By Justin Vadenais

There’s no doubt about it. Plain and simple, the New England Patriots are at a crossroads. Well, to be honest, the Patriots WERE at a crossroads. However, Tom Brady made the first major decision of the franchise for them. He is now a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, and for the first time in a generation the immediate future of the franchise is uncertain at best. The crossroads that the Pats now face is just how much of a rebuild they want to partake in. They could begin to completely gut the roster and have a complete overhaul and start over at square one. However, I both personally hope and realistically believe that the Patriots will not do this. There are several reasons for this, the first of which is that they have not already begun to do this. They resigned Devin McCourty to a two year deal this offseason, as well as retaining other older veteran players they could have gotten value for on the trade market such as Dont’a Hightower, Stephon Gilmore and Julian Edelman. The Patriots could have cleared salary cap and recouped valuable draft assets by moving on from any number of these players, but they are all still here. To me, this means that Belichick and the organization believe they have a chance to be at least compete for a wild card playoff spot this year. And speaking of Belichick, he has shown no signs of wanting to stop coaching, but the man is 68 years old. I am not so sure he would want to spend however long he has left coaching rebuilding from the ground up.

There is also undoubtedly a personal motivation that Bill has this year to prove to the league he can win without Tom Brady. In what was essentially his only full season without Brady, Belichick went an impressive 11-5 with Matt Cassel at the helm, but the Patriots missed the playoffs on tiebreakers. He wants to make the playoffs without Brady and show that the system and the ideals are at the heart of the success more than any one player, even the greatest quarterback of all time. Thursday night’s draft will be a further indication of just how confident Bill is in this team. More NFL-ready players at positions of immediate need will indicate Bill wants them to contribute in the next few years and really push to win now. An early pick on a quarterback or other long term projects might be more indicative that Bill wants to develop a new group for a more long-term approach.  

After trading Rob Gronkowski to Tampa Bay for a fourth round selection, the Patriots now have 12 selections in the 2020 NFL draft. This includes a first rounder (23 overall), three third rounders (87, 98, and 100 overall), two fourth rounders (125 and 139 overall), a fifth rounder (172 overall), four sixth rounders (195, 204, 212, and 213 overall) and a seventh rounder (230 overall). I do not expect the Patriots to make all of these selections. Bill Belichick, as he often does, will take any opportunity that he finds to strategically move up and down the draft board over the next few days. So, I’m going to list a few prospects that I would personally love to see the Patriots target in general areas of the projected draft board. I am going to focus on areas that I fell are immediate need for the Patriots (safety, linebacker, tight end, and wide receiver), in addition to a quarterback, because regardless of how they feel about Stidham I believe they will select a quarterback at some point to at least give Stidham some camp competition.

First Round

As of right now, the Patriots would make their first selection at 23 overall. However, there are options for the Patriots to trade either up or down. The biggest and most shocking move would be the Patriots trading up into the low teens to draft former Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa. If Tua somehow falls by the Dolphins and Chargers and just outside the top 10, the Patriots could make a calculated strike and nab Tua. I don’t believe they would have the draft capital to move any higher than this, and although he may not be the perfect fit for the system, his raw talent may be too much for the organization to pass on should he take a fall this draft.

Selections I like for the Patriots if they stay at 23 or trade very close to that area are LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson and Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray. Jefferson is another player that would need to fall a few picks for the Patriots to have a shot at drafting him, but with other receivers projected ahead of him (Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb, Henry Ruggs, etc.), that is a possibility if other receiver-needy teams get their man before Jefferson. Jefferson is not the most NFL-ready receiver in the class, but the 6’1, 202 pounder has the athleticism, and catching ability that Bill Belichick may bet on and begin coaching up his route running and ability to create separation. Kenneth Murray is described as much more ready to make an immediate NFL Linebacker with very impressive playmaking ability and sideline to sideline speed. I believe Murray would be an immediate contributor to a linebacker core that is sometimes lackluster in the speed department and just lost Kyle Van Noy to Miami in free agency.

Second/Third Rounds

The Patriots right now do not have a second round pick (thanks Mohamed Sanu), but I don’t think it would shock many if they forego the first round and trade back into the early to mid second. There are several offensive weapons that I believe the Patriots have their eyes on as immediate contributors early in their careers. For me, WR Michael Pittman Jr., WR KJ Hill and TE Cole Kmet headline this potential group. Pittman is a former USC Trojan with an impressive size of 6’4, 223 lbs. that had a breakout season last year as the primary target in the USC offense. He pairs his big size with good physicality and ability to make contested catches. He isn’t the fastest receiver with the greatest burst, but could be a good red zone threat/run blocking contributor. Pittman also has made a notable impact on special teams, which we all know Belichick relishes in any player. The Ohio State Buckeye KJ Hill is a bit smaller at 6’0, 196 lbs. but had a very productive college career, becoming the all time reception leader in Ohio State history. He is a high football IQ receiver that already has an extensive route tree and runs those routes well with good discipline and sharp cuts to create space. He works well out of the slot and also returned punts.

Cole Kmet, from Notre Dame, is a bit more of a project, especially in the blocking department, but this tight end class is considerably weak and the Patriots definitely need a tight end, so they might scoop Kmet if they feel they are in the right position on the board to get a good value. He does have good size, standing 6’6 and 262 lbs., with the potential to be a vertical threat as a tight end, but will need to be more physical in his blocking to see consistent playing time in the Patriots right away.

QBs/Late Round Flyers

After the top 3 quarterbacks of Joe Burrow, Tua and Justin Hebert, the next group of QBs that are projected to go in the middle rounds are Georgia’s Jake Fromm, Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts, and Washington’s Jacob Eason. The patriots have been connected to Fromm and any of these guys would be worth a look at the right place on the draft board. Any of these prospects would compete and more than likely could win the starting gig over Jarrett Stidham, its just a matter of who the brain trust of Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels have the most faith in. McDaniels could covet Hurts because of his dynamic playmaking ability and athleticism. However, Fromm and Eason are more accurate passers from the pocket and may feel like safer bets because of that.

To close, some late round sleepers I wouldn’t mind seeing the Patriots take chances on are Missouri TE Albert Okwuegbunam, Clemson safety Tanner Muse, LSU linebacker Jacob Phillips and Georgia kicker Rodrigo Blankenship (yes I had to include him). No matter what the Patriots do, this weekend will give fans a ton of insight as to how Belichick views the outlook of the next few seasons: as either a chance to reload and continue to be a perennial competitive playoff team or a chance to reset the deck and enter a more thorough rebuild.