The New England Patriots have their highest (and most important) draft pick since 1993 in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft and have a number of needs to address. While fans are salivating at the idea of upgrading the quarterback position after the “Mac Mistake,” the team has multiple needs on both sides of the football.
Besides quarterback, New England has a gaping hole at left tackle, lacks a number one receiver, needs to develop a young tight end, needs depth on the defensive line and cornerback, and still has not adequately replaced Devin McCourty at strong safety after his retirement after the 2022 season.
With eight draft picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Patriots are in a position to address many of these roster deficiencies. However, New England’s front office–led by acting general manager Eliot Wolf–should at least consider trading down and accumulating more draft picks.
With that in mind, my first mock draft is here. As in previous years, the ProFootballNetwork.com mock draft engine. The application allows the user to make trades, and it also suggests trades as part of the simulation.
Without further ado, here is my New England Patriots mock draft 1.0.
MOCK DRAFT 1.0:
Round 1 – Pick #3 overall: TRADE ALERT
The Chicago Bears selected Caleb Williams first overall and the Washington Commanders selected Jayden Daniels second overall.
Tradedown: New England trades pick #3 to Tennessee for picks #7, #38, and a 2025 fifth-round pick
The Patriots need to add athleticism and impact players on both sides of the football. The only way to ensure that is to collect more picks. Moving down to seventh overall should give the Patriots one of the top-four quarterbacks and secures them another second-round draft pick this year.
It may be an unpopular move with the fans and media, but it is the right move.
Round 1 – Pick #7 overall: Drake Maye, QB – North Carolina
This is the dream scenario for New England. The Patriots move down and pick-up a second-round draft pick and Maye is still sitting there after the Titan pick OT Joe Alt and then three wide receivers come off the board with picks four, five and six.
Maye measured in at six-foot-four and 223 lbs at the NFL combine. He’ll turn 22 years old prior to the season starting and has a cannon for an arm. He can make any throw and has surprising agility and quickness for a player his size.
His statistics fell off after a stellar 2022 season, but he still displayed all the traits of a successful pro-ready quarterback. He can be a bit reckless, but with Alex Van Pelt leading the offense in New England now and his attached-at-the-hip quarterback coach T.C. McCartney running the offense, there is a structure in place for the development of Maye.
Denver, Dallas and Las Vegas made attempts to trade-up, but going back past the Vikings at eleventh overall eliminates any chance of getting a quarterback in the first round. At that point, the Patriots may as well trade all the way back or out of the first round, draft Bo Nix or Michael Penix, and take another shot at quarterback next year.
Round 2 – Pick #34 overall: Tyler Guyton, LT – Oklahoma
As expected, a run on wide receivers and tackles took place at the end of the first round.
LSU receiver Brian Thomas Jr. went at 20th overall to Pittsburgh, Arizona tackle Jordan Morgan went off the board at 25th overall to Green Bay. Texas wide receivers Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Worthy went at 30th and 32nd overall to Baltimore and Kansas City, with BYU tackle Kingsley Suamataia snagged by San Francisco at 31st overall.
The second round started with Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey going to Carolina. That limits the options for New England at 34th overall.
Top targets on offense include Oklahoma tackle Tyler Guyton, Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman, Oregon wide receiver Troy Franklin, South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette, and Houston tackle Patrick Paul.
Non-desperately needed positions such as center (Graham Barton from Duke and Zach Frazier from West Virginia), guard (Christian Haynes from UConn), quarterback (Oregon’s Bo Nix), and defensive players such as Minnesota safety Tyler Nubin, edge rushers Darius Robinson from Missouri and Adisa Isaac from Penn State, and cornerbacks T.J. Tampa from Iowa State, Max Melton from Rutgers, and Ennis Rakestraw from Missouri.
I have a first round grade on Guyton and he’s a potential left tackle of the future. He has the size (six-foot-seven) and athletic tools to fill a major hole on the offensive line. However, he is very raw having only 15 starts. In addition, he has primarily played on the right side of the line.
Guyton would not be ready to start immediately, but he has the potential to be a long-term solution.
Round 2 – Pick #38 overall (From Tennessee): Max Melton, CB – Rutgers
Trading back netted this additional second-round pick from the Titans, and the temptation to trade back again and accumulate more picks has to be considered. However, the offers received are nothing the Patriots would bite at to move out of the top-forty picks.
