New England Patriots: Re-picking the 2017 NFL Draft

Round 6, Pick 211: DT Adam Butler, Vanderbilt

Actual Pick: OT Conor McDermott, UCLA

The backend of the NFL Draft is tough to pick, but the Patriots certainly do not need Conor McDermott. Instead, one of their undrafted free agents could have been selected here. Either of the Hollister twins would have made sense, but defensive tackle Adam Butler had the biggest impact. He played in all 16 regular season games and all of the playoff games with 6 total starts. Butler racked up 14 tackles and 4 sacks in those 19 games.

New England and every other NFL team didn’t realize how much impact Butler could have on the field. He’s only going to get better too! He would have been a nice choice in the 6th round here.

Overall, the 2017 NFL Draft was strange for the Patriots since they made just 4 selections. They chose 2 defensive ends and 2 offensive tackles, but to this point, only 1 panned out. There were others, like Kareem Hunt and Nathan Peterman, that could have made great Patriots. Instead, we will never know.

Next: NFL Draft Profile: UGA DT Trenton Thompson

Now, the Patriots are preparing for the upcoming 2018 NFL Draft, and the pass rush is again a hot topic. New England could also find their future franchise QB in this draft, or a corner to replace Malcolm Butler. Chowder and Champions will have you covered this offseason with all of your New England Patriots news, notes, and analysis, so come back often!