If the Patriots next week look to spend their first-round pick on a wide receiver, Daniel Jeremiah believes they should be wary of one of this year’s top pass-catching prospects.
Receiving help is one of New England’s biggest needs as the 2020 NFL Draft nears. Luckily for Bill Belichick and Co., this year’s class is loaded with WR talent, meaning the Patriots potentially could land a future superstar at No. 23 even after the likes of Jerry Jeudy CeeDee Lamb and Henry Ruggs III are off the board.
Jeremiah thinks Denzel Mims, who’s been suggested as a potential Patriots draft pick, has a chance to achieve such stardom, but the NFL analyst believes the Baylor wideout is among the riskier gambles of players expected to go in the early rounds.
“A very talented wide receiver, but a little bit raw,” Jeremiah said on NFL Network. “You don’t get to see him run the entire route tree, which is true for a lot of these players, but there’s some development that needs to take place there. He’s not the most physical guy in the world. What he is is very athletic, very acrobatic. I think he’s the classic definition of a boom or a bust. I don’t see him being an ordinary receiver. He’s going to be great or he’s going to struggle.”
.@MoveTheSticks and @BuckyBrooks share their 'boom or bust' prospects for the 2020 @NFLDraft ?
?: Path to the Draft pic.twitter.com/lr5xOL9UxJ
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) April 14, 2020
Jeremiah’s evaluation makes it seem as though proper coaching could take Mims to the next level. While New England wasn’t exactly patient over the course of the Tom Brady era when it came to the development of skill-position players, perhaps that will change with the six-time Super Bowl champ out of town.
Should the Patriots select Mims, he effectively would be starting from the same launch point as new starting quarterback Jarrett Stidham, which could help the two develop quick chemistry.
Jeremiah, however, sees New England going defense with its top selection this year.
