With the 28th Pick in the 2011 Dawgs By Nature Mock Draft, the New England Patriots Select...

With the 28th pick in the 2011 Dawgs By Nature Community Mock Draft, the New England Patriots select...

Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama

This selection and write-up was made by Onyx Lightning:

I'm not going to do the preamble with this pick. See my intro to pick 17 if you want my thoughts on the Patriots as a whole.

I struggled with this pick much more with the first. Let me say first off that I'm shocked Ingram is here at this point and the pick would have been much easier if he wasn't. After taking Watt earlier and addressing the Defensive Line, I told myself I would look to go to the Offensive Line, as that is the other big need for the Pats right now. Again, I didn't think Ingram would be here. So at this point, an argument could be made that you have to go with the Best Player Available, and that's what I've decided to do. With all the First Round Offensive Tackles off the board, the only real O-Line prospect worthy of this pick would be Watkins, and he was almost the pick. But if this is the way the draft goes, I can't see the Pats passing on Ingram.

First of all, I'm not a huge fan of The Law Firm (BenJarvis Green Ellis). Yes, he cracked the 1,000 yard mark and yes, he had some games where he really stood out notching some 100 yard, 2 TD performances, but I just don't see him as a feature back and I don't think he can do it consistently for 16 games. And while Danny Woodhead is a great weapon, he's more of a situational player in the Kevin Faulk mold. Adding Ingram to this backfield gives them a reason to dump the aging baggage (Taylor and Faulk), and immediately gives them one of the most dynamic group of running backs in all of football.

Ultimately, I see one of the Tackles falling to this spot and Ingram going earlier, but should they land his talent, Billy will be laughing all the way to another Super Bowl because this kid can and will make an immediate impact. And do I really need to say what will happen if defenses have to be concerned with a legitimate power running game in New England? Two words: Tom Brady.

I am a big fan of this pick. As stated, Ingram has really fallen low in this draft but can be a valuable commodity for the Patriots. I'm also not sold on Green-Ellis as a full-time starter; see the game in which the Cleveland Browns were able to make him appear below average. New England can draft Ingram and still use the services of Green-Ellis and Woodhead often; Ingram would give them that luxury of not having to hang on to the veteran backs.

The Chicago Bears are on the clock next (email will be sent to jharbdo).