New England Patriots: Re-picking the 2017 NFL Draft

Round 3, Pick 85: DE Deatrich Wise Jr., Arkansas

Actual Pick: OT Antonio Garcia, Troy

The Patriots were on the board just 2 picks later, and they chose to select offensive tackle Antonio Garcia from Troy. Honestly, he didn’t factor into the Patriots 2017 plans, and he doesn’t seem like a player with tons of potential. Instead, New England should have just now addressed the pass rush.

They could have selected Deatrich Wise slightly earlier here to ensure he wound up on their roster. Wise slipped a bit in the draft, but his production for the Patriots was tremendous as a rookie. Wise had 16 tackles and 5 sacks in 16 regular season games, but in just 3 playoff games he tallied 2 sacks. He is a great player to go along with fellow University of Arkansas alum Trey Flowers. The duo will continue to progress through their NFL careers, and the Patriots could soon have a very strong pass rush off the edge. New England fans would have loved to see anyone but Garcia selected here.