Bill Belichick has neglected the offense during 2023 NFL Draft

New England Patriots‘ head coach Bill Belichick is up to his old draft ways and has neglected the offense thus far in the 2023 NFL Draft.  In fact, it really would not be a Bill Belichick draft if he did not select someone like Marte Mapu, who the Patriots took in the third round.

He checks all of the boxes:

• Old age (turns 24 during rookie season)
• FCS school
• Defender that can play multiple positions

Ugh.

He also took Keion White, a 24-year-old EDGE rusher, which, to be fair, is a need, but not nearly as urgent as some other ones.  His best move was somehow landing the best cornerback in the 2023 NFL Draft in Christian Gonzalez, who he took with the 17th overall pick after trading down three slots.

However, the offense has been neglected, and the offense had way more needs to fill.  We still have Day 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft, but these players are likely only going to be depth pieces at best.  Some may develop into strong starters, but it’s not likely.

Ohio State’s right tackle Dawand Jones is still out there somehow, and I think that could be a great option for the team.  However, the bigger picture I want to paint here is Belichick not taking any offensive players thus far.

Sure, the additions of Bill O’Brien, Mike Gesicki, James Robinson and JuJu Smith-Schuster are nice, but those can be all the major moves they make.  The Patriots still need someone dynamic at wide receiver and they still need as many as two new tackles.  I am truly shocked that the team did not address wide receiver or tackle during their first two days of the draft, but instead went defense.

You could even argue that Mapu doesn’t fill much of a need for the team at all.

This is frustrating to say the least, but hopefully Bill Belichick has something else up his sleeve that he can deploy to shore up the offense.