The 2013 NFL Draft is over five weeks away but it's never too early to take a look at what direction the Patriots might go in on draft weekend.
As anyone who has followed the Patriots under the leadership of Bill Belichick knows, you can never really know who the Patriots will target and select when it's their turn to pick. Even knowing their potential targets positions, such as cornerback heading into the 2011 Draft, does not reveal their eventual pick, which was Devin McCourty that year.
Many things can happen between now and the opening night of the draft on April 25. Free agency makes this a fluid situation so it's hard to really pin down what the Patriots areas of need will be over a month from now. For example, I think they need to look at drafting an offensive lineman in the first three rounds but if the team re-signs tackle Sebastian Vollmer, a current free agent and adds another lineman in free agency (in addition to tackle Will Svitek, who they signed yesterday), then they probably* won't look to draft a lineman too early.
(* - I can't stress "probably" enough. Even if they re-sign Vollmer and add another lineman to go along with Svitek, it doesn't mean Belichick won't draft an offensive lineman.)
With that said, considering the Patriots current roster situation, their most obvious needs seem to be at receiver, offensive line, defensive line, and in the secondary. With just five overall picks the Patriots do not have their usual treasure chest of picks so unless they make a trade to add some additional picks, they will have a small draft class.
Here are some possible targets for rounds one, two, and three. I have intentionally added more players at offensive line, defensive line, and in the secondary because those are the positions that Belichick traditionally targets early in the draft.
First Round (#29)
Sylvester Williams, DT, North Carolina, 6-3, 313
Kawaan Short, DT, Purdue, 6-3, 300
Sam Montgomery, DE, LSU, 6-3, 260
Damontre Moore, DE, Texas A&M, 6-4, 250
Margus Hunt, DE, Southern Methodist, 6-8, 277
Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington, 6-0, 198, 4.45 40-yard dash
Blidi Wreh-wilson, CB, Connecticut, 6-1, 195, 4.43 40-yard dash
Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State, 6-1, 210, 4.54 40-yard dash
D.J. Fluker, OT, Alabama, 6-5, 339
Menelik Watson, OT, Florida State, 6-5, 310
Justin Pugh, OG, Syracuse, 6-4, 307
Justin Hunter, WR, Tennessee, 6-4, 196, 4.49 40-yard dash
Second Round (#59)
Brandon Williams, DT, Missouri Southern State, 6-1, 335
Jesse Williams, DT, Alabama, 6-3, 323
Cornellius Carradine, DE, Florida State, 6-4, 276
Jonathan Banks, CB, Mississippi State, 6-2, 185, 4.5 40-yard dash
Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State, 5-11, 192, 4.41 40-yard dash
Matt Elam, S, Florida, 5-10, 208, 4.55 40-yard dash
Kyle Long, OG/OT, Oregon, 6-6, 313
Larry Warford, OG, Kentucky, 6-3, 332
Travis Frederick, C, Wisconsin, 6-4, 312
Robert Woods, WR, USC, 6-0, 201, 4.47 40-yard dash
Third Round (#91)
Logan Ryan, CB, Rutgers, 5-11, 191, 4.45 40-yard dash
David Amerson, CB, NC State, 6-1, 205, 4.52 40-yard dash
Baccari Rambo, S, Georgia, 6-0, 211, 4.6 40-yard dash
Shawn Williams, S, Georgia, 6-0, 213, 4.55 40-yard dash
Jordan Mills, OT, Louisiana Tech, 6-5, 316
Ricky Wagner, OT, Wisconsin, 6-6, 308
Brian Schwenke, C, California, 6-3, 314
Barrett Jones, OG/C, Alabama, 6-4, 306
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