For the first time in a long time, the New England Patriots did not make the playoffs in 2020. Getting back to the playoffs will be of utmost importance to Bill Belichick and company, which means that there is a lot riding on the upcoming NFL Draft. Without further ado, let\u2019s take a look at the first installment of the Patriots seven-round mock draft and see what New England might do on draft day.<\/p>\n
Note that this exercise was performed using The Draft Network’s Mock Draft Machine<\/a>, so there is a somewhat-realistic chance that the players selected will be available when New England is on the clock.<\/p>\n [pickup_prop id=”3837″]<\/p>\n With the top four quarterbacks off the board, the Patriots go with the best tight end prospect to hit the NFL in a very long time. Kyle Pitts is an absolute monster of a man that can do just about everything you could hope for in the passing game. He moves like a wide receiver despite his 6\u2019-6\u201d, 235-pound frame and has some of the softest hands in the class. While it\u2019s certainly not his strength, Pitts is an adequate blocker and will be able to play on all three downs. New England drafted two tight ends last year, but that\u2019s no reason to pass on Pitts \u2013 he\u2019s much better<\/a> than Devin Asiasi<\/a> and Dalton Keene<\/a> and should be a top-five NFL tight end within a few years.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ryan_Spags\/status\/1356232013892759552?s=20<\/p>\n The Patriots go back to Florida in this mock draft to secure a guy that just might be their quarterback of the future. Trask is older than your average prospect, but breakout age doesn\u2019t matter quite as much with quarterbacks as it does other positions. The Florida product already demonstrates the ability to throw with touch and stand up to pressure, and was notably better in 2020 than he was in 2019. While his short-field accuracy leaves something to be desired, he\u2019s the best you\u2019re likely to find in the second round and should challenge for the starting job right out of the gate.<\/p>\n New England\u2019s run defense was one of the worst in the NFL last year, and the Patriots address that with Tyler Shelvin. At 6\u2019-3\u201d and a staggering 362 pounds, Shelvin is simply unmovable in the trenches and can eat up double teams with ease. Conditioning was reportedly an issue in college, and he isn\u2019t going to do much on passing downs. However, Bill Belichick has a history of getting the most out of players like this, and he would solve an immediate need along the defensive line.<\/p>\n I really wanted to take a wide receiver earlier in the draft, but the board didn\u2019t fall the right way. Because of this, the Patriots had to wait until the fourth round to grab Sage Surrat out of Wake Forest. The redshirt Junior had a 90th<\/sup> percentile dominator ranking in college and, from a traits perspective, excels at using his size to win in contested situations. However, he\u2019s one of the slowest receivers in the draft and lacks any ability to get open against press coverage. In this case, the Patriots will have to hope that the good traits outweigh the bad and for Surrat to become what they were hoping N\u2019Keal Harry would be.<\/p>\n Ian Book with the throw, but look at this catch from Sage Surrat. Doesn\u2019t create a lot of separation. Manages to make the catch and get two feet in for the TD. pic.twitter.com\/GPJziv3kvo<\/a><\/p>\n — Blaine Grisak \ud83d\udcad (@bgrisakTST) January 27, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nSeven-Round New England Patriots Mock Draft: Fixing the Offense<\/h2>\n
1st<\/sup> Round (15th<\/sup> Overall) \u2013 Kyle Pitts, TE<\/h4>\n
2nd<\/sup> Round (47th<\/sup> Overall) \u2013 Kyle Trask, QB<\/h4>\n
3rd<\/sup> Round (96th<\/sup> Overall) \u2013 Tyler Shelvin, IDL<\/h4>\n
4th<\/sup> Round (119th<\/sup> Overall) \u2013 Sage Surrat, WR<\/h4>\n
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