It’s always a fun time on this website during draft season, but this year, the stakes in New England are higher than most others. The Pats hold the #3 overall pick, in addition to the #34 overall in early round two, and are faced with the task of kickstarting their rebuild. There have been whispers that they may trade the pick to further build their draft capital, but that would mean passing on a top 3 quarterback. Decisions, decisions. How will the first round end up panning out for the Pats and the rest of the league? How will the Pats react in the later rounds? My projection can be read below.

First Round Mock Draft

Pick	Explanation
1. Caleb Williams, QB, USC	If the Bears weren’t planning to take Williams, I doubt the Justin Fields trade would have happened. The Bears may have believed in Fields to improve, but you don’t pass on a generational talent when one is staring you in the face. I think it is clear that’s how they view Williams.
2. Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU	The Commanders also chose to start fresh at QB as they dealt Sam Howell to Seattle. It seems pretty clear they will go QB at 2. The question is whether they roll with Daniels or Drake Maye. They cannot really go wrong either way, but Daniels seems to fit Kliff Kingsbury’s system better, so I think he’ll be the pick.
3. Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina	There’s been a lot of buzz about new Pats GM Eliot Wolf possibly preferring J.J. McCarthy over Drake Maye. While McCarthy’s stock is rising, I’m inclined to believe some of this is smoke. In my mind, Maye would be the obvious pick here as the best QB available for a QB needy team.
4. Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State	The Cardinals seem set to see what QB Kyler Murray can do with a fully healthy season. The best thing they can do for him is surround him with support. WR Marquise Brown has left for Kansas City, leaving a gaping hole at the position. Harrison Jr. not only helps fill that hole, but also provides an upgrade over Brown as the closest thing a rookie can be to a surefire alpha WR.
5. Malik Nabers, WR, LSU	The Chargers are looking to get younger on offense, as indicated by their parting of ways with RB Austin Ekeler, WR Keenan Allen, and WR Mike Williams. Nabers would make an impact right away here as QB Justin Herbert’s new top target.
6. Rome Odunze, WR, Washington	The Giants are in a tricky position. QB Daniel Jones isn’t exactly cutting it for them, but he’s also on a big contract and the Giants already brought in Drew Lock to put pressure on him. The Giants also have some emerging talent at WR in Wan’Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt, but Odunze can only help an offense in need of a dynamic playmaker with RB Saquon Barkley out. It’s also possible the Giants trade this pick, but I see the flurry of trades starting at pick #7.
TRADE 7. Joe Alt, OL, Notre Dame	I don’t expect Alt to slide past this pick, but where he goes is up for debate. It would be nice for the Titans to upgrade at left tackle, but I have the Titans trading back to improve their draft capital and dealing the pick to a Raiders team in bigger need of addressing the tackle position.
8. Dallas Turner, ED, Alabama	The Falcons have some decent edge rushers, but they lack a true leader of their pass rush. Turner has the ceiling to develop into that and it makes more sense to spend a top 10 pick on an edge than on Atlanta’s other big needs at linebacker and center.
TRADE 9. Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia	The Colts have lacked stability at the tight end position since Eric Ebron left. They have been rumored to be targeting Bowers, but they may need to jump the Jets if they want to land him. I have them doing just that with a Bears team that is reportedly looking to build draft capital after taking Williams at 1. Bowers would immediately factor into the Colts pass game, and possibly eventually become Anthony Richardson’s favorite target.
TRADE 10. J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan	With the Jets missing on Bowers, I have them trading down. In an act of desperation, I have the Broncos continuing the game of leapfrog, surpassing the Vikings to secure their QB of the future before it’s too late.
11. Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama	Whatever QB the Vikings would take here will still be available at 23. I have them holding off on that and addressing their need for a #1 corner. Quinyon Mitchell has received a lot of top 15 buzz, but I would still expect Arnold to be the first corner off the board.
TRADE 12. Laiatu Latu, LB, UCLA	The Jets have needs at both linebacker and edge rusher, and I would argue Latu has the versatility to play a little bit of both. The Jets will likely continue to address both positions throughout the draft but Latu would be a great start.
TRADE 13. Jared Verse, ED, Florida State	The Titans need for an edge rusher is honestly bigger than their need for an o-lineman, so this trade down would work out well for them. Verse is not far off from Dallas Turner. He’s recorded 18 sacks over the course of the past 2 seasons at Florida State, and I’d expect that production to translate.
14. Olu Fashanu, OL, Penn State	Trevor Penning is just not going to cut it at left tackle long term. Fashanu could quickly become the anchor of the o-line unit in New Orleans, and would be a huge upgrade at the position.
TRADE 15. JC Latham, OL, Alabama	Some have linked the Bears to the top WRs in this class, but with Keenan Allen on the team I would expect them to punt on drafting a receiver and support Caleb Williams in another way: solidifying his o-line. Latham was at one point in top 10 conversations, so he’d be a great value here.
16. Taliese Fuaga, OL, Oregon State	Fuaga has also seen his stock rise over the past couple of weeks, and the Seahawks offensive line is in need of a serious boost. Solidifying the tackle position opposite Charles Cross would be huge for them.
17. Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson	Outside of CB Tyson Campbell, the Jaguars secondary has been lacking talent. Wiggins is capable of becoming a reliable starter opposite Campbell, and he would benefit from avoiding the pressure of facing #1 WRs his rookie year.
18. Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo	With the recent news that Tee Higgins may end up staying after all, CB now takes priority over WR for Cincinnati. Mitchell, the Toledo standout has been in the CB1 conversation for this draft class, and with Arnold and Wiggins off the board, the Bengals would be happy to land who most would argue is the last top tier CB available. At the very least, he’s capable of developing into the Bengals’ CB1 of the future.
19. Chop Robinson, ED, Penn State	With Aaron Donald retiring, the Rams need to address their front seven. While it may make sense to draft his direct replacement on the interior, I think improving the pass rush could be a good alternative strategy, as the Rams lack a standout player there. With Turner and Verse gone, Robinson is the next best bet to do that.
20. Troy Fautanu, OL, Washington	Reports say the Steelers are set on taking an offensive lineman, and I would argue that’s probably the right decision. The Steelers haven’t had stability at the position in years. Taking Broderick Jones a year ago was a nice start, but Fautanu will be a big help as they continue to build their o-line of the future. His versatility to play either tackle or guard will be valued.
21. Byron Murphy II, DL, Texas	I’m not sure I buy the hype of Murphy going in the top 15, but I would not be shocked to see him go in this range. Murphy has emerged as the top d-lineman in this class. After losing several pieces in free agency, Miami could fill their biggest roster hole with this pick.
22. Jer’Zhan Newton, DL, Illinois	In each of the last two drafts, the Eagles have taken a defensive lineman early. It was Jordan Davis in 2022, and it was Jalen Carter in 2023. With Fletcher Cox calling it a career and the Eagles running a 3-4 defense, this is Philly’s chance to put the final piece on what should be an elite d-line for years to come. Few running backs would be able to get past a trio of Davis, Carter, and Newton.
23. Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington	The Vikings wait until 23 to take a QB and end up with the same options they would have had at 11: Penix or Nix. While Nix may have put up better numbers on paper, Penix passes the eye test and beat Nix head to head twice. Penix isn’t as sure a thing as the top 3 QBs, but I would bet on him at least being a capable game manager with upside for more.
24. Amarius Mims, OL, Georgia	Mims has fallen behind guys like Fuaga and Fautanu on draft boards in recent weeks. That shouldn’t stop him from being a first round pick. The Cowboys are one of many o-line needy teams and can fill the spot of recent cap casualty Tyron Smith at a much cheaper price.
25. Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU	The Packers have built up depth at wide receiver but still lack consistency at the position. Thomas Jr. put up some huge numbers even behind Malik Nabers at LSU. Imagine what he can do with more targets. While he may not be QB Jordan Love’s top option right away, he absolutely has the upside to become that.
26. Graham Barton, OL, Duke	The Buccaneers have lost a lot of talent on their offensive line in recent seasons, especially the interior. Barton is a versatile player who could slot in wherever the Bucs need him.
27. Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama	McKinstry has shown up on a lot of “unique college player name” lists, but to add to that he’s one of the better corners in college right now. He was a leader in the secondary for Alabama, and I would expect him to fill the same role with the Cardinals pretty early on.
28. Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon	QB Bo Nix had a great year at Oregon. A lot of what he did would not have been accomplished without his go to guy Troy Franklin. It should be a smooth transition from working with one of the best QBs in college to one of the best in the NFL. He’ll have big shoes to fill with Stefon Diggs out of Buffalo, but someone’s going to have to step up, and I see no reason it can’t be him.
TRADE 29. Bo Nix, QB, Oregon	Speaking of Bo Nix, I have the Giants trading back up into the first round to grab him. While there’s a lot of upside in the Giants QB room, it lacks certainty. Nix is not quite a sure thing, but I think the Giants would benefit from at least throwing him into the mix for their QB battle with Drew Lock and Daniel Jones. There’s bound to be at least one capable starter out of that trio.
30. Jackson Powers-Johnson, OL, Oregon	The Ravens have had a lot of RB injuries over the past couple years, and I would imagine that’s partially due to o-line deficiencies. Powers-Johnson would help solidify the Ravens up the middle.
31. Tyler Guyton, OL, Oklahoma	The Niners may have some great blockers in OL Trent Williams and TE George Kittle, but this o-line could use some higher quality starters around Williams. Guyton would be capable of slotting in opposite Williams from Day 1.
32. Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas	The Chiefs had some serious WR problems last year. They did sign Hollywood Brown in free agency, but with the status Rashee Rice, KC’s only consistent 2023 receiver, in question it cannot hurt to add another reliable option at the position. Mitchell would quickly compete for targets with Brown, Travis Kelce, and eventually Rice. This is a great landing spot for him.

