The 2011 Arrowhead Pride Mock Draft continues with averagegatsby choosing for the New England Patriots at No. 17...

Few teams dominate the draft like the Patriots do; they are able to get impact players throughout the draft and their team continues to click along without even really missing a step. The Patriots excel in finding the right players for their system, not only do they overachieve annually in the draft, but this year they also have an embarrassment of riches in draft picks this year.

With all of these picks the Patriots have a number of places they could look, they could look along the interior offensive line to replace the recently retired Stephen Neal, they could look at OLB to find an athletic playmaker to help stop the run, they could look for a WR to spread out the defense to open up the field underneath for Wes Welker, or they could look at the wealth of Defensive line prospects in this draft to shore up their defensive line to help stop the run, which is what I think the Patriots will do. I believe the Patriots will draft a DE for 1 basic reason... Great teams start at the ball and work their way out, building a solid foundation making it easier for the rest of their team to do their jobs. And the Patriots have a history of doing this by haven taken 4 offensive/defensive lineman over the last 10 years.

Which is why I think the Patriots will take:

Muhammad Wilkerson, the monster 6'4" 315lb DE/DT out of Temple.

This pick both allows the Patriots to beef up their defensive line, and is also a way to replace Richard Seymour whom they traded to Oakland and got this pick in exchange, so if you think about it, its kind of poetic that they replace Seymour with one of the picks they gave for him. According to Football Outsiders the Patriots defensive line was ranked 21st in defending the run according to their stat adjusted line yards. The Patriots already have 2 stud defensive lineman in their 3-4 scheme. Wilkerson could play both a DE (and be a beast of one) or hold down the fort at the NT allowing the Patriots to be even more creative in their defensive schemes. Wilkerson is athletic enough to take on double teams, and large enough to hold his own against them. He also terrorized QB's racking up 9.5 sacks his junior season and adding 13 more tackles for loss. Some will see this as a little bit of a reach but Wilkerson is getting tons of play recently and if any team has the luxury of reaching it's the Patriots.

Full Schedule And Results:

1. Carolina Panthers (ChiefsFan90s) - Missouri QB Blaine Gabbert 

2. Denver Broncos (craig in calgary) - Clemson DE Da'Quan Bowers

3. Buffalo Bills (Arrowdread) -  Auburn QB Cam Newton

4. Cincinnati Bengals  (Dirty South Chiefs Fan) - Georgia WR A.J. Green

5. Arizona Cardinals  (tmurawsk) - Texas A&M OLB Von Miller

6. Cleveland Browns (H2E) - Auburn DT Nick Fairley

7. San Francisco 49ers (Another Successful Tedford QB) - LSU CB Patrick Peterson

8. Tennessee Titans (ejr58) - Nebraska CB Prince Amukamara

9. Dallas Cowboys (IamtheGreatest) - Alabama DL Marcell Dareus

10. Washington Redskins (nmchief) - Alabama WR Julio Jones

11. Houston Texans (FalconMF27) - Missouri DE Aldon Smith

12. Minnesota Vikings (Raven Hawk) - USC OT Tyron Smith

13. Detroit Lions (Matt Hays) - Boston College OT Anthony Castanzo

14. St. Louis Rams (Sam D) - Illinois DT Corey Liuget

15. Miami Dolphins (YerganFlurgan) - Alabama RB Mark Ingram

16. Jacksonville Jaguars (GenericBrand) - Cal DE Cameron Jordan

17. New England Patriots (averagegatsby) - Temple DE Muhammad Wilkerson

18. San Diego Chargers (Chiefscafan58) - Wednesday March 30th

19. New York Giants (flowers 24) - Wednesday March 30th

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (PSUkegreen) - Thursday March 31st

21. Kansas City Chiefs (Matt_Grbac) - Thursday March 31st

22. Indianapolis Colts (saskwatch) - Thursday March 31st

23. Philadelphia Eagles (OnlyKCFanNVA) - Friday April 1st

24. New Orleans Saints (The Other Patrick Allen) - Friday April 1st

25. Seattle Seahawks (Simon from KC) - Friday April 1st

26. Baltimore Ravens (Ben S) - Monday April 4th

27. Atlanta Falcons (stagdsp) - Monday April 4th

28.  New England Patriots (averagegatsby) - Monday April 4th

29. Chicago Bears (KillaCity107) - Tuesday April 5th

30. New York Jets (bradelli58) - Tuesday April 5th

31. Pittsburgh Steelers (scottchief) - Tuesday April 5th

32. Green Bay Packers (Aesthetist) - Wednesday April 6th

Round Two 

33. New England Patriots (averagegatsby) - Wednesday April 6th

34. Buffalo Bills (Arrowdread) - Wednesday April 6th

35. Cincinnati Bengals (Dirty South Chiefs Fan) - Thursday April 7th

36. Denver Broncos (craig in calgary) - Thursday April 7th

37. Cleveland Browns (H2E) - Thursday April 7th

38. Arizona Cardinals (tmurawsk) - Friday April 8th

39.Tennessee Titans (ejr58) - Friday April 8th

40. Dallas Cowboys (IamtheGreatest) - Friday April 8th

41. Washington Redskins (nmchief) - Monday April 11th

42. Houston Texans (FalconMF27) - Monday April 11th 

43. Minnesota Vikings (Raven Hawk) - Monday April 11th

44. Detroit Lions (Matt Hays) - Tuesday April 12th

45. San Francisco 49ers (Another Successful Tedford QB) - Tuesday April 12th

46. Denver Broncos (craig in calgary) - Tuesday April 12th

47. St. Louis Rams (Sam D) - Wednesday April 13th

48. Oakland Raiders (mushin) - Wednesday April 13th

49. Jacksonville Jaguars (GenericBrand) - Wednesday April 13th

50. San Diego Chargers (Chiefsfaninca58) - Thursday April 14th

51. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (PSUkegreen) - Thursday April 14th

52. New York Giants (flowers 24) - Thursday April 14th

53. Kansas City Chiefs (Matt_Grbac) - Friday April 15th

54. Indianapolis Colts (saskwatch) - Friday April 15th

55. Philadelphia Eagles (OnlyKCFanNVA) - Friday April 15th

56. New Orleans Saints (The Other Patrick Allen)  - Monday April 18th

57. Seattle Seahawks (Simon from KC) - Monday April 18th

58. Baltimore Ravens (Ben S) - Monday April 18th

59. Atlanta Falcons (stagdsp) - Tuesday April 19th

60. New England Patriots (averagegatsby) - Tuesday April 19th

61. Chicago Bears (KillaCity107) - Tuesday April 19th

62. New York Jets (bradelli58) - Wednesday April 20th

63. Pittsburgh Steelers (scottchief) - Wednesday April 20th

64. Green Bay Packers (Aesthetist) - Wednesday April 20th