The market for NFL receivers has exploded this offseason, with teams willing to trade significant assets and offer massive contracts to land elite wideouts. Because of that, it’s easy to envision the Patriots opting for the draft, in which they could acquire impact receivers on affordable deals.
Yet, during his first press availability, new Patriots director of player personnel director Matt Groh sounded willing to be more aggressive in adding high-end talent.
“I think it was easy to say at a certain point, maybe, in free agency, ‘OK, well, it looks like a lot of these teams are just gonna wait to get a player in the draft, and get a much cheaper (receiver),’ ” Groh said Friday during a virtual conference. “And then, all of a sudden, you saw some of these really big contracts — whether it was Day 2, Day 3, Day 4 — for these wide receivers. And then trades for these wide receivers. Wherever teams can add an instant-impact player, which is what these wide receivers are in the game today, they’re going to do it.
“And you can’t just sit around and wait and hope to get one of these guys in the draft. You’ve got to be proactive about going to get one of them.”
Of course, New England, which signed two free agent receivers last offseason, has made a big move for a wideout this spring. The Patriots recently traded for former Miami Dolphins standout DeVante Parker, who might not be a star but does have a 1,000-yard season under his belt.
“We were in on that early, and it really came together well for us,” Groh said after crediting the mysterious Matt Patricia for his work on the trade. “We’re really excited about having DeVante here.”
As for receivers in this year’s draft, Groh, like many around the NFL, sees the continuation of a recent trend.
“We’ve got another great class of wide receivers this year and I think it’s just gonna keep coming,” he said. “Every year there’s going to be more and more of these guys. So, you’ve got to be prepared to handle those guys, conversely, from the defensive side of the ball as well.”
The Patriots, who hold the No. 21 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, met with a slew of receiver prospects at the scouting combine. Many expect them to select a receiver, though it’s anyone’s guess whether they’ll use a high pick on one.
For what it’s worth: We have New England using a fourth-round pick on a wideout in our latest mock draft.
