3 draft profiles that are a must for the Patriots this year

The New England Patriots need a certain type of wide receiver

The Patriots are renowned, and not in a good way, for their inability to draft wide receivers with any aplomb, especially in higher rounds. Under Bill Belichick, they were basically a failure in that regard. The most recent and egregious flop was 2019 first-round pick, N'Keal Harry, who did little and didn't stay around long.

Interestingly, Harry was ostensibly drafted because of his ability to climb the proverbial ladder and snatch contested balls from a defensive back. He never did much of that and frankly, that is one of, if not the most overblown statistic that stat geeks use to justify the selection of wide receivers. It's basically a lot baloney. Why's that?

The easy answer is that if you have a lot of contested catches, it only means that you ain't getting open enough to have more non-contested ones. A good rule of thumb for them is this, if there are lots of contested catches, stay away from that receiver at all cost. The ones to select are the ones who can separate, aka get open.

Unfortunately, the Patriots have had few of those in recent years, absent Julian Edelman who's retired, and Jakobi Meyers whom they jettisoned. Only last season's sixth-round pick and the team's rookie of the year, Demario Douglas, exhibits that trait among the current receiving corps.

The New England Patriots need a massive infusion of separation-first receivers (plural) in this year's draft. It's an absolute necessity. If they take Ohio State wide receiver, Marvin Harrison Jr., with the third pick in the first round, they'll have secured the best one available in the draft right there.