New England Patriots Draft: Will New England Take a RB in the First Round?

The 2010 season was a success for New England's running game. Over the past several seasons, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has been striving to establish a reliable running game—and they did that in '10. 

Third-year running back, BenJarvus Green-Ellis became New England's first 1,000-yard rusher since Corey Dillon. Not only did the Patriots find their lead-back, they found their future replacement of third-down back Kevin Faulk in former New York Jet Danny Woodhead. 

New England is famous for their "running-back-by-committee" philosophy, and a few of their key backs might have spent their last season as a Patriot. 

Fred Taylor, Sammy Morris and Kevin Faulk are all facing retirement, and could all not be on the 2011 roster for their own unique reasons.

Assuming the departures of Taylor, Moss and Faulk, New England will enter 2011 with Green-Ellis, Woodhead and Thomas Clayton.

Belichick is going to need to add another back to his backfield, and it will be done through the draft due to the potential lockout and lack of free agency.

In this year's draft class, there aren't too many standouts outside of Alabama's Mark Ingram, so finding a quality and NFL-ready running back might be a challenge. 

In the first round, it's expected that the premiere running backs will go, due to the lack of them. New England sits at 17th and 28th overall and have a lot of holes to fill on their current roster. 

The last time Belichick took a running back in the first round was Laurence Maroney in 2006. Maroney was the 21st overall pick and was nothing but a bust due to his sky-high potential and inability to produce in the NFL.

The only way I can see New England taking a running back in the first round would be if Ingram is available at 28th overall. 

I realize that Ingram could go much earlier than 28th overall, but at No. 17, New England will have a large variety of players available. 

At 17th, if it came down to Wisconsin's defensive end J.J. Watt or Ingram, Belichick would definitely take Watt, without question. 

I do expect New England to draft a running back in this year's draft, but not in the first round.

However, guessing where Belichick will select the back is unknown. We are talking about the Patriots here, the most unpredictable drafting team.

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