5 Patriots Draft Needs and Prospect Posits

I’ve finally jumped into the NFL draft with both feet this week, it’s always a fascinating process for me as I pay zero attention to college football or any prospects until now. I think in some ways that kind of unbiased and fresh perspective gives me some advantages, but it’s a lot of work going through all the prospects to get to my Top-50 Big Board for the eighth year.

There are plenty of draft gurus who do this year-round and put up great GIF and play studies. Credit to them because in two months the Pats will have a handful of new guys and everyone else will be someone else’s concern.

Here’s my mock draft/big board accountability chart. The big goal this year is to get back on track by hitting a pick in my mock draft, something I haven’t done in two years after getting at least two in four of the previous five seasons.

Here are 5 early thoughts on some prospects who are getting connected to the Pats a lot.

1. With the big pieces of free agency out of the way, here’s how I’d rank the positional needs, not based on the strengths or weaknesses of this draft class:
   1. Offensive Tackle
   2. Middle Linebacker
   3. Edge – (note: I break down Patriots edge players in three ways. One is the mostly hand-down types who will usually play on the defensive right side. This is Adrian Clayborn, Dietrich Wise. The second is the left side guys who will drop more often, a schematic adjustment that first featured Rob Ninkovich. Last year they put Trey Flowers into that role, but I’m not sure if that’s because he fit there or because they just didn’t have anyone else who could. The third is more of the old 3-4 OLB mold who will primarily play standing up, ala Dont’a Hightower now). As for this current edge need I’d put an athletic player somewhere in between Ninkovich and Hightower as the bigger need. Derek Rivers fits the bill, so I consider him to be an extremely exciting player to watch this summer.
   4. Quarterback
   5. Tight End
2. As Chris Price pointed out on BSJ, UCLA tackle Kolton Miller is currently the most popular mock draft selection for the Patriots and the fit is obvious on paper. Really there are a few tackles that fit pretty well, also including Orlando Brown, Mike McGlinchey and Connor Williams. In most mock drafts all four fall to the middle of the first round before they start to go, usually starting with Arizona at 15 or the Chargers at 17. Of course, this groupthink on Miller means that he’ll be sitting there when the Pats draft and… they’ll trade out fo the spot and watch him get selected by someone else. I will dive deeper into all the tackles, but I think a trade up ala 2012 could make a lot of sense. Brown is especially intriguing to me given how Belichick coached his dad Zeus and was even caught sharing a funny story about him when he was miked up once. He’s a monster of a man. Williams is a bit undersized but has the mad dog fight you’d love to add to the roster. McGlinchey from Notre Dame could be headed for the right side in the NFL. All four are intriguing.
3. Assuming the Pats don’t take a quarterback in the first round, which I wouldn’t entirely rule out, the only real mid-round guy that stands out to me is Kyle Laulette of Richmond. Look, his dad went to Navy and he has all the leadership qualities but his arm strength is a concern. There were similar concerns about Brady’s arm coming out so who knows, but unfortunately, he doesn’t have that clear superlative skill like Jimmy Garoppolo did with his quick release that got me really excited. He’s one to take a closer look at.
4. Leighton Vander Esche always seems to go in the early 20’s of mock drafts so I’m trying really hard not to get attached to him, but he would really fit the bill for what the Patriots’ defense needs at the second level. He’s got really good size at 6’4″ 256 with arms just a shade below 34″, but it’s his athleticism that has me most intrigued. A Luke Kuechly-type player could re-define this defense and while Vander Esche isn’t quite Kuechly, he’s his own unique version that might even fit the Patriots better, especially because with his size they could move him around a bit more. I’m just not holding out hope the Pats are suddenly going to start taking linebackers who are 6’1″, 225 but can run. It’s just never been their preferred style. Again, I’d trade up for Vander Esche.
5. This year’s winner of the Wes Welker–Julian Edelman style boo of Patriots fans has to be SMU slot receiver Trey Quinn. The Pats are stacked at wide receiver but they always seem to take a flyer on a slot guy and with Danny Amendola gone and Julian Edelman getting up there in age and coming off injury, there might be an extra roster spot for someone who can get open quick. Quinn wouldn’t be that guy in 2018 but maybe worth a practice squad flyer to develop him behind the scenes.