New England Patriots: Five 2016 NFL Draft Targets

Sep 3, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; A general view of a football and a New England Patriots helmet during the second half of a game against the New York Giants at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

With the team rolling at 3-0 heading into this weekend’s match-up against the Dallas Cowboys, I am sure the 2016 NFL Draft is relatively far from the minds of New England Patriots’ fans. That being said, the draft is a bit of an obsession for me, and I feel like it is one of the most important events in the NFL year.

Based on its obvious importance, it is never too early to look ahead to draft, and that is exactly what we are going to do here.

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With the ridiculous Deflategate punishment handed down, the Patriots will not be selecting in the first round unless they trade up (yeah, right). Also, with the team seeming to be legitimate Super Bowl contenders, they are unlikely to select anywhere near the top of the second or later rounds. Even when the draft starts, the Patriots will have a long wait until their first pick.

However, once they get to make a selection, I fully expect the Patriots to have a lot of draft capital. Based on their losses in free agency this past off season, the Patriots are extremely likely to do well when it comes to compensatory picks. This added draft capital will certainly help make up for the loss of their first round selection. It’s not a fair trade-off, but it will soften the blow.

Bill Belichick loves to attack the middle rounds anyway, so when it comes to draft preparation for the Patriots this year, middle round prospects are what we are going to be primarily looking at.

In this post, I am going to pin-point players who I feel are good fits for the team primarily based on position and style of play. I am going to try to focus on players who are currently projected to go in the middle rounds of the draft.

However, it is important to keep in mind that draft projections will undoubtedly change as well move along. There is a lot of time between now and the draft in April, and values of prospects are undoubtedly going to be different.

Keep all of this in mind as you flip through five 2016 NFL Draft prospects who make sense for the Patriots.

NOTE: All draft projections come from CBSSports.com.

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