New England Patriots: Do’s and Don’ts for the 2022 NFL Draft
The 2022 NFL Draft is approaching and there are some definite do’s and don’ts to which the New England Patriots should adhere to if they want to have another great draft.
The 2021 Draft was the team’s best in the last few years. It was an A+ draft with the selections of Mac Jones, Christian Barmore, and Rhamondre Stevenson all having a significant payout in their rookie seasons.
More positives may eventuate if 5th round pick Cameron McGrone, who missed the season due to injury, safety Joshua Bledsoe who was also injured, and/or third-round pick Ronnie Perkins, emerge into solid players over the couple of seasons.
So let’s take a look at some suggestions for what the Patriots should do (and not do) in this critical 2022 Draft.
New England Patriots “do’s” for the 2022 Draft
What do the Patriots need to do positionally to knock the 2022 Draft out of the park as they did in 2021? There are at least two positions that have to be augmented on offense.
The Patriots have two key players set for free agency on the offensive line who should be re-signed before even thinking about the draft. These would be giant tackle Trent Brown and versatile starting level guard/center, Ted Karras. Brown should be installed at left tackle and Karras can start at any of three interior positions or be a super back-up.
Letting either leave in free agency will be a mistake that the team will surely regret during the 2022 season. They have let both leave in free agency before and committing the same mistake again would be unacceptable. Even if they re-sign these top two linemen, they still will need to draft a young tackle at some point in the draft.
Losing Brown would move the need for a starting caliber tackle way up the draft to-do list. If the Pats end up losing Brown, they should take a tackle with their first round pick, which is currently the 21st overall pick. And even if Brown does end up re-signing, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a tackle with their first or second-round pick.