After drafting Guyton, cornerback T.J. Tampa, edge rusher Adisa Isaac and wide receiver Keon Coleman were drafted by Arizona, Washington and Buffalo (the Bills had traded out of the first round with the Chargers).
The best value are the interior offensive linemen on the board, but this is a situation where the Patriots cannot pass up on reaching and filling one of their important needs. Wide receiver needs an influx of talent as well as cornerback.
Roman Wilson from Michigan is my top-rated wide receiver, but he is a smaller slot receiver. New England has Demario Douglas, Juju Smith-Schuster and Kendrick Bourne all are better in the slot than outside, just like Wilson. This is not a good fit and wide receiver may be for next round.
At cornerback, another undersized Michigan player tops my rankings. Mike Sainristil is an undersized slot cornerback. However, New England has the dynamic slot cornerback Marcus Jones returning from injury and Jonathan Jones has played better in the slot compared to on the outside. The need at cornerback is another outside corner to line up opposite last year’s first-round draft pick, Christian Gonzalez.
T.J. Tampa (Iowa State) and Kamri Lassiter (Georgia) are the top choices at outside cornerback, but both have good size and lack high-end speed.
One cornerback that has grown on me since the end of the season is Rutgers’ Max Melton. Melton. He has adequate size and has experience inside and outside, playing press-man and in zone. He ran a sub-4.40 at the combine and his best trait is his instincts to play the ball and has consistently been able to make plays.
An off-field arrest for a paintball gun incident a few years ago may ding him, but he served his team suspension and has seemed to learn his lesson. Speed, size, toughness and ball skills make Melton a fit on the outside and someone who could slide into a starting role before the end of the season.
Round 3 – Pick #68 overall: TRADE ALERT
Another trade-down? Sorry, but Denver was looking to trade-up and offered the 147th overall pick to move down eight slots. This is the type of trade that the Patriots need to accept to add additional picks.
There was one player on my board that would have prevented the trade-down, but Western Kentucky’s Malachi Corley went off the board at 67th overall to Washington. I liked Ricky Pearsall, the Florida receiver there, as well, but the decision to trade took him off the board as Miami grabbed him with a pick they got from Arizona in a trade back in the first round.
Round 3 – Pick #76 overall (from Denver): Devontez Walker, WR – North Carolina
OK, this has to be wide receiver time.
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Running back Jonathan Brooks from Texas is probably the best value at this point of the draft, but there is no way New England can add to a position with an above-average starter (Rhamondre Stevenson) and veteran back-up (Antonio Gibson) already in place. Also, Kevin Harris showed flashes of talent in his limited play late last season.
Other options are linebackers such as North Carolina’s Cedric Gray, Clemson’s Jeremiah Trotter and Kentucky’s Trevin Wallace, safeties Cole Bishop fro Utah and Javon Bullard from Georgia, and Boston College guard Christian Mahogany.
I had Malik Washington at the top of my wide receiver rankings at this point, but another slot receiver at this point of the draft seems counter-productive. As indicated earlier, New England has Demario Douglas, Juju Smith-Schuster and Kendrick Bourne all are better in the slot than outside, just like Wilson.
Devontez Walker, a wide receiver who played with Drake Maye at North Carolina last season after transferring from Kent State, is next on my list. He is tall and long with excellent speed (4.39 forty time at combine) and great work getting downfield to make big plays in the vertical passing game.
With his familiarity with Maye, even if only one season at North Carolina, it only adds to his fit in New England. His ability to stretch the field and catch radius makes him a good fit in the Alex Van Pelt offense being brought to New England.
Round 4 – Pick #103 overall: TRADE ALERT
Denver, who should be moving back and accumulating picks, is burning up the phone lines to move up in this simulation. Well, that sounds like business as usual with head coach Sean Payton. They offered picks 121 (fourth round) and 136 (first pick of the fifth round) for this pick and a future seventh-round pick. That is far too tempting to pass up.
Round 4 – Pick #121 overall from Denver: Dylan Laube, RB – New Hampshire
So, after explaining all this time why New England doesn’t need a running back, I pick a running back.
OK, so Laube isn’t a typical running back. Laube is a third-down running back who wowed at the Senior Bowl with his receiving ability. After playing at a small school, UNH, he brings the ability to line up as a running back and in the slot. Comparisons to Danny Woodhead should excite the New England faithful.
