A successful draft for the Patriots will mean more than nailing their first pick Thursday night.
They must also hit Friday and Saturday, when they’re scheduled to hold 10 picks. It’s unlikely they use them all, possibly packaging a few in a trade up.
Behold, the best Patriot fits on Day 2 and Day 3 of the upcoming NFL Draft.
The Patriots coached Douglas at the East-West Shrine Bowl, where he shined as an explosive, yet fluid, athlete in space. He would add the type of dynamism missing from the team’s receiving corps. At 5-foot-8, Douglas is small, but his long speed (4.4) and short-area quickness should be too much to pass up come the fifth and sixth rounds.
Musgrave fits the mold of another tight end the Patriots took in the second round: Rob Gronkowski.
Not in the sense he’s destined to become one of the greatest tight ends of all time, but Musgrave stock has dropped due to injury. Musgrave appeared in just two games last year, then returned and tested as arguably the best athlete at his position. When healthy, he’s been highly productive on a per-game basis, making him a worthy play on Day 2. He carries prototypical size (6-foot-5, 253 pounds) and blocks better than most of the other tight ends in this class.
If the Patriots pass on an offensive tackle in Round 1, keep an eye on Steen.
The 6-foot-6, 321-pounder played both tackle spots in college over his time at Vanderbilt and Alabama, experience and versatility the front office tends to treasure. He also started all 13 games for the Crimson Tide last year and checks every box for Patriots scouts on the offensive line: smart, tough and athletic enough. With his former offensive coordinator, Bill O’Brien, now in New England, expect Steen to have plenty of support in the war room.
Another East-West Shrine Bowl alum, Mafi was elected a team captain during the week of practice under the Patriots’ coaching staff. He’s started 25 games across both guard spots after starting his career as a defensive lineman. Carrying the requisite size (6-3, 32), Mafi is another O-lineman who should appeal to the Patriots on Day 3.
A prototypical Patriot from a traits standpoint alone, Foskey also played like one in college, when he was voted a team captain and blocked four punts. Last year, he was named a first-team All-American after nabbing 11 sacks and a forced fumble. Some evaluators see Foskey as a traditional 4-3 end, but given his none-stop hustle and ability to play across the defensive front, the Patriots could see him as an easy pick in the second round.
A torn pectoral kept Mapu from testing at the NFL Combine and working out pre-draft, but his tape says at all.
He’s a vicious hitter, fast processor and instinctive coverage player who dominated his level of competition. Finding a fit for Mapu might be difficult initially due to his size (6-foot-3, 217 pounds) and the Patriots’ depth at safety, but he plays like he was built in a lab for Bill Belichick’s defense. Last season, he recorded 76 tackles, two interceptions, four pass breakups and a blocked kick.
If the Patriots are looking for a man-cover corner on Day 3, Blackmon should be near the top of their list.
He was as sticky as any cornerback in college football last year, snatching three interceptions, deflecting nine other passes and making 16 tackles. His ball skills are precisely what the Patriots have coveted in recent years. Throw in his experience playing outside and over the slot, and Blackmon flat out fits the bill.
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An overlooked corner in this draft, Moss posted one of the fastest 3-cone times at the NFL combine — an important data point for the Patriots, whose drafted corners have averaged one of the fastest 3-cone times of any team the last 10 years. More than that, Moss posted 13 pass breakups last season and forced two fumbles as a senior captain. He competes hard against the run and logged close to 600 special teams snaps over his career, more predictors of a future Patriot.
If the Patriots are looking to find Devin McCourty's replacement in the draft, Martin could be it.
At Illinois, under former Pats assistant Bret Bielema, he often played closer to the line of scrimmage, but his 40 time shows he should be capable of manning the middle of the field in single-high coverage full-time. Martin is another senior captain and sure tackler, who reputedly has high football character. Between his versatility, athleticism (he ranked No. 1 among safeties at the combine in 10-yard split during the 40, vertical jump and broad jump) and smarts, it's hard not to see Martin somewhere on the Patriots' board.
The best punter in the draft played at Rutgers under Greg Schiano, a Bill Belichick confidant?
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