The 2023 NFL draft begins Thursday evening. The New England Patriots will be hoping to better their more recent draft attempts to bolster a team that missed the playoffs in 2022 for the second time in three years.
The Patriots will be on the clock with the No. 14 pick on Thursday, April 27 and all eyes in the region will be on Bill Belichick and his draft team.
The team has a myriad of ways to approach this draft and unless he persists in reaching way above expectations for any premium picks (rounds one through 3) it will be hard for them to mess this one up. Yet, if past experience is any indicator, who knows?
It’s been stated here that a consensus draft using the 11 picks available at the moment will almost certainly be a solid one, absent any of the imprudent reaches that have permeated recent drafts.
This exercise, the last for this space this draft season, will try to suggest a strategy to fill numerous holes in the team. It’s a draft that will hopefully be of interest as it would bring a number of quite interesting players into the New England Patriots fold.
The New England Patriots draft explosive D-end with their first-round pick
The New England Patriots have quite an ordinary defensive line. They have young defensive tackle Christian Barmore who is full of potential yet hasn’t had much production as yet, and Dietrich Wise Jr, who’s been a solid starter at the defensive end.
After that, there’s not much there. This pick changes all that. After trading down two spots with Washington and picking up another third-round pick at 97 while surrendering pick 184, the Patriots draft a rising star athlete and explosive defensive end/tackle.
He’s a player nicknamed “Hercules”. It’s Lukas Van Ness from Iowa.
This pick goes a bit contrary to a constant harangue in this space for the Patriots to draft an offensive tackle with one of their first two picks. In this case, however, after trading the 14th pick and the 184th pick to Washington for the 16th and 97th picks, the team hits paydirt.
Van Ness at 6’5″ tall and 275 pounds has the prototypical size for a defensive end/hybrid tackle. He is explosive off the edge and can also slide inside on passing downs to provide additional headaches for offensive lines along with the aforementioned Barmore.
This space sees traces of the Watt brothers, JJ and TJ in Van Ness, and he’s sized about in the middle of those two stars. At pick No. 16, Van Ness is just too good a prospect to pass up after.
While perhaps a bit outside the most drastic areas of need, the defensive line is a need nonetheless. And with his versatility, a favorite Patriot trait, Van Ness provides all kinds of options for the Patriots’ de facto defensive coordinator, Jerod Mayo. It’s a home run pick.
New England Patriots select tackle/guard Cody Mauch in the second round
Keeping true to the form hoped for in this space, the New England Patriots move to shore up their offensive line, widely acknowledged as one of the team’s top needs by virtually anyone who pays attention.
The second-round pick with pick No. 46 is offensive tackle/guard, Cody Mauch from North Dakota State. You have to like Mauch from his missing front teeth to his long red hair to his toughness on the field. Like Chase Winovich a few years ago, he’ll be an instant Foxborough favorite.
Nfl.com provides this overview,
"Mauch’s two front teeth are missing (they were knocked out during a junior high basketball game) and he wears a big mop of shoulder-length red hair, so you get the sense you are about to watch a hockey player on turf when you turn on the game tape. As expected, Mauch is a rugged player with an attacking demeanor who does his most consistent work as a drive blocker in the run game. Inconsistent footwork in pass protection and below-average arm length could foreshadow a move inside to guard, where he is capable of competing for a starting job as a scheme-versatile tough guy."
“Rugged player” certainly meets a New England Patriots need. Tough is good and Mauch has the toughness they need. In addition, having the flexibility to play both tackle spots and both guard spots, Mauch will be an asset on gameday providing cover at several positions.
While he lacks the optimum length and may be destined to play guard at some point, Mauch’s flexibility to play tackle will be a solid addition to the New England Patriots’ floundering offense.
The New England Patriots get real and take a dual-threat quarterback
In the third round, after trading down once again this time with the LA Chargers, the New England Patriots go bold and select a quarterback, Hendon Hooker of Tennessee.
Hooker slips due to an ACL tear he suffered at the end of last season, but his value here is too big to pass up. If he’s available at pick No. 85, you just take him. There is no more important player on the team than the quarterback.
Hooker’s availability next season is iffy, and it will be just fine if he sits and learns while Jones, Bailey Zappe, and newly acquired Trace McSorley battle it out for a position.
He’s an injury risk and this early, it can be questioned. Yet, rest assured when he’s physically ready, Hooker will definitely be a factor to be reckoned with.
Hooker can both sling it with great accuracy and lug the rock himself. He’s a dual-threat type and exactly what the doctor ordered for the all too predictable and boring Patriots offense the past couple of years.
Hooker completed 69.6 percent of his passes last season and threw for 27 touchdowns along with only two interceptions. In addition, he ran for 430 and scored five TDs on the ground.
He’s the total package and again, if he slides to the Patriots at pick No. 85 received in the trade with the LA Chargers, he’s an absolute steal.
New England Patriots get a speedy receiver with pick 97
With a pick received from the Washington Commanders, the New England Patriots select a position that virtually all of Patriots Nation likely feels is one of need. It’s wide receiver and the choice is a slot receiver, Tyler Scott from Cincinnati.
Scott measured in at 5’10” tall and weighed 171 pounds at the combine. That’s not a big target but he has other attributes that fit the Patriots like a glove.
Scott runs a 4.44 forty and sports a 39.5″ vertical leap. Thedraftnetwork.com has this to say,
"Scott is an explosive athlete with elite speed that enables him to win vertically by pulling away from defenders. He maximizes his ability to get open down the field with good route pace and smooth cuts to force false steps from defenders; this enables him to get behind the defense."
Sounds like a good fit here.
Patriots bolster tight end next at No. 107
With pick No. 107, the New England Patriots continue to bolster their languid offense. This time they go for a big tight end in Zack Kuntz of Old Dominion.
