New England Patriots’ Mock Draft: Making the perfect picks
The New England Patriots could have a perfect 2023 NFL Draft if they play their cards right. What would this perfect draft look like for the team? Perfect is a subjective term, but there are some scenarios where the Patriots knock the NFL Draft out of the park.
Their three most urgent needs are at wide receiver, cornerback, and offensive line, specifically at tackle. If they can knock out these three needs in the draft, they’d be doing about as well as possible for themselves.
Having a “perfect” draft is going to take some working of the draft board, perhaps trading down strategically to land more capital but all while still getting the players they want.
Let’s take a look at this perfect Patriots’ mock draft.
New England Patriots’ Mock Draft: Making the perfect picks
15th overall pick: Jaxon Smith-Njigba
I traded down just one pick but got a nice pick in return from the Green Bay Packers in this scenario. The Pats were still able to land perhaps the best wide receiver in the NFL Draft in Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
He’s not overly fast or a great athlete, but he does just about everything else well and immediately satisfies the Patriots’ need for a WR1. Many have said that JSN was and is a better prospect that both Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson.
45th overall pick: Keion White, EDGE, Georgia Tech
With Matt Judon getting older and Josh Uche entering the final year of his rookie deal, EDGE is a need, and the 45th overall pick came from the Packers in them moving up to the 14th overall pick. So, thank you, Green Bay.
46th overall pick: Cody Mauch, OT, North Dakota State
Their own second round pick lands them an offensive lineman who should have the ability to play both outside and inside. The Patriots have done a solid job with their offensive line over the years, and developing Mauch at tackle first and trying him there makes the most sense.
107th overall: Alex Austin, CB, Oregon State
The Patriots land a cornerback with solid size in Alex Austin from Oregon State. Between Marcus Jones, Jack Jones, and Jonathan Jones, the Pats are in no shortage of Joneses, but they have a desperate need for size at the position, and Austin is 6’1″ and a twitchy player.
117th overall: Jonathan Mingo, WR, Ole Miss
The Pats double dip at wide receiver with Jonathan Mingo out of Ole Miss. He’s an all around solid prospect who has great ball skills and a 9.86 RAS score, which measures overall athleticism on a 10 point scale.
135th overall: Jammie Robinson, S, Florida State
184th overall: Luke Schoonmaker, TE, Michigan
187th overall: Dorian Thompson-Robinson, QB, UCLA
192nd overall: Ronnie Bell, WR, Michigan
210th overall: Jalen Redmond, DT, Oklahoma
245th overall: Chris Rodriguez Jr, RB, Kentucky
A little bit of movement on the draft board nets the Patriots the perfect NFL Draft. They hopefully fill their major holes at cornerback, offensive tackle and at wide receiver. They also took a stab at a developmental QB in DTR from UCLA.
EDGE is also a hidden need for the team that is not being talked about enough, so I tried to fill that hole as well. Would we change much about this draft?