Post Patriots Draft Thoughts

By: Steve Atkinson

The Patriots across the board got a high grade from draft experts. Pro Football Focus gave them an A- grade even Mel Kiper was impressed with their draft. The Patriots made defense a priority in the first three rounds and they had to when you think about it. With Aaron Rodgers now in the AFC East, you have to load up on defense and add depth. Cornerback Christian Gonzalez out of Oregon looks up to Stefon Gilmore. The Patriots really haven’t had a legit number-one cornerback since J.C. Jackson. Gonzalez who was projected to go top 10 slid to the Patriots at pick 17. Director of Player Personnel Matt Groh spoke to reporters after the first round.

Patriots Have A Solid First Round

“Excited to be able to add Christian Gonzalez to the team. True junior but a player we have certainly been on here for the last year with Tony Kinkela as our west national scout living out in Boise, knowing the Pac-12 really well, from Christian’s time at Colorado and then moving with Coach Demetrice Martin from Colorado to Oregon. Tony, Chris Caminiti, those guys were on Christian early. So younger player but certainly a guy who we’ve spent a lot of time watching here over the last year with the eye of him possibly coming out early. So to be able to pick up Christian and pick up an extra fourth round pick, I feel very encouraged by day one.

Christian adds size to the position and should be able to make an immediate impact.

Keion White was the Patriots second overall pick from Georgia Tech. White fits the mold well already as he is all business. His facial expression went viral after it was announced he was going to the Patriots but explained he was not about the excitement and wanted to get to work. The Patriots didn’t hold White for a pre-draft visit but did go to his Pro Days. White adds depth to the defensive end unit. Also, with Matthew Judon being the best player on defense last year getting in sacks White should be able to add to the sack number also. Bill Belichick spoke on Friday night and had this to say about White.

The Patriots also added Marte Mapu who will also add depth at the linebacker position.

“Keion’s [White] a guy that really came on this year at [Georgia] Tech. You know, he was injured last year, had a pretty productive career at Old Dominion then transferred in and missed part of the season last year but had a really good year this year in ’22, even though there was some head coaching change and all that in midseason. And then Marte [Mapu] was a good visit. Smaller school guy, really productive guy. Did a lot of different things in their defensive scheme, and so really good to have both players. I thought that Matt [Groh] and his staff really did a great job, again of managing all the draft information that they’ve processed over the last year. Matt, Eliot [Wolf], Cam [Williams] and their respective staffs.“

Patriots Bill Belichick Gets Asked About Mac Jones

Thank you, Greg Bedard, for asking about Mac Jones to Bill Belichick. Greg asked Bill to clarify reports that he was shopping Mac Jones which Bill wasn’t going to comment on anonymous quotes. Then Greg asked if Mac was the quarterback for the team. Belichick’s answer was

 “Yeah, I mean, look, Mac’s been our quarterback for two years. As I tell the team every year, each player, each coach, we all have to re-establish and prove ourselves every year. That’s what this league is. So that’s for all of us.2023 is 2023 and we’ll see how it goes.“

Greg followed up by asking how Belichick if he felt the same way he did going into last year’s season and training camp. Belichick replied

“Absolutely.”

I’m going to rewind and go back to a quote Belichick said during the 2022 off-season being positive about Mac Jones.

“I think Mac’s done a great job,” Belichick said during a press conference. “He’s worked extremely hard. He’s got a tremendous work ethic in all areas. I think there’s a dramatic improvement. His physical work and conditioning, working on his mechanics, working on his footwork, working on his understanding of our offense, of opponents defense, of situations all those things. We talk about all those things in various degrees some more emphasis than others and the emphasis on maybe some other things that will come later on.”

So, because Belichick still won’t take any responsibility for last season’s clown show he’s changed his tune and is blaming Mac and the Players by saying “every year you got to prove yourself we’ll see what happens in 2023.” Just own up to it Bill, you made a mistake by not hiring a real offensive coordinator, so the owner went out and got one to get Mac back on track. It isn’t rocket science.

The Patriots Finish The Draft Strong

On the third and final day, the Patriots traded up for a kicker Chad Ryland, then selected center Sidy Sow. Another offensive lineman Atonio Mafi, then finally drafted two wide receivers Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglas. They also drafted a punter, Bryce Baringer.

The Patriots signed Malik Cunninghan as an undrafted free agent out of Louisville. He will probably compete for the backup job with Bailey Zappe. They also have Trace McSorley, either McSorley or Cunningham will end up on the practice squad.

The Patriots had a good draft adding depth on defense and getting some offensive linemen and wide receivers on offense. It’ll be interesting to see it all come together in OTA’s and training camp.