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19 prospects Patriots fans can keep an eye on during the NFL Draft Scouting Combine
The Patriots will likely have to address needs at wide receiver, linebacker, and cornerback this offseason.
The Patriots, among every other NFL team, will get an up-close and personal look at over 300 prospects at this week’s NFL Draft Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
Before free agency begins, most experts believe New England has three needs it needs to address: Wide receiver, linebacker, and cornerback. The Patriots will have a strong opportunity to address those needs in the draft as each position group has several strong prospects this year. New England holds its own pick in each of the first four rounds (No. 21, 54, and 85th overall picks in the first three rounds).
With the premier prospect showcase event beginning on Tuesday and running through March 8, let’s take a look at which prospects at positions of need Patriots fans can keep an eye on.
Wide Receiver
NFL Network’s lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah recently pinpointed five receivers that fit the Patriots’ mold who could be selected in the first few rounds of the draft. Ohio State’s Chris Olave is the premier name of the group. Olave was a touchdown machine in college, hauling in 35 of them over his four-year career to break David Boston’s Ohio State record. In 2021, he caught 65 passes for 936 yards and 13 touchdowns, managing to stand out in a loaded Buckeyes receivers’ room. Jeremiah ranks Olave 26th on his big board and expects him to run a 40-yard dash in the 4.3 range this week.
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The other big name that Jeremiah mentioned as a fit for the Patriots that will participate in the combine this week is Penn State’s Jahan Dotson. The All-American had 91 receptions for 1,182 yards and 12 touchdowns this past season. Jeremiah ranks Dotson 27th on his big board and like Olave, he expects him to run his 40-yard dash in the 4.3 range. In addition, Jeremiah said recently that he thinks Dotson has the best hands out of all the receivers in this year’s draft class.
The two non-premier names Jeremiah brought up for the Patriots were Western Michigan’s Skyy Moore and North Dakota State’s Christian Watson. Both are currently projected to be Day 2 picks (second and third rounds), and Watson actually spoke with Patriots scouts at the Senior Bowl earlier in February. Moore and Watson bring different things to the table. Moore, who stands at 5-foot-10, is viewed as more of a middle-of-the-field kind of threat, catching 95 passes for 1,292 yards this past season. Watson, who stands at 6-foot-4, is viewed as more of an outside threat, catching 43 passes for 800 yards and 10 touchdowns in 11 games this past season.
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Alabama’s Jameson Williams was the fifth receiver Jeremiah brought up, but he won’t be able to participate at the combine after he tore his ACL in January’s National Championship Game. He’s expected to be a first-round pick.
Arkansas’s Treylon Burks could perform his way out of the Patriots’ pick range (if he already hasn’t) at the combine this week. After putting up 1,104 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in 2021, Burks is viewed as one of the top receivers in this draft class due to his size (6-foot-3) and speed (one expert projects his 40-yard time to be in the 4.3 range). He has been projected to go from anywhere between the top 10 to late in the first round in mock drafts.
Purdue’s David Bell would make sense as a potential Day 2 pick for the Patriots. He played on the outside and in the slot in college, which helped him record two 1,000-plus receiving yard seasons at Purdue (he was on pace for a third in the COVID-shortened 2020 season). Bell was more of a high-usage receiver, catching 93 passes in 2021, and had 21 receiving touchdowns over 29 games in his college career. He also has good size, standing at 6-foot-2.
Linebackers
Two of the more popular picks for the Patriots so far in mock drafts have been Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean and Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd.
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Dean was an integral part of Georgia’s historic defense, which led the way to its first national in over 40 years this past season. He recorded 72 combined tackles (10.5 for loss), six sacks, and two interceptions, good enough to earn him first-team All-American honors.
Dean might not have the size of a Bill Belichick linebacker (the Patriots have usually acquired linebackers who are 6-foot-2 and taller and Dean is only 6-feet tall), but his speed made up for it in college. He ran an unofficial 4.52 40-yard dash while at Georgia, which would’ve made him one of the three quickest inside linebackers in the 2021 NFL Draft class. How fast he runs the 40-yard dash in Indy will be of great intrigue.
Lloyd was just as impressive as Dean this past season, recording 111 total tackles (22 for loss), seven sacks, four interceptions, and a forced fumble. Lloyd’s dominant season earned him Defensive Player of the Year honors for the Pac-12. Standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 235 pounds, Lloyd definitely fits the Patriots’ size mold more than Dean.
