Patriots 7-Round Mock Draft 1.0: Building an Offense From Scratch

Round 4 (No. 103 Overall): Malachi Corley, Wide Receiver, Western Kentucky

Noticing a trend?

There's just not much need for the Pats to get too concerned about defense right now. First of all, if the offense flops we've seen that defense alone isn't enough to carry this team. So why bother devoting too many resources to it while QB is such an uncertainty?

And second, if this offense does start clicking, there's already a good enough defense in place that this could be a playoff team. A "rebuild" would be very fast if the offense can get clicking quickly. So let's go all-in on making that happen.

Getting the obvious out of the way, Corley is far from a sure-thing, but this is also the fourth round we're walking about. Rather than obsessing over what a late-round pick can't do, you should be looking at what they can, and if that strength is enough to carry them to NFL success.

That's something to keep in mind for the rest of the picks I highlight as well.

Corley primarily played out of the slot at Western Kentucky, and his average depth of target (aDOT), per Pro Football Focus, was just 5.5 yards.

But he was an absolute wizard at getting open underneath. PFF called him "contested" on only 4 of the 115 targets he saw on the season. He also averaged 8.6 yard after catch (YAC) per reception. That ranked No. 2 among the 44 receivers who saw 100-plus targets in the FBS last season.

Maybe I'm getting redundant, but you know who could really use the help of someone who is constantly open and does wonders with the ball in his hands after the catch? A rookie quarterback.