ESPN analyst calls this Day 3 receiver a perfect fit for Patriots
"He is an ultra-competitive receiver and ball carrier who can win in space and play through contact."
The Patriots made one big move to upgrade their receiver room in the past week, trading for Dolphins wideout DeVante Parker. But just because they found the big-bodied “X” receiver they’ve been looking for doesn’t mean they’re done making additions at the position.
New England has Parker, Kendrick Bourne, and Jakobi Meyers under contract for 2022. But Meyers could become an unrestricted free agent next year, and the team is not financially bound to keep either Parker or Bourne for 2023.
With that in mind, the Patriots almost certainly will (and should) draft a receiver to develop behind them. They just might not do it in the first round, and they don’t have to in such a deep class.
In fact, ESPN analyst Matt Bowen highlighted a Day 3 receiver as one of his “best team fits” for the Patriots at the position in this upcoming draft: Boise State’s Khalil Shakir.
“Shakir is an easy fit here because he would add a versatile element to the offense,” Bowen wrote on Friday. “He is an ultra-competitive receiver and ball carrier who can win in space and play through contact, and he can impact the game plan from a variety of alignments/roles. Think of slot targets and getting the ball on reverses, screens and backfield releases.
He would also add special teams value for the Patriots. This is a tough football player who can be schemed as another outlet in the pass game for quarterback Mac Jones or as a hybrid receiver/back with playmaking talent.”
Flip on the highlight reel, and it’s hard not to see why Shakir is seen as a prototypical Patriot. He’s a pure playmaker, hauling in acrobatic, contested catches, lining up all over formations to get the ball in a variety of fashions, and creating extra yards as a tackle-breaking machine.
Though some of his measurables (34.5 vertical, 7.28 3-cone time) won’t wow teams and might make some wonder about whether the Patriots would be interested in him, even as a Day 3 pick, his film suggests he has plenty of speed, quickness and change-of-direction ability to allay concerns about his testing.
Lance Zierlein’s NFL.com draft profile on Shakir lists the do-it-all receiver Antwaan Randle-El as a comp for the young receiver. For Patriots fans, it’s easy to see shades of Julian Edelman in his game.
Bowen further suggests New England could grab him in the fourth round with the No. 127 pick in the draft, which could be a steal for such a versatile, dynamic talent that could fit perfectly with Jones’s skill set.
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