New England Patriots: These 2019 and 2020 draft picks under the microscope
New England Patriots missed the mark with 2020 selections.
Now on to the New England Patriots 2020 draft class.
A previous article comments more extensively about this previously so I won’t belabor the issue. I didn’t like the draft but some of the picks weren’t bad. That sounds a bit contradictory. Let’s explore.
First, the Patriots’ main needs this offseason were on offense. They did little to remedy that in free agency and less in the draft. This team had 11 picks from day 2 on to draft to remedy a position of true weakness, wide receiver. They inexplicably drafted no wide receivers in a supposedly deep wide receiver draft. None. Bad choice.
The Patriots also used their top 3 premium picks, two in the second round and one in the third, on defensive players. Now these players may be decent or good players. All well and good if they are. But they were not where the Patriots should have gone with those picks.
I panned the picks (not the players) for that though I have my doubts on whether their top pick Kyle Dugger can make the transition to the NFL from Division II.
Josh Uche of Michigan and Anfernee Jennings of Alabama may be serviceable or even good players. but I don’t see stardom anywhere there.
The final premium picks taken in the third round on whom New England is counting were two tight ends. They traded up big time for both. They were Devin Asiasi of UCLA and Dalton Keene of Virginia Tech. Asiasi had a good final season for the Bruins but is short for the position. Keane didn’t do much in the way of production at Tech.
These picks, even for tight ends, could have been used on better players. But at least, finally, they were used on a position of real need, thank you.
Next. New England Patriots: 5 rookies who will make immediate impacts in 2020. dark
So there they are, 11 players, who will have to produce in 2020 if the Patriots are to be even anything near a competitive team. They are well behind the Buffalo Bills right now, no matter what the Bills coach says in public.
That New England Patriots hitched their wagon to these 11 players for better or for worse, If it’s worse, they’ll finish behind Buffalo in the AFC East. If better, maybe they have a chance to catch Buffalo, but I doubt it. But, again, as I said before, that’s why they play the games.