When you look around the NFL, and the AFC in particular, you see a lot of high-powered offenses boasting star wide receivers.
It's a passing-focused league these days, and that has made the cornerback position even more important. The New England Patriots do not have a true No. 1 cornerback on their roster right now.
They chose not to re-sign Stephon Gilmore in 2021 and didn't extend J.C. Jackson last offseason. Jonathan Jones is a free agent this summer, and if he leaves for another team, the Patriots will be quite thin at cornerback.
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Perry's seven-round NFL Mock Draft: Belichick gets Mac Jones some help
Regardless of what happens to Jones, the Patriots need to add some top-tier talent and more depth at this position. The 2023 NFL Draft is a great place to achieve that goal.
In fact, ESPN expert Todd McShay released his new 2023 NFL Mock Draft on Wednesday, and he projects the Patriots taking Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. with the No. 14 pick in the first round.
Here is McShay's analysis of the selection:
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"With Jonathan Jones now a free agent, cornerback seems like a very possible Day 1 target for the Pats -- especially if none have come off the board by the time they pick. Porter had only one career interception at Penn State (in 2021), but he broke up 11 passes last season. He has length and plays a physical brand of football, rerouting receivers off the line of scrimmage and outmuscling them on 50-50 balls despite weighing just 198 pounds."
Porter tallied 27 tackles, 11 passes defensed and one fumble recovery in 10 games for the Nittany Lions last season. He also allowed zero touchdowns in 275 coverage snaps.
If the Patriots are going to get back to the playoffs and contend for an AFC title again in the near future, they must be able to defend the top wide receivers in the conference, most notably Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Stefon Diggs, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. The AFC East division features plenty of talented wideouts, too.
While cornerback is a huge need for the Patriots, other positional weaknesses they could target in Round 1 of the upcoming draft include offensive tackle and wide receiver.