamble on. Early on he can start out as the #4 DT in the rotation while the coaching staff works hard on correcting his technique problems. ATLANTA (AP) — In the past three NFL seasons alone, Brandin Cooks has caught passes from Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Jared Goff while playing for Sean Payton, Bill Belichick and Sean McVay.“I guess I know how to pick ’em, right?” Cooks asked Tuesday with a laugh.Cooks has racked up 3,786 yards receiving and 21 total touchdowns in that three-season span, which will include six playoff games and two consecutive Super Bowls.He played for the Patriots in the big game last year, and he will play against them for the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. He is also the first player in NFL history to have three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons with three different teams.But there are asterisks on this incredible resume.Cooks was only able to accomplish these feats because he was traded before each of the past two seasons, changing teams twice before he turned 25 years old.Two elite NFL franchises — New Orleans and New England — decided they could do without the speedy, dependable receiver, giving him up for first-round picks.Although he has been asked about it almost daily during the Rams’ playoff run, Cooks insists he harbors no ill will against the Saints or the Patriots.The Rams’ postseason could have been a personal revenge tour, but Cooks says it means nothing to him that his two former teams are Los Angeles’ final two playoff opponents: The Rams beat New Orleans 26-23 in the NFC championship game Youth Dont’a Hightower Jersey , and they will face the Patriots in the Super Bowl.While Cooks claims he didn’t take it personally, he also acknowledges using the trades as motivation during his fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season and the subsequent playoff grind.“It’s fuel to the fire,” Cooks said. “I know that I can play this game at a high level, whether someone thinks it or not. For them to trade me, it’s part of the game, but it also gives me that motivation to keep going, too.”This Super Bowl is a particular opportunity for Cooks, who realizes how fortunate he is to return to football’s biggest stage for a second straight year. Cooks caught just one pass for the Patriots against Philadelphia last season before he was sidelined with a concussion, missing most of the biggest game of his life.“I would be lying if I said I didn’t think about it like all year, offseason and training camp,” Cooks said. “But now that I’m here, I’ve got that thought process out of my mind.”Cooks has avoided constant attempts to get him to compare the inner workings of the Patriots and Rams this week, deliberately giving simplistic, short answers such as: “They’re both great cultures. That’s the similarity.”But it’s clear he has found a home in his native California with the Rams, who have lavished praise on him ever since his arrival. They even signed him to a five-year, $80 million contract extension before he played a game in LA, and he rewarded them with a career-best 1,204 yards receiving.“I can promise you this: We’re not trading him,” McVay said Tuesday.Cooks has showed his reciprocal devotion to the Rams in many ways: Just last week, he surprised team custodian Alfonso Garcia by paying for two tickets to the Super Bowl for Garcia and his 8-year-old son.The Patriots have had only good things to say about their former receiver even though Belichick kept him for only one season before making the trade to maximize his value Dont’a Hightower Jersey Stitched , rather than signing him to the type of long-term contract New England has often avoided. The Pats used the Rams’ first-round pick on offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn, who tore his Achilles tendon in the preseason.Belichick, Brady and other Patriots praised Cooks’ work ethic and talent this week.“He was a great guy to have in the room, a hard-working teammate, and he’s a real playmaker,” New England receiver Chris Hogan said.Hogan said that although he was dazzled by Cooks’ speed, “when I’d see on film I was even with him or ahead of him, I made sure to point it out.”Even though he has impressive numbers for Los Angeles, Cooks is sold on McVay’s culture of individual sacrifice for team success. In fact, Cooks is getting some of his biggest praise for a strategic drop in New Orleans.On a third-down play with the Rams on the edge of long field-goal range in overtime, Goff threw a short backfield pass to Cooks with Saints defenders bearing down.Instead of catching it and probably taking a 4-yard loss on a play that McVay immediately regretted calling, Cooks intentionally dropped it. Shortly afterward, Greg Zuerlein made a 57-yard field goal to send the Rams to their first Super Bowl in 17 years.No matter what happens in his second shot at the Super Bowl, Cooks seems certain be a key component of Los Angeles’ offense next season along with Robert Woods and the injured Cooper Kupp, who formed one of the most potent receiver trios in the league when they were together this season. Cooks is also eager for another year to build chemistry with Goff.“To be put with a young quarterback that’s the same age as me, and to know you have the chance to be together for a long time, that’s a blessing,” Cooks said.