Over the first two days of the draft, the Patriots padded Bill Belichick’s defense by adding a cornerback, linebacker and pass rusher.
Armed with nine picks entering Saturday’s final round, they invested all of them into the other sides of the ball.
The Patriots drafted three offensive linemen, two wide receivers, a new kicker, punter and a projected core special teamer before punctuating their 2023 class with one of the best returners in college football.
Maryland kicker Chad Ryland and Michigan State punter Bryce Baringer are the new faces of Belichick’s special teams, having been drafted in the fourth and sixth rounds, respectively. The Pats executed a rare trade with the Jets to move up to No. 112 overall, where Ryland became the highest-drafted specialist of the Belichick era. He was their second pick after they added Troy center/guard Jake Andrews.
Ryland was the consensus No. 2 kicker in the draft behind Michigan’s Jake Moody, who went in the third round Friday. He has one of the strongest legs in this year’s class and hit a field goal from 50-plus in every season of his five-year career. Over the past two seasons — split between Eastern Michigan and Maryland — he went 17-of-22 from beyond 40 yards and made better than 84% of his kicks overall. Ryland transferred to Maryland last year.
After Ryland went, the Patriots added a former teammate of his in Eastern Michigan offensive lineman Sidy Sow. The Quebec native stands at 6-foot-4 and 323 pounds and was one of the draft’s most athletic and experienced offensive lineman. Sow started 44 games at left guard over the last four seasons after taking 11 at left tackle in 2018.
Sow was voted to the MAC all-conference first team each of the past two year. He is regarded as a powerful run-blocker with strong football intelligence and versatility. He only committed one penalty last season, per The Athletic.
Still unsatisfied with their offensive line depth, the Pats added UCLA fifth-year senior Atonio Mafi in the fifth round. The 6-foot-3, 329-pounder is regarded as a mauler in the run game. He transitioned from defensive tackle to O-line in 2020, then started 16 games split between left guard and right guard over the past two years.
The Patriots were familiar with Mafi after coaching him at East-West Shrine Bowl, where he was voted a team captain at the end of the week. He later took a top-30 visit to Foxboro, as did five of the team’s first six draft picks.
“Good versatility there between the three of them,” Patriots director of player personnel Matt Groh said of the three offensive linemen. “With Jake having played guard and center, Atonio, really being more of a guard, and then stretching out to Sidy playing guard and tackle in his career. So three good guys to bring a real hard-nosed attitude here to the offensive line.”
The 6-foot-2, 201-pound Bolden has terrific long speed (4.33) and explosive return ability. He started his career at Florida State before transferring to Jackson State under then head coach Deion Sanders. He was a one-year starter at cornerback and recorded seven pass breakups last season.
The Pats then opened the sixth round with a bang, selecting LSU wide receiver Kayson Boutte. A former freshman All-American, Boutte was considered a potential first-round pick heading into last season. Moments later, the Patriots sandwiched Baringer’s selection with another wide receiver: Liberty’s Demario Douglas.
Like Mafi, Douglas played under the Patriots coaching staff at the East-West Shrine Bowl in January, where he flashed his 4.4 speed and above-average agility against other college prospects. The 5-foot-9, 179-pounder works almost exclusively out of the slot. He had 79 catches for 993 yards last season and could also provide depth as a returner.
Douglas is slight and doesn’t compete well on contested catches, but can create yards after the catch as well as most receivers in the draft. The 22-year-old led Liberty in receiving each of the past two years but didn’t see a drop-off in his per-catch or per-game numbers despite an increase in targets and defensive attention.
As for Baringer, he averaged 49 yards per punt last season as the Big Ten Punter of the Year. He was also named a first-team All-American.
“To be able to add two of the very top players at their positions in Chad and Bryce to the team,” Groh said, “certainly was an opportunity that we didn’t want to pass up on.”
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Two picks after Baringer came off the board, the Patriots added an ex-teammate of his in Michigan State cornerback Ameer Speed. The aptly named cover man stands at 6-foot-3 and 209 pounds and clocked a 4.33 in the 40-yard dash at his Pro Day. He also recorded a 6.99-second time in the 3-cone, a plus time for tall cornerbacks and an important measure for the Patriots at his position.
Speed is a long press corner with minimal starting experience after he was buried on the depth chart at Georgia for five seasons. Last year, he transferred to Michigan State, where he started 11 of 12 games, made 62 tackles and broke up five passes. He did not record an interception in college and projects as a special teamer in New England.
With their last pick, the Patriots returned to the same well and pulled out Jackson State cornerback Isaiah Bolden in the seventh round. Bolden took a top-30 visit to Foxboro earlier this month.
The 6-foot-2, 201-pounder has terrific long speed (4.33) and explosive return ability. He started his career at Florida State before transferring to Jackson State under then head coach Deion Sanders. He was a one-year starter at cornerback and recorded seven pass breakups last season.
In 2021, Bolden was arguably the best returner in college football with a 36.9 yards per return average. He also took two kickoffs back for touchdowns on returns of 94 and 91 yards. Bolden projects as a developmental corner in New England.
"You've got to have naturally fast guys and that's what a lot of these players are. And we are always looking to upgrade our team across the board with all their skillsets," Groh said. "The league is only getting faster and faster. We don't want to just try and keep up; we want to push the pace here."