This is it. We're down to our final pick in the 2015 SB Nation writers mock draft. Closing things out is the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. Doing the honors for our last pick is Greg Knopping from Pats Pulpit.
64. Patriots: Sammie Coates, WR, Auburn
More from our team site
More from our team site
Knopping: The Patriots entered this draft with a need for a premier cornerback and interior lineman. They also could stand to improve their defensive tackle rotation and wide receiver depth. After taking Carl Davis in the first round, the hope was for one of the starting-caliber cornerbacks to fall to 64, but unfortunately that's not how the board played out. Still, top-quality interior linemen are available in the third round, so there was an opportunity to take a game-changing wide receiver. Coates is one of the premier deep threats in the draft and elevated his play against the top competition.
Dan Kadar, SBNation.com: If Coates is catching the ball, this is a good choice. The big knock on Coates is that his hands are inconsistent. He's the classic "drop the easy ones" wideout. But when he catches the ball, look out. In three seasons at Auburn, Coates averaged more than 20 yards per reception and can really take the top off a defense. As dynamic as Coates may be, though, there are more reliable receivers on the board. Jamison Crowder of Duke and Tyler Lockett of Kansas State come to mind. Florida State guard Tre' Jackson, whom the Patriots brought in for a visit, also makes sense here.
Dan's Top 5 players remaining
- 50. Markus Golden, DE, Missouri
- 53. Devin Funchess, WR, Michigan
- 54. Ameer Abdullah, RB, Nebraska
- 60. Hau'oli Kikaha, OLB, Washington
- 61. Ellis McCarthy, DT, UCLA
All picks from this mock draft
Patriots picks
- 1-32: Carl Davis, DT, Iowa
- 2-64: Sammie Coates, WR, Auburn
That does it for the ninth annual SB Nation NFL writers mock draft. Thanks to all 32 of our NFL team sites for taking part in our two-round fake scenario. Without Brian Galliford of Buffalo Rumblings, this mock draft would not be possible. This is my seventh writers mock draft with SBN, and Brian has done all nine. I do the easy part of things. Brian does the heavy lifting to help us all look good (and be on time). Our biggest thanks goes to the readers and especially those who vote on the picks. Want us to do a third round? Well, forget it. Do one in the comments. We'll see you next year for the 10th (!) version of this mock draft.
SB Nation presents: New England's needs in the draft