Bedard: A rarity - Patriots leave themselves needing immediate help in draft

Before we kick our position-by-position dive into this NFL draft class, we need to know exactly where the Patriots are.

And, honestly, I've never seen them in this spot. No, I'm not talking about the quarterback position (unlike some, I've covered other teams in the league ... yes, there can be life after TB12, especially when you have Bill Belichick).

I've never really seen the Patriots head into the draft where they need immediate contributions from draft picks. Have rookies become big contributors, even starters? Yes, but that wasn't the plan. Might have been the hope, but Belichick always leaves himself a veteran out because rookies are so hard to project.

Don't believe me? Go back and read the history of first and second-round picks since 2010. Even Devin McCourty, who went on to earn a Pro Bowl spot, had Leigh Bodden and Darius Butler sitting in front of him when drafted.

Belichick also likes to go into the draft with no apparent needs because it makes them that much more unpredictable to other teams. You think other teams, with Bodden and a second-round pick coming back for his second season, thought Belichick would take a corner in the first round in '10? Nope. And then boom.

Just the way The Hoodie likes it. He heads into a draft with a team that, the week of the event, could compete that day without any help from the draft. No need for any draft picks, really.

But that's not the case this year. They need some immediate help.

Yes, we all know the Patriots need options — cheap ones, especially — at quarterback. Jarrett Stidham might be the next Brady. He might be the next Ryan Mallett. Not even people in the building have much of a clue what Stidham is going to be once the lights get turned on. You just never know until it happens.

But there are three other positions that need immediate options right now. Two other positions could use a talent influx to increase competition. Here's our current depth chart. Positions in red means immediate help is needed. Yellow means could use an upgrade or more options.



Of course, I never take my own opinion as gospel. I always look for checks and re-checks against team and league sources to see if they match up. Most agreed, and added (as we think also) the Patriots could use some help at receiver and to get younger at safety.

I don't always agree with ProFootballFocus.com — any outfit that gives Lawrence Guy a 66.7 rating really shouldn't be taken all that seriously (they did the same to Vince Wilfork in his best days), but no evaluator is without flaw. I do like to check some of my numbers against them. Here are their evaluations for the current roster (look at what Adrian Phillips brings as the new third safety, by the way).

BASE DEFENSE



They have John Simon as an off-the-ball linebacker. He is not an off-the-ball linebacker. Other than that, things line up pretty well.

NICKEL DEFENSE



I think they shortchange Butler a bit. Sanu (injury), Harry (rookie) and LaCosse (injury) had down years for them.

But all in all, a pretty solid starting lineup. We basically agree.

But with all that in mind, here are my positions that have to be addressed in the draft:

MIDDLE LINEBACKER

It looks like Ja'Whaun Bentley will be given the every-down keys there provided he doesn't report out of shape (his conditioning was an issue last year), and he showed vast potential as a rookie before his season-ending injury. Dont'a Hightower is the failsafe in a few different spots — all three linebacker positions and on the edge — but he's not getting any younger. The Patriots have to give themselves options, really, at all three linebacker spots. Amazing we're here since this was the position Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells basically made the coolest ever with the Giants in 1980s (especially if you were a child of the '80s like me) and '90s Browns. Carson. Johnson. Taylor. Reasons. Banks. Matthews.

WEAKSIDE LINEBACKER

This is Jamie Collins' spot. This is someone who can run and jump and make plays all over the field — from the edge, to carrying a tight end down the seam to reading the quarterback's eyes in zone coverage. This has become an important spot — not all that important since the Patriots won a Super Bowl after trading Collins to the Browns — in terms of upping the athleticism level of a defense. It would be really handy to have someone who's very fast, if not a great all-around athlete like Collins.

Patriots also have 2019 undrafted free agent Terez Hall back. He was given a large signing bonus. He's like the new Elandon Roberts.

CENTER

The hope is David Andrews is back and healthy because he's a very good player. But no one really knows if that's going to happen. Patriots have to give themselves other options at the position now that Ted Karras is gone to Miami — and, no, we don't mean re-signing James Ferentz. We wrote about the position in-depth here.

One in-house option could be moving Hjalte Froholdt to center, if the plan is really to keep Joe Thuney around and pay him $15 million a season. But Froholdt had enough issues last year playing guard.

Here are the most-pressing positions that could use an influx of talent in this draft.

EDGE

The Patriots have options, so it's not a danger zone for me. With John Simon, Chase Winovich, Shilique Calhoun, Deatrich Wise, Derek Rivers (yes, he's still here waiting to break out, Taylor Price-style) and Brandon Copeland — not to mention Hightower is always an option — New England has a decent group and could line up tomorrow and play well, but there isn't a lot of top-level talent. Winovich has a chance if he takes a big leap, but he seems a little limited as an athlete. Winovich is just 6-2.5.

Patriots could really use a Chandler Jones-type — 6-4 to 6-6, long-limbed with athletic ability — to give themselves some options. Calhoun is the closest they have.

TIGHT END

I think everyone knows the issues here and I won't insult your intelligence.

I'll just say this, the Patriots traded for Matt LaCosse for a reason. Yes, he's had a ton of injury issues that he might not get past — and the high-ankle sprain affected him all last season. But he's no slouch and could be viewed by some as starting-caliber TE.

And Ryan Izzo is a decent little player — similar to Jacob Hollister — who had injury issues and was asked to play out of position when he did play last year.

So I don't think the cupboard is entirely barren. It just looked really, really bad last year.

But, yes, the Patriots could use some immediate help here. But with the pandemic and shortened prep for the season, it might be tough for a rookie to beat out either guy this season, depending on when the season starts, because they already know the offense and have a rapport with Stidham.

WHAT SAY YOU?

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Thanks for your input!