Patriots Post-Combine 7-Round Mock Draft: Shocker at QB Leads the Way

5. (136th overall): Nehemiah Pritchett, CB, Auburn

One position we could see the Patriots emphasize much earlier than this in the NFL Draft is the cornerback position.

The Pats let go of Jack Jones last season, they brought back JC Jackson but released him last week. Jalen Mills and Myles Bryant are pending free agents.

As a matter of fact, that whole defensive backfield for New England could be taking on a ton of change. But the cupboard isn't completely bare.

They just transition-tagged Kyle Dugger. They still have Jonathan Jones and 2023 first-round pick Christian Gonzalez available as starting corners. Shaun Wade remains on the roster. Marcus Jones, a third-round pick in 2022 is also still with the team. But with some of the pending free agents in New England, you could be losing a lot of snaps and relying on young players to step up in a big way.

The Pats are going to need to supplement their overall depth at the corner, and Nehemiah Pritchett is a great upside move at this stage of the draft. After running a 4.36 in the 40-yard dash at the Combine, he proved his elite speed which could also translate immediately to special teams at the next level.