Patriots land pair of Hurricanes in 7-Round Mock 2021 NFL Draft
By Scott Gorman
The Patriots look to get back on track
The New England Patriots enter the 2021 offseason with big question marks all over the team after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Tom Brady qualified for the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while his former team seems to be in utter disarray. New England can use the 2021 NFL Draft to get the current squad back on track.
The team will need to get better on both sides of the ball if they are going to compete again in the AFC in 2021. I have mapped out a full seven-round mock 2021 NFL Draft for the Patriots to get them back on the right track. Take a look below as the Patriots continue to attempt a Brady-less existence going forward.
Round 1, Pick 15 – Gregory Rousseau, EDGE Miami (Fla.)
One of the biggest reasons for the Patriots’ lack of success on defense in 2020 was the lack of a consistent pass rush. Donta’ Hightower, one of the team’s top sack artists, opted out of the 2020 season due to the pandemic, and Trey Flowers was lost to free agency in 2019. While players like Chase Winovich (5.5 sacks) and Adam Butler (4 sacks) stepped up this past season, it was simply not enough.
The player that could a tremendous jolt to the New England pass rush is Miami Hurricane’s EDGE rusher, Gregory Rousseau. An extremely tall and long-limbed sack machine, Rousseau sat out the 2020 season after tallying 15.5 sacks in 2019. Only Chase Young ranked above Rousseau in that category two seasons ago which shows the level of dominance he displayed in the ACC. New England could see a hint of their former pick Chandler Jones in Rousseau, and I expect a similar impact from the Miami star in the NFL.