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New England Patriots: Complete 4-round mock draft

By Cody Williams

Dec 20, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) hands off the ball to running back Brandon Bolden (38) against the Tennessee Titans in the second half at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Titans 33-16. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 20, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) hands off the ball to running back Brandon Bolden (38) against the Tennessee Titans in the second half at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Titans 33-16. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 20, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) hands off the ball to running back Brandon Bolden (38) against the Tennessee Titans in the second half at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Titans 33-16. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 20, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) hands off the ball to running back Brandon Bolden (38) against the Tennessee Titans in the second half at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Titans 33-16. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

A complete 4-round mock draft look at the 2016 NFL Draft for the New England Patriots

The New England Patriots remain one of the best teams in the NFL because, like death and taxes, that seems like an inevitable conclusion to every season in the league. As long as Tom Brady is upright and at least relatively healthy and Bill Belichick is still on the sideline working his voodoo or whatever it is that he does, the Patriots are going to be in the playoff picture in a big way.

However, the Patriots have experienced their fair share of hardship in the 2015 NFL season, largely due to injuries. They’ve seen one of their biggest offensive weapons go down with a season-ending knee injury in Dion Lewis, followed later by another injury at running back to LeGarrette Blount. They’ve seen Julian Edelman, Mr. Reliable for this offense, go down with a foot injury that he’s still yet to return from. Though this is a bit more predictable, they’ve also seen Danny Amendola get banged up in relief of Edelman.

The injuries aren’t just related to the offensive side of the ball, though, as the Patriots have also been dinged up in the secondary on a number of occasions throughout the season. They have also seen vital pieces on the defensive side of the ball like Jamie Collins go down with injury for a handful of weeks.

The point in all of this is that, even with their success this season, it’s been harder to come by than it has been in previous years. They are obviously still a dangerous team regardless because of Brady and Belichick, but the lack of depth on their roster has been exposed to a certain degree and has become something they will undoubtedly want/need to address in the offseason.

They’ll likely look to do some of that in the 2016 NFL Draft, but the draft is a bit off-kilter for the Patriots this season. Not only do they infamously not have a first-round pick because of Deflategate penalties, but they are also without picks in the fifth and sixth rounds as well due to various trades throughout past seasons. Subsequently, the Patriots only have five picks spread over four separate rounds in this draft.

However, that doesn’t mean that they still can’t find useful talent in this draft and still try to address some of their needs. With that in mind, here is a complete 4-round look at the 2016 NFL Draft for the Patriots.

Next: Round 2

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