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The New England Patriots have been really good for a really long time. But they continue to fall short of winning the Super Bowl, and with some key players nearing the tail-end of their careers, the window might be closing for one of the NFL's most dominating dynasties.
As has been the case in recent years, the Patriots will have a pick near the end of the first round of the draft. For this year, they are picking at No. 29, behind just three other teams in the Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons.
But the Patriots have been very good at drafting, and could land somebody special with that pick. Matthew Fairburn of SB Nation released his latest mock draft on Monday and he has them taking advantage of a pre-draft slide by wide receiver Keenan Allen out of California, taking him with their first-round pick.
The Patriots managed to bring back Aqib Talib, which should hold them over in the secondary. The team needs wide receivers, though. Bill Belichick hasn't been the best at drafting wideouts lately, but one of the draft's top talents at the position falls to him in the late first in this mock. He can't pass that up.
Most of the Patriots' picks at this point have been cornerbacks, as far as many of the top mocks around the Internet are concerned. But as noted by Fairburn, bringing Talib back is a great start and would give New England the flexibility they need. Allen has fallen a bit recently, and that means getting him at this point in the draft could work out to be a steal for Belichick.
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