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Draft expert pinpoints which wide receiver prospects are the best fit for Mac Jones, Patriots
By having the No. 21 overall pick, the Patriots have a prime opportunity to select one of the top receivers in the 2022 NFL Draft.
It’s clear that the Patriots have a need at wide receiver this offseason. Luckily for them, it appears the 2022 NFL Draft class is filled with talented receivers.
NFL Network’s top draft expert Daniel Jeremiah has seven wide receivers in his top 50 overall prospects, with six of them ranked in the top 30. With the Patriots holding the No. 21 and No. 54 overall picks in April’s draft, it’s likely that multiple of those top receivers will be available when they’re on the clock.
Speaking to reporters on a conference call ahead of the NFL Draft Combine, Jeremiah shared which receivers in the 2022 draft class he thinks could be a good fit with Mac Jones and the Patriots.
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“The two guys I would keep an eye on with that first-round pick who I think are going to probably come off the board right around there — now, I say that going into the combine know that — [are] Chris Olave from Ohio State and Jahan Dotson from Penn State,” Jeremiah said. “Both these guys are going to run [40-yard dashes] in the 4.3s, so they’re going to fly around in Indy, and maybe that helps elevate them up the board a little bit. But both those guys are pristine route runners with big-time speed, and I think that would give them some play-making ability.
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“Talk about Mac and the deep ball he was able to throw this college. He throws a beautiful touch deep ball. When you got guys that can get over the top, takeoffs, posts, double moves, things like that, that what’s Olave and Jahan Dotson can do. I think Dotson for me, I think he has the best hands in the draft. He really attacks the football. He’s got outstanding ability to adjust. He can catch it back hip, above the rim. You name it, he can do it. So he’s a really intriguing player to me.
“Both these guys, I think the reason why they would be there in the 20s is because of the play strength question. Both of them are going to be under 190 pounds, and you just wish they were a little bit physically stronger. But I think both of them, they come off the board in that range.”
Both Olave and Dotson were among the top receivers in the Big 10 in the past couple of seasons. Olave stood out in the Buckeyes’ stacked receivers’ room by catching 65 passes for 936 yards in 2021 with 13 touchdowns. Olave made his name by getting into the end zone a lot, averaging more than a touchdown reception per game over the last three seasons and breaking David Boston’s record for the most receiving touchdowns in Ohio State history.
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After he recorded 52 receptions for 884 yards with eight touchdowns in 2020, Dotson had 91 receptions for 1,182 yards with 13 total touchdowns in 2021 — earning him first-team All-American honors.
In his latest mock draft, Jeremiah has Olave going 17th to the Chargers while Dotson remained unselected in the first round. He actually doesn’t have the Patriots picking a receiver. Instead, he has them selecting Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd.
But Olave and Dotson aren’t the only receivers Jeremiah can envision the Patriots selecting with the No. 21 overall pick.
“The other one in the first round…[is] Jameson Williams from Alabama, because in a world where he doesn’t get hurt, he’s a top-10 pick,” Jeremiah said. “But coming off of a [torn] ACL you would think there would be a full recovery there, and that could end up being — man, it could end up being a tremendous value for somebody towards the bottom of the first round if he ends up sliding down there.”
Williams burst onto the scene with the Crimson Tide in 2021 after transferring from Ohio State. He had 79 receptions and had SEC-bests in receiving yards (1,572) and receiving touchdowns (15). Williams consistently made big plays too as his 19.9 yards per reception were also the best in the conference. A couple of mock drafts actually have the Patriots selecting Williams with their first-round pick.
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As Jeremiah mentioned though, he tore his ACL in January, leading decision-makers to wonder if he’ll be ready in time for training camp before drafting him. Unlike Olave and Dotson, Williams has good height at 6-foot-2.
If the Patriots opt to not select a receiver in the first round, like Jeremiah predicts, Jeremiah has his eyes on a couple other receivers for New England in the following rounds.
“A couple other guys that I think are kind of like Patriot-type players, Skyy Moore from Western Michigan. Probably going to go in the second or third round, but he’s got some — maybe it’s just the MAC thing, but I saw some Antonio Brown traits from him when you studied him, minus some of the newer Antonio Brown info.
“But that dude with just eat cushion, he’s really dynamic and crisp. The Patriots love guys like that. He’s quicker than a hiccup. Just puts guys in a blender. Just really fun to watch.
“Then an outside guy that gets some steam is Christian Watson North Dakota State who is 6-foot-4, 211 pounds. Had an awesome week down there at the Senior Bowl, and he’s going to run really fast, as well. And actually was a more fluid and smooth route runner down in Mobile than maybe you anticipated off the tape.”
Both Moore and Watson had impressive seasons in 2021. Moore had 95 receptions for 1,292 yards and 10 touchdowns while Watson had 43 receptions for 800 yards and seven touchdowns.
Watson was viewed by many experts and scouts as one of the “winners” from the Senior Bowl, which took place earlier in February. The North Dakota State product actually spoke to the Patriots during the week-long showcase in Mobile, Alabama, too.
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“I followed Mac Jones in college. Obviously, he’s a prime-time quarterback,” Watson said when asked what he likes about the Patriots, via The Boston Globe’s Jim McBride.
If the Patriots do address their receiver need in the early rounds of the 2022 draft, Jeremiah believes there are several good options.
“It’s a great wide receiver draft,” Jeremiah said. “I feel like we could copy and paste the comments on wide receivers and use it for the next 20 years, because the college game is giving us a ton of these guys every year.”
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