New England fills its biggest void Womens Chris Hogan Jersey , but not until the second day."WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementNFL Mock DraftPatriots Opinion/AnalysisNFL Draft2019 NFL mock draft: Patriots add Rob Gronkowski’s replacement... in round twoNew,65commentsNew England fills its biggest void, but not until the second day.EDTShareTweetShareShare2019 NFL mock draft: Patriots add Rob Gronkowski’s replacement... in round twoStan Szeto-USA TODAY SportsThe main story of the New England Patriots’ 2019 offseason so far is personnel turnover — with the latest move arguably being the biggest so far: Rob Gronkowski announcing his retirement on Sunday. Replacing the game’s greatest ever tight end will naturally be a big task, and the Patriots should be expected to turn to the draft to add to add some upside and quality to their current tight end group.Luckily for New England, the position features some intriguing early-round prospects: from Iowa’s first-round prospects T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant to intriguing day two options such as Alabama’s Irv Smith Jr, Texas A&M’s Jace Sternberger and Mississippi’s Dawson Knox. However, it is another tight end the reigning world champions pick in the latest mock draft made by SB Nation’s Dan Kadar: Stanford’s Kaden Smith.Smith is the second pick made by the Patriots in the two-round mock, but he would certainly address the position of biggest need at the moment. The question is whether or not the Patriots — who Kadar has pick Smith 56th overall — would fill comfortable with the 6’5 http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-marcus-cannon-jersey , 250 lbs tight end considering that he is more of a project than the day one starter Gronkowski was when the Patriots picked him in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft.As things stand right now, after all, Smith lacks one of Gronkowski’s defining traits: his ability to win against man coverage. “He struggles mightily to separate from man coverage and is physically dominated too often in his routes,” writes the Draft Network’s Jon Ledyard about the 21-year-old, who finished his 2018 junior season at Stanford with 47 catches for 635 yards and a pair of touchdowns while also seeing regular snaps as a blocker.“If Smith had more athleticism or explosiveness I’d still be on board with taking him day two to develop, but I found him average at best in those two areas, while also being just an adequate blocker,” continued Ledyard. “His ball skills are tantalizing as a no. 2 tight end who can make an impact in the red zone Eric Rowe Jersey , but I don’t know that Smith will ever be much more than that given his limitations.”With the Patriots needing to replace their number one option at the position, seeing them pick Smith in the second round could be considered a bit of a surprise — unless they believe that a) he has the upside to turn into a man-coverage beater like Gronkowski, or b) a member of the current group is able to at least somewhat replace what the future Hall of Famer brought to the table in terms of receiving abilities.Smith is the second player Kadar has the Patriots take in his mock, after Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker at the end of the first round and before Michigan defensive edge Chase Winovich with the 64th overall selection. And while the latter would — like Smith — add depth to a position of perceived need, Baker is an interesting selection with the 32nd overall pick considering that the Patriots are fairly deep at cornerback after re-signing Jason McCourty in free agency. Find out what Harry’s arrival means for the Patriots."WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementNFL DraftPatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots 2019 NFL Draft CoverageNFL draft 2019: 5 winners and 3 losers from the Patriots’ first round selection of N’Keal HarryNew,44commentsRead more: Experts grade the selection of Patriots WR N’Keal Harry, and other league reactionsEDTShareTweetShareShareNFL draft 2019: 5 winners and 3 losers from the Patriots’ first round selection of N’Keal HarryMark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsThe first day of the 2019 NFL draft is over and it saw the New England Patriots stay put at the end of the first round and draft Arizona State wide receiver N’Keal Harry. The 21-year-old addresses arguably the Patriots’ biggest need as he adds both athleticism and physicality to the club’s pass catching corps — something that the team is lacking following the retirement of future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski.With that in mind, let’s take a quick look at the winners and losers from the Patriots making Harry the 32nd pick of this year’s draft.Winner: QB Tom BradyPats Pulpit recaps Day 1 of the DraftSubscribe to the Pats Pulpit podcast for more draft reactions!After seeing Gronkowski retire and both Chris Hogan and Cordarrelle Patterson leave New England via free agency Womens Shaq Mason Jersey , the Patriots added a high-upside receiving option for Tom Brady on Thursday. Harry gives the veteran passer a physical boundary option with the ability to challenge press-man coverage and win jump-balls due to his size. Needless to say that Brady has to feel good about New England’s first-round selection.Winners: WR Julian Edelman & RB James WhiteNew England drafting Harry is good news for Julian Edelman and James White. With a talented receiver like the Arizona State product being added to the skill position group, the Patriots’ projected top-two pass catchers should see their workload at least somewhat reduced. The same goes for the defensive attention drawn by the two star players: having another viable receiving option in the lineup will make it harder for teams to focus on stopping the productive duo.Loser: WR Josh GordonWith Josh Gordon still indefinitely suspended, the Patriots invested in a player that is suited to play the same role as him: like Gordon, Harry has the skill set to serve as an X-receiver and deep threat target in New England’s scheme. Consequently, his addition puts pressure on Gordon whenever he returns to the club. The veteran, whose focus has to be on bigger things than football right now, might have to fight for playing time.Winner: Josh McDanielsOne of Harry’s best attributes is his versatility. In 2018, he was regularly thrown the ball on deep passes (18 targets) and when aligning in the slot (29 targets) and produced in both areas. He furthermore also saw action as a ball carrier — he had 7 rushing attempts for 10 yards and a touchdown last season — and on top of that attempted four passes in his three years at Arizona State. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will have plenty of fun with the rookie and his skill set.Losers: WR Demaryius Thomas & WR Maurice HarrisHarry’s arrival does not only pose a challenge to the still suspended Josh Gordon http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-malcom-brown-jersey , but also to two of the players currently on New England’s active roster. Offseason acquisitions Demaryius Thomas and Maurice Harris bring the same basic skills playing on the perimeter to the table as the first-round pick — without the upside, of course — and will therefore see their practice reps and chances at making the team reduced.Winner: OT Isaiah WynnSecond-year man Isaiah Wynn also can be considered a winner, mainly because of the fact that New England did not draft another offensive tackle in round one to challenge his presumed standing as the starting left tackle. While the position still remains somewhat of a need — Wynn is coming off a torn Achilles, Marcus Cannon turns 31 in May — yesterday strengthened his position as the front-runner to fill the spot previously held by free agency departure Trent Brown.