New England currently has two picks in the second and third rounds.
The New England Patriots used the No. 3 overall pick to address the biggest need on the roster Thursday night, landing quarterback Drake Maye from North Carolina. Now, attention turns to Friday where they are currently set to use two of their seven remaining selections.
“We have seven more picks, and we’ll probably move around a little bit. Hopefully acquire some more picks,” director of scouting Eliot Wolf said Thursday. “But we feel strongly about the board and we’ll kind of see how it goes here. There’s a lot of other players that are — a lot of good players that are going to come off the board before our next one. So we’ll kind of see how it goes here.”
Who might be on their radar? With some help from our very own Pats Pulpit Big Board and the Consensus Big Board compiled by our friend Arif Hasan, let’s take a look at the top-50 players still remaining for New England on day two of this year’s draft.
(*denotes players listed on the Pats Pulpit Big Board)
Running Back
Potential targets: Jonathon Brooks (Texas), Trey Benson (FSU), Jaylen Wright (Tennessee)
After the signing of Antonio Gibson in free agency, adding to the running back depth chart may be pushed back until day three. However, New England could find value in the top running backs on the board especially with Rhamondre Stevenson entering a contract year.
Wide Receiver
Potential targets: AD Mitchell* (Texas), Ladd McConkey* (Georgia), Keon Coleman* (Florida State), Ja’Lynn Polk* (Washington), Jalen McMillan* (Washington), Troy Franklin* (Oregon), Roman Wilson (Michigan), Javon Baker* (UCF), Malachi Corley* (Western Kentucky), Jermaine Burton* (Alabama), Brenden Rice* (USC)
After the selection of Drake Maye, Eliot Wolf noted that they must add weapons to the offense to make life easier on their new QB. Lucky for them, a deep wide receiver class is still filled with talent. Adding a vertical threat to pair with Maye could be on New England’s checklist, making Coleman and Franklin potential names to watch.
Tight End
Potential targets: Ja’Tavion Sanders (Texas), Ben Sinnott* (Kansas State)
The Patriots could also look into the tight end market for pass catcher help, but a weaker class leaves Sanders and Sinnott as the true Day Two options.
Offensive Tackle
Potential targets: Kingsley Suamataia* (BYU), Blake Fisher* (Notre Dame), Roger Rosengarten* (Washington), Patrick Paul* (Houston), Kiran Amegadjie* (Yale), Brandon Coleman (TCU)
Beyond adding weapons, Wolf also highlighted the need to “shore up the offensive line.” That would likely come at the offensive tackle spot as they only added Chuks Okorafor at the position in free agency. A handful of options remain in another deep class and New England showed pre-draft interest in both Suamataia and Fisher.
Interior Offensive Line
Potential targets: Jackson Powers-Johnson (Oregon), Christian Haynes (Connecticut), Cooper Beebe (Kansas State), Zach Frazier (West Virginia)
After selecting three interior lineman in last years draft, the position is likely lower on New England’s list of needs. But, Cole Strange’s status is unknown for the upcoming season after a suffering a season-ending knee injury and David Andrews is near the finish line. Perhaps they find value worth selecting along the interior on day two.
Defensive Line
Potential targets: Jer’Zhan Newton (Illinois), Braden Fiske (Florida State), Kris Jenkins (Michigan), T’Vondre Sweat (Texas), Michael Hall (Ohio State), Ruke Orhorhoro (Clemson)
Another area that might not be a primary need for New England, but the remaining talent may catch their eye to pair next to Christian Barmore. Newton is the top remaining player available on the Consensus Big Board entering round two.
Edge
Potential targets: Marshawn Kneeland (Western Michigan), Chris Baswell (Alabama), Austin Booker (Kansas), Bralen Trice (Washington)
With Matthew Judon and Josh Uche in contract years, the edge position could be addressed sooner rather than later in this year’s draft. While Braswell and Kneeland are the top consensus players available, New England showed interest in Booker in the pre-draft process.
Linebacker
Potential targets: Edgerrin Cooper (Texas A&M), Junior Colson (Michigan), Payton Wilson (NC State), Cedric Gray (UNC)
Linebacker is not a major need for the Patriots, as they return Ja’Whaun Bentley and Jahlani Tavai and added Sione Takitaki in free agency. It seems unlikely the position is addressed on day two, but Cooper resides as one of the top consensus players available.
Cornerback
Potential targets: Cooper DeJean (Iowa), Kool-Aid McKinstry (Alabama), Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (Missouri), Mike Sainristil* (Michigan), Cam Hart* (Notre Dame), T.J. Tampa (Iowa State), Kamari Lassiter (Georgia), Max Melton (Rutgers)
Entering round two, a pair of projected first-round picks sit atop the board at the cornerback position (DeJean, McKinstry). While the position is not the team’s most pressing need, they would benefit from another option along the boundary — perhaps making the talent available too good to pass up.
Safety
Potential targets: Tyler Nubin (Minnesota), Javon Bullard (Georgia), Jaden Hicks (Washington State), Cole Bishop (Utah)
Beyond corner, New England’s secondary would benefit from a true free safety to help take over the void left by Devin McCourty. The top two remaining options in Nubin and Bullard both come with plenty of experience playing deep.
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