Patriots 2024 Draft Outlook: Top Talent On Display In Title Games

Welcome to the Patriots Prospect Preview, the only place to find college football prospects worth keeping your Patriots-happy eye on throughout the season. Let’s jump into Conference Championship Week.

It’s been a long road to this point, but all good things must come to an end as we’ve reached the penultimate edition of our Patriots Prospect Preview.

You’ve heard us ramble about nearly 60 prospects over the last four months, and we’re getting down to brass tax. In this edition, we’re highlighting three players who will compete for their conference’s title this weekend, with a final list coming at the end of the month prior to New Year’s Six games. That’ll be the end of this series, but we’re just getting started on 2024 NFL Draft coverage.

In preparation of that, let’s get familiar with some more prospects who could be of interest to the Patriots.

Ja’Lynn Polk (#2), WR, Washington
Pac-12 Championship: vs. Oregon (Friday: 8 p.m. ET on ABC)

If Washington hopes to win a Pac-12 Championship on Friday, they’ll need huge production out of Ja’Lynn Polk. That might be enough to put him squarely on New England’s radar as we enter draft season.

Polk has been the Huskies’ No. 2 wideout this season, catching 55 passes for 943 yards and eight touchdowns in the regular season. He’s not Rome Odunze, but his status as a potential second- or third-round pick puts him in position for anyone to grab him. He’s got an NFL frame (6-foot-2, 190 pounds) and has been productive in his time at both Texas Tech and Washington. It’s scary to think of New England drafting a wideout, but they have to hit on one eventually.

Kamari Lassiter (#3), CB, Georgia
SEC Championship: vs. Alabama (4 p.m. ET on CBS)

It’s about time the Patriots get in on the “draft players from Georgia because they’re in the midst of the most dominant run college football has ever seen” trend that so many other teams are following.

It’s been six seasons since New England drafted a Bulldog, taking both Isaiah Wynn and Sony Michel in 2018. Those picks didn’t pan out, but those Georgia teams never went two-plus years without losing a game. If the Patriots want to capitalize on how many stars have entered the league out of Georgia recently, they could look at Kamari Lassiter, a 6-foot cornerback who has grown leaps and bounds since last season. He’s far from a finished product, but has the skill to become a perfect No. 2 to Christian Gonzalez.

Mike Sainristil (#0), DB, Michigan
Big Ten Championship: vs. Iowa (8 p.m. ET on FOX)

This guy was born to be drafted by the Patriots.

Mike Sainristil was born in Haiti, but grew up in Massachusetts and attended Everett High School. He was named Gatorade Player of the Year in 2018 and enrolled early in Michigan before immediately turning heads as a two-way player. In five seasons with the Wolverines, Sainristil had 37 catches for 539 yards and five touchdowns on offense, while adding 92 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and six interceptions to his resume on the defensive end.

He’s the Wolverines’ top cornerback now, having piled up most of those defensive statistics this season. He’s a ball player, which is exactly what the Patriots know how to draft.