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Patriots: 8 Potential first-round picks who don’t play quarterback

By Daniel Morrison

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 13: Ja'Marr Chase #1 of the LSU Tigers races past Nolan Turner #24 of the Clemson Tigers during the College Football Playoff National Championship held at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 13, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 13: Ja'Marr Chase #1 of the LSU Tigers races past Nolan Turner #24 of the Clemson Tigers during the College Football Playoff National Championship held at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 13, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images) /
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FAYETTEVILLE, AR – NOVEMBER 9: Jaylen Waddle #17 of the Alabama Crimson Tide catches a pass for a touchdown in the first half of a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium on November 16, 2019 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
FAYETTEVILLE, AR – NOVEMBER 9: Jaylen Waddle #17 of the Alabama Crimson Tide catches a pass for a touchdown in the first half of a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium on November 16, 2019 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama

Coming into this season, Jaylen Waddle was Alabama’s most renowned wide receiver, not Devonta Smith. Then Waddle got hurt with a fractured ankle, and Smith broke out and won the Heisman Trophy. Smith played his way to being a top-10 pick, but Waddle will likely be available in the middle of the first round still. That’s great news for a Patriots team desperate to put some skill players around next season’s quarterback.

Waddle showed his toughness, playing in the National Championship Game despite having nothing to prove to anyone, not scouts or his teammates, and everything to lose. Before showing his toughness at Alabama, though, Waddle showed his freak athleticism. Rumored to run a 4.27 40-yard dash, no one in college football could keep up with him. He was on pace for 75 catches for 1,671 yards before his injury, and as a sophomore, he played with Smith, Jerry Jeudy, and Henry Ruggs, but still put up monster numbers, as he averaged 17 yards a catch.

Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU

2019 Ja’Marr Chase, like the rest of the LSU offense, was unstoppable. On that National Championship-winning team when he was only a sophomore, Chase had 84 catches, 1,780 yards, 21.2 yards per catch, and 20 touchdowns. Unfortunately, 2020 Ja’Marr Chase didn’t exist, so we don’t know how he would have followed up that remarkable season with a new quarterback. Instead, Chase opted out due to COVID-19.

At about six feet tall and 200 pounds, Chase is not an imposing wide receiver by any means. Instead, he relies on route-running, athleticism, and sure handedness to torch secondaries. A 4.4 40-yard dash kind of player, had Chase been eligible to go pro last season, he would have been the top receiver taken, ahead of the Alabama wide receivers, CeeDee Lamb, and his teammate Justin Jefferson. There’s a chance Chase may not be available at 15, but if he is, the Patriots need to pull the trigger.

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