Depending on how the 2024 NFL Draft board falls, and where the New England Patriots will be picking, there is a distinct chance that the team does not draft a QB in the first round. In a mock draft that I posted to the Musket Fire Twitter, I drafted Penn State LT Olu Fashanu in the first round and took Bo Nix in the second round.
For the Mac Jones believers that are still out there, I think they are still holding out a bit of hope that the QB can finally prove that he's a franchise guy if the Patriots put competent players around him. Jones would likely have to win some sort of QB competition in 2024. But anyway, here's the draft:
OK, here we go. I fixed the #Patriots pic.twitter.com/EKYsRtqRta
— Musket Fire (@Musket_Fire) November 10, 2023
I do think the first two picks for the Patriots should be QB/WR/OT depending on how the board falls. Honestly, if the Pats end up with any other position with their first couple of picks, something bad happened. Well, maybe something bad does happen to them during the 2024 NFL Draft!
Let's look at three first-round prospects that won't replace Mac Jones.
3 first-round prospects in 2024 NFL Draft who won't replace Mac Jones
1. Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, Ohio State
Son of... Marvin Harrison, Jr is arguably the best player in all of college football. He's truly a polished player and has virtually no weaknesses. He plays against some of the best competition in CFB and appears to almost be guaranteed to be a stud at the next level. One of the two urgent positions that the Pats need to fill is at wide receiver.
The Pats have a ton of WR2/3 type of players on their roster, but MHJ is someone who would instantly be the WR1 of the team and would probably already be a top-10 WR in the NFL. Through 35 career games at the college level, Harrison has caught 140 passes for 2,316 yards and 27 touchdowns, averaging 16.5 yards per catch, so he's a big play waiting to happen.
2. Olu Fashanu, LT, Penn State
Olu Fashanu could have declared last year, but he decided to come back to school. Fashanu turns 21 in December and is the most complete OT prospect in the entire class. He's also massive; standing at 6'6" and weighing 317 pounds. The length is there. The footwork is there. The pass protection and run blocking ability are there. He's a plug-and-play, day one starter at LT and a franchise cornerstone.
.@AlbertBreer explains why he's currently projecting the #Patriots to select OT Olu Fashanu in the first round of next spring's NFL Draft 🤔 pic.twitter.com/QirT6XwWJM
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) November 5, 2023
In the NFL, I believe good, great teams are built from the inside, out. If you don't have competent OL play, you won't go very far. I get that taking OL isn't the most sexy thing ever, but man, check out all of the good/great teams in the NFL... guess what, gang; they all have very good OL play.
The Patriots should do everything they can to lock-up Michael Onwenu long-term and should keep him at RT. Cole Strange is fine at guard and I think there's enough talent left in the building to get center and right guard in solid spots. Honestly, locking up Onwenu and drafting Fashanu would be two excellent moves at tackle.
The Patriots "big" tackle moves this past offseason were signing Riley Reiff and Calvin Anderson... This team needs to invest in a big-time, cornerstone player along the OL.
3. Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
The New England Patriots need help at every position along the offense. And while tight end might not be a position that commonly gets drafted very high, Brock Bowers is a different animal. He's an elite receiving threat who is currently trying to work his way back from ankle surgery. The junior seems to be a lock to go in the top-seven, and if the Pats had the top QB prospects, top OT prospects, and Marvin Harrison Jr off the board, Bowers makes sense.
Across 37 games, Brock Bowers has caught 160 passes for 2,391 yards and 24 touchdowns. He averages 14.9 yards per catch and has also added 193 rushing yards over his career as well.
Jordan has the #Patriots selecting TE Brock Bowers with the 7th overall pick.pic.twitter.com/NSBy4T1oXP https://t.co/3Vh6jqffDJ
— Mike Kadlick (@mikekadlick) October 26, 2023
Depending on if the New England Patriots make some sort of major move at QB, taking a skill player on offense might actually make the most sense. Let's say that the team pulls off a trade for Kyler Murray, well, the Pats would then gear towards making Murray's life on offense as easy as possible, right?
Bowers, again, plays tight end, so he's not playing a super valuable position in the NFL, but there's a reason why a tight end is being mocked so high; he's legit and a day-one starter and future stud at the position.