Barth’s Patriots Mock Draft 2.0: Focusing on offense

For our first New England Patriots Mock Draft of the year back in February, we had to make a lot of assumptions. There were still many unknowns about both the Patriots and this year’s draft class.

Since then we’ve had the NFL Combine and free agency. Those events didn’t answer every single question, but there’s now a much clearer picture of what the team is building towards in 2025. 

After going defense-heavy in the veteran market, don’t be surprised if the Patriots take an offensive-focused (but not exclusive) approach to the draft. Their two biggest needs - wide receiver and left tackle - remain on that side of the ball. 

It’s not a particularly strong class at either position, but there are players on the board who would be able to help the Patriots right away. How can they make those kinds of adds at both spots - and which one will be first? Let’s get started with Patriots Mock Draft 2.0…

With desperation for quarterbacks winning out around the NFL, the Patriots may very well get a chance at drafting one of the two real blue-chip prospects in this draft with the teams above them targeting QBs. That’s more likely to be Hunter than Penn State’s Abdul Carter that falls, but that’s hardly bad news for the Patriots. 

If the Patriots do draft Hunter, it makes the most sense by far to have him primarily focus on wide receiver. There may be opportunities for him to mix in on defense down the road, but early on he should primarily focus on developing at the wide receiver position - the first time in his career he’d be able to do so. 

At the NFL Combine, Mike Vrabel talked about how difficult it can be to add a coverage-dictating wide receiver without the team drafting one themselves. Hunter’s ball skills and ability to create after the catch give him that kind of upside, with his ceiling coming down to him refining his route running (something that should improve with more focus on the position in practices). 

Patriots get:

–28th overall pick (1st round)

Lions get:

–38th overall pick (2nd round)
–106th overall pick (4th round)
–2026 4th-round pick

Having Hunter fall to them would be great news for the Patriots, but there’s still work to do. They can’t come out of this offseason without improving Drake Maye’s blindside protection, but they’ll have to get aggressive to do so. After failing to move back up into the first round last year, the Patriots are able to just get back into the first round in this mock draft. 

This trade is based on a 2022 deal between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars. Based on the draft trade charts the Patriots are overpaying by the equivalent value of a fifth round pick, but it’s typical for teams moving up in the draft to have to overpay. 

With Kelvin Banks off the board, the Patriots move up to make the third left tackle selection in the draft, taking Conerly. Conerly’s athleticism and football IQ will play well in Josh McDaniels’ offense. At 6-foot-5, 311 pounds with 33 ½-inch arms he also brings good size to the position. 

There’s still room for Conerly to grow his game, in particular when it comes to his footwork and play strength. While he won’t play to his ceiling right away, he should be able to hold his own right away as a starting left tackle in the NFL and has room to grow significantly from there. 

This is a little higher than Conerly is currently projected to go, but don’t be surprised if he and other tackles end up coming off the board quicker than expected. As we saw with last year’s tackle run, teams are desperate to add talent at the position with a shortage of tackles around the league. 

If the Patriots want to ensure they get a player who can be a Day 1 starter at left tackle, they’re going to have to be aggressive. If they wait until Pick 38, there may not be any such players left. In addition to Conerly, Aireontae Ersery from Minnesota would also make sense in this scenario, but we went with Conerly here given his higher floor. 

Even though the Patriots’ free agency class was so defense-heavy, don’t be surprised if they use at least one of their top 100 picks on the defensive side of the ball. There are still roles to fill on defense, and they attempt to fill one of those here by taking Kennard. 

Kennard fits the mold of the kind of rushers Vrabel had in Tennessee, and those he’s brought to New England. He’s long, athletic, and explosive at 6-foot-4, 254 pounds. He’s also coming off of a highly productive season at South Carolina, which saw him lead the SEC with 11.5 sacks. 

Technique-wise Kennard is more on the raw side, and plays more as a true speed rusher right now. That knocks him down in what is a deep class at the position. Still, the success Vrabel and Terrell Williams have had coaching up pass rushers with similar builds in the past would make this an intriguing pick. 

Flash back to August and Milum projected to be one of the top tackles in this year’s draft. His arms measuring in at 32 1/8-inches changed that, but as he looks to make the move inside to guard he still appears to be one of the better blockers in this draft. 

