The New England Patriots are on the clock. Well, not yet, but they will be on Thursday night during the 2022 NFL Draft when the 21st pick comes around. Considering they will almost certainly make their decision in advance to the day of the draft, today and tomorrow are when the final preparations will be made.
Of course, the Patriots are one of the most unpredictable teams when it comes to the draft. Bill Belichick loves to zig when everyones else zags. He’s already made one pick swap, sending a fifth rounder to the Houston Texans for a sixth and seventh rounder, and we all know it’s not going to be the last trade Belichick makes during the three day draft.
While everyone is putting the finishing touches on their mock draft and team-by-team predictions, it’s clear that much of the hype heading into the draft is centered around the first round. It’s every teams best opportunity to add high level talent on cheap rookie deals. And while there’s a very good chance the Pats end up trading out of the first round, we are going to assume they will be picking at No. 21 in the first round until we hear otherwise.
Throughout the buildup to the draft, we have done a couple of different mock drafts, top players per position, and other general draft intel here at C&C. But the big question is who will be the team’s choice at pick No. 21? Let’s take a look at the top five players the Patriots should select with their first round choice, starting with a linebacker who has fallen down draft boards over the past few days.
New England Patriots draft target No. 5: Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia
Nakobe Dean has seen his draft stock take a bit of a hit recently, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a good player. Dean was the leader of college football’s best defense last season with the Georgia Bulldogs, and his tape shows him as arguably the best linebacker prospect in this draft class.
After emerging as a tackling machine in his sophomore season, Dean took the next step forward and put together an absolutely dynamic junior season. He only logged one more tackle (72) than he did during his sophomire campaign, but he racked up 10.5 tackles for a loss and six sacks. Both are massive improvements from where he was at the season before.
Overall, Dean is easily the most athletically gifted linebacker in this class. He’s a bit undersized for the position, but he doesn’t let that deter him. He makes fantastic reads on plays at the line of scrimmage, whether it comes against the run or the pass, and he’s quick enough to hold his own in coverage despite his lack of size.
Unsurprisingly, the biggest knock on Dean is his size. He’s only 6-0, 225 lbs, which is undersized for your typical linebacker. Of course, teams have begun to value speed over size at linebacker in recent years, but Dean has gotten overpowered at times by linemen or tight ends who are bigger than him. Is that going to become an issue against NFL level competition?
The only reason Dean is so low on this list is because taking him with the 21st pick might be a stretch at this point. The team could conceivably move back in the first round, or maybe even the beginning of the second round, and still be able to get Dean. However, if the Patriots decide to stay put at No. 21, and the rest of the names ahead of him on this list are gone, Dean is worth taking a bit of a risk on, as he would give the linebacker room precisely what they are looking for.
New England Patriots draft target No. 4: Andrew Booth Jr., CB, Clemson
Cornerback is easily the New England Patriots top need heading into the draft. The problem is that many of the top rated corners are probably going to be off the board by the time New England is up to pick in the first round (which is part of the reason why I see them trading out of the first). However, one guy who is probably going to be around is Andrew Booth Jr., and he may be worth investing a first round pick in.
Booth is one of the most polarizing top prospects in the entire draft. Some experts have him getting picked right around the No. 20 pick range, which is perfect for the Pats. Others don’t have him going until midway through the second round. Either way, Booth has one of the highest ceilings of any cornerback in this draft, and Belichick could decide he’s going to be the face of the secondary moving forward.
In a way, Booth reminds me a lot of the player he would be brought in to replace; J.C. Jackson. Both guys are roughly the same size and have great ball awareness, which leads to tons of pass breakups and interceptions. Booth plays bigger than his 6-0, 195 lb frame suggests, is physcial with receivers off the line, and is one of the fastest corners in his class.
The issue with Booth is that he is inexperienced. He only played 25 games in college with the Clemson Tigers, so he may struggle making the transition to the NFL. He’s also still very raw, as his coverage technique has a long way to go and his football intelligence isn’t what it should be for a potential lockdown corner.
Similar to Dean, New England may be able to trade back in the first round or early second round and still get Booth. He has tons of potential, but he may not be the most NFL ready corner available when New England is on the clock. If Belichick feels he can mold Booth into a top tier corner though, there’s no reason to be opposed to taking Booth a little early.
New England Patriots draft target No. 3: Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama
It’s clear that wide receiver isn’t as high up as it once was on New England’s positional needs list. Trading for Devante Parker provided a nice temporary stop-gap for the time being, which will most likely allow Belichick to invest in bigger needs (like cornerback and linebacker) first. But let’s get this straight; if Jameson Williams somehow ends up falling to the 21st overall pick, the New England Patriots absolutely have to take him.
