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Mocking The Draft's Dan Kadar published his post-free agency mock draft and it's a fun one. There's a run of pass rushers and linemen on both sides of the ball, positions that could interest the Patriots in the opening round.
There are also three cornerbacks selected in the opening round, depleted the already shallow depth of the secondary in the draft.
So how do the Patriots approach this scenario?
32. New England Patriots: A.J. Cann, G, South Carolina
The Patriots lost starting cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner, so that could open the Patriots up to looking for a defensive back here. Players like P.J. Williams of Florida State or Byron Jones of Connecticut make sense, but do you take the fourth-best cornerback or the draft’s top pure guard?
I agree with Kadar's reasoning; you take the best player available and don't reach for a position because you fear the talent is running out. Cann fits that as his top guard on the board.
In reality, the Patriots would likely trade down if the board fell in this fashion. This draft is split pretty clearly in its talent level. There's the top 15-20 players that are above the rest, and then there's a whole grouping of fairly comparable players from the 20-50 range. The Patriots would likely trade down to take advantage of this depth.
How would you feel if the Patriots took Cann?