Six Realistic Targets For Patriots With No. 4 Pick In NFL Draft

FOXBORO, Mass. — The Patriots have the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

New England had the inside track to the draft’s first selection but fumbled it away with a win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. It’s now up to the club to find a franchise-changing player somewhere down the board, but only after it installs an entirely new coaching staff, supports the current front office, gets those two branches on the same page concerning draft preparations and narrows the options down to a few select players.

It’s not that hard, though, because we’ve already done the last part for them!

The Patriots will be on the clock relatively soon, and here are six players they could potentially target with the pick.

ATH Travis Hunter (Colorado)

Hunter was among the most talked about prospects back when we all thought New England would be picking first, but that primarily had to do with the fact we assumed the Patriots would trade down. The Tennessee Titans (No. 1), Cleveland Browns (No. 2) and New York Giants (No. 3) currently make up the first three selections, and a case could be made they’ll all be aiming for a quarterback.

Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward are the two most likely QB candidates to go in that range, and if they do, it could open up the possibility for the best player in the draft to slide down the board. The NFL isn’t exactly full of “smart” decision-makers.

Tennessee and New York could feasibly target the 21-year-old, but if both decide to pass, he could fall directly into New England’s lap. It’s a bit more unlikely than we previously thought, but there’s still hope for Hunter.

EDGE Abdul Carter (Penn State)

The Patriots should probably take the best player available at four, which will most likely be Carter.

The Titans aren’t going to reach for him at No. 1, so unless they trade back one or two spots, it seems unlikely that’s where he’d end up. The Raiders have Maxx Crosby, while the Giants recently invested in both Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burnes, so neither feels like a potential landing spot.

Carter isn’t a perfect prospect by any means, but it’s as easy to see him becoming a superstar as any other player in the class. New England has to be captivated by that kind of ceiling.

OT Will Campbell (LSU)

It’s a tough year to be desperate for offensive line help.

The Patriots could probably afford to upgrade four of five spots along the offensive line, but it doesn’t feel like any of the available options are worth the price they’d have to pay. New England probably should have never let it get this far, though, so it can only blame itself.

Campbell is one of two acceptable options this early in the draft. LSU made him an immediate starter and leaned on him to anchor the offense for three seasons. It’s hard to argue that he wouldn’t be an upgrade, but arguments have been made that he’s better suited to play guard at the next level. Do you want to take that sort of risk?

OT Kelvin Banks Jr. (Texas)

Banks is the other acceptable option, as anyone who has evaluated this class either prefers him or the previous man on our list.

Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf — who reportedly will stick around despite Jerod Mayo being given the axe — typically targets big, athletic and versatile players for the offensive line, and Banks checks those boxes.

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WR Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona)

New England has needed to upgrade its wide receiving corps for years, but this class seems to have limited options.

Hunter is a tremendous weapon, but his value is tied to the fact that he also plays (and is better) on the defensive side of the ball. McMillan, on the other hand, is a true-blue wideout and brings about memories of a young Mike Evans when you watch him play.

It’s impossible to know if he’ll transition favorably to the next level, but the physical tools might be too much to ignore.

DT Mason Graham (Michigan)

The Patriots have gotten way too comfortable irking their fan base in recent seasons, so why not continue under a new regime?

Graham is an unbelievable football player, don’t get us wrong, but drafting a defensive tackle just doesn’t get the juices flowing. It’s easy for us draft nerds to pretend like we’d enjoy that sort of selection, but none of us actually would. New England needs talent, though, and that’s exactly what this game-wrecking defender brings to the table.

What do you think, Patriots fans? Who would you draft?