Whatever the position or role, Laube is a pass catcher who can also return kicks and punts and has electric footwork and ability to make tacklers miss. He profiles as the type of player who can make life easier for a young quarterback, and isn’t that exactly what New England should be looking for in the draft?
Round 5 – Pick #136 overall from Denver: Theo Johnson, TE – Penn State
With back-to-back picks to kick off the fifth round, the Patriots can continue to fill some holes on the roster. First up, the tight end position. While this draft lacks top-end talent outside of Brock Bowers (who will likely go in the top ten picks), there is value in the middle rounds.
I was surprised to see Theo Johnson still on the board at the start of the fifth round. With an expectation he would be among the top-100 picks, he fills a need with no young developing tight ends on the roster behind starter Hunter Henry and one-year rental Austin Hooper.
Round 5 – Pick #137 overall : Khyree Jackson, CB – Oregon
Time to double-dip at a position of need. Jackson is an interesting prospect as he will be 25 years old by the time the regular season starts. He didn’t play football for two years before returning and playing two years at community colleges before being recruited to Alabama. Buried on the depth chart, he transferred to Oregon and led the team in interceptions and passes defended.
He has excellent length and experience playing press-man on the outside. Standing at six-foot-three and is a solid 200 lbs, he has the size and strength to lock-up taller and athletic NFL wide receivers. He is athletic and ran a 4.50 forty time at the combine. His age and lack of experience make him a work in progress. However, this is the type of player who could pay big dividends down the road.
Round 5 – Pick #147 overall from Denver: Matt Goncalves, OT – Pittsburgh
Goncalves started at left and right tackle for four years at Pitt. He stands six-foot-six and weighs in at 320 lbs. He should have been in the draft last year but returned to school instead. Unfortunately, a foot injury limited him to just three games last season.
Some scouts see Goncalves as a tackle and others see his future as a guard. His versatility (he worked at guard and center as a back-up in practices at Pitt. This versatility adds to his value and gives New England a potentially valuable depth option.
Round 6 – Pick #180 overall: Tanner McLachlan, TE – Arizona
Another lucky break at tight end for New England, as Tanner McLachlan inexplicably is on the board early in the sixth round. McLachlan was a consideration at #147 and is not rated much lower than Theo Jackson.
McLachlan could drop due to being a super senior and being 25 years old. A transfer from Southern Utah, he is a big and smooth tight end. He is six-foot-five and is light for a tight end at just 244 lbs.
However, he needs to tighten up his route-running and blocking. That said, his hands and ability to be a stretch tight end as a Y makes him a unique threat missing in New England’s offense for some time.
Also, the Patriots had some good luck with an Arizona tight end in the past. Why not grab another here?
Round 6 – Pick #193 overall: Jalen Coker, WR – Holy Cross
Am I biased for FBS schools in New England? One would think with a pick from New Hampshire and now Holy Cross.
Coker is a developmental pick at outside wide receiver with NFL size but needing to take a step-up In the level of competition. Going from the Patriot league to the NFL is a big step, but expecting a sixth-round draft pick to step in and play in the NFL is asking a lot.
Coker is long, big-bodied and has great hands. His foot speed and route-running is solid, even if he lacks straight-line speed (he ran a 4.57 forty at the combine). He did play well when Holy Cross played top competition, but make no mistake, he is a project.
At this point of the draft, rolling the dice on a project is well worth the pick.
Round 7 – Pick #231 overall: Mark Perry, S – TCU
Free safety is a sneaky need, as New England really never replaced Devin McCourty at the position.
Perry played at Colorado before transferring to TCU for his last two seasons of college. He has the ability to play deep centerfield. He has good speed (he ran a 4.40 forty at the combine) and could contribute by the end of the season as a dime defender.
DRAFT WRAP-UP:
A trade-down in the first round and still getting Maye as the quarterback of the future is the type of move that New England can only hope to have available on draft night. I personally would prefer Jayden Daniels, but Maye has a high ceiling and fits well in offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt’s offense.
In this mock draft, I was able to double-up at the priority positions of offensive tackle, wide receiver, cornerback and tight end. A receiving back and free safety leaves New England upgrading those positions of need as well.
A solid draft, not one that is going to have a huge impact in 2024, but definitely one with an eye for the future.