When the Patriots play the draft, they're building for both now and the future.
The New England Patriots operate with the intention of being prepared a year early, rather than a year too late. This is how they play their veteran contracts, it's how they address free agency, and it's definitely how they approach the draft.
Under Bill Belichick, there are distinct tiers of prospects within the draft. I will be using rounds for the sake of simplicity, but the draft is more fluid; the fact that Ras-I Dowling was selected in the 2nd round at 33rd overall doesn't make him overly different from Dominique Easley selected in the 1st round at 29th overall.