Patriots fans should watch these draft prospects when college football begins
With some Patriots fans already looking ahead to the 2025 NFL Draft, here are the players they should be watching when the college football season kicks off.
Regular season football is back this week! No, not the NFL – there’s still a few weeks there. We’re talking about college football. On Saturday the 2024 season kicks off with ‘Week 0‘ with a handful of teams getting their seasons started before the first full slate of the year during Labor Day Weekend.
How much is the start of college football season going to resonate locally? Probably not much. College football has just never been overly popular in New England. Maybe Bill O’Brien breathes some life into what has been a struggling Boston College program, but overall the local teams have not given fans anything to sink their teeth into.
At the same time, I often get asked by people how they can start getting into college football. One easy way is to watch through the lens of a team people around here do care about – the New England Patriots.
With the Patriots working their way through a rebuild, the draft is as important as ever. Yet when the NFL Draft rolls around, many Patriots fans are playing catch-up on the top players available. For those who don’t watch college football, they may not be learning names of players until the NFL Combine rolls around in February.
This year, why not be ahead of the curve (and have some fun watching football on the way). Want to get into college football? Follow it for the players we’ll be talking about in relation to the Patriots in the spring.
So with the college season about to start, it’s time for our annual look at logical Patriots draft targets to watch during the 2024 college football season. We’ll be looking mostly at players currently projected to go in the top 100 of the draft, at key positions of need, start with individual players who could be the team’s top pick, then looking at some other positions as a group as well.
Keep in mind though, this is a very early list. Draft projections can and most likely will change over the course of the season (at this time last year Jayden Daniels was considered a borderline draftable player, while two years ago a guy like Kayshon Boutte was viewed as a potential top-15 pick). Also, some of these players still have remaining eligibility and could return to school rather than enter the draft this year. Still, these are names I expect to be tied to the Patriots throughout the season, and into the draft process if they do declare.
With that all being said, let’s get started with the two best players at what is generally considered to be the Patriots’ biggest position of need right now, left tackle.
LT Will Campbell, LSU
Campbell is the player most tied to the Patriots as the pre-draft process begins. The true junior is currently viewed as the top tackle in this class and is a projected top 10 pick.
At 6-foot-6, 323 pounds Campbell has the ideal combination of power and athleticism generally found with high-end tackles. He’s also very experienced for somebody his age (he turned 20 in January) – he’s been LSU’s starting left tackle since the start of his true freshman year. Last year he was awarded LSU’s coveted No. 7, which is given every year to the player deemed the team’s best playmaker by the coaching staff. Campbell is the first lineman to be given the honor (he wore 66 with a No. 7 patch due to NCAA rules). Others to wear it since the tradition began in 2008 include Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu, Leonard Fournette, Ja’Marr Chase, and Kayshon Boutte.
Right now the biggest question about Campbell is his unorthodox technique. It works for him right now and it’s nothing that seems to hinder him in terms of production, but if he struggles out of the gate in the NFL that will be the first thing that’s adjusted.
Campbell isn’t quite the level of prospect Joe Alt was last year, but if he were in that class he would have been the clear second tackle and closer to Alt than the rest of the field. If the Patriots can land him, the expectation would be they’d have their left tackle position set for the next decade-plus.
LT Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas
Banks is the only other true left tackle projected to go in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but comes in highly regarded and is currently projected as a top 15 pick. Like Campbell he’s well ahead of most players his age. He won the starting left tackle spot at Texas as a true freshman and has been All-Big 12 in each of his two seasons in Austin.
At 6-foot-4, 324 pounds Banks is an elite pass-blocking prospect who can win with both athleticism and power. He allowed just nine pressures and one sack (it came in the first game of the season) in 445 pass blocking snaps last year and his 87 PFF pass blocking grade is the highest of all returning qualified tackles at the FBS level (he was 7th last year overall).