Patriots Mock Draft: Rounds 2 thru 7

• Round 2, Pick 2 (34th overall): Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State
• Round 3, Pick 4 (68th overall): Blake Fisher, OL, Notre Dame
• Round 4, Pick 3 (103rd overall): Jaylan Ford, LB, Texas
• Round 5, Pick 2 (137th overall): Xavier Thomas, ED, Clemson
• Round 6, Pick 4 (180th overall): Raheim Sanders, RB, Arkansas
• Round 6, Pick 17 (193rd overall): Cam Little, K, Arkansas
• Round 7, Pick 11 (231st overall): Andru Phillips, CB, Kentucky

I have the Pats filling their top three needs by the end of Day 2; Coleman is not far off from the receivers that will be taken at the end of Round 1 and Fisher has been overshadowed by Alt but was another key piece of the Notre Dame o-line who could slot in right away for the Pats.

Day 3 would focus on rounding out the defense, adding youth at the running back position, and finding a kicker to at least put pressure on Chad Ryland in camp. I would be particularly confident in Ford to compete for in-game defensive reps in his rookie year, as the linebacker position could still use some work. I would imagine HC Jerod Mayo will have some kind of a say in the linebacker pick and make sure he gets the chance to prove himself as the first draft pick under Mayo at his own former position. Thomas and Sanders would primarily be future investments, but who knows, they could impress in camp as they would be pretty insane value at these spots in the draft.

Feel free to comment with your thoughts on both the first round and my Patriots picks. Whatever happens, it should be a pretty wild draft week.