The New England Patriots took an interesting approach in the First Round of the NFL Draft
After losing Super Bowl LII to the Philadelphia Eagles, the New England Patriots needed to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to get better for the upcoming 2018 season. The main reason why New England lost is because they couldn't stop the other team from scoring.
New England signed a couple of defensive players in the offseason. They traded away wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the Los Angeles Rams for the 23rd overall pick. New England also owned the 31st pick in the NFL Draft.
What did the New England Patriots do with those picks? They selected offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn with the 23rd pick and they selected running back Sony Michel with the 31st pick. They were both teammates at the University of Georgia and they will both fit in New England well.
New England lost left tackle Nate Solder in the offseason to the New York Giants. Drafting Wynn was a smart move by the Patriots because he can play left tackle and Tom Brady will need a blindside blocker next season and Brady is 41 years old.
Sony Michel can be a three-down running back in the NFL. He is a very good blocker, pass catcher, and runner. Michel rushed for 1,227 yards on 156 carries and 16 touchdowns. He also caught nine passes for 96 yards receiving and a touchdown.
The other running backs on the New England Patriots right now are Brandon Bolden, James White, Rex Burkhead, Mike Gillislee, and Jeremy Hill. That is going to be a tough battle for the running back position come training camp.
I thought with New England having two first-round picks, they were going to take at least one defensive player, but the Patriots didn't. New England has the 43rd (from SF) and the 63rd picks in the second-round draft of the NFL Draft and they don't own a third-round pick because they traded it away to the San Francisco 49ers.