In particular, Banks had some of his best performances against the toughest competition. In Texas’ Week 2 matchup against Alabama he allowed just one pressure on 42 pass plays, and then allowed just two pressures in 53 pass plays against Washington in the College Football Playoff.
What separates Campbell and Banks heading into the season is run blocking. Banks isn’t a bad run blocker, but he’s just not as dominant as Campbell – especially when it comes to finishing blocks. That will be the biggest thing pro talent evaluators look for in his game this season.
WR Luther Burden III, Missouri
Another true junior, Burden burst onto the scene last year for the Tigers when he caught 86 passes for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns in 13 games. He heads into this season projected to be the top wide receiver off the board in the spring.
Burden is the kind of receiver that is becoming more and more of a staple in the modern game. At 5-foot-11, 208 pounds he’s quick, shifty, and and a true threat with the ball in his hands while also being able to stress the defense deep with a strong ability to track the ball over his shoulder. Simply put, he’s what most fans would call a ‘weapon’ and projects to the Z or slot positions.
While not as technically sound of a route runner and a bit undersized, there’s still a lot to like about Burden’s game. The question when it comes to the Patriots though is whether or not they’d want to add another player of that prototype – albeit a better one – or if they’d want to add a player who fits a different mold entirely. That brings us to our next player…
WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
The Patriots’ current top receivers mostly fill Z (Kendrick Bourne, Ja’Lynn Polk) or slot (Pop Douglas) roles. What the team is lacking is the true ‘X’ – a big, physical outside receiver who can win down the field.
That’s where McMillan comes in. The only other receiver currently projected to be a top-15 pick, McMillan checks in at 6-foot-5, 210 pounds. With that size he’s excellent at contested catches and has a big catch radius, but also has shown good quickness and elusiveness both as a route runner and with the ball in his hand.
He’s not a burner but has shown an ability to make plays even with defenders right on him. Case in point, sometimes these bigger receivers are more big play threats than volume options, but last year he caught 90 passes for 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns in 13 games. As a true Freshman at Arizona he caught 39 passes for 702 yards and eight touchdowns in 12 games.
The Patriots also should be able to get more familiar with McMillan than most teams. For the last two years he was coached by former Patriots assistant Jedd Fisch at Arizona. Although Fisch is now at Washington, he still recruited McMillan and spent two years with him.
EDGE James Pearce Jr., Tennessee
Tackle and wide receiver are obviously the Patriots’ biggest needs right now, but they’re not their only needs. Let’s wrap up with the first round with a few other players who play other positions of need that may be less glaring right now, but could potentially work their way into the conversation if things develop one way or the other during the season.
We’ll start with Pearce, who is the top edge rusher in this draft and in the conversation to be the top overall pick. At 6-foot-5, 240 pounds Pearce is a pure pass rusher who had 52 pressures and 10 sacks in 13 games last season. He only has one year as a full-time starter so he’ll need to build on that season in order to secure his spot near the top of the draft, but there’s a lot to like from a pass rushing standpoint. Making more plays against the run would help his case as well.
If the Patriots feel replacing Matthew Judon as the team’s top pass rushing threat is such a priority that they need to use a first-round pick, Pearce will be the main guy in that discussion. Abdul Carter from Penn State is another player to watch in that regard.
DL Deone Walker, Kentucky
Sticking with the theme of the Patriots potentially needing to replace blue-chip defenders, Walker would be their answer if Christian Barmore can’t return from his blood clot issue. Walker has that rare mix of size and explosiveness the Patriots got from Barmore, and is actually more of a pass rusher than a run stopper at 6-foot-6, 345 pounds.
Using a first round pick on a defensive tackle is a very significant investment, but Walker is one of the rare players who may be worth it. That being said, that pick for the Patriots would likely come with a trade down, and would have to mean the Patriots figured some other positions out through internal growth and/or free agency. Still, Walker is a good player to know and a very fun player to watch.
