Given the number of needs the New England Patriots have, you can make the case for Bill Belichick and company to go in a handful of different directions with their first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Patriots could go offensive tackle, wide receiver, cornerback or somewhere else with the No. 14 overall pick. They also could trade down.
However, if Belichick looks to bolster his defense, NFL Network’s lead draft writer Eric Edholm believes the Patriots could select one of the top cornerbacks in a deep class: Illinois product Devon Witherspoon.
“Bill Belichick has only drafted one Round 1 cornerback in New England: the recently retired Devin McCourty, who was moved to safety a few years into the league,” Edholm wrote Monday. “But Witherspoon’s advanced development, a need at corner and any intel Belichick can gather from his former assistant, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema, would make this a slam-dunk pick.”
Fellow NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah mocked Witherspoon to the Detroit Lions at No. 6 overall, and colleague Charles Davis has Witherspoon going No. 7 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. Those mocks indicate the Patriots would be pretty fortunate for Witherspoon to fall to them, while ESPN’s Todd McShay mocked Witherspoon to the Washington Commanders at No. 16 overall earlier this month.
Jeremiah did include Witherspoon among the prospects he views as Patriots fits, while ESPN’s Mel Kiper mocked Witherspoon to New England in his first of many exercises two months ago.
FanDuel Sportsbook gives Witherspoon the second-shortest odds to be the first cornerback selected (+175) behind only Oregon product Christian Gonzalez. The Patriots, meanwhile, are +250 to draft a cornerback with their first pick, with only offensive lineman (+200) having shorter odds at FanDuel.
