The New England Patriots’ aversion to using first-round draft picks on wide receivers is no secret.
Since Bill Belichick arrived in 2000, the Patriots famously have selected a wideout in Round 1 just once: N’Keal Harry at No. 32 overall in 2019. They’ve preferred to use other avenues to construct their receiving corps, primarily relying on veteran additions and Day 3 fliers.
But while receiver is the most notable example of New England eschewing a particular position in the NFL draft’s opening round, it’s not the only one. It also has largely ignored one of the highest-profile defensive spots during that range.
Under Belichick, the Patriots have used exactly one first-round selection on a cornerback, and that came more than a decade ago. They drafted Devin McCourty 27th overall out of Rutgers in 2010, then shifted the surefire Patriots Hall of Famer to safety three years later.
The similarities between the two positions end there, as the Patriots haven’t been shy about swinging (and, almost invariably, missing) on corners in the second round. They’ve taken six total in Round 2, including the unfortunate trio of Cyrus Jones (60th overall), Duke Dawson (56th) and Joejuan Williams (45th) in a four-year span from 2016 to 2019. But on Day 1, it’s been McCourty and McCourty alone.
Many expect the Patriots to veer from that established blueprint this week.
After lacking quality cornerback depth last season and then losing Pro Bowler J.C. Jackson in free agency — with only veterans Terrance Mitchell and Malcolm Butler, neither of whom is a lock to make the Week 1 roster, arriving to replace him — corner has been a popular first-round target for New England in pre-draft projections. It’s arguably the team’s greatest current need, along with linebacker and left guard, and improvements there will be needed to combat the gauntlet of top-tier quarterbacks and high-powered passing attacks that currently populate the AFC.
If Belichick is willing to zag with his club’s top pick (currently No. 21 overall, though a draft-night trade could change that), there are several potential targets who could pique his interest.
Cincinnati’s Ahmed “Sauce” Gardner will be long gone by that point, and LSU’s Derek Stingley Jr. likely won’t be available without an aggressive trade-up, but Washington’s Trent McDuffie could fall into the Patriots’ reach.
McDuffie doesn’t have the length New England typically looks for in its corners but checks most other boxes with his experience (three-year collegiate starter), athleticism, versatility and study habits. Washington’s defensive scheme also featured several Patriots-inspired concepts, which should help ease the 21-year-old’s transition to the pros.
Florida’s Kaiir Elam and Clemson’s Andrew Booth Jr. are two other potential options in the latter stages of Round 1. So is Michigan’s Dax Hill, who’s technically classified as a safety but could follow a McCourty-esque path for the Patriots, initially contributing as a cornerback before shifting to the back end once the longtime captain retires. Hill boasts superb athleticism and durability and the ability to play a variety of roles in the defensive backfield.
Auburn’s Roger McCreary and McDuffie’s Washington teammate, Kyler Gordon, are additional possibilities, but they’re more likely to come off the board on Day 2.
There also are a number of intriguing linebackers (Utah’s Devin Lloyd, Georgia’s Nakobe Dean), guards (Boston College’s Zion Johnson, Texas A&M’s Kenyon Green) and offensive tackles (Northern Iowa’s Trevor Penning, Central Michigan’s Bernhard Raimann) who could be available at No. 21, and the Patriots could opt to trade out of the first round and acquire additional assets, as they did in 2020. So, a cornerback at that spot is far from a guarantee.
But if there ever was a year to break that drought, it’s this one.
