Patriots might be making a huge mistake in the NFL Draft

According to a report from Jeff Howe in The Athletic, the Patriots might want to add a “blue chip” prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft.  This would be a massively stupid decision from the Patriots if this is indeed true.

On the surface, sure, adding a blue chip player is obviously the goal, but Jeff Howe reports that the Pats might want to add this player in the running back room.  Are we serious?

Yes, you read that right, Howe is reporting that the Pats might want to add another top player at running back in the 2023 NFL Draft.  His quote is below:

"The personnel has turned over, too. They opted for more explosion in the slot with JuJu Smith-Schuster over Jakobi Meyers, and they traded tight end Jonnu Smith before adding Mike Gesicki. They’re building the running game around Rhamondre Stevenson and have quietly shown interest in adding another blue-chip back in the draft."

With the 14th overall pick, the Patriots might be right in line to land the top running back prospect in the NFL Draft, which is largely viewed as Bijan Robinson out of Texas, who would easily become the RB1 for the team come week one.

However, for a plethora of reasons, that’s a terrible idea.

Firstly, the team has Rhamondre Stevenson installed as the RB1.  Stevenson enjoyed a 1,000 yard rushing season and played quite well.  He’s clearly a very talented player and should explode in year three.  The team also signed someone with RB1 upside in James Robinson.  Robinson had 1,000 yards as a rookie, so the Pats currently have two 1,000 yard rushers in their backfield.

Right now, I’m not sure what RB tandem in the NFL is better than Stevenson/Robinson.

Adding another top running back would be silly.  The team has other urgent needs on offense in wide receiver and at tackle.  The team could also use a top prospect at cornerback, and all three of these positions are way more important than running back.

Bill Belichick is overthinking this.  The Pats need to fill their needs, not pick for luxury.  Taking a running back high in the 2023 NFL Draft would be a silly idea.