Every Saturday in the offseason, one question from Twitter will be selected and expounded upon based on a hot topic surrounding the New England Patriots:

@MikeReiss If the Patriots did not lose their 1st round draft pick in the 2016 draft. Who do you think they would have picked at their spot

— FootballcoachJC (@MiretJeff) June 30, 2017

Hi Jeff, if they kept the pick at No. 29, there were two players who stood out to me as the most likely possibilities for the Patriots in 2016: Louisiana Tech defensive tackle Vernon Butler and Oklahoma wide receiver Sterling Shepard. It was my understanding that Butler was a pre-draft visitor to Gillette Stadium and that Shepard had high marks for what the Patriots generally look for in receivers within their system.

Butler ended up going at No. 30 to the Carolina Panthers, while Shepard was scooped up by the New York Giants early in the second round, at the No. 40 overall slot.

One of the things about the Patriots that stands out is their resourcefulness and ability to adjust. And while Butler and/or Shepard could have helped them, I look at some of the moves they ultimately made at those positions, and they have proved to be solid. In the third round of the 2016 draft, they selected Vincent Valentine (Nebraska), who is a big-bodied defensive tackle in the mold of Butler. They also re-signed veteran Alan Branch as a free agent this offseason.

Then, at receiver, they drafted Malcolm Mitchell in the 2016 fourth round, and that was a good hit for them. Following that up in the 2017 offseason, they made the aggressive trade for Brandin Cooks, who looks like he'll be a big contributor.

Do those moves happen if the Patriots had a first-round pick in 2016? Those are fun hypothetical situations to consider.

Some of the later moves still might have happened, while others possibly wouldn't have. That's the fluid nature of building a team and adapting to the unexpected twists and turns and opportunities that present themselves along the way.