CB Will Johnson, Michigan
Our final first-round player to watch is Johnson, who along with Pearce is in the running to be the first defensive player off the board. Johnson was one of the leaders of Michigan’s defense over the past two years. He was a freshman All-American in 2022 before being named a consensus All-American (and National Championship Defensive MVP) last year.
At 6-foot-2, 202 pounds Johnson has all the makings of a shutout boundary man cornerback. He has the smarts, instincts, and physical tools to match up with and lock down any receiver. On the rare occasions he is targeted he is able to make plays on the ball, with four interceptions and two pass breakups (and only two penalties) on 47 targets last year. If there’s a weakness in his game it’s tackling, but he has the size to improve in that regard.
Would the Patriots use their top pick on a cornerback? They’ll have bigger needs, but if Christian Gonzalez takes a step back or the team simply wants to build what would be one of the best cornerback duos in a pass-heavy league, or simply go best player available at the very top of the draft, he’ll certainly have their attention.
Day 2 tackles
Now that we’re through the main first-round players, let’s take a look at some other options on Day 2. For instance, if the Patriots take one of the receivers or defensive players in the first round, tackle should almost certainly be their second pick.
Josh Conerly Jr. of Oregon, Wyatt Milum of West Virginia and Aireontae Ersery of Minnesota are the players to watch here. Conerly is another true junior who was actually the top-ranked tackle in the Class of 2022 ahead of Campbell and Banks. He only has one full year of starting experience, and doesn’t have the size (6-foot-4, 304 pounds) or raw power as some of the other top tackles. However, he does have the athleticism needed in the Patriots’ scheme.
There’s also a chance Conerly goes back to school if he doesn’t elevate his draft stock to the first round this year, as he would probably be a first-rounder in 2026. That all might make him a little less realistic for the Patriots.
Milum is more experienced, with three years as a starter for the Mountaineers. He’s a very technically-sound blocker who has shined in West Virginia’s aggressive passing offense. He’s allowed a total of 37 pressures and just two sacks in 1,073 career pass-blocking snaps, and he hasn’t allowed a single sack since moving to left tackle as a sophomore in 2022 (he started at right tackle as a freshman). However penalties have been an issue for him at times.
Ersery is the biggest tackle of this group at 6-foot-6, 325 pounds. If the Patriots want a pure power player who they can work with technically, he’d be the guy here.
Day 2 EDGE rushers
The conversation about the next ‘tier’ of edge rushers in the Class of 2025 starts in Columbus, Ohio. Both of the Buckeyes’ bookends were projected top-100 picks in last year’s draft, but both returned to school. Now, in a deep class they’re both projected to be late-first or early-second-round picks, right in the range of where the Patriots should be making their second selection, either naturally or via trade up.
JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer both project as three-down players in the NFL. Tuimoloau regularly find ways to regularly get into the opposing backfield against the run or pass. Last year the Buckeyes used him more in clear passing situations, and it will be worth watching to see if that trend continues this year.
Sawyer projects as more of an effective raw pass rusher, but he’ll need to start turning some of that potential into production this year after recording just five sacks in the regular season last year. He did have three with seven pressures in the bowl game against Missouri – that’s the version of Sawyer teams will want to see.
Florida State’s Patrick Payton is another player who returned to school this year to up his draft stock. If the Patriots are looking for a pure pass rusher as a potential Matthew Judon placement, he could be the guy. Last year he benefitted from playing opposite first-round pick Jared Verse, so this year will be his chance to prove he can be effective as the primary player in a rush plan. He’s already an athletic and explosive player, and bulked up a bit this year to 250 pounds giving him more of an NFL frame.
Day 2 wide receivers
Some would probably rather see the Patriots use their second-round pick to trade for an established wide receiver (based on what top receivers have gone for recently during contract disputes) than outright pick a player. If they do stick to the draft though, there is projected to be wide receiver talent in this range.
