We have some shifts from the last mock draft after trades and free agency. This mock draft is focusing on who is a good comparable and some key stats from college.
The Patriots have already added three picks from the start of the offseason. They now have a total of 8 picks, and they’ll use this to maneuver the draft board throughout the weekend.
Round 1, Pick 21
Round 2, Pick 54
Round 3, Pick 85
Round 4, Pick 127
Round 5: Pick 158
Round 5: Pick 170
Round 6: Pick 200
Round 6: Pick 210
Here's our third stab at the first round, and also selecting at each of the Patriots' picks.
1. Jacksonville Jaguars: OT Evan Neal, Alabama
He’s started every game of his career (40 starts). He’s allowed 24 pressures over the last two years. PFF graded him 85.8 (21st for the position). Comp: Former Washington tackle, Chris Samuels.
2. Detroit Lions: DE Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan
The Heisman runner-up had 62 tackles, 16.5 TFL, 14 sacks, 2 FF. He had over 60 pressures this season and his pressure rate was 16.5%. Comp: Former Viking, Jared Allen.
3. Houston Texans: S Kyle Hamilton, Notre Dame
He missed half the season, but he had 35 tackles, 2 TFL, 7 PBU, and 3 INTs. He had 8 career INTs. Comp: Current Charger, Derwin James.
4. New York Jets: DE Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon
He was hurt and missed a couple of games with an ankle injury, but the pass rusher collected 50 tackles, 12 TFL, 7 sacks, and 2 FF. He had 46 pressures and his pressure rate was 17.8% (second best in the country). Comp: Former top pick, Jadeveon Clowney.
5. New York Giants (VIA CHI): OT Ikem Ekwonu, NC State
The stout lineman has 31 career starts and had a PFF grade of 91.6 (9th). His Comp: Current Charger, Rashawn Slater.
6. Carolina Panthers: QB Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh
The Heisman nominee had 42 passing TDs, 4,319 yards, 67% completion percentage and 7 INTs. He also ran for 241 yards and 5 TDs. Comp: Somewhere between former Seahawk, Matt Hasselback and current Viking, Kirk Cousins.
7. New York Giants: DE Travon Walker, Georgia
The big lineman racked up 37 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 6 sacks and 29 pressures. He has 9.5 career sacks. Comp: Current Packer, Rashan Gary.
8. Atlanta Falcons: QB Malik Willis, Liberty
The uber-talented Willis had 2,857 yards passing, 27 TDs, 61% passing, and 12 INTs. He also had 878 yards rushing and 13 TDs. Perhaps most concerning part of his evaluation, he had 51 sacks. Comp: It’s easy to see the elite athleticism. The way he flicks the football and escapes the pocket brings back memories of former Falcon, Michael Vick. But his inconsistency and preparation to play also remind me of former Viking, Tavaris Jackson.
9. Seattle Seahawks (VIA DEN): Ahmad Gardner, Cincinnati
The Bearcat had an impressive season and career. He had 40 tackles, 5 TFL, 3 sacks, 7 PBUs, and 3 INTs. But what’s most impressive is that he never gave up a TD in 1,100 career snaps. Last season he only gave up 117 yards across 482 coverage snaps. Comp: Former Seahawk, Richard Sherman.
10. New York Jets (VIA SEA): WR Drake London, USC
He missed the last 4 games after breaking his ankle but before the injury he was leading the country with 88 catches, 1,094 yards, and 7 TDs. He was averaging 11 catches a game (but also 1 drop per game) and leading the country in first downs. Nineteen of his catches were contested which speaks to his elite ability to win 50/50 balls. Comp: A floor of former Patriot, Brandon LaFell and a ceiling of current Ram, Allen Robinson.
11. Washington Commanders: LB Devin Lloyd, Utah
The Captain of the Utes led them to the Rose Bowl with 110 tackles, 22 TFL, 8 sacks, 10 PBU, 4 INTs, 2 FFs, and 2 TDs. The former safety had 3 career INTs for touchdowns. Comp: Current Colt, Darius Leonard.
12. Minnesota Vikings: Edge Jermaine Johnson II, Florida State
His stats reflect his three-down role on defense. He had 70 tackles, 18 TFL, 12 sacks, 45 total pressures and 2 FF. Comp: Packer OLB, Preston Smith.
13. Houston Texans (VIA CLE): OT Trevor Penning, Northern Iowa
He’s had 33 career starts and was the top graded PFF tackle at 97.3. Comp: Current Titan, Taylor Lewan with a play style like former Raider, Richie Incognito.
