Patriots: 3 first-round talents Bill Belichick needs to avoid
By Jerry Trotta
1. Caleb Farley
Caleb Farley’s back injury should dissuade the Patriots from drafting him.
The Patriots could potentially justify drafting a cornerback at No. 15 overall. That, of course, would be contingent on them trading Stephon Gilmore and there hasn’t been much buzz suggesting they’re keen on doing so.
However, his contract situation has yet to be sorted out, and delaying the process into training camp would run the risk of him holding out. It’s also worth noting that New England is notoriously reluctant when it comes to paying players who are getting up there in age, and Gilmore is entering his age-31 season.
Taking that into account, let’s assume the Patriots trade Gilmore and target a cornerback in the first round. By no means should they identify Caleb Farley as his so-called replacement.
That isn’t to say the Virginia Tech product won’t pan out in the NFL. It would just be difficult to justify drafting him as the second CB — assuming Patrick Surtain is off the board by then — after he underwent back surgery just a few weeks ago.
Farley’s camp might’ve pegged it as a minor procedure, but this is something that has lingered for the better part of two years For context, he originally suffered the injury in August of 2019 while deadlifting in the Hokies’ weight room.
Had the young corner had a clean bill of health leading up to the draft, we would absolutely endorse the Patriots nabbing him at No. 15. However, given how that isn’t the case, they should steer clear of Farley and target Jaycee Horn, who further elevated his draft stock after an impressive showing at South Carolina’s pro day, instead.
