FOXBOROUGH Womens Dont'a Hightower Jersey , Mass. (AP) — The Patriots are the defending Super Bowl champions.That’s the good news in New England.The bad news is they lost one key player to retirement and have others that are winding down their careers as well.Rob Gronkowski’s decision to hang up his cleats last month didn’t come as a total surprise after he hinted at it following each of the past two seasons. But it did create yet another need to address as New England prepares for the NFL draft.With holes on both sides of the ball, unlike in recent years it could mean a busier than usual three days for Bill Belichick and his staff. They have 12 picks overall, including four in the first seven rounds.Belichick is being predictably coy about his plans for them.“We have a lot of draft picks as we sit here today. I don’t know that that necessarily means that they will or won’t be there on draft weekend,” he said. “We’ll see how all of that goes. Just evaluate situations as they come up and try to make the best decisions, we can for the football team.“There’s no set goal in mind as to how many picks to have or what to do with them. We just want to try to make good decisions at every opportunity we can to improve our team in whatever way is possible and that includes everything.”The offense has some big holes at both receiver and at left tackle.Receiver Julian Edelman is Tom Brady’s most trusted and experienced pass catcher. But the reigning Super Bowl MVP will be 33 when the regular season starts.Chris Hogan signed with the Panthers in free agency, leaving Brady with Phillip Dorsett as his No. 2 receiver on the depth chart behind Edelman.Dorsett was much more comfortable in his second full season with New England, catching 32 passes and three touchdowns. But with Josh Gordon still suspended, the Patriots need some other options. The signing of veteran Demaryius Thomas was certainly a start, though an addition of youth couldn’t hurt.The same is true defensively.New England took the first step in filling the void left by edge rusher Trey Flowers‘ departure to Detroit by trading for veteran Michael Bennett. The Patriots also need to replace the production of defensive tackle Malcom Brown as well as add some general depth on the defensive line.Some other things to know about the Patriots heading into the draft:REPLACING GRONKThe Patriots did sign veteran tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins to join a group to replace Gronk that also includes youngsters Jacob Hollister and Matt LaCosse. Though considering how integral the tight end is to offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ schemes, it’s very likely they will use a high pick to snare one of the top prospects.Some possible names to watch include T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant, both former standouts at Iowa known for their blocking and pass-catching abilities.PROTECTING BRADYFor the second consecutive offseason New England is in the market for a left tackle. Trent Brown left in free agency for a big payday with the Raiders. And the Patriots can’t afford not to have a capable replacement guarding the blindside of Tom Brady http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-jonathan-jones-jersey , who will be 42 when the 2019 season kicks off.One option is Isaiah Wynn, the Patriots’ first-round pick last year who spent 2018 on injured reserve after tearing his Achilles tendon during the preseason.The O-line could also use some depth overall. LaAdrian Waddle was able to fill a lot of those gaps over the past few seasons, but he signed with Buffalo.BRADY’S SUCCESSORWhile he’s not backing down from his desire to play until age 45, the Patriots could use this draft to again to try to identify Brady’s successor.Patriots scouts are very high on former Duke quarterback Daniel Jones. Other possible names to watch for include Will Grier (West Virginia) and Brett Rypien (Boise State). FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Brady has one simple answer to why his New England Patriots have struggled in Miami.“They play well and we don’t,” Brady said Friday.He was smiling, but you know — and he knows — winning in Miami is one thing in a brilliant career that Brady hasn’t been able to do consistently. Look at the numbers:—Brady is 7-9 at Miami, where the Patriots have lost four of the last five years. He is 15-1 against the Dolphins at home.—Brady has lost seven career games in December, five of them at Miami.—Brady is 79-19 against the AFC East in the regular season, with 10 of the losses coming at the hands of the Dolphins, a team he has beaten 22 times.“Regardless Rex Burkhead Jersey , none of that stuff matters,” Brady said. “This week it’s really this team against that team and we’re going to have to play well. They play good at home, they’re 5-1, they’ve got a good defense . we’ve got a big challenge. Should be fun.”And the Patriots are favored to win this game, which would give them their 10th straight AFC East title, the 18th in 25 years under owner Robert Kraft. The division is consistently the most lopsided in football – and New England has dominated.But not in the Florida sunshine.“We’ve tried a bunch of different things over the years,” Brady said of preparation for this annual visit, which has also included practicing indoors with the heat cranked up. “We’ve gone down there Thursday night and practiced Friday, gone down there Friday night after practice, stayed there Saturday. It’s just really about playing good when it comes down to it; there’s no magic formula.”This week, the Patriots Womens Donald Trump Jersey , who have won eight of their last nine games, have been working in the New England cold after beating the Minnesota Vikings 24-10 on a drizzly day at Gillette Stadium.“When you look at those stats, it is pretty interesting, the way some of those teams from the South come up and play, the teams from the North play in the South – there’s got to be something to it,” Brady said. “It just comes down to playing good football. We’ve had some great games down there, too. Hopefully this is a great game for us. But we have to go earn it.”He fondly recalled the overtime long pass he threw to Troy Brown to win the 2003 game, ending New England’s five-game losing streak down there, remembering the celebration, and “flipping people off” on the bus leaving.This week, they face a Miami team that is 5-1 at home http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-jordan-richards-jersey , 1-5 on the road, and one that will be without its best defender. NFL interceptions leader Xavien Howard, who picked Brady twice down there last year, is injured.“I think just playing down there has its challenges,” Brady said. “Every team kind of has its challenges going down there. They play well at home. I think they use the climate as a benefit to them, just as we use our as a benefit to us.”Brady enters this game tied with Peyton Manning for the career lead with 579 career touchdown passes, counting playoffs. His 508 regular- season TD passes are tied with Brett Favre for third place.A win Sunday would also give New England its 16th straight 10-win season. And then there’s the division title.“That would be pretty sweet,” Brady said. “Obviously trying to win the division is a great step. This would really allow us to do that; they’re going to really challenge us. It’s going to be a physical game, they’ve been talking about that. We’re prepared to just having the right mindset to go down there and play a real great, complementary game.”