The New England Patriots will have some intriguing options when they pick 14th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
NFL Media's lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah spotlighted a handful of them when asked about potential Patriots fits by the Boston Herald's Karen Guregian. Our Phil Perry shared Jeremiah's list of five "Patriots-type" players on the latest episode of the Next Pats Podcast and shared his take on each of them.
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"(Northwestern tackle) Peter Skoronski. (Cornerback) Devon Witherspoon from Illinois because they value ball skills and instincts and awareness so much in the secondary. He definitely fits in that regard," Jeremiah said.
"I would give you (Georgia Tech defensive end) Keion White as one because of the versatility up front. He's almost 6-5, 280 pounds and he can be an edge setter, which they've always valued. The physicality to set the age in the run game. ... (Lukas) Van Ness from Iowa. Obviously, you have the connection there with Kirk Ferentz and (Bill) Belichick so he's always gonna be comfortable with Iowa players and he's a big, physical defensive lineman who can move inside, outside.
"And then if we want to go to the non-Power Five offensive linemen that they hit on last year with Cole Strange, why not go back and go with Cody Mauch from North Dakota State? Again, versatility, bunch of different positions, highly tough, highly intelligent Patriots-type guy."
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Perry broke down each player on Jeremiah's list and went especially deep on Keion White.
"This is somebody who is almost Deatrich Wise-sized," Perry said of White. "The length there will be interesting to find out at the combine, what his arms measure. I doubt he's going to be quite as long as Deatrich Wise, but true power player on the edge and the Patriots have been open to those types of guys in the past even though it does feel like they've been more of a 3-4 style defense rather than a 4-3 style defense. ...
"It'd be interesting to see if he would fit in their mold at the size that he's at. Seems sort of like a base end in a 4-3 type of defense. But rare traits, and if you're picking at No. 14 overall, and you feel like you've got somebody who's rare there. And he's transferred, he was a tight end early in his career, he missed some time. So he may be devalued for a number of different reasons whereas the Patriots might look at him and say, 'Don't tell me what he can't do, tell me what he might be down the road.'"
Hear what Perry had to say about the other names mentioned by Jeremiah in the full podcast episode.
Also in the new episode: Which WR would Jeremiah draft at No. 14 for the Patriots? Is No. 14 too early to draft a tight end? Players who could light up the NFL Combine. And Perry's latest NFL mock draft.
Check out the latest episode of the Next Pats Podcast on the NBC Sports Boston Podcast Network, or watch it on YouTube below: