Mel Kiper Jr. has the Patriots taking a pass rusher in his final mock draft
The analyst previously predicted Bill Belichick to take a wide receiver and two different cornerbacks.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. predicts the Patriots to take Nolan Smith at No. 14 in his final mock draft.
The former Georgia Bulldog is ESPN’s No. 2 ranked outside linebacker in this year’s draft. In his analysis, Kiper said “Smith strikes me as exactly the type of edge defender the Patriots would love to have. He could rack up 10 sacks per season for Bill Belichick & Co.”
As a senior, Smith played in just eight games before going down with a torn pectoral muscle.
During his four years, Smith totaled 101 tackles, including 12.5 sacks across 38 games. While he doesn’t have the same counting stats as other edge rushers in his class, he did put up one of the best performances at this year’s NFL Scouting Combine.
He tied for first among all linebackers in the 40-yard-dash (4.39) and 10-yard-split (1.52), and he had the best vertical of any linebacker at 41.5 inches.
The selection of Smith by Kiper differed greatly from his previous predictions for the Patriots.
In his mock from a month ago, he had Bill Belichick taking Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. at No. 14. In two others, he predicted New England to grab Devon Witherspoon and Jaxson Smith-Njigba at the spot.
While Kiper’s pick of Smith breaks the mold of analysts predicting the Patriots to take an offensive tackle, receiver, or corner, he’s not alone in pairing them with an edge rusher in the first round.
On Wednesday, The Washington Post predicted Belichick to go after Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness at No. 14.
The 6-foot-5-inch Van Ness produced 13.5 sacks in just two years playing college ball for the Hawkeyes.
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