Patriots Show Confidence in Current Depth Chart at Cornerback in 2015 NFL Draft

One thing is almost always clear in the NFL "draftermath": Everything is a mystery.

From the things you thought, to the things you thought you knew, no one ever really knows as much as they think they know. Even after every team has made their last pick.

Why didn't the New England Patriots focus on the cornerback position? 

• Did they have their eye on a particular player, who was off the board before the Patriots went on the clock? 
• Did they simply not like any of the prospects as perfect fits in their defense? 
• Was it because they have confidence in the current crop of cornerbacks on their depth chart? 

Any of those three things are possible, but it's not out of the question that the Patriots feel comfortable with what they've built in the secondary. 

Player	Ht	Wt	Age	Exp
Kyle Arrington	5'10"	190	28	6
Malcolm Butler	5'11"	190	25	1
Chimdi Chekwa	6'0"	190	26	4
Alfonzo Dennard	5'10"	200	25	3
Bradley Fletcher	6'0"	200	28	6
Robert McClain	5'9"	195	26	5
Darryl Roberts	6'0"	182	24	R
Logan Ryan	5'11"	195	24	2

There were a few top-notch cornerbacks in this year's class, but the Patriots didn't have an opportunity to grab any of them: Michigan State's Trae Waynes (No. 11, Minnesota Vikings), Wake Forest's Kevin Johnson (No. 16, Texans), Washington's Marcus Peters (No. 18, Chiefs) and Connecticut's Byron Jones (No. 27, Cowboys) were all long gone by the time the Patriots went on the clock at No. 32 in the first round.

Those were the only cornerbacks in this year's class that fit the Patriots' mold in the secondary.

The Patriots have three cornerbacks held over from last year's roster, and added three more veterans to the secondary already this offseason. 

Between Logan Ryan, Kyle Arrington and Malcolm Butler, the Patriots already have three cornerbacks on their roster with starting experience—and not just any starting experience, but starting experience in the Patriots defense.

They know the terminology; they know what is expected of them; they are familiar with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, and he is familiar with each of them. And if any of the three of them are not what the Patriots hope they will be, the team has prepared themselves by adding Bradley Fletcher, Robert McClain and Chimdi Chekwa to the fold. All three free-agent signees have started in the NFL, albeit with mixed results.

McClain was drafted in the seventh round in 2010, but has gone on to play a key role for the Atlanta Falcons over the past few years; in 2012, McClain yielded 46 completions on 71 targets (64.8 percent) and did not allow a single touchdown into his coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. He hasn't played as well lately, allowing 96 completions on 134 passes (71.6 percent) and five touchdowns over the past two years, but perhaps a change of scenery could serve him well. 

Fletcher has had an up-and-down career, but there's evidence that he can be a playmaking cornerback.

Last year, he had some of the most noteworthy statistics of any cornerback in the league: Out of 108 qualifying cornerbacks, he had the fourth-most passes thrown into his coverage, yielding the eighth-most completions, but was still in the bottom 15 in the league in completion percentage (53 percent). And although he allowed the second-most touchdowns into his coverage (9), he also notched the most passes defensed of any corner in the league (18).

It may sound as crazy as having confidence in the floors of a floating house, but the Patriots are right to have confidence in the depth chart at cornerback.

One thing is certain: No matter who the Patriots had drafted this year, had they drafted a cornerback, he would not have been a replacement for Darrelle Revis—at least not in his first year.

The Patriots don't have that kind of player on their roster, and they probably wouldn't have found one this past weekend in the draft, either. 

Considering the fact that Revis is one of the best to ever play his position, it's safe to say that any player the Patriots could have drafted would have an outside shot at best of becoming a true "heir" to the throne that Revis occupied for one season: the throne of a No. 1 shutdown cornerback.

It makes sense, then, that instead of trying in vain to replace the irreplaceable, they would focus on revamping their front seven instead. The Patriots used seven of their 11 draft choices on the defensive side of the ball, and five of those selections were in the front seven: Malcom Brown (Texas), Geneo Grissom (Oklahoma), Trey Flowers (Arkansas), Matthew Wells (Mississippi State) and Xzavier Dickson (Alabama). 

Of those five, only Brown figures to start, but the other four will play an important part in the defense in supplemental roles for Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich, Dont'a Hightower and Jamie Collins. 

With a boost to their pass rush, the Patriots defense could wreak more havoc on quarterbacks, making life easier for the cornerbacks in coverage—more pressure equals more errant passes, which equals more opportunities to make plays on the ball. 

And if that holds true, the only mystery will be why the Patriots didn't go all-in on the front seven sooner. 

Unless otherwise noted, all advanced stats provided by ProFootballFocus.com.