There’s only one receiver that I would be OK with the Pats taking at the 21st pick at this point and that’s Williams. He was set to be a lock as a top five pick before he tore his ACL in the National Championship Game, and that injury has caused him to fall further down many boards than initially expected. Anytime you have the opportunity to add a top talent like Williams towards the end of the first round, you take that player and don’t look back.
I’ve already taken a close looks at Williams and his potential fit with the Patriots a couple of time, so I won’t dive too deep into his case this time around. Prior to tearing his ACL, he was the top receiver in the nation. He finished his first season with the Alabama Crimson Tide with 79 catches for 1572 yards and 15 touchdowns.
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The problem is he tore his ACL. Williams says he’s ahead of his rehab timeline, but no one knows for sure how much it will impact him once he returns. Williams relies heavily on his speed to create seperation from defenders and then run away from them after the catch. Whether he still has that blazing speed will only be known once he returns to field.
At this stage, I doubt Williams drops to #21, but if he does, it should be a no-brainer for Belichick. Williams was never going to be available for the Patriots prior to his injury, and the fact that he may be now would basically gift Belichick a top wideout for Mac Jones and New England’s offense for the foreseeable future. There are concerns surrounding his health, yes, but if Williams is still on the board at #21, he quickly would jump to the top of this list.
New England Patriots draft target No. 2: Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington
The top three corners in the 2022 NFL Draft are Ahmad Gardner, Derek Stingley Jr., and Trent McDuffie. Of the three, McDuffie seems to be the only one with any shot of falling to New England at the 21st pick. And if he’s available, he would be the perfect solution to their barren cornerback depth chart.
With Gardner and Stingley garnering praise as potential top 10 picks McDuffie has slipped on some boards as a result. Some see him as a late first round pick, while others think he’s a top 15 player. It appears McDuffie will go at some point in the first, so if the New England Patriots stay put at 21, he could very well fall right into their laps.
McDuffie saved his best college season for last, and has drawn praise for his lockdown tendencies during his time with the Washington Huskies. McDuffie is a fantastic athlete who excels in man coverage, and you could often find him going step-for-step with the opposing team’s top wideout. He has good coverage techniques in both man and zone schemes, and his background as a wide receiver has helped him lock up his opponents.
The biggest concern with McDuffie is his size. He’s 5-11, 195 lbs, which is a bit undersized for the position. Whereas a guy like Booth plays bigger than his six foot frame, McDuffie doesn’t have the same physical acumen as Booth. He sometimes gets boxed out by bigger receivers on jump balls, and he often has to be aggressive playing against these bigger receivers, which has hurt him occasionally.
While the size is a bit of a concern, McDuffie proved in college he had what it takes lock up opposing wideouts no matter what their skillset was. There are some areas of his game that need polishing, but McDuffie is clearly one of the most NFL ready corners in this draft class, and he could easily slot into New England’s starting lineup in his rookie season.
New England Patriots draft target No. 1: Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah
While every other player on this list has a potential hang up in terms of their draft selection, Devin Lloyd seems to the perfect fit. He is widely expected to be picked somewhere in the 20’s which is right where New England is located. In terms of his play style, positional fit, and potential draft position, Lloyd is exactly what the New England Patriots are looking for.
Lloyd put together an absolutely dominant 2021 season for the Utah Utes. He finished with 111 tackles, 22 of which went for a loss, seven sacks, four interceptions, and two touchdowns. While these numbers are obviously much more dominant than a guy like Dean, Lloyd admittedly wasn’t playing the same level of competition as him at Utah.
Whereas Dean is undersized for the linebacker spot, Lloyd looks like he was built to play linebacker. He’s a big linebacker who comes in a 6-3, 235 lbs, but also has the speed to play sideline-to-sideline while starting in the middle of the field. Lloyd was lined up all over the defense during his time with Utah, so you know his versatility caught Belichick’s eye.
There aren’t a ton of things to dislike about Lloyd and his skillset. Considering his size, he isn’t the most physical guy on the planet, and he probably never will be. But he has the smarts and technique to be able to overcome that, and that will be the key for him making the transition to the NFL.
If New England stays put at the #21 pick, Lloyd is the best possible pick for the future of the team. He would immediately be able to come in and aid an undermanned linebacker corps, and his skillset and play style is exactly what Belichick looks for in linebackers. Dean may have more upside than Lloyd, but Lloyd is the safer bet, and better scheme fit, with the Patriots, making him the ideal selection when the team comes up to pick at No. 21 in the first round.