Patriots2023 NFL Draft: Line protection for Mac Jones focus of draft
The New England Patriots NFL draft is fast approaching and rumors are swirling in mock drafts from Boston to San Diego on who the Patriots might select. Many unfortunately center on the wrong positions in the top picks. They would be cornerback and wide receiver.
The team has seemingly hitched its wagon for better or worse to Mac Jones or perhaps Bailey Zappe for the foreseeable future (read: 2023). Neither is very mobile.
That fact necessitates a primary draft strategy for the team that if followed just might result in that very important trip back to the payoffs that owner Robert Kraft has strongly suggested.
Thus far, the New England Patriots have tinkered around the edges of their deficient offensive line. It’s not good enough. The draft is the way to fix it.
New England Patriots have to bolster the offensive line in the draft
Having immobile quarterbacks is the New England Patriots way. They seem to believe that since they had a relatively stationary one for two decades, who just happened to be the best that ever played the game, that element is the only way to go. It’s not.
Brady had a special talent for avoiding the rush with a masterful quick step. There are few in NFL history who have ever possessed that talent to that extent. Dan Marino comes to mind. Neither Jones nor Zappe is a Brady or Marino.
As such, it necessitates big spending of resources on bolstering an offensive line that was porous as a proverbial Swiss cheese last season. To remedy it, the New England Patriots did little in free agency. They signed two outside free agents in Riley Reiff and Calvin Anderson.
Reiff is a decent player though he didn’t even rank in the top 15 in Pro Football Focus’ best free agent offensive tackles. He is also 34 years old.
He’s an upgrade over Conor McDermott who played fairly well late last season but not a dramatic one. Anderson is a waiver-wire-level player.
In addition, the team re-signed McDermott and inexplicably retained Yodny Cajuste who as a former third-round pick has been a bust. In sum, it’s been hardly enough to make a profound difference.
New England Patriots need to go big at offensive line in the draft
The only resource available at this point absent a trade or a waiver wire move is to go heavy in the draft for offensive line help. But there’s an emerging problem with that.
The best offensive tackles in the draft are widely projected now to go higher than the 14th pick in the first round where the New England Patriots select.
Ohio State’s Paris Johnson Jr., Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski, and Georgia’s Broderick Jones are the best. They could all be off the board at 14. If so, the Patriots should get innovative.
They can either take one of the true wild-card potential stars of the draft in Lukas Van Ness if he’s available then (again, looking unlikely) or trade down if he’s not.
The trade-down to select one of the next batch of top tackles would be the way to go and it may even be possible to trade down more than once and still get that solid addition plus more picks.
The next best additions would be Anton Harrison of Oklahoma, Dawand Jones also of Ohio State, a favorite here, or maybe the versatile Cody Mauch from North Dakota State. Mauch is intriguing since he can basically all four positions on the O-line and maybe all five in time.
Any of the above after a trade-down would be a nice addition. And should, the team wish to do the absolute right thing, they could take a big tackle and then take Mauch in addition after a trade backup.
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That’s an optimum strategy to remedy the fix they need above all others. But to reiterate, the New England Patriots should just stay away from cornerback or wide receiver with their first two picks.
Their track record on both high in the draft is abysmal. Third or later rounds, OK, but not earlier. Please.