Perry's crowd-sourced NFL Mock Draft: Patriots fans target QB early
We've done plenty of NFL mock drafts ourselves. And no, we're not done. But last week felt like the perfect time to put the mock controls in your hands, as we've done each of the last few years as the end of April inches closer.The mechanics here are simple enough. First, we pop open the Pro Football Focus mock draft simulator. Then, with each Patriots pick -- starting at No. 15 overall and moving through all seven rounds -- we present you four options from which to choose via Twitter poll. From there, it's all yours.You can fill out needs as you check them off. You can try to put yourself in Bill Belichick's shoes and spend, spend, spend on special teams. Whatever your decision, it's a democratic process. The player who gets the votes finds his way into this fake 2021 Patriots draft class.Let's see what you came up with...
The pick: South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn
South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn: 54%
Michigan EDGE Kwity Paye: 23.1%
Alabama DT Christian Barmore: 14.2%
Virginia Tech OT Christian Darrisaw: 8.7%
It's not a quarterback, but this could've gone much worse. Just being honest. There's a scenario in which the Patriots A) can't trade up and B) miss out on one of the top-tier players in this draft class because of where they sit in the first round.
Picture this: five quarterbacks, three wide receivers, two offensive linemen, two cornerbacks, top edge defender Kwity Paye and top defensive tackle Christian Barmore all come off the board before the Patriots pick. That's 14 players. Maybe Virginia Tech tackle Christian Darrisaw is worth No. 15. Maybe not. It's a deep tackle class.
Luckily for the people here, Horn, Darrisaw, Barmore and Paye are all available. And Horn wins in a landslide (54 percent of the vote). He's an ideal scheme fit for the Patriots as one of the most confident and aggressive man-to-man corners in this class.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder has long arms (33 inches) and an explosive athleticism (4.4-second 40, 41.5-inch vertical, 133-inch broad). He's a nice fit for the Patriots, who could be looking for a new No. 1 corner in the near future.
Editor's Note: Check out PFF's Mock Draft simulator here
The pick: Texas A&M QB Kellen Mond
Texas A&M QB Kellen Mond: 43.6%
Purdue WR Rondale Moore: 34.9%
Florida QB Kyle Trask: 12%
Stanford OT Walker Little: 9.6%
Just because the Patriots didn't get a quarterback on Day 1 doesn't mean that they can't come away with one on Day 2. And that's exactly what you decided to have them do, eschewing the opportunity to draft an explosive slot receiver in Purdue's Rondale Moore and a possible franchise tackle in Stanford's Walker Little.
Here we provided you with two QBs and you made a definitive choice by going with Mond (43.6 percent) over Florida's Kyle Trask (12 percent).
Mond has tools. His arm is strong enough to uncork throws from wonky platforms, and he's a good enough athlete to be a factor in any team's designed running game. He's stiff as he sets up in the pocket -- though that can be worked on, JT O'Sullivan told us on the Next Pats Podcast -- and he never consistently put together a long stretch of elite play.
But he's coming to the NFL from a challenging conference with a boatload of experience in a pro-style offense. If there's a gamble worth taking at the position, Mond might be the guy.
Perry: Mond among Patriots' best Day 2 options at QB
The pick: Michigan WR Nico Collins
Michigan WR Nico Collins: 37.7%
BYU OT Brady Christensen: 29.7%
Louisiana Tech DT Milton Williams: 18.9%
North Carolina RB Michael Carter: 13.6%
With a quarterback and a cornerback freshly added to the roster through the first two rounds, two glaring needs remained for the Patriots. Both came on the offensive side of the ball: tackle and wide receiver.
Why tackle? Isaiah Wynn and Trent Brown both have just one year remaining on their Patriots contracts. They need another top-flight player at the position to help protect against injury, but also to give Belichick a plan at that premier spot moving forward.
Why receiver? Because the Patriots' receiver room remains one of the slowest in football, and though the additions at tight end should help spark the offense, there is still no clear-cut 11-personnel grouping for Josh McDaniels at the moment. Adding an athlete outside the numbers -- allowing Nelson Agholor to be used as a versatile piece -- could help.
An outside-the-numbers option is exactly what Collins represents, and that's the player you wanted as he edged out BYU tackle Brady Christensen (37.7 percent versus 29.7 percent).
Collins had a strong showing at the Senior Bowl, which he needed after opting out of 2020, and the 6-foot-4, 215-pounder posted tremendous numbers at his pro day (4.45-second 40, 6.71-second three-cone, 37.5 vert, 125 broad). He's an elite athlete hailing from a program that Belichick respects and could make an immediate impact in Foxboro as a late third-rounder.
Perry: How can Patriots fill WR void after Edelman's retirement
The Pick: Northern Iowa OT Spencer Brown
Northern Iowa OT Spencer Brown: 37.1%
Texas A&M DT Bobby Brown: 33.2%
Florida OT Stone Forsythe: 23.6%
Central Arkansas CB Rob Rochell: 6%
Here's where you went and grabbed your tackle. We helped you through it by listing Florida's Stone Forsythe -- who had some extremely encouraging reps against top-flight rushers in the SEC -- as an option, but you went away from the Power Five Guy in order to get the Freak Athlete Guy.
Brown put up a perfect Relative Athletic Score for Kent Platte, checking in at 6-foot=8, 311 pounds at his pro day and lighting it up in just about every test. He ran a 4.88-second 40, a 4.44-second shuttle and a mind-boggling 7.03-second three-cone drill. Those rank in the 96th, 95th and 99th percentiles for tackles, respectively.
