Patriots Planning for Present, Not The Future
By Riley Culler
NFL Draft night may be a boring one for New England Patriots fans, but Bill Belichick and the Patriots have a plan.
Bill Belichick has showed us something this off season, the New England Patriots are going all in. Despite still having 5 picks in the draft, New England’s first pick doesn’t come until round 3 and there isn’t much value in the rest of the picks. That may not sound good, but it was Bill Belichick’s plan all along.
The Patriots traded their 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th round pick for veteran players this off season. For those picks, New England acquired WR Brandin Cooks, RB Mike Gillislee, DE Kony Ealy, and TE Dwayne Allen.
New England has essentially taken themselves out of the draft, choosing to add veterans rather than young stars. Adding these veterans, getting Rob Gronkowski back, and of course having Tom Brady; New England looks ready to repeat as Super Bowl champs.
Who in the AFC can challenge the reigning Super Bowl Champs?
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New England’s road to the Super Bowl last year may have been the easiest to date. The Patriots beating the Texans 34-16 in the Divisional Round at home. Then they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship 36-17 to advance to Super Bowl 51.
So is that why New England is loaded up? Bill Belichick may believe the Patriots don’t have any real challengers. Since Peyton Manning retired, and Andrew Luck not as good as we all thought he was, who is there to challenge New England? The Bengals are always trying to put it together, the Steelers have a great roster, but if history tells us anything; it’s smash mouth defenses that give the Patriots trouble, and there aren’t any of those in the AFC.
Now, don’t assume the Patriot are going to go 16-0, and then win the Super Bowl. Injuries happen, players disappoint, and other teams come out of nowhere every year to challenge New England.
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One thing is for sure, this may be the most talented group of guys the Patriots have put together in recent memory, Brady and Belichick aren’t only trying to repeat as Super Bowl champs, they are trying to win 3 Super Bowls in 4 years for the second time!