After a Strange first round for the Patriots in the NFL Draft, New England will reset its draft board with ten selections in the last two days of the draft.
Although Bill Belichick threw a curveball at us on Thursday night, we’re not ready to give up hope that our Patriots Big Board will hit on a few prospects over the last six rounds this weekend.
Following a trade with the Chiefs on day one, the Patriots currently have ten picks on the final two days of the draft, including three more selections in the top-100 and two fourth-round picks.
With 32 players off the board, including Cole Strange at 29th overall to the Patriots, here are the best available players who we see as Patriots fits on day two of the NFL Draft:
Dean will be an interesting case study for where the Pats are heading on defense. At 229 pounds, Dean was the third player in history to win the Butkus Award for the nation’s top linebacker in both college and high school. His feel for navigating blocks and lateral mobility to dodge bigger bodies in the box makes him look like Neo in the Matrix. Dean might not forcefully take on a blocker, but his play speed and agility allow him to stay clean to make plays on the ball. In coverage, Dean gives the defense another box safety. He can carry inside pass-catchers vertically, match shiftier players on horizontal cuts, and play both from a linebacker alignment and over the slot. There are also intriguing reps as an interior blitzer and QB spy. Dean’s body type is a complete departure from Belichick’s typical mold, but as we saw last season, that might be necessary, and Dean has the chase-down speed to keep up with new-age offenses.
The Clemson product has the best feet of any cornerback in this year’s draft. Booth’s movements in coverage are quick and explosive, leading to tremendous displays of closing burst and downfield plays on the ball. Best of luck trying to throw a screen to his side of the field because he’s coming downhill in a blur to stop the ball carrier in their tracks. In deeper coverage opportunities, he’s seen making one-handed interceptions and cleanly sifting through threats in his zone coverage assignments. Although he doesn’t have as much experience in press-man as others, his foot speed, and hip transitions lead to some great reps. After the season, Booth had double sports hernia surgery, which held him out of pre-draft workouts, and he wasn’t always consistent with his man technique. But he has shutdown traits on the outside. My pro comparison for Booth is Packers Pro Bowler Jaire Alexander.
Raimann is a very sticky blocker, using good balance and body control to stay connected to defenders throughout the rep, and he seldom falls off blocks. He also redirects and strides out of his stance with ease to mirror pass-rushers. The one concern you have with Raimann is his age (25-year-old rookie) and too many quick losses around his edge. But he has picked up the position surprisingly fast for a player with only 18 career starts under his belt.
As a three-year starter for Nick Saban, the Pats will be familiar with Harris. With the Patriots stating they need to get faster on defense, Harris is an explosive player both east-to-east and north-south, whether he’s chasing running backs or quarterbacks. He packs a heavier punch-and-shed technique than you’d expect for a 226-pound linebacker and easily follows running backs into gaps with his lateral movements. He’ll sometimes get lost in coverage, but none of his statistical shortcomings in that phase are due to physical limitations.
Ojabo’s Achilles injury during his Pro Day was an absolute bummer. You feel for him and hope he can get back to where he was pre-injury, which was a high-impact edge rusher with top-20 value. Ojabo’s first-step explosiveness, length, and flexibility made it easy for him to turn the corner on tackles last season. He also pairs his speed rush with a hesitation move, spin move, and dip-rip finisher to keep tackles off-balance. He has the length and leveraging technique to post up on the edge as a run defender. Unfortunately, he’ll sit out his rookie season, which makes this pick less likely for New England since the Pats need draft picks to make an immediate impact. Still, they could decide the talent is worth it in the second round.
After creating 325 pounds worth of buzz in Mobile, Jones has nailed the pre-draft process. The UConn product generates legitimate knock-back power with good explosiveness out of his stance and tremendous upper-body strength. He can control the line of scrimmage as a natural two-gapper at nose tackle or shaded into the A-Gap. But where he really made himself some money was during Senior Bowl one-on-one’s where he made a statement to teams that he could provide value as an interior pass-rusher. If the Pats want to beef up their D-Line, Jones fits the bill.
The age-old debate between athletic profiles versus tape takes us to one of the best pure coverage players in the draft. McCreary is incredibly sticky in man coverage and held his own against the top wide receivers in the SEC as a shutdown corner for the Tigers. McCreary has the smoothest hip transitions out of all the corners in this class and ideal foot quickness to stay glued to receivers consistently through the break point. However, most teams have him off their board due to his 28 7/8-inch arms (zero percentile). The Auburn product will either be the steal of the draft on day two or a limited pro due to a lack of length and long speed to play on the outside. At the very least, we are willing to bet on McCreary as a starting-caliber slot corner.
With the Patriots searching for potential Kyle Van Noy replacements, Mafe checks the necessary boxes to play Van Noy’s role in their system. The Minnesota product uses a speed-to-power rushes and an effective chop move to dent the pocket, has the girth and playing strength to set the edge against the run, and was very impressive dropping into coverage off the line of scrimmage. Due to an unconventional square stance, Mafe wasn’t presented with many opportunities to turn the corner as a pass rusher and would take false steps out of his two-point stance. As a result, he’ll need some seasoning, and the production might not immediately be there. But Mafe is one of a few edge rushers in this class who fits the KVN mold for the Patriots.
Gordon is oozing with cover talent just like his teammate Trent McDuffie. In some ways, Gordon’s profile suggests that he will be a better playmaker at the next level than McDuffie. He has better length and similarly good closing burst to clamp down at the catch point. But he’s not as refined as McDuffie is as a tackler in the open field, and he’ll have some issues finding the football with his back to the quarterback. Still, Gordon has the foot quickness, size, and ball skills to develop into a starting outside corner in New England’s scheme.
After clocking a 4.41-second 40-yard dash at the combine, Moore has an ideal blend of route-running technique and speed. Although his agility testing wasn’t as quick, my pro comparison for Moore is still Julian Edelman. The Western Michigan product threatens defensive backs in the initial stages of his routes, releases, and stems, then carries the football after the catch, which is reminiscent of Edelman. Moore ran a vertical route tree for the Broncos with three and five-step slants feeding into vertical routes. But he moves like JE11. On film, Moore is also quicker than his timed agility drills suggest. If the Pats can line up the board to get their hands on Moore, he’d make an immediate impact.
Best remaining continued
11. WR John Metchie, Alabama
12. WR Christian Watson, NDSU
13. WR George Pickens, Georgia
14. DT Phidarian Mathis, Alabama
15. DL Perrion Winfrey, Oklahoma
16. LB Leo Chanel, Wisconsin
17. LB Chad Muma, Wyoming
18. WR Alec Pierce, Cincinnati
19. DB Jalen Pitre, Baylor
20. LB Troy Andersen, Montana St.
21. WR Wan’Dale Robnson, Kentucky
22. IOL Jamaree Salyer, Georgia
23. LB Darrian Beavers, Cincinnati
24. CB Zyon McCollum, Sam Houston State
25. WR Khalil Shakir, Boise State
26. OT Daniel Faalele, Minnesota
27. CB Martin Emerson, Mississippi State
28. DE Josh Paschal, Kentucky
29. LB Channing Tindall, Georgia
30. LB Brandon Smith, Penn State
31. CB Tariq Woolen, UTSA
32. EDGE Nik Bonitto, Oklahoma
33. CB Marcus Jones, Houston
34. OL Sean Rhyan, UCLA
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