Brown's jumps were equally silly (31.5-inch vertical, 117-inch broad) and could have the Patriots telling themselves that they can mold those tools into a top-flight left tackle.
Perry's Prototypical Patriots: Brown among potential OT fit
The Pick: Texas A&M DT Bobby Brown III
The vote between Spencer Brown and Bobby Brown was so tight at No. 120 overall that we rolled with Bobby Brown two picks later as the choice. No sense in making you go through the trouble of clicking through another poll when the answer is right there in front of us, right? Work smarter, not harder.
The reason why Bobby Brown makes so much sense as the team's second fourth-rounder is because he's such a large fellow. At 6-foot-4, 321 pounds and with 35-inch arms, he has the frame to serve as a true nose tackle in Belichick's defense -- and the Patriots could use one.
Brown is an athlete too, particularly for someone who has as much mass as he does (33-inch vertical, 113-inch broad jump). Brown will be just 20 years old on draft weekend.
The Pick: Georgia G Ben Cleveland
Georgia G Ben Cleveland: 28.5%
Florida State EDGE Janarius Robinson: 27.6%
Stanford CB Paulson Adebo: 27.4%
Illinois C/G Kendrick Green: 16.4%
The Patriots just lost Joe Thuney to free agency and yet they look OK on the interior of the offensive line at the moment. Shaq Mason, Mike Onwenu, David Andrews. Strong group. How to make it stronger in the fourth round? Add to it The Mountain from Game of Thrones.
Cleveland is firmly in the mix as a don't-grow-on-trees type. He's 6-foot-6, 343 pounds and yet still ran a 5.01-second 40 time at his pro day. With 25 starts in the SEC at a program that Belichick holds in high regard? You're thinking like the head coach you've watched for two decades.
Perry's Prototypical Patriots: Ben Cleveland among interior OL fits
The Pick: Florida State EDGE Joshua Kaindoh
Florida State EDGE Joshua Kaindoh: 32.7%
Miami K Jose Borregales: 26.8%
Buffalo EDGE Malcolm Koonce: 23%
Arkansas DT Jonathan Marshall: 17.6%
At this point in the mock draft, you've essentially filled out any need or perceived need or future need. (Except you passed on taking a kicker here in the fifth. Even though Belichick loves taking specialists in the fifth.) So what's next?
Kaindoh may have a hard time seeing the field over newly-acquired (and high-priced) free agent Matt Judon. But as a developmental strong-side outside linebacker, Kaindoh is worth the investment here.
He has the length (6-foot-6, 260 pounds, 34.5-inch arms) and athleticism (36.5-inch vertical, 125-inch broad) to carry more promise than most taken at this position in this range. A former five-star recruit, Kaindoh could be to the edge what 2019 fifth-round pick (and former five-star player) Byron Cowart has been to the interior of the defensive line in Foxboro.
The Pick: Buffalo RB Jaret Patterson
Buffalo RB Jaret Patterson: 40.6%
Louisiana RB Elijah Mitchell: 27.2%
Texas A&M LB Buddy Johnson: 17.5%
South Alabama LB Riley Cole: 14.7%
You have the Patriots absolutely cornering the market on undersized dynamos at the running back position with this pick. Despite two sturdy linebackers and a bigger, more explosive running back available, you go with a JJ Taylor type who possesses one of the most entertaining highlight reels in the draft class.
Patterson may be undersized (5-foot-7, 195 pounds), but his 40 time (4.52) and three-cone drill (7.03 seconds) are in line with what the Patriots like from an athletic testing standpoint.
So too is his level of production. He was a 1,000-yard rusher in each of his three seasons at Buffalo, including an 1,804-yard campaign in 2019 and a 1,074-yard year when he only had the chance to play in six games in 2020.
The Pick: LSU WR Racey McMath
LSU WR Racey McMath: 42.6%
Cincinnati S Darrick Forrest: 27.6%
Pittsburgh CB Jason Pinnock: 15.3%
Texas Tech CB Zech McPhearson: 14.4%
By now we've gotten to the special-teamers-the-Patriots-would-love portion of the mock draft. You know it. I know it. What's the point of offering up a late-round quarterback or a 230-pound coverage linebacker when an elite athlete who could be a core piece in the kicking game seems more Belichick's style?
All four of the options here are tremendous athletes, but McMath is interesting because of the combination of size (6-foot-2, 217) and explosiveness (4.39-second 40) he brings to the table. He may never be a route-runner in Josh McDaniels' offense (7.37-second three-cone), but if he's cool bee-lining it down the field on Cam Achord's kick coverage units, he has the juice to do it.
Plus, he was a core special-teamer at LSU -- tough to crack the loaded Tigers depth chart at receiver in recent years -- and so the Patriots will know he's willing and able to handle those types of responsibilities
The Pick: Boise State CB Avery Williams
Boise State CB Avery Williams: 31.3%
Central Missouri TE/P Zach Davidson: 25.4%
Texas DT Ta'Quon Graham: 23.9%
Stanford WR Connor Wedington: 19.5%
We're approaching Mr. Irrelevant territory here. But Williams has been anything but as a member of Boise State's special teams units.
A preferred walk-on, he became a four-year starter at Boise State and was named a 2020 All-American as a special teamer. The return man had nine career touchdowns, has blocked a field goal, blocked an extra point, blocked multiple punts, and has forced a fumble while covering a kick.
He has over 600 career special teams snaps to his name, according to NFL Media's Ben Fennell. Sound like a Patriot to you? Of course he does. It's why you picked him.
