-Trade Down

With around $15 million total cap space to work, and the ensuing contracts of Tom Brady, Vince Wilfork, and Richard Seymour, New England wants to be especially frugal with their cap this season. Furthermore, when they include compensatory picks, the Patriots have 6 of of the top 100 draft picks (12 total). Given how few holes there are in the roster, NEpatriotsdraft.com speculates that Belichick will try to move some of those selections to next year. I have to agree with this assesment since it seems that every year Belichick, the master of the salary cap, swings a trade to maximize value for his picks.

Sitting at the 23rd pick, Belichick might like the players available at the 35th spot enough to try trading the 1st rounder for either a later 1st rounder or a future draft pick. I know many people think Belichick will draft another LB because it is a “big” need, but his defensive schemes are very complex, and they demand a huge amount out of the OLB’s. Consequently, I don’t think any of the OLB’s selected in the first round would break the starting roster in their rookie season. Plus, I think that Belichick likes Pierre Woods and Shawn Crable as potential starters in place of Mike Vrabel.

This all makes sense if you see LB as the Pats greatest need, especially if you consider how the Pats haven’t selected an OLB prior to the 3rd round ever. I’m telling you, Belichick loves veterans.

-Connor Barwin (OLB-DE/Cincinnati)

Connor Barwin (NFL.com)

If I am wrong about trading down, the next most likely scenario is that New England selects the Connor Barwin from Cincinnati. After having a monster combine and pro day, he doesn’t seem to be such a reach here. Just like his predecessor Mike Vrabel, Barwin is extraordinarily versatile. At Cincinnati, he played TE, DE, and OLB. He is quite raw, considering how he had only 1 year of defensive experience. But with that 1 year, he was able to record 11 sacks on the season. Plus, Patriot OLB’s are usually very big (between 260-275 lbs), and Barwin has a large enough frame to add a few pounds to fit that mold (6’4 256 lbs).

NFLdraftscout says this about Barwin:

“Very coachable because of his intelligence, work ethic and motor.”

Sounds very much like a Belichick guy to me.

The Patriots may wait to see if he falls to them at the 35th pick, but Belichick has demonstrated he is willing to reach a little bit for a guy who fits his system.

-James Laurinaitis (ILB/Ohio St)

James Laurinaitis (NFL.com)

Generally speaking, the Patriots don’t use 1st round picks on positions where there currently is a starter in place, with two of the exceptions being Ben Watson and Ty Warren. So, I fail to see Belichick selecting James Laurinaitis here with Tedy Bruschi still on the roster. Besides, Laurinaitis didn’t have to take on and shed blocks as frequently as he would be required in a 3-4 alignment. Nevertheless, he is exactly the type of high character, high football IQ player that Belichick seeks. Honestly, he seems a more likely candidate for the 35th selection instead of this one here. But hey, I’ve been wrong before….

-Alphonso Smith of Wake Forest is a long shot here, but is another Belichick system player and the secondary would benefit from his ball-hawking skills. Still, he might become a serious option with the 35th pick.

-Clay Matthews also is a player that fits the Patriot system well. He has a big upside, but he isn’t one of my prime candidates for lack of size. Belichick seems to have an affinity for really big OLB’s, and Matthews is rather small at 240 lbs.

Next on the clock: Atlanta Falcons

See entire Hybrid Mock Draft here

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