New England Patriots: 7-Round 2019 mock draft after Super Bowl 53

The New England Patriots lack speed on the defensive side of the ball, particularly in the defensive front seven. Make no mistake about it, if the Pats cannot start to find linebackers who can play in space, the rest of the league is going to pass them by.

Today’s NFL is built on speed with opposing offenses being able to stretch the defense both vertically and horizontally. Right now, New England lacks speed at linebacker and it causes them issues time and time again. However, drafting a guy like Devin Bush would go a long way towards fixing that major issue.

Bush is an extremely mobile and athletic linebacker prospect who could come in and make an immediate impact for the New England Patriots. His speed and quickness is obvious both as a run defender and in coverage as Bush can easily defend from sideline to sideline.

The former Michigan Wolverine has the natural skill-set to be a star in pass coverage, but at the moment, he does lack in that department. Bush seems to get lost on the field at times, letting opposing tight ends and wide receivers sneak behind him into open space. That could obviously become a huge negative for the linebacker and is something that immediately needs cleaned up.

Devin Bush is not a perfect prospect, but he is an extremely talented guy who has a lot of natural upside going forward. If he can get his mind and defensive awareness right, Bush could end up being a major steal in this part of the draft.