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Patriots Mock Draft 2.0: Henry Ruggs III Falls to New England at No. 23

The Patriots use their first four picks on skill players, one of which is a quarterback who can compete for the starting job in 2020.
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When the New England Patriots are on the clock in April, there will have no shortage of holes for them to fill on their roster. 

With a bevy of key veteran players departing during free agency, the Patriots have problems that extend beyond their offense, which was the focal point of their struggles in 2019. That's why in the 2nd edition of our mock draft - which was done on Pro Football Network's brand new mock draft simulator - we were excited to find how many talented skill players New England was able to acquire with their first four picks, as well as the depth they were able to select for their defense. 

Under the assumption that New England does not trade away any of their draft picks - which is highly unlikely given how many they have - here are the 12 selections the six-time Super Bowl champions made for this year's draft, per the PFN simulator:

23. Henry Ruggs III, WR, Alabama

87. Jacob Eason, QB, Washington

98. Cole Kmet, TE, Notre Dame

100. K.J. Hill, WR, Ohio State

125. Azur Kamara, OLB, Kansas

172. Nick Harris, C, Washington

195. Casey Toohill, OLB, Stanford

204. Rodrigo Blankenship, K, Georgia

212. T.J. Brunson ILB, South Carolina

213. Jalen Elliott, S, Notre Dame

230. Jacob Breeland, TE, Oregon

241. D.J. Wonnum, DE, South Carolina

As we mentioned earlier this month, the DeAndre Hopkins trade could wind up benefitting the Patriots come April, as there is now one less team ahead of them in the first round that needs a wide receiver. Because of that, the simulator had speedy Alabama wideout Henry Ruggs III falling to the Patriots at No. 23. Since receiver is clearly a need for them, and Ruggs at that point in the draft is a great value, Bill Belichick would never let the Nick Saban-coached player slide by him. Pair Ruggs with a strong-armed QB like Jarrett Stidham - or the team's second selection in this mock draft - and the possibilities are endless. 

To spark even more competition in the quarterback room this summer, we had New England selecting Washington quarterback Jacob Eason with the 87th overall pick. Though he has a 4th round draft projection by PFF, his superb arm talent coupled with the Patriots need to find their next QB in the post-Tom Brady era made us very comfortable with them selecting Eason at the backend of the 3rd round. 

Grabbing tight end Cole Kmet and wideout K.J. Hill were no-brainer picks at the end of the Day 2. Kmet is the most well-rounded tight end is this year's lackluster class for that grouping, and Hill is someone we wrote about back in February as a potential successor to Julian Edelman. Both of those players would provide immediate value to New England's offense, which is great when considering they were selected with two of the Patriots' compensatory selections in this scenario. 

The remainder of their draft is strictly based on need, drafting outside linebackers Azur Kamara and Casey Toohill and inside linebacker T.J. Brunson to provide some depth at the linebacker position for the Patriots, with the potential of Kamara - who is a very raw talent - to put his hand in the dirt and become a defensive end in New England's system. Center Nick Harris seemingly replaces Ted Karras on the depth chart, and kicker Rodrigo Blakenship would be Stephen Gostkowski's successor. Safety Jalen Elliott and tight end Jacob Breeland - the former being profiled by PatriotMaven earlier this offseason - are developmental projects, but provide depth at positions that lost Duron Harmon to trade and Benjamin Watson to retirement. Lastly, defensive end D.J. Wonnum could develop into a situational edge presence in New England. 

If the 2020 NFL Draft goes this way for New England, then they will be pairing a young, explosive offense with a defense that still has an elite secondary. That's a pretty good situation for a team that is believed to be in the midst of a one-year rebuild.