2022 NFL Draft: 5 defensive prospects ideal for New England Patriots defense

The last 12 weeks haven’t been kind to the New England Patriots. They went 1-3 to end the regular season. The defense fell apart, particularly the run defense. The Buffalo Bills beat them twice by a combined 80-38.

The exclamation point was the 47-17 playoff loss. The only thing stopping the Bills offense was itself, literally. They rolled up 482 total yards, didn’t punt once, and until they took three knees to end the game, every drive ended in a touchdown.

That punctuation mark goes at the end of, “The defense looked slow!”

If the New England Patriots have any shot of literally catching the Bills, the defense needs some upgrades

Help will come from free agency, but so will some harm. CB J.C. Jackson left for much greener pastures, making the in-season trade of Stephon Gilmore look even worse. The chances of re-signing starting inside linebackers Ja’Whaun Bentley and Dont’a Hightower is iffy, which could explain the OLB Chase Winovich for ILB Mack Wilson trade.

The NFL Draft eventually factors into the team building. If done right, the Patriots will hopefully find a few players that can help the team immediately. That’s what happened last year with QB Mac Jones, DT Christian Barmore and RB Rhamondre Stevenson.

The defense needs some impact players. If the Patriots draft the well, they’ll find players that can contribute from day one and become foundational veterans for years to come.