New England Patriots: Belichick had a huge miss in the fifth round

The New England Patriots may have blown a huge opportunity in the fifth round

Back to the New England Patriots  fifth round pick.

A couple of reasons why the choice of Cameron McGrone was not optimum for New England.

First, the Patriots can always use additional assistance with solid offensive linemen. Guard is no exception. While their relative depth is fairly strong there due primarily to the presence of Ted Karras, the addition of a top guard talent in the fifth round would have been a solid one.

Second, while McGrone may ultimately turn out to be a nice pick, he’s not a prototypical size for a Patriots’ linebacker.

Also, who’s to say he wouldn’t have been there in the sixth round when the Patriots picked? After all, he was clearly damaged goods and is almost a lock not to play much if at all this season.

Now, this is not to say that taking a flier on an injured player late in the draft is a bad move. It isn’t necessarily. The preference here would be in the sixth or seventh rounds. But it was a bad move in this case.

It’s not like it was on a first-rounder like Dominique Easley, a defensive tackle a few years back who never did much of anything for the team.

Yet, when there is a player with Brown’s ability, college football credentials, and super potential available that late in the draft, it’s a no-brainer. You just take him. Deonte Brown was that guy.