The New England Patriots 2023 draft is history with lots of picks to evaluate and a full draft now completed to grade. This was a critical draft and the question is, did the team improve enough to be a contender in the AFC East?
The Grade for Day 1 with the Selection of Christian Gonzalez was a straight A, and an asterisk to note a nice trade-down, as well. It was one of the team’s better draft moves in recent memory.
On Day 2, the team regressed. They reached a bit for Keion White, an edge from Georgia Tech. But after further reflection, White may be a better selection than initially viewed.
White was still a bit of a reach with some observers thinking he was a third-round talent. Others thought he may go in the first round as the NFL did, as well. So on balance, it’s an OK pick.
Picking safety/linebacker Marte Mapu of San Diego State in the third round, however, is a major reach and a very Patriot-like move. He’s primarily a special teamer and was even looked at as a possible non-draftee. It was a poor pick.
On to Day 3.
The New England Patriots Day 3 was uninspiring
On Day 3 the Patriots had a boatload of picks and wound up making nine more selections. The team began drafting at pick 107 with a center/Guard, Jake Andrews from Troy. How can you not like a Patriots center named Andrews?
The team desperately needs a backup center and one with versatility like Andrews, a la Ted Karras is a nice fit. Yet, bleacherreport.com had him projected as a sixth or seventh-round pick.
The selection positionally is just fine, but it’s a definite reach for a player who might very well have been available later on.
New England Patriots go heavy on guards in the fourth round
With their second fourth-round pick, the team went outside the box with their selection and took kicker Chad Ryland from Maryland. Ryland was looked at as a top kicker in the draft and he was the second one selected.
Drafting a kicker this early is always questionable, not that the Patriots don’t need a top kicker. They need a strong leg on kickoffs and an accurate field goal kicker. The question is when should they have addressed the position? It was later or in undrafted free agency.
This appears to be a panic reach of sorts and that pick could have been used more effectively on other positions of need.
On pick 117 of the fourth round, the team drafted a guard, Sidy Sow from Eastern Michigan. Sow is a huge guard at 6’5″ tall and 323 pounds.
While big guards are a favorite here, the Patriot’s need for offensive tackles is higher and they went in the wrong direction here again. This will be a familiar theme throughout Day three.
The New England Patriots next pick came in the fifth round and they once again went back to the guard trough and selected Antonio Mafi, another huge guard from UCLA.
Mafi is 6’3″ and 338 pounds and adds to an interior of the offensive line that was poor in any meaningful depth after they traded Shaq Mason last offseason and lost Ted Karras to free agency.
Bleacherreport.com again had the player listed as a sixth or seventh-round talent. He was another reach at a position that seemed to already be fairly well-fortified.
New England Patriots seek depth in the sixth and seventh rounds
The New England Patriots had four selections in the sixth round and they used them as they should, taking a punter and fliers on players who may be diamonds in the rough.
With the 187th pick, they finally went for a wide receiver and selected Kayshon Boutte from LSU. Boutte is a talented player who may be a sleeper.
If he pans out, he could be a steal as Paul Perillo of Patiots.com suggests,
"After spending much of Day 3 focusing on offensive line depth, the Patriots rolled the dice with a talented receiver in Kayshon Boutte. Boutte was outstanding as a freshman but battled injuries and inconsistency over his last two years at LSU. If he can revert to form, the Patriots may have a late-round steal."
Next, with the 197th pick in the draft, the Patriots did just fine in selecting a punter, a top need, in Bryce Baringer of Michigan State. The need is clear and the round was perfect for addressing it.
Next up at pick No. 210 the New England Patriots selected a diminutive wide receiver Demario Douglas, from Liberty. He is 5’8″ tall and 179 pounds and is projected as a slot receiver.
Mike Dussault of Patriots.com notes,
"Patriots grab another slot receiver option in the sixth round with Demario Douglas out of Liberty. He has some explosiveness to his game and some return ability but will need to develop as a route-runner to make a bid for a roster spot."
The Pats’ next pick, No. 213 is Ameer Speed, a defensive back from Michigan. He’s a big corner at 6’3″ tall weighing 210 pounds. He’ll compete for a practice squad spot most likely.
The Patriots’ last pick, No. 245 overall is Isaiah Bolden a cornerback from Jackson State. Evan Lazar of Patriots.com notes,
"The #Patriots seventh-rounder, CB Isaiah Bolden, ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at 6-2, 201 pounds. Also was a standout kick returner. Two raw size-speed prospects to end the draft with Speed and Bolden."
More competition at a position of need, later on, is fine.
New England Patriots could have done better
The New England Patriots first pick in the fourth round was center/guard Jake Andrews. He’s a solid player but was another reach.
Gargantuan offensive tackle Dawand Jones from Ohio State, a favorite here was still on the board. Not taking Jones was a big omission. They could have had Andrews later on. They still need an offensive tackle or two.
Taking a kicker in the fourth round is again a reach. Another fourth-rounder, Sidy Sow is a nice player and if he was selected to play offensive tackle, the pick makes more sense.
Otherwise, again, the team drafted a position that they had already addressed previously, with center/guard Andrews.
The Patriots repeated the same gaffe in the fifth round by taking another guard, Antonio Mafi. There were other positions of greater need at that point to address, two of which went completely unaddressed. More on that later
The sixth or seventh-round picks were fliers on players late and the team at least finally addressed the wide receiver position twice. Better late than never, but how much so is yet to be seen.
The grade for Day 3 of the NFL draft is a C.
The New England Patriots 2023 draft grade is …
It was a whirlwind three days with the Patriots trading around the board but still making 12 selections overall. The team had an opportunity to hit a grand slam home run in this draft. Did they? The simple answer is no for several overarching reasons.
One is by omission. Two of the greatest perceived needs in the draft were clearly offensive tackle (OT) and tight end (TE). The Patriots addressed the OT position in free agency, but not very well. They needed a young tackle or preferably two, and similar to 2022, they whiffed.
Last season, they at least took an OT in the seventh round. He never saw the field. This year, they selected none. In addition, the team also failed to use even one pick on a tight end.
Since both of their current tight ends, Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki are out of contract after 2023, this is a gross omission. Along with not addressing wide receiver earlier, these add up to a full-grade demerit.
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Not addressing two key positions is a major flaw. After a great first round, and an OK second, the team regressed to their norm by reaching for players higher up the board than they merited.
Since they needed help almost everywhere, the positions are not a huge issue. But doubling or tripling down on interior offensive linemen when the greater need was offensive tackle is faulty and unjustifiable.
While they improved significantly at cornerback and somewhat at the edge, they remain severely deficient at offensive tackle and tight end. This will stymie an offense that with immobile quarterbacks, Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe who require a clean pocket to function properly, if at all.
With those factors in mind, the overall grade of the 2023 draft is a C. The New England Patriots once again did not maximize their opportunities to improve.
Did the team improve? They did, but only marginally, and not as much as they could have had they selected more judiciously. With that in mind, the view from here is the Patriots are a last-place team looking up in the strong AFC East.
What grade would you give the New England Patriots 2023 draft? We’d like to hear.