DeAndre Hopkins, Arthur Brown, Logan Ryan Among Top 10 Potential Patriots First-Round Picks in 2013 NFL Draft

by Doug Kyed on Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 11:33AM

Are you at a loss for who to mock to the Patriots in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft? Look no further, we’ve got the Top 10 potential Patriots in this year’s draft class.

The Patriots’ biggest needs in 2013 are at wide receiver and cornerback. Wes Welker, Julian Edelman and Deion Branch are all free agents and Brandon Lloyd is no guarantee to return next season. At corner, Aqib Talib and Kyle Arrington are free agents, and it appears that Devin McCourty has made the permanent switch to safety.

Of course, those outside positions are not the only needs the Patriots have. Sebastian Vollmer is also a free agent, and New England must decide if the reward outweighs the risk that his constant back issues present. There are positions all over New England that can be improved, and if the right player falls, the Patriots have never been one to stray from the “best player available” approach.

There are certain players in this draft, like West Virginia wide receiver Tavon Austin and Rutgers cornerback Logan Ryan, that already looked like Patriots on their college tapes. There are other guys like Clemson wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and Kansas State linebacker Arthur Brown that excel in areas that the Patriots desperately need.

It’s always tough to predict what the Patriots are going to do in the first round (if they don’t trade out, of course), but these are the Top 10 players we could see holding up a Patriots jersey come April 25.