Patriots Reporter Nabs First-Round Defender During ESPN’s NFL Mock Draft

The Patriots need to add speed and explosiveness on the defensive side of the ball, as new director of player personnel Matt Groh recently acknowledged, and many analysts have New England doing just that with its first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Patriots reporter Mike Reiss was the latest to do so Tuesday night while taking part in ESPN’s NFL Nation Mock Draft. Reiss, as a handful of others have, selected Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd with New England’s No. 21 overall pick.

“Bill Belichick loves to wheel and deal. He’s made an NFL-high 83 draft-day trades in his Patriots tenure so he very well may look to move this pick,” Reiss said on the ESPN broadcast, hinting at his previously-shared belief of what the Patriots will do.

“But in Lloyd, (Belichick) could duplicate what he did in 2008 when he drafted linebacker Jerrod Mayo in the first round,” Reiss continued. “Linebackers that can play on all three downs are rare, and Lloyd could add speed and athleticism to a defense that needs it.”

Lloyd was selected by the Patriots in four of the 17 mock drafts compiled in NESN’s Patriots mock draft roundup.

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Reiss shared a list of which players were already off the board in ESPN’s mock draft when it came time for the Patriots. Other players that have been linked to New England — Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie, Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams — had been taken. Lloyd, though, was the first linebacker, indicating if it was to play out this way Belichick would have his choice of which linebacker to go with — Georgia’s Nakobe Dean the other likely suitor.

The Patriots currently have 3-to-1 betting prices at DraftKings Sportsbook to select a linebacker with their first pick. Other positions atop the betting sheet include defensive back (+250), defensive lineman (+330) and offensive lineman (+380).

The 2022 NFL Draft is scheduled to kick off Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.