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Patriots must grab Mac Jones’ favorite red zone target in 2022 NFL Draft

By Adam Weinrib

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 04: John Metchie III #8 of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter of the SEC Championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 04, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 04: John Metchie III #8 of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter of the SEC Championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 04, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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Yes, he’s Bryce Young’s favorite red zone target, too, but that should only intensify the New England Patriots‘ interest in one of the most obvious 2022 NFL Draft fits known to man.

Though the Patriots’ season ended with a significant thud in Buffalo, don’t let that overwhelm the positives from a resurgent campaign no one expected. In early December, a Pats team without Tom Brady and featuring shells of many of this era’s defensive leaders, led by a rookie QB, was the odds-on Super Bowl favorite for a brief moment.

Even in defeat in frigid Buffalo, Mac Jones looked good. Objectively, though, he could use a genuine No. 1 wideout who can allow Kendrick Bourne and Jakobi Meyers to continue to thrive, though with a bit less glare on them.

Want to help Mac take the next step? Complement him with a weapon who not only feeds directly into his development, but with whom he’s already quite familiar: Alabama WR John Metchie.

His ACL tear likely doomed Bama in this year’s National Championship Game, but it could help the Patriots, who can probably secure him with a Day 2 pick instead of having to spend first-round capital on another wideout.

Patriots must draft Alabama’s John Metchie for Mac Jones.

Prior to Alabama’s season playing out as it did, Metchie was the theoretical go-to in the offense over Ohio State transfer (and afterthought) Jameson Williams.

After the season, though, Williams is viewed as the wideout with the higher pedigree at the next level, and both players’ season-ending injuries seem to have only knocked Metchie out of the first round.

Did he disappoint in 2021, then? Hardly. As the stats above make clear, he does nothing but catch passes during red zone opportunities. Literally. There is no alternative baked into Metchie’s route tree. He succeeds when given the chance.

When the season wrapped, Metchie had piled up 96 catches for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns after the aforementioned 916 yards with Jones at the helm.

Though Young made a one-year-older Metchie a bigger threat, his chemistry with Jones was also patently obvious last season.

Bad news? Bill Belichick needs to draft a wide receiver after last season’s spending spree earned him an incomplete.

Good news? His quarterback can get a gift without the team risking a first-round pick.

We’d welcome a reunion.

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