What experts think of the Patriots through too early mock drafts
When the New England Patriots pick
One apparent constant in these mock drafts is that the New England Patriots select in the top half of the draft. The range is between 12th to 15th overall. At that spot, the Patriots could find a damn good starter, if they make the right selection.
But that would also mean the Patriots wouldn’t make the playoffs.
As you know, fourteen teams make the playoffs. That leaves 18 teams on the outside looking in. Picking 15th or higher, New England is one of those teams.
Looking at the 2021 final standings, the teams that just missed the playoffs finished 9-7. That might be the best case scenario based on these mocks.
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Which team(s) bumped the Patriots out of the playoffs? The Baltimore Ravens would be an understandable guess. With QB Lamar Jackson and how well Baltimore builds through the draft, they’re too talented to believe they would miss the playoffs again.
The talent in the AFC West could have a third team playing beyond New Year’s Day.
And there are a lot of people buying the Miami Dolphins hype. The weapons they surrounded QB Tua Tagovailoa with has a lot of people on that bandwagon.
Clearly the experts don’t feel the same about New England’s roster changes. Yes, they lack star power, but DeVante Parker and Tyquan Thornton are good reasons for optimism.
Admittedly, it’s hard to buy into the Patriots offense based on how poor it looked during the preseason. But I strongly believe in the Mac Jones second year leap, and improved chemistry with his receivers will get the offense flying.
Some experts don’t believe that, and think Jones needs better talent around him: