The New England Patriots had an abundance of draft picks they used to select 12 players in the 2023 draft. Draft picks occasionally provide an immediate assist to a team nearing playoff contention or a boost to a team already playoff-ready. The 2023 New England Patriots were neither, as their disastrous 2023 season has proven.
The season is now in the rearview mirror as the Patriots are firmly ensconced in a very unfamiliar position since the dominating era of Tom Brady, which is last place in the AFC East behind even the lowly New York Jets. It's now timely to look at the team's 2023 draft, evaluate its impact on the dismal 2023 season, and grade each draftee.
The New England Patriots Premium Picks: Rounds 1-3
The New England Patriots under Bill Belichick have been inclined on numerous occasions to eschew the common outlooks or "consensus" opinions of players in the draft and to go their own way. This so-called "reaching" seldom works out and has cost the team dearly over the years.
In 2023, however, the team's first two picks were smack dab in the consensus bandwidth and did well accordingly. The first pick was an acknowledged top-10 pick and felt by some to be one of, if not the best, cornerbacks in the draft. That was Christian Gonzalez of Oregon.
Pro Football Focus had Gonzalez rated as their second-ranked corner after Devon Witherspoon. He didn't disappoint. He was an immediate starter and showed why he warranted such a high pick, even though, in a deft move, Belichick had traded down to amass more draft capital and still select Gonzalez at pick 17.
While Gonzalez only played in four games, his impact and potential were immediately visible to anyone paying attention. Unfortunately, a dislocated shoulder and torn shoulder labrum ended his season prematurely. Along with the season-ending injury to Matt Judon, the team lost two of its best players, keeping a very good defense from becoming an awesome one. That notwithstanding, Gonzalez gets a solid A(incomplete) grade. He was a great pick.
Round 2 - pick #46: Keion White
The team's second-round pick was also one of the consensus variety. They took a very good defensive end/tackle/edge, Keion White, from Georgia Tech. White's potential is immense. Only poor player-management decisions by the defensive coaches kept him from being an even more impactful player in 2023 on the Patriots' defensive line, teamed with emergent star Christian Barmore.
White has played in 16 games with 521 snaps or 49% of the team's defensive snaps. White notched 26 tackles, along with a sack, three tackles for loss, and five quarterback hits. While his stats are not overly impressive, his potential and impact were evident. His ability is obvious, though his early use was sporadic.
Additionally, he was misused more as an outside pass rusher rather than as a companion to Barmore inside in a gap. That limited his impact significantly. White is good as a defensive end and edge player. Yet, he's simply outstanding inside as a defensive tackle.
That's on Belichick and his staff, who began to use White inside to complement Barmore toward the end of the season. He's been a force. White and Barmore should be the starting defensive tackles in 2024. Their pocket-crushing ability will be one of the league's best. Grading White takes some inventiveness with his misuse by the coaching staff. Yet, his grade is still a solid A-.
Round 3 - pick #76: Marte Mapu
In the third round, Bill Belichick and his personnel staff reverted to form and reached way up for a small school player, Marte Mapu, a hybrid safety/linebacker from Sacramento State. This is where the draft started to go off the rails.
Not only did the team not address its most glaring need, offensive tackle, in any of the top three rounds (or anywhere else, for that matter), but it also reached way up for Mapu, an essentially unproven player.
Mapu played in every game but made little impact. He played 204 defensive snaps or 18% and had only a combined 18 tackles, along with one interception and one forced fumble. While the proverbial jury is still out on the player and there is potential, the pick's evaluation has to be a low C+/D-. He was a significant reach and didn't deliver.
Round 4 - pick #107: Jake Andrews
The Patriots had three fourth-round picks. The first was a center, Jake Andrews from Troy State. Andrews was another reach, and a non-factor all season long. He logged only 67 snaps and started just one game, the last against the Jets.
Fourth-round picks don't always contribute massively right away, but Andrews was a non-factor. The grade here is an easy one: D+.
Round 4 - pick #112: Chad Ryland
The team's second fourth-round pick was kicker Chad Ryland from Michigan State. He has also been a dud. Replacing the ever-reliable veteran, Nick Folk, Ryland hit on only 64% of his field goal attempts, that's 16 out of 25.
He's been a colossal disappointment. He certainly has justified the supposition that you never take a kicker or punter earlier than the 5th (maybe) or, better, the sixth round. Again, rather than addressing that offensive tackle position, the team went rogue and drafted a kicker far too high and faced the consequences. The grade for this pick: D-.
Round 4 -pick #117: Sidy Sow
The team's final fourth-round pick was used on a guard (tackle?), Sidy Sow from Eastern Michigan. Sow was primarily a guard in college, so the Patriots naturally decided to use him as a de facto offensive tackle. That didn't work out at all. He did play a lot at guard, though, due to Michael Onwenu moving to right tackle to shore up that mess. Sow played a lot at Onwenu's right guard spot.
