New England Patriots Draft: Will the Pats Draft Anthony Castonzo at No. 17?

In a recent NFL mock draft created by Pat Kirwan of NFL.com, he predicted the New England Patriots to stay local with their first round pick. At 17th overall, Kirwan has the Patriots selecting Boston College offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo. 

From a fan prospective, I wouldn't mind this pick. 

Castonzo projects as a left tackle in the future at the next level, and will fill holes on the extremely questionable left-side of New England's offensive line.

NFL Combine Results

Height: 6'7"

Weight: 308 lbs.

40-yard dash: 5.23

Vertical jump: 29.5

Three-cone drill: 7.25

Draft projection: Mid first-early second

Strengths:

BC's Castonzo sits atop the draft board for offensive tackles along with Wisconsin's Gabe Carimi. Both players have a tremendous amount of potential, but use much different styles. 

Castonzo is a quick and explosive tackle who will likely line up as a left tackle in his career. He is very fast off the ball, and can keep up with just about every speed rusher. 

When moving backward and laterally, he possesses great footwork, which puts him above all tackles in this year's draft. 

As being a very athletic offensive linemen, he does not come off of as clumsy, despite his enormous size–he has great control of his body. 

Castonzo has such a large and athletic frame, he blocks fairly well in space, and has a nice ability of lining up his blocks down field. 

Out of all of the linemen in this draft class, Castonzo is considered by many to be the most intelligent. 

Weaknesses

The only glaring knock on Castonzo is his questionable strength. Some scouts question if Castonzo will be able to overpower other 300-plus lbs defensive linemen. 

Castonzo will need to add more muscle, which is possible because of his large frame, to be able to be a dominant run blocker in the NFL.

Conclusion

Castonzo appears to be a solid first-round pick and would be a nice cornerstone for New England's offensive line for years to come.

Not only does Castonzo have great potential, he's extremely intelligent and appears to have all the traits Bill Belichick looks for in an offensive linemen. 

Don't be surprised in New England selects Castonzo at No. 17 instead of a pass rusher because New England's offensive line is a major liability moving forward.

NOTE: This article was first seen at PatriotsPlus.net. Be sure to follow Tony Santorsa on Twitter @ TonySantorsa.