14. Baltimore Ravens: CB Derek Stingley Jr., LSU
Stingley missed most of the season, so he only had 8 tackles and 1 FF. But over the course of his career QB’s only have a 41% completion percentage when targeting him. Comp: Current Viking, Patrick Peterson.
15. Philadelphia Eagles (VIA MIA): WR Garrett Wilson, Ohio State
The best wideout in the draft hauled in 70 catches for 1,058 yards and 12 TDs. He also broke 19 tackles which speaks to his YAC ability. Wilson had 6 drops on the year. Comp: Former Steeler, Santonio Holmes.
16. New Orleans Saints (VIA PHI, VIA IND): OT Charles Cross, Mississippi State
Cross has had 22 career starts and his PFF grade was 86.7 (17th). He excels at pass protection, only giving up 16 pressures and 1 sack across 719 snaps. Comp: Current Texan, Laremy Tunsil.
17. Los Angeles Chargers: DT Jordan Davis, Georgia
The massive (6-foot-6, 341 pounds) Bulldog had 32 tackles, 5.5 tackles, 2 sacks, and 1 PBU. The weight, and conditioning, he plays at in the NFL will be critical to his impact and time on the field. Comp: Former Jaguar, John Henderson.
18. Philadelphia Eagles (VIA NO): CB Trent McDuffie, Washington
The Husky had 35 tackles, and 6 PBU (no INTs). He allowed on 16 catches for 111 yards this season (296 coverage snaps) which is 3rd best in the country per attempt. Limited ball production over the course of his career (28 PBU but only 2 INTs). He’s a good tackler, 101 career tackles, missing only 6% of his tackles. Comp: Upside is current Packer, Jaire Alexander.
19. New Orleans Saints (VIA PHI): QB Matt Corral, Ole Miss
The Rebel played hurt most of the season but still racked up 3,349 yards passing, 20 TDs, 68% completions, and 5 INTs. He really made an improvement cutting down on his turnovers. Rushing he accounted for 614 yards and 11 TDS. Comp: Similar style to former Brown, Johnny Manziel.
20. Pittsburgh Steelers: DT Devonte Wyatt, Georgia
The other dominant Georgia Bulldogs had 39 tackles, 7 TFL, 2.5 sacks, and 2 FF. He 21 pressures this year. Comp: Current Commander, Jonathan Allen.
21. TRADE: Kansas City Chiefs (VIA NE) - WR Jameson Williams, Alabama
Chiefs jump ahead of the Packers to get their Tyreek Hill replacement. Williams had a breakout year after transferring to Alabama. He posted 79 catches, 1,572 yards, 19.9 YPC, 15 TDs, and KO TDs. A huge percentage of his catches went for over 30 yards. He had 6 drops. Comp: Slightly bigger than former Raider, DeSean Jackson.
22. Green Bay Packers (VIA LV): WR Chris Olave, Green Bay
The Buckeye holds the school record for receiving TDs (35) and this year he posted 65 catches, 936 yards, and 13 TDs. He had 5 drops. Comp: Current Titan, Robert Woods.
23. Arizona Cardinals: WR Jahan Dotson, Penn State
The Nittany Lion had 91 catches, 1,182 yards, 12 TDs (8th in the country) and only two drops. Comp: Somewhere between current Texan, Brandin Cooks and former Bill, Emmanuel Sanders.
24. Dallas Cowboys: OG Kenyon Green, Texas A&M
The versatile Aggie had 35 career starts at every position along the line of scrimmage. He posted a 79.8 (24th) rating per PFF. Comp: Current Jet, Alijah Vera-Tucker.
25. Buffalo Bills: CB Kaiir Elam, Florida
The Gator had 29 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 6 PBU, and 1 INT. He was targeted 34 times and gave up 19 catches for 191 yards. He had a low PFF rating because he had 7 penalties. Over a 1,000 career snaps in the SEC. Comp: Current Buccaneer, Carlton Davis.
26. Tennessee Titans: OG Zion Johnson, Boston College
The BC Eagle has some impressive stats. He had 49 career starts across multiple positions (at both Davidson and BC). While he’s best at guard, he’s been tagged with only 6 pressures and 1 sack across 2,300 snaps. Comp: Former Patriot and current Buc, Shaq Mason.
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: CB Andrew Booth Jr., Clemson
The Tiger missed a couple of games, but he had 39 tackles, 3 TFL, 5 PBU, and 3 INTs. He gave up 29 catches (on 46 targets) for 312 yards. Comp: Former Giant, Antrel Rolle.