He started 13 of the 15 games and logged 772, or 85% of the team's offensive plays. He's acquitted himself reasonably well, and simply playing all these snaps is a big plus. With Onwenu, a free agent, Sow may own the right guard position in 2024. He grades out at B-/C+. Depth at guard was necessary, and Sow's been a decent pick.
Round 5 - pick #144: Atonio Mafi
In the fifth round, the Patriots went back to the well at guard, selecting Atonio Mafi from UCLA. Mafi is a big body inside, and while the tackle need remained unanswered, that notwithstanding, building up the guard depth with huge guys like Sow and Mafi is a solid investment in the future of the interior offensive line.
Mafi played in all 17 games, started five, and logged 459 offenive snaps, or 44% of the Pats' total. He's slotted right into the left guard slot after Cole Strange's injury. The offensive line has generally performed poorly, especially but not exclusively at the tackle position. Yet, gaining playing experience as Mafi and Sow have this season at guard can only help in the future. Mafi gains a grade of C+.
Round 6 - pick #187: Kayshon Boutte
In the sixth round, the Patriots had three picks. They first selected Kayshon Boutte, a formerly highly touted wide receiver from LSU. Like most sixth-rounders (although the Patriots seem to draft well at that position for some odd reason), he's made little impact in his few appearances.
Boutte played in five games with a meager two catches for 19 yards. He has essentially contributed nothing to the team this season. He has to be looked upon as the Patriots' taking a flier on a guy in the sixth round who might have potential, which is precisely where they should draft such a player. Unfortunately, it never materialized for Boutte. He gets a grade of D-.
Round 6 - pick #192: Bryce Baringer
The Patriots' second sixth-round pick was a sound one. They selected punter Bryce Baringer from Michigan State, which is exactly where a team should choose a punter. Additionally, contrary to the aforementioned kicker Ryland's experience, Baringer has been a solid addition.
Baringer punted 98 times garnering a respectable 46.9 yards per punt. He also had a long punt of 79 yards. As with most punters, he also handled the holding function for Ryland as part of his duties. As disappointing as Ryland's season has been, Baringer's has been the opposite. He's been solid, consistent, and largely reliable. This earns the rookie a very nice and well-deserved A-/B+ grade. He's the Patriots' punter of the future, no matter who is in charge in 2024.
The New England Patriots' best-performing pick from the 2023 Draft
Round 6 - pick #210: Demario Douglas
The Patriots' last pick of the sixth round has earned the distinction of being the team's best draft pick performance-wise in 2023. That would, of course, be the diminutive yet dynamic and explosive wide receiver from Liberty, Demario Douglas. Douglas has exceeded even the wildest expectations.
Once the befuddled coaching staff realized he could excel and used him more extensively, he has been the Patriots' best wide receiver. He's been everything you may have hoped for and more. He's the top Patriots rookie from the class of 2023 (with due deference to the injured Gonzalez) and will likely be the team's slot receiver next season and beyond.
In 14 games, starting seven, Douglas caught 49 receptions for 561 yards and has been the most explosive and reliable target for whoever has been at the helm at quarterback. If he can stay healthy, Douglas will be a fixture for the new Patriots in 2024 when a rookie (perhaps a dual-threat) quarterback will likely take the helm of a hopefully new and decidedly more innovative and imaginative offense than we saw this season.
Douglas is the New England Patriots Rookie of the Year and is another in quite an impressive array of sixth-rounders who have made the grade. Of course, not the least of whom is the greatest NFL player of all time, Tom Brady. Douglas's grade is an easy one, a straight A, only limited by his early non-use by the coaching staff.
Round 7 - pick #245: Isaiah Bolden
In the seventh round, the Patriots' final pick of the 2023 NFL Draft was Isaiah Bolden from Jackson State. Bolden was injured on a scary pre-season play where he suffered a concussion and was placed on injured reserve for the season.
He is a young player to keep an eye on in the future, and he can only be graded as an incomplete, with best wishes for a healthy and full return to the team in 2024.
There it is, a review of the Patriots 2023 NFL draft. The team had the good, the bad, and the ugly, as most drafts of 12 players would. Christian Gonzalez, the best player of the 12 picks, has a top yet incomplete grade.
All in all, the 2023 draft can be looked upon as perhaps one of the better drafts of recent years for the Patriots' beleaguered personnel department which could be completely revamped for 2024. The hope here is that it will be. There are still too many reaches that have proven to be flops, along with obvious errors of omission. A new outlook and draft strategy is sorely required.
The one noted glaring omission (another was not drafting a tight end or two) that drags the overall draft grade down dramatically is the neglect to draft any offensive tackles (OT). The dismal offensive tackle position was the ruination of any chance the team had for a winning, never mind a playoff season. That offseason gaffe was a season-wrecker.
Compounding that draft neglect was free-agent signings that didn't pan out, especially at offensive tackle. The result was a sack-prone offense that never got untracked and a calamity of a season. Although the team did bring in a solid group of players who will contribute in the future, the absence of drafting two or three OTs (and no tight ends) was egregious enough to limit the overall 2023 New England Patriots draft grade to a C-/D+.
The sad part is that it could truly have been superlative.