The New England Patriots will join their fellow teams on the clock on April 30 for the NFL's annual three-day draft extravaganza. Accordingly, mock drafts are abounding and Patriot Nation sopps them up like turkey gravy at Thanksgiving.
Josh Edwards of CBS Sports has the Patriots taking an edge, a defensive lineman, and a tight end with the team's first three picks.
What some observers may overlook is that the Patriots have two overarching needs this offseason. Both were unfortunately on full display in the Super Bowl loss. The Patriots couldn't prevent sacks (they surrendered six) nor produce enough of them (they had only one). Those stats plus two turnovers made all the difference.
Free agency has delivered only one offensive lineman, guard Alijah Vera-Tucker. He's a questionable signing with a high upside, but he does have a lengthy injury history. The need to further stock the offensive line remains strong. Similarly, the team signed only one free agent edge and lost one. The pass rush also remains a paramount need.
NFL teams ignore sacks as a key determinant of winning at their peril
Edwards offered a new three-round mock draft, and his Patriots picks are interesting.
Josh Edwards' first Patriots' pick at No. 31 is Missouri edge, Zion Young
Edwards hit a need position right on the nose and selected a big 6'6", 262-pounder in Young. Yet, his draft rates him as just the 10th-best edge.
"New England has been able to squeeze all the juice from the lemons it employs at edge rusher, but Zion Young is a hopeful building block for Mike Vrabel's defense. K'Lavon Chaisson departed in free agency, so there's a need to fill."
Young had 16.5 tackles for loss but only 6.5 sacks, along with two passes defended and two forced fumbles for Mizzou. He's light in the sack department, and this draft should be centered around sacks on both sides of the ball.
Edwards' second pick at No. 63 is Domonique Orange, a defensive lineman, from Iowa State
Domonique Orange notched only 18 total tackles, a pass defended, a half a tackle for loss, and no sacks in nine 2025 games. He's not exactly going to thrill Patriot Nation.
While the defensive line has been weakened by Khyiris Tonga's departure and the earlier trade of Keion White, Orange neither fills a more necessary position nor excels in his own.
Edwards' third pick at No. 95 is Sam Roush, a tight end from Stanford
Sam Roush is a huge, 6'6", 267-pound giant from Stanford. While tight end is a need position this offseason, the Patriots have already signed a blocking tight end, free agent Julian Hill, from Miami.
Roush can catch the ball as he snagged 49 passes for 545 yards and two touchdowns for the Cardinal in 2025. Regardless, he's viewed more as a blocking tight end by NFL.com in its Overview of the player.
"In a draft landscape full of pass-catching tight ends, Roush stands out as one of the few plug-and-play “Y” tight ends (in-line blocking TE) available. He can make cut-off blocks in zone and combo blocks in gap schemes. He holds his own in pass protection, too. As a receiver, he’s not stiff, but he lacks elusiveness underneath."
Josh Edwards' mock draft hits two positions of need: edge and tight end. Yet his choice for their next pass rusher isn't great. And though his tight end can catch, he may be considered more of a blocker in the NFL. In between, he took a defensive tackle with limited production and totally ignored the offensive line.
These factors lead to an unimpressed feeling if this were to become who the Patriots pick in the draft.