If you liked Rob Gronkowski’s size, you’ll like Kuntz’. He’s 6’7′ tall and weighs 255 pounds. That latter number will likely rise with good conditioning and nutrition at Gillette Stadium.
Kuntz ran an eye-catching 4.55 forty and also crushed a 40″ vertical leap at the combine at his size. He’s an athletic type who’ll need some grooming at Patriot University.
Yet, at his size and athletic ability, who knows what he could develop into? He’s certainly worth a flier at this point in the draft since the Patriots top two tight ends, Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki will both be free agents after the 2023 season.
New England Patriots shore up the team’s defensive backfield
After bolstering several positions of need on offense and adding a possible Pro Bowl-caliber defensive end, the New England Patriots turn to the defensive backfield with their next couple of picks. First, at pick N0. 117 is Carrington Valentine, a corner from Kentucky.
Valentine appeared in the last Patriots Mock Draft 2.0, as well. He’s 6’0″ tall and weighs 193 pounds.
Having flopped on a number of second-round cornerbacks in the recent past, the Patriots used better discretion and drafted cornerbacks well in the third and fourth rounds last year.
The team brought in the diminutive but dynamic Marcus Jones, and his namesake, the slight but very effective Jack Jones. The Patriots will be seeking to replicate that success with Valentine in the fourth round in 2023.
As Nfl.com notes, Valentine will be more effective in “press/bail coverages”. Should the Patriots use that scheme, he should be a nice depth piece.
Patriots select Trey Dean at No. 125
Next up is a big safety, Trey Dean from Florida. With the retirement of long-time stalwart, Devin McCourty, the team needs to add pieces to the puzzle at safety.
Jalen Mills will likely get the nod as a starter, and Dean can provide depth. He’s a big safety at 6’2″ tall weighing 200 pounds. Dean is more of a box safety with pedestrian speed but in the box, he has the size to tangle with tight ends. As a depth piece, let’s see what he can do.
New England Patriots attend to more business on offense
The New England Patriots next three picks revert back to the offensive side of the ball, the side that needed more enhancements. First, they further enhance their wide receiver room and then add two more offensive linemen to reinforce that tattered unit.
The pick at No. 135 is Michael Wilson, a wide receiver from Stanford. Wilson is a big receiver at 6’2″ tall and weighing 213 pounds. Wilson isn’t blazingly fast with a 4.58 forty time but he was Stanford’s top receiver in 2022.
With this pick, the Patriots continue to add depth and competition to several units which either underperformed in 2022 or need enhancement in 2023. Wilson is a second and solid addition to the wide receiving room.
New England Patriots go center with the No. 187 pick
The Patriots next pick at pick No. 187 in the sixth round is another offensive lineman at a position of need. It’s offensive center/guard, Juice Scruggs from Penn State. Scruggs also appeared in a previous mock draft here.
Scruggs fills a definite need for a backup center/guard. Having let Ted Karras leave for the second time last offseason (twice an ill-advised move), the Patriots need a young center to prepare for any injury to top center David Andrews.
As a sixth-round pick, not a whole lot will be expected of Scruggs, but the Patriots may well get it anyway. Andrews himself wasn’t drafted and signed on as an undrafted free agent.
No reason Scruggs can’t be a solid backup for the team going forward at two positions. Securing a Ted Karras-like player here would be huge.
Patriots stay on the offensive line by selecting Jake Witt
Next up at Pick No. 192 is a second offensive tackle, Jake Witt from Northern Michigan. Witt is not a very well-known prospect but his forty-yard dash time turned heads.
Si.com comments about Witt,
"Standing 6-foot-7 with 34-inch arms and a broad jump of over 122 inches (according to Witt) at roughly 300 pounds, Witt has a unique skill set few can match. Zybec-electronic timed sub 4.8 in the 40 helps cement his ability with the rest of the offensive linemen in the 2023 NFL Draft class."
That 40-yard dash is fast, really fast. In addition, Witt has position flexibility having initially been a tight end. A huge tight end is a good thing in New England.
While Witt is likely anything but a finished product, with his athletic skills and versatility, he’s worth a flier in the sixth round at positions in which the team needs depth.
One never knows when a sixth-round pick may just surprise, does one?
New England Patriots final two picks in the 2023 NFL draft
The New England Patriots have been on the clock lots of times in the 2023 draft and in this version may have maximized their opportunities to improve.
With their last two picks in this mock draft, they continue the trend. With the 210th pick, the Patriots select small college phenom, Karl Brooks, a defensive tackle from Bowling Green.
Nfl.com has this to say about the Bowling Green player,
"Brooks’ snap quickness, footwork, hand usage and motor are all translatable play qualities. His movement and counters are intuitive, allowing for quick access into the backfield. Against the pass, he frequently beat tackles as a bull rusher off the edge. Brooks has the size of a three-technique but the versatility and athleticism to move around a defensive front. He flashes disruptive, three-down talent as a future starter in a one-gap scheme."
Brooks is a top versatile achiever in small college football. At 6’3″ and 303 pounds he has good size for the NFL. That seems enough to risk a sixth-round pick on a player with this pedigree.
Has he the talent? We’ll see.
New England Patriots go punter with final selection
The New England Patriots last pick in the 2023 NFL draft with pick No. 245 is a punter. He’s Michael Turk from Oklahoma and he can also place-kick. That’s a good combination.
The Patriots broomed former great punter, Jake Bailey. They need a replacement and they get a possible one with their final pick in the draft.
Turk earned first-team All-Big 12 Conference in 2022. That’s good enough to get a strong tryout with the New England Patriots.
So that’s it, the final mock draft from this space in 2023. How’d we do? We’d like to hear what you think and what you’d have done differently.