Every team prepares for the draft by listing players they believe would be the best fit for their team. The players may not have the possibility of being available by their draft time, but they will be graded regardless. I decided to create my own draft board for the Patriots that I believe takes the team's greatest needs into consideration.
I still have Sam Bradford ranked, even though we have Tom Brady. Where I have these players ranked are NOT where I believe they will be drafted- it's where I believe these players must be in the draft for us to select them. I think Terrence Cody is a first round talent, but I have him ranked at the bottom of the second round. We already have Vince Wilfork and Ron Brace on the team, which means that the value of the Cody pick must be extremely high for us to select him.
The tier the player is placed in is where I believe the Patriots would and should draft them. I am not advocating that they trade up to select any player. However, if they did, I hope they don't overdraft players and my ranking will show where I think top tier talents should be picked.
Now there are some players that I just leave off the list. That's because I don't think they fit the Patriots scheme at all. For instance, I don't believe that Jason Pierre-Paul fits the Patriots, so I didn't include him. While he may have value for other teams, I don't think he has a spot on our roster so, therefore, I don't give him a spot on the draft board.
My draft board after the jump!
Here's my draft board:
| Player | Pos. | School | |
| Top 5 Pick Value | |||
| 1 | Russell Okung | OT | Oklahoma State |
| 2 | Gerald McCoy | DT | Oklahoma |
| 3 | Ndamukong Suh | DT | Nebraska |
| Top 10 Pick Value | |||
| 4 | Eric Berry | FS | Tennessee |
| 5 | Joe Haden | CB | Florida |
| 6 | Rolando McClain | ILB | Alabama |
| Top 15 Pick Value | |||
| 7 | Sam Bradford | QB | Oklahoma |
| 8 | Bryan Bulaga | OT | Iowa |
| 9 | Jimmy Clausen | QB | Notre Dame |
| Top 20 Pick Value | |||
| 10 | Brandon Graham | OLB | Michigan |
| 11 | Earl Thomas | CB | Texas |
| Top 25 Pick Value | |||
| 12 | Dez Bryant | WR | Oklahoma State |
| 13 | Jared Odrick | DT | Penn State |
| 14 | Sergio Kindle | OLB | Texas |
| 15 | Mike Iupati | OG | Idaho |
| 16 | Kyle Wilson | CB | Boise State |
| 17 | Charles Brown | OT | Southern California |
| Top 32 Pick Value | |||
| 18 | Dan Williams | DT | Tennessee |
| 19 | Trent Williams | OT | Oklahoma |
| 20 | Ryan Mathews | RB | Fresno State |
| 21 | Maurkice Pouncey | C | Florida |
| 22 | C.J. Spiller | RB | Clemson |
| Top 40 Pick Value | |||
| 23 | Devin McCourty | CB | Rutgers |
| 24 | Anthony Davis | OT | Rutgers |
| 25 | Jerry Hughes | OLB | TCU |
| 26 | Ricky Sapp | OLB | Clemson |
| 27 | Golden Tate | WR | Notre Dame |
| Top 45 Pick Value | |||
| 28 | Kareem Jackson | CB | Alabama |
| 29 | Rodger Saffold | OT | Indiana |
| 30 | Damian Williams | WR | Southern California |
| 31 | Jermaine Gresham | TE | Oklahoma |
| Top 50 Pick Value | |||
| 32 | Tyson Alualu | DT | California |
| 33 | Bruce Campbell | OT | Maryland |
| 34 | Taylor Mays | FS | Southern California |
| 35 | Lamarr Houston | DT | Texas |
| 36 | Rob Gronkowski | TE | Arizona |
| 37 | Eric Norwood | OLB | South Carolina |
| Top 55 Pick Value | |||
| 38 | Brandon Ghee | CB | Wake Forest |
| 39 | Terrence Cody | DT | Alabama |
| 40 | Jared Veldheer | OT | Hillsdale |
| 41 | Brandon LaFell | WR | LSU |
| 42 | Sean Lee | ILB | Penn State |
| 43 | Brandon Spikes | ILB | Florida |
| Top 64 Pick Value | |||
| 44 | Anthony McCoy | TE | Southern California |
| 45 | Arrelious Benn | WR | Illinois |
| 46 | Donald Butler | ILB | Washington |
| 47 | Torrell Troup | DT | UCF |
| 48 | Colt McCoy | QB | Texas |
| 49 | Alex Carrington | DE | Arkansas State |
| 50 | Matt Tennant | C | Boston College |
If you have any questions or critiques, feel free to comment. If you have any player suggestions, definitely comment.
I'd love to hear some feed back.