Brock's Mocks: Patriots 7-Round Draft, Version 1.0
Welcome to the first-ever edition of Brock's Mocks - a new rendition of the very popular Mock Draft article trope. But this time, it's conducted by a former esports writer who is brand new to football writing and is okay with being pretty wrong.
My goal with this series is to look at several different variations of potential drafts that can happen come April. These are going to range from pretty standard, to absolutely bizarre. Why? Well, because if there's one thing we have all learned through the years, it's that no one really knows what will happen on Draft Day.
That's enough for an intro, let's see who the Pats will take in their first draft of the Mayo era.
Assumptions and Rules for Draft 1.0.
To keep things fresh, each of these mocks will have certain assumptions that I will make to account for those rumors and murmurs that come up throughout the offseason. Sometimes these assumptions will make sense, sometimes they will be a bit whacky. Either way, I'll make sure to bring them up early to not shock people reading through the mock.
First a few rules for today's draft.
The teams ahead of the Pats don’t do anything truly chaotic For our mock today I'm going to ignore any potential trade-downs, any pre-season trades that would drastically shake up the projected draft picks, or any brain-dead moves from the front offices.
The Pats don’t make any trades themselves Billy B is gone and so are his silly Draft Day shenanigans. The Patriots will use this 3rd overall pick to its fullest extent.
No massive surprises at the combine With the NFL Combine this week, player valuations are sure to shift. At the time of writing, I'm not going to worry about someone suddenly running a 4.2 or care about the players not participating in the Combine.
I'm Using PFF's Mock Draft Tool with Automated Picks Spoiler for those at home: I am lazy. When I can, I will certainly do a little less work because there are other things I have to do (like walk my dog). To work on multiple mocks quickly, I am utilizing PFF's tool on turbo speed.
Ok that should be all you need to know, let's get to it!
Patriots Mock Draft 1.0
Here's the TL;DR version for those who want an easy Twitter screenshot.
Time for the Exciting Portion of the Draft
Pick No. 3: Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
Sometimes there’s a prospect that is too good to pass up - especially when your team desperately needs help in that position. Marvin Harrison Jr. is most likely falling into the Patriots lap and New England would be foolish to let him slide further. They do still need a player to throw him the ball though. Luckily they can fill that need in the same draft.
Pick No. 34: Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington
Michael Penix has slowly been dropping in mock drafts, which benefits the QB-needy Patriots. 2nd in the Heisman voting this past year, Penix proved to be an NFL-caliber signal caller. The main critique of Penix is his injury history. Two ACL tears have left some organizations hesitant but the Pats, once again, should be taking a shot here on someone who can help usher in the new-age Patriots.
Pick No. 68: Malachi Corley, WR Western Kentucky
Patriots fans had the displeasure of watching one of the toughest WR corps last season and this draft should be a good way to fix that. MHJ might need some help to save this team, which means NE needs another option. Enter Malachi Corley - the Swiss Army knife from Western Kentucky. Corley should help complete a revamped WR room with MHJ and Pop Douglas.
And yes, he did play with Bailey Zappe. So that adds some fun flavor to this pick as well.
Enter: The Boring Portion of the Draft
Pick No. 104: Dominick Puni, T, Kansas
Man, do the Pats need to improve on their offensive line. If they can’t bring back key fee agents, then it’s time to bring in some new blood. Dominick Puni, the big tackle from Kansas, will go a long way to bringing some stability back to the front 5 for the offense.
Pick No. 136: Cooper Beebe, G, Kansas State
See above. Cooper Beebe is PFF’s second-best guard in the class, and grabbing another key depth piece will go a long way for a young Patriots roster. The Patriots ran into the meat grinder this year thanks to injuries. It would be nice to have some solid players to fill in when needed, especially to protect Penix if he ends up the QB of choice.
Pick No. 182: Brennan Jackson, ED, Washington State
While everyone is looking at the wide receivers in this class, people may not notice the depth of the edge defender class. Brennan Jackson out of Washington State would do wonders for Jerod Mayo’s defense. The only question mark - will he even be around this late in the draft? The draft simulator is only so perfect, and I’m still getting the hang of this.
Pick No. 229: Brandon Coleman, T, Texas Christian
Why not close out the draft with another tackle? Coleman may not be an immediate starter, but that’s ok. At 6’6’’ he’s a good-sized dude that could be a relevant starter in a few years.
And that's it! Wow, what a rush.
Nothing like a quick keyboard-GM session to get the heart pumping. That's all I got for you all for the series premiere. Look out for the next mock coming out shortly to see how else this team can view the 2024 NFL Draft.
For now, I think it's safe to say I saved the Patriots franchise with this draft.
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