28. Green Bay Packers: OT Bernhard Raimann, Central Michigan
He’s still a little raw for the position with only 18 career starts since his move from TE. He only allowed 10 pressures this year and graded 94.6 (3rd) per PFF. He’ll be almost 25 years old when his rookie year starts. Comp: Former Patriot, Sebastian Vollmer.
29. Kansas City Chiefs (VIA MIA): DE David Ojabo, Michigan
He suffered an Achilles tear at his pro day, but his upside is still tantalizing. Scouts believe he’s just scratching the surface and he had a breakout season with 35 tackles, 12 TFL, 11 sacks, 39 pressures, and 5 FF. Comp: Upside of former Colt, Dwight Freeney.
30. TRADE: New England Patriots (VIA KC) - DB Dax Hill, Michigan
Patriots get picks 30 (1), 62 (2), and 251 (7) in exchange for pick 21.
The nickel corner/safety had 69 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 11 PBU and 2 INTs for the Wolverines. Comp: Current Patriot, Devin McCourty.
31. Cincinnati Bengals: C/G Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa
The highest-rated center by PFF (95.4) in years. He’s only allowed 19 pressures and no sacks across his 35 career starts. Comp: Current Eagle, Jason Kelce.
32. Detroit Lions (VIA LAR): QB Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati
The Bearcat led his team (and the first Group of Five school) to the College Football playoffs. Along the way he accounted for 3,334 yards passing, 30 TDs, 65% completions, and 8 INTs. He had 355 yards and 6 TDs on the ground. Comp: Current Titan, Ryan Tannehill.
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To fill out the Patriots picks I did a full mock draft via The Draft Network. I thought it was important to not just cherry pick my favorites in each round. Some of these guys will be off the board earlier but this is directionally accurate.
I went in with a high-level plan to get the best player available with a tighter focus on certain positions. Some positives (depth at positions that need to be rebuilt and high upside players) and some negatives (no wide receivers and missed on some guys that I really like for the Pats).
Round 1, Pick 21 TRADE BACK WITH KC. Acquire Picks 30, 62, 251
Round 1, Pick 30: DB Dax Hill, Michigan
The versatile defensive back immediately helps the defense and will be the eventual replacement to Patriots Hall of Famer, Devin McCourty.
Round 2, Pick 54: NT Travis Jones, UConn
I was surprised Jones was here and it solves a major need. He’s the second-best nose tackle behind Jordan Davis.
Round 2, Pick 62: LB Chad Muma, Wyoming
I was planning to invest in the offensive line here, but Muma’s value is too hard to pass up. I expect him to be an effective middle linebacker and an NFL starter for a long time.
Round 3, Pick 85: OT Nicholas Petit-Frere, Ohio State
In this scenario the Patriots get lucky. Petit-Frere falls to them. He has first-round traits. While he was good last year, he wasn’t consistent, especially in big games. He’ll require coaching but he could contribute next season.
Round 4, Pick 127: OG Marquis Hayes, Oklahoma
He has tackle size (6-5, 318) with long arms. Physical player that brings the bruises to the battle, but he needs coaching to refine technique.
Round 5: Pick 158: CB Coby Bryant, Cincinnati
Lots of depth starts to come off the board around the 4th round but the Thorpe Award winner was still available. He’s not the perfect scheme fit but he’s a competitive outside corner and that’s where they need some help.
Round 5: Pick 170 LB Damone Clark, LSU
A pick for the 2023 season. A top 5 LB to start this process, Clark was third in the country in tackles (136) and a captain for the LSU Tigers. At the combine, it was discovered that he had a herniated disk and needed spinal infusion surgery. He’s expected to make a full recovery but with likely miss the season.
Round 6: Pick 200: Abram Smith, Baylor
I was targeting Ole Miss RB Jerrion Ealy with this selection, but the board had other ideas. So, I go with Smith, who immediately steps into the Brandon Bolden role. Patriots fans will love his story, he’s the ultimate football player.
Round 6: Pick 210: OL Vederian Lowe, Illinois
Another depth pick for the offensive line. He has started over 50 games in the Big Ten and they love him inside that Illini program. The Patriots will know him better than most because of the connection to head coach, Brett Bielema.
Round 7: Pick 251: OLB Chris Allen, Alabama
He broke his foot in the first game, but he was second-team All-SEC in 2020 and led the conference in TFL. High upside player.