The NFL draft is set for Thursday and the New England Patriots will be picking in the final third of the first round.Pick No. 21 is the first of nine draft picks the Patriots currently have following a season in which they finished second in the AFC East division with a 10-7 record before losing 47-17 to the rival Buffalo Bills in the first round of the playoffs.Mina Kimes, an NFL analyst, senior writer, podcast host and television contributor for ESPN, said that New England's most obvious need is at cornerback with the recent departures of All-Pros J.C. Jackson and Stephon Gilmore.Kimes said that wide receiver is also a position of need, even with the addition of DeVante Parker in the offseason. She also said the Patriots need to get younger and faster on the defensive front."Where they're picking is fascinating at 21 because, really, I think they can afford to take the best player available at any of those positions," she said. "If someone like Chris Olave is there, I might be inclined to go wide receiver, even though I think cornerback is a greater need. So it gives them the opportunity to get a core contributor for a number of years."Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who also serves as the team's de facto general manager, has been criticized for some struggles in the draft over recent years, even from team owner Robert Kraft last month.“More than anything, it bothers me that we haven’t been able to win a playoff game in the last three years,” Kraft said. “I’m happy that we had, I think, a great draft last year. Made up for what happened the previous four years or so. I look forward to hopefully having a great draft this year. It’s the only way you can build your team for long term and consistently that you have a chance at winning is having a good draft.”"I think it's a fair criticism. I also think the Kraft subtle shade kind of flew under the radar a little bit," Kimes said. "I found that really fascinating."But when you look at Belichick's draft history, Kimes said there has been a lot to like over the last couple draft classes in particular despite a fair amount of misses."Last draft alone, looking at Mac Jones; Christian Barmore, who I thought was a fabulous pick for them; Rhamondre Stevenson — all successes," Kimes said.Kimes also pointed to some of the offensive lineman taken in recent years, specifically Mike Onwenu, a 2020 sixth-round pick who has started 24 of 32 career games, and Isaiah Wynn, who has started 33 of 34 games at left tackle since being drafted with the No. 23 overall pick in 2019."I do see enough to not really, really criticize Bill Belichick because he's had some successes," she said. "But I think there are some really significant holes on this roster. There's a major need to get younger on defense, and I think this draft will be key towards fixing some of those issues on that side of the ball."The 2022 NFL draft begins at 8 p.m. Thursday with Round 1 and continues at 7 p.m. Friday with Rounds 2-3. The final four rounds of the draft start at 12 p.m. Saturday.