As mentioned above we’ll stick to the idea of the team adding the big ‘X’ receiver it currently lacks. Tory Horton from Colorado State is a player in that mold some people may already be familiar with. At 6-foot-3, 185 he’s able to get upfield in a hurry with good speed and long strides, and is excellent at making plays with the ball in the air. He’ll need to expand his intermediate route tree in the NFL but the Patriots have the kind of receivers that can mitigate that issue early on. Horton also has plenty of experience facing double-teams and other aggressive coverage as the top receiver for the Rams.
Elic Ayomanor from Stanford is more of a high-end athlete. He’s bigger (6-foot-2, 210 pounds) and more shifty than Horton, but isn’t as good at the catch point and is more of a short or intermediate threat who makes plays after the catch. He’s also had problems with drops.
Kickers
Let’s wrap up with a few other players who aren’t projected top 100 picks heading into the draft, but still certainly worth knowing for Patriots fans. We’ll start with kickers. While Joey Slye may be winning the kicker battle in camp right now, they still could look for a more long-term option in the draft next year.
Graham Nicholson from Alabama, Andres Borregales from Miami, Jonah Dalmas from Boise State, and Dragan Keisch from Minnesota are projected to be the top kickers in this year’s class. Dalmas and Keisch stand out as more logical Patriots fits given their experience kicking in inclement weather. Dalmas has one of the biggest legs in this draft, and is 20-of-22 for his career from 40-49 yards and 7-for-9 from 50-plus, including 6-of-6 and 4-of-5 marks last year. In total last year, he was 21-of-24 on field goals.
Tight end(s)
Heading into the season this year’s tight end class looks more top-heavy, and the reality is that while tight end is a need the Patriots will have more pressing problems to solve in the top 100. It’ll be easier to highlight specific depth tight ends after the season.
That all being said there is one tight end Patriots fans should definitely be watching, who is currently projected as a fringe top-100 pick. That’s Bryson Nesbit from North Carolina, where he was one of Drake Maye’s top targets over the last two years. Last season he caught 41 passes for 585 yards and five touchdowns.
The biggest strength in Nesbit’s game is his versatility. He’s effective lining up both inline or in the slot, and can make plays at all three levels of the field. Once the ball is in his hands he remains a threat as a runner. He doesn’t offer much right now as a blocker at 6-foot-5, 235, so he’s not exactly a complement for Hunter Henry. But the Patriots could draft him to eventually take over for Henry and give Maye a familiar target.
Quarterbacks
“Quarterbacks? The Patriots just drafted a quarterback third overall! They don’t need another one!”
Correct, reader. They don’t need one. But there are still two reasons Patriots fans should be following this year’s quarterback class closely.
For one, the Patriots are projected to pick towards the top of the draft again. Remember all of that hooplah about trading down last year? This time around it’s a real conversation. The top of the quarterback class will impact what a potential trade down might look like and what the Patriots could get in return if another team (Giants? Raiders?) wants to move up to get their guy. Carson Beck from Georgia, Shedeur Sanders from Colorado, and Quinn Ewers from Texas currently project as the top quarterbacks in this class, and it’s in the Patriots’ best interest for those three – and any other late-risers (who will be this year’s Jayden Daniels?) to make themselves look as valuable as possible.
Then, there’s the ‘Packer Way’ approach to quarterbacks. The tree Eliot Wolf came up under believes basically it’s better to have too many quarterbacks than too few and it’s worth investing in the position at least every other year if not every year, even if it’s a small investment.
(For what it’s worth Bill Belichick employed a similar approach, drafting 10 quarterbacks in 20 years after Tom Brady became the starter – not to mention drafting Brady after Drew Bledsoe’s massive contract – with the longest gap between those picks being just two years. Of those 10, six were drafted in the top 150.)
Given that, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Patriots took a late Day 3 flier on a quarterback. We know they like big-body, big arm quarterbacks, so a few players to keep an eye on are D.J. Uiagalelei from Florida State, K.J. Jefferson from UCF, and T.J. Finley from Texas State.