Belichick has gone to his old friend Nick Saban for linebackers multiple times in previous drafts. Alabama has another linebacker prospect that could be of intrigue in Christian Harris.
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Harris had a productive junior season in 2021. He had 80 total tackles (11.5 for loss), 5.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles on a Crimson Tide defense that reached the National Championship Game again. He has good size (6-foot-2, 232 pounds), but Pro Football Focus noted that Harris gave up nearly 1,000 yards in pass coverage over the past two seasons. He’s currently projected to be a second-round pick.
Another linebacker projected to go in after the first round who the Patriots could select is Wyoming’s Chad Muma, who was a tackle machine this past season. He recorded 142 total tackles (eight for loss) were the most in the FBS in 2021. He also had 1.5 sacks and three interceptions.
Muma also has good size, standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 242 pounds. With size and a strong season already working for him, Muma could work his way up draft boards with a strong combine this week. Muma also wouldn’t be the first Wyoming linebacker to be drafted by the Patriots, who selected Cassh Maluia in the 2020 draft.
Dean isn’t the only Georgia linebacker who’ll be selected in the 2022 draft. Quay Walker could be a Day 2 pick, and unlike Dean, he has a really big size with a 6-foot-4 height and weighs 240 pounds.
Walker wasn’t as dominant as Dean this past season, but still had a good year. He had 65 total tackles (5.5 for loss) and 1.5 sacks in 2021.
ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid told Patriots reporter Mike Reiss that LSU’s Damone Clark should also be someone to watch for New England. Clark, who stands at 6-foot-2 and weighs 240 pounds, was also a tackling machine this past season, recording 135 total tackles (15 for loss), 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and an interception. Clark appears to be a Day 2 pick as of now.
Cornerbacks
Whether they keep J.C. Jackson or not, the Patriots will likely need to address their cornerback situation in some way this offseason. This year’s draft class provides several possibilities.
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Washington’s Kyler Gordon was recently projected to go to the Patriots in Todd McShay’s mock draft. Gordon’s been touted for his athleticism, standing at 6-feet tall and weighing 200 pounds. He played both outside and nickel at Washington this past season, in which he had two interceptions and seven passes defended.
Even more impressive, Gordon didn’t allow a single touchdown over 722 career coverage snaps, per PFF. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein also complements Gordon’s ability to be a run blitzer, which could help whoever picks him to seal the edge defensively.
Gordon’s teammate, Trent McDuffie, is also projected to go in the first round. While a smidge smaller than Gordon (5-foot-11, 195 pounds), McDuffie is viewed as the superior prospect. He allowed just 16 catches on 36 targets for 111 yards with five pass breakups this past season, according to PFF. He also didn’t allow a touchdown. McDuffie is already viewed to go in the teens in some mock drafts, so a strong combine could knock him out of the Patriots’ range.
Clemson’s Andrew Booth has also been linked to the Patriots in the first round of some mock drafts. He has the exact same size as Gordon and is viewed as a press and zone corner. Booth recorded three picks and five interceptions this past year, but opposing quarterbacks were able to complete most of their passes when they targeted him. He gave up 29 catches on 46 targets for 312 yards this past season.
Looking at potential Day 2 picks, Florida’s Kaiir Elam and Auburn’s Roger McCreary stand out as possible picks for the Patriots. Elam, who’s 6-foot-2 and 196 pounds, is viewed by scouts as a player that’s strong in coverage (allowed 19 catches on 36 targets with a pick last season) but not a good tackler.
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McCreary, who’s smaller at 5-foot-11 and 189 pounds, was targeted a lot last season. But he gave up just 34 receptions on 75 targets and had two interceptions plus 14 passes defended. With his short wingspan being one of the things preventing him from being viewed as a first-round prospect, McCreary is hoping to run a 4.3 40-yard dash at the combine this week.
Another pair of corner prospects from familiar schools who could go in Day 2 or 3 are Georgia’s Derion Kendrick and Alabama’s Jalyn Armour-Davis. Both players were able to create turnovers this past season, with Kendrick recording four picks and Armour-Davis recording three in his first season as a starter. Kendrick, on the other hand, was a starter at Clemson for three seasons before transferring to Georgia prior to the 2021 season.
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