Patriots haven’t targeted a WR or TE through five rounds of NFL Draft
The New England Patriots have shocked the entire fanbase and many media members who are closest with the team by drafting three defensive players with their first three picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, a cornerback in the first round followed by two linebackers in the second and third rounds.
Why haven’t the Patriots targeted any of their offensive needs yet in the draft?
To start, the Patriots addressed some of their offensive struggles from last year in the offseason by hiring Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator and acquiring wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, tight end Mike Gesicki, two offensive linemen in Riley Reiff and Calvin Anderson, and running back James Robinson.
It’s fair to assume New England feels comfortable with the offense right now and is amplifying their defense through the draft. The thing with that is the offensive talent is still incomplete in many areas. For example, there still isn’t a true No. 1 wide receiver, and both tight ends — Gesicki and Hunter Henry — are nearing unrestricted free agency in 2024.
When evaluating the offensive talent in the draft, it’s possible the Patriots concluded that they’d be able to get quality skill position players later in the draft rather than defensive players. That’s at least what we can infer from the model they’ve used to draft so far through five rounds.
No offensive players for the Patriots in the draft yet. Why?
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) April 29, 2023
"Didn't sign a lot of defensive players in free agency... Most of the signings were on offense... Just kind of worked out that way. Sometimes it's balanced. Sometimes it isn't."
As a result, the Patriots drafted a pair of offensive linemen in the fourth round, center Jake Andrews and guard Sidy Sow. They also used a fifth-round pick on guard Atonio Mafi. There was even a trade-up in the fourth round to draft a kicker, Chad Ryland, but still no additions to the weaponry around the offense.
Don’t get me wrong, the offensive line selections are great and filled a need for depth and retooling. But the need for playmakers seemed more dire and could’ve been addressed at any point in the draft through the first five rounds, not to mention the Patriots could have drafted the first wide receiver or tight end in the first round at 14th overall.
There are still some quality wide receivers and tight ends to be found late in the draft, and it seems that is where the Patriots will target a wide receiver and tight end. However, suppose the Pats don’t draft a wide receiver. In that case, it opens the window to potentially bring in another veteran from the open market and any undrafted rookie free-agent talent they always seem to find.