Sign up for Patriots updates🏈
Get breaking news and analysis delivered to your inbox during football season.
Why an insider is keeping his eye on Georgia players for Patriots’ top draft pick
The Patriots hold the No. 21 overall pick in April's draft, which offers several top prospects from Georgia.
Naturally, the defending national college football champion has a lot of high-end prospects in the ensuing NFL Draft.
But that isn’t the lone reason why the Monday Morning Quarterback’s Albert Breer is eyeing Georgia players for the Patriots early in the 2022 NFL Draft. On NBC Sports Boston’s “Early Edition,” Breer explained why a relationship between one Patriots staffer and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart could lead to New England taking a Bulldog with its top pick.
“I’d just keep an eye on the Georgia guys,” Breer said. ” … I think the connection sometimes there is overlooked between the Patriots and Georgia coach Kirby Smart. Kirby Smart, of course, was Nick Saban’s defensive coordinator forever and ever and ever [at Alabama].
“And the relationships between Georgia and the Patriots don’t stop there, either. In fact, I can remember a couple of years ago Matt Patricia and Kirby Smart got awfully close because they were helping each other in trading information in the early stages of the pandemic.
Advertisement:
“[Patricia’s] role last year wasn’t unlike the role that [former Patriots executive] Mike Lombardi had. If you remember, Mike Lombardi brought all these ex-Cleveland Browns over – Dion Lewis was one of them. Matt Patricia being in that role gives him a say in personnel. I know he’s going to be doing more coaching this year, but again, for better or worse, Matt Patricia definitely has a voice in the organization. And now, I think [he has a voice] on both sides of the ball.
“We’ve seen how the Patriots in the past have valued their connections to college coaches. They’ve actually leveraged this one, too. If you look at both of their first-round picks in 2018, they were Georgia Bulldogs: Isaiah Wynn and Sony Michel. So, you look at the need to get faster on defense in the front-seven, Georgia can help you there.”
Advertisement:
As Breer mentioned, there’s certainly been a lot of history between the Patriots and Patricia selecting players coached up by Smart. During Smart’s eight-year tenure as Alabama’s defensive coordinator (2008-15), New England selected four players from Smart’s defense, including Dont’a Hightower with one of its first-round picks in 2012.
That connection continued between the Patriots and Smart went to Georiga in 2016, with the Patriots selecting Wynn and Michel in 2018. However, they haven’t taken a Bulldog since then. During Patricia’s three years in Detroit, the Lions selected two Georgia players, including running back D’Andre Swift with an early second-round pick in the 2020 draft.
It’s very reasonable to think that the Patriots could tab another one of Smart’s players to come up to New England later in April. Following a season in which it had one of the best defenses in the history of college football, Georgia offers a lot of premier defensive prospects going into the 2022 NFL Draft – especially at positions of need for the Patriots. Linebacker Nakobe Dean is viewed by experts as one of the top two linebackers in the draft and multiple mock drafts have him going to the Patriots at No. 21. Fellow Georgia linebackers Quay Walker and Channing Tindall could be Day 2 (rounds 2-3) options for New England.
Advertisement:
If the Patriots want to bolster their defensive line with their first-round pick, the Bulldogs also offer multiple options there, too. Defensive end Travon Walker likely won’t be attainable as he could go No. 1 overall, but defensive tackles Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt are viewed as mid-to-late first-round picks. Davis became an internet sensation over the Draft Combine when he ran a 4.78 40-yard dash, which is highly impressive for someone who weighs 341 pounds.
In the secondary, which is arguably the Patriots’ biggest need, Georgia doesn’t offer as many top-end prospects. Safety Lewis Cine is projected to either go at the end of the first round or early in the second, while corner Derion Kendrick isn’t projected to be selected until the middle rounds of the draft.
Georgia also offers multiple prospects on the offensive side of the ball that could end up in New England, such as wide receiver George Pickens. The big-bodied receiver (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) has been projected to go as high as late in the first round, but many evaluators view Pickens as a second-round pick after he missed much of the 2021 season due to a torn ACL.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com