Milum’s experience will be a big help to him early on. He started 43 games for the Mountaineers in four years - starting eight games at right tackle as a freshman before moving to left tackle for the rest of his career. 

That experience shows up in Milum’s game, as he does a good job of recognizing defensive line games. As a blocker Milum can both play with power when he’s tasked with moving a defender, and is also stout when defenders try to move him. He also moves well and can make plays at the second level in the run game. 

In New England, Milum would be a strong contender for the starting left guard job. He could also factor into the conversation at center - a position he got reps at during Senior Bowl week - if the right circumstances occurred. While Milum doesn’t project to be a starting tackle at the NFL level, he could also offer emergency depth there if needed. 

The Patriots acquired this pick from the Atlanta Falcons in the Matthew Judon trade last year.

Patriots get:

–151st overall pick (5th round)
-189th overall pick (6th round)

Colts get:

–144th overall pick (5th round)
–217th overall pick (7th round)

By trading two fourths instead of one third to move back up into the first round in this scenario, the Patriots created a significant pick gap between 77 and 144. However they have another significant gap on the other side, going from 144 to 217. In order to close one of those gaps the Patriots move back slightly and turn one of their seventh-round picks into a sixth. This is a slight overpay for the Colts on the trade chart. 

With their first selection in 74 picks, the Patriots go back to defense. They take Bowman after a bit of a fall for the Oklahoma defensive back. Bowman might fall because he’s a bit of a tweener. He primarily played safety for the Sooners, but NFL teams may see him as undersized for the position at 5-foot-10, 192 pounds. 

In New England though, Bowman would provide needed depth at multiple positions. He’d give the Patriots more of a true free safety option alongside Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers, and could be used in that role situationally on obvious passing downs. At the same time he also has experience in the slot and could be a backup to Marcus Jones at that position. 

Additionally, Bowman has the athletic profile of a core special teams player. Plus, teammates raved about Bowman’s demeanor and leadership at the NFL Combine. All-in-all, he seems to have the makeup of the kind of player Vrabel and the Patriots have been targeting. 

The Patriots could very well make a bigger investment in the running back position, especially if they want somebody to push Rhamondre Stevenson for the starting job. Another way of helping Stevenson and the run game though could be to better manage his workload. 

In the past under Josh McDaniels, the Patriots did a very good job of avoiding overusing their running backs by splitting things up situationally. They’ve gotten away from that in recent years, but could that approach return along with McDaniels? To do so, the Patriots would need a true ‘pass catching back’ to slot Stevenson back into an ‘early down back’ role - think Antowain Smith/Kevin Faulk or Legarrette Blount/James White.

There are few better pass catching backs in this draft than Allen, who actually led all college running backs in catches this year with 64 in 13 games. Allen can be a factor on traditional running back passing assignments like screens but also runs an advanced route tree. Just as importantly, he’s a capable and willing pass blocker. Allen is experienced in the kicking game both as a coverage player and returner as well. 

After double-dipping on the offensive line earlier in the draft, the Patriots address the defensive side of the line of scrimmage with their penultimate pick here. 

Most of the Patriots’ additions so far up front defensively have been about improving the pass rush. While that improvement is needed, the team needs to be better against the run as well. So far, the only primary run-stopping defensive lineman they’ve added is Khyiris Tonga, a signing that came after the team traded away starting nose tackle Davon Godchaux.

To add another anchor up front, the Patriots draft Stackhouse here. At 6-foot-4, 327 pounds Stackhouse is a powerful and stout run defender with three years of starting experience for the Bulldogs. Stackhouse, who the Patriots reportedly met with at the Georgia pro day, will likely be exclusively a run defender in the NFL, at this point in the draft a player like that makes sense. 

Wrapping things up back on the offensive line. The Patriots take Kendall and reunite him with offensive line coach Doug Marrone, who was on the staff at Boston College last year.

Kendall is a tough and technically-sound center who could mix in to compete for the starting job by 2026 after a year of development, if not this season. He’s likely a center-only prospect, which will push him down the board. But if the Patriots specifically want to add another center to their pipeline, Kendall’s makeup and the team’s familiarity with him make him a logical pick. 

The Patriots acquired this pick from the Los Angeles Chargers in the J.C. Jackson trade in 2023.