NFL draft expert shares which 5 prospects are the most Patriot-type players in the 2023 draft class
NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah also shared which receivers and cornerbacks the Patriots should be most interested in this spring.
Predicting who the Patriots might select in the NFL Draft might be tougher than it was for teams to beat them when they were winning Super Bowls.
NFL Network’s lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah gave somewhat of his best guess as to which prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft are the most “Patriot-type” players in a conference call ahead of the scouting combine.
The first player that came to mind to Jeremiah was Northwestern offensive tackle Peter Skoronski, who is widely regarded as the best offensive tackle in the draft class. The next one was Illinois corner Devon Witherspoon, who is viewed as one of the top prospects at his position in the draft class.
“They value ball skills and instincts and awareness so much in the secondary. He definitely fits in that regard,” Jeremiah said of Witherspoon.
Jeremiah began to list off a few more players. The next that came to mind for him was Georgia Tech linebacker Keion White, who is projected to go in Day 2 of the draft, because of his “versatility” at the line of scrimmage.
“He is almost 6-foot-5, 280 pounds,” Jeremiah said of White. “He could be an edge setter, which they’ve always valued. The physicality to set the edge in the run game.
“Trying to find body types like Willie McGinest going all the way back. It’s hard to find guys that are that big and that strong that can still move. He could be one I would say that would kind of fit that profile. A real smart player as well.”
Jeremiah thought of another highly-touted prospect next: Iowa edge rusher Lukas Van Ness, who is projected to be a first-round pick and might be selected in the top 10.
“Obviously, you have the connection there with Kirk Ferentz and [Bill] Belichick. He is always going to be comfortable with Iowa players, and he is a big, physical defensive lineman who can move inside-outside,” Jeremiah said.
Finally, Jeremiah went a bit outside of the box for the last guy he named, naming North Dakota State offensive tackle Cody Mauch as he recalled the Patriots selecting Cole Strange with their first-round pick last year.
“Versatility, a bunch of different positions, highly tough, highly intelligent, Patriot-type guy,” Jeremiah said of Mauch.
Jeremiah didn’t mention a receiver when listing off the most “Patriot-type” players in the draft — a position that some view as the biggest area they need to address this offseason. Jeremiah agreed with the notion that it’s not a position of strength, saying that none of the receivers they currently have under contract are “dominant or good enough” to play off of.
So, he thinks that the Patriots should draft the best receiver available if that’s what they want to do with the No. 14 overall pick. He mentioned Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba as a possibility, saying he has “good feel” and “works really good in the middle of the field,” which are two areas the Patriots work well with.
But Jeremiah has a different receiver in mind for the Patriots.
“I just would want the best overall guy, and that’s in my opinion Jordan Addison just because I think he is a complete route runner,” Jeremiah said. “I think he gives you bursts and explosiveness to make plays over the top, and I think he has outstanding hands. That to me would be the place that I would go.
“Yeah, you know, it’s one thing if you’ve got a premiere A-1 level player and you are, like, OK, we’ve got to find the complement to this. It’s, like, I don’t know. Substitute is OK there as well. You just need to find the best guy.”
Addison, a 6-foot tall, 175-pound receiver, has been one of the best pass-catchers in college football over the last couple of seasons. He had 100 receptions for 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns at the University of Pittsburgh in 2021 before transferring to USC for the 2022 season. He caught 59 passes for 875 yards and eight touchdowns last season, playing in three fewer games (11) than he did the year before (14).
Defensively, cornerback might be the Patriots’ top need as Jonathan Jones is set to become a free agent. Jeremiah views that position as a much stronger group than receiver in this year’s draft, saying he has 20 corners that have top three round grades.
Jeremiah believes that are a pair of different tiers of prospects at corner that the Patriots can select from with their first-round pick and their second-round pick (No. 46 overall).
“I’ve kind of talked about [a] big three — for me, it’s Witherspoon, [Penn State’s Joey] Porter [Jr.], and [Oregon’s Christian] Gonzalez, whatever order you want to put them in,” Jeremiah said. “ … If you are looking at pick 46, I think [Kelee] Ringo from Georgia is gone. [Deonte] Banks from Maryland is probably gone. You are looking (at) Tyrique Stevenson. You are looking at DJ Turner from Michigan. Jartavius Martin is a nickel from Illinois. He is a really good player. That’s probably like that type of a group. Riley Moss from Iowa maybe a little bit after that. He is going to fly. He is going to run really, really well. Julius Brents from Kansas State.
“Those are just some of the names I would tick off there that I think are really good players. When I talk about those corners carrying top three round grades, I think those guys are all starters. Whether you want to say he is a No. 2 corner, whatever, he is out on the field when the starting line-up rolls out there. I think there’s 20 of those guys.”
In his latest mock draft, Jeremiah has the Patriots selecting Gonzalez. The Oregon product is listed at 6-foot-2 and 201 pounds, running a reported 4.32 40-yard dash. That combination led Jeremiah to call him a “height-weight-speed corner who can play the ball” after recording four interceptions and seven passes defended last season.
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