Unless the NFL heeds Peter King’s advice, the Patriots won’t have a first-round pick in the 2016 NFL draft. It’s the price New England was forced to pay for Deflategate.
But that doesn’t mean this year’s draft is irrelevant to New England. As ESPN NFL draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. explained Monday, the Patriots still could fill their most glaring need with their first pick in the second round (No. 60 overall).
“I think it’s a wide receiver,” Kiper told reporters on a conference call Monday when discussing the Patriots’ biggest need in the draft. “They need a true 6-foot-1, 6-foot-2 wide receiver. I think if you look at what they have for the depth at that position, which is OK, not great. The first round is not good at all, but there are some guys that aren’t going to go in the first round that are going be interesting.”
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has a couple of trusted targets in Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski. Danny Amendola also has emerged as an impactful third option. Brandon LaFell and others were inconsistent last season, though, which created major issues for New England’s offense when Edelman, Gronkowski and Amendola battled injuries. The Pats might want to take that into consideration this April.
“I think there’s going to be some really nice options from a true wide receiver standpoint available for the New England Patriots. I think that is what they have to go after,” Kiper said. “They have other needs obviously, but I think a true wide receiver is important.”
So, who exactly could the Patriots target among college wide receivers? It remains to be seen, of course, but Kiper threw out a few intriguing names.
“Braxton Miller, he’s a kind of guy, they like versatile players, (Patriots head coach Bill) Belichick does. Braxton Miller,” Kiper said. “I think another guy to look at would be Leonte Carroo from Rutgers. He could still be there. Michael Thomas, Ohio State, could still be there. Pharoh Cooper, from South Carolina.”
The Patriots don’t have the best track record when it comes to drafting and developing premium wide receivers, so there’s certainly a chance New England could look elsewhere with its first pick in this year’s draft. Receiver is an area that needs to be addressed one way or another, though.
Perhaps Kiper is on to something.
Thumbnail photo via Andrew Weber/USA TODAY Sports Images
