New England Patriots: Linebacker targets team should go after

NFL Draft

Remember, the Patriots do not have a second-round pick in the draft this year (they traded it away last season for Mohamed Sanu). But the Pats are holding 12 total draft picks, three of which are in the third round, and four picks that are in the top 100.

Since the Patriots are notorious for finding talent in the middle of the draft, who could the team draft to help bolster their linebacker group?

Given the current state of the league and the need for quarterbacks, it seems like teams are going to be targeting quarterbacks early on, which will leave a ton of talented positional players still on the board for later rounds and that works perfectly in Bill Belichick’s favor. Malik Harrison is a player that could be available in the third round for the Patriots.

At 6’3”, 247 lbs, Harrison is the biggest and arguably the strongest linebacker out of the top 15 players in his position class. While at Ohio State, Harrison made a strong impact on the Big Ten during his four seasons, including a total of 81 tackles (8.5 for loss) as a junior and 75 tackles (16.5 for loss) his senior year.

Harrison’s draft stock has been overlooked only due to being teammates with Chase Young, who is a top draft choice in this year’s draft. Harrison is incredibly lateral for a linebacker and performs great form and open-field tackling.

There is nobody that he can’t tackle and if Harrison wraps you up, you’re not going anywhere. He is very reminiscent of Jerod Mayo and we all know how much that ended up working out for the New England Patriots.

In regards to the draft, the New England Patriots are in a great position to upgrade their team and obtain the necessary pieces they need to successfully move forward with their franchise. This draft is deep and there will be a ton of talent available during the mid-rounds of this year’s draft.