Patriots 2026 NFL Draft Preview: Wide receivers

Here we go again. The NFL Draft is right around the corner, and wide receiver is a need for the Patriots.

That being said, the circumstances of the need have changed. The Patriots have built out at the position over the past few years, including the addition of Romeo Doubs this spring. Along with Kayshon Boutte, Kyle Williams, Mack Hollins, and DeMario Douglas those are guys that can win at an NFL level, but what's missing is a coverage-dictating wide receiver at the top of the depth chart to slot everybody in correctly.

Ideally, that player would be a big, outside 'X' receiver. The Patriots have a couple of players who can play that role in Boutte and Hollins, but ideally they'd have someone who combines both skillsets in that spot. That's also the ideal projected wide receiver for Drake Maye, giving him a target for downfield throws regardless of coverage.

Still, adding more depth will be important as well. Only Doubs, Williams, and Efton Chism are under contract for 2027 right now.

As we get familiar with this class we'll mainly look at Patriots fits, especially outside the top 100. Wide receiver feels like a realistic selection at any spot on the board through, so there's a lot to go through even though this class isn't as deep as recent years. Let's start at the top...

Just to get familiar with the top of the board, Carnell Tate from Ohio State, Makai Lemon from USC, and Jordyn Tyson from Arizona State are the top wide receivers in this draft. All three are projected top-15 picks, likely putting them out of range - even with a trade up - for the Patriots.

If any of the three are going to 'surprise' and fall it would probably be Tyson due to his injury history (missed time with multiple hamstring injuries last year, and missed time with different injuries each season of his college career). At 6-foot-2, 203 pounds he's a plus route runner who also excels at winning 50/50 balls - the exact kind of receiver the Patriots need. If the medical clears, he'd likely be worth trading up for.

Moving on to realistic Patriots targets. There is a group of four wide receivers expected to go in the late first or early second rounds, so they could represent trade up, stay put, or trade down candidates for the Patriots. At Pick 31 they likely won't have their choice of all of these players, but should have at least one or two on the board.

The two most likely to be locks as first-round picks, but also the most likely to be off the board, are Denzel Boston from Washington and KC Concepcion from Texas A&M. Of the two, Boston profiles more as the kind of receiver the Patriots will likely be targeting. At 6-foot-4, 212 pounds he's got strong hands, a massive catch radius, and is great at 50/50 balls. He's also quicker and changes direction better than most receivers his size, and tested well at the 20-yard shuttle and 3-cone drill.

Boston's biggest knock is his straight-line speed. While some evaluators believes he's faster than he looks on tape, he didn't run a 40 at the Combine or at his Pro Day. It's not uncommon for players to not run at the Combine but not running as a Pro Day is rare.

Speed isn't an issue for Concepcion, who is more of an inside receiver and expert route runner. He's a really good player, but unless the Patriots want to run a lot of double slot formations they might see him as redundant to Romeo Doubs.

The other two receivers in this range are Chris Brazzell from Tennessee and Omar Cooper Jr. from Indiana. They fit kind of the same dynamic - an outside guy and an inside guy.

Brazzell has all the size and speed (6-foot-4, 198 pounds, 4.37-second 40) of the outside receivers the Vols have produced in recent years, but is more of a route runner and better jump ball player. That can be seen on his tape from Tulane before he transferred to Tennessee. The eye-popping performance for him though is his six-catch, 177-yard, three-touchdown game against Georgia.

Cooper is bigger than Concepcion but doesn't have the same burst. Still, his skillset plays better inside. He wins physically but has room to grow as a route-runner, and is at his best in the red zone.

Let's start this group with one of the most fascinating players for the Patriots, Louisville wideout Chris Bell. Late in the season, Bell looked like an unquestionable fit for the Patriots late in the first round. At 6-foot-2, 222 pounds Bell has speed to break off big plays, is fearless in going over the middle, and has strong hands while being tremendous in contested catch situations.

So, what changed? Unfortunately Bell tore his ACL in late November, and didn't have surgery until the second week of December. That creates added risk with the pick. He'll at least miss most of the offseason program if not parts of training camp - a time crucial for the development of rookie wide receivers. He'll also have to work through the post-injury physical adjustments while he adjusts to the NFL game. Those factors will only complicate his development.

Will that be enough to take him off the Patriots' board? That's to be seen. If they're good with the medicals though he checks many of the other boxes of what they seem to be looking for at wide receiver (in some ways his game profiles similarly to a young A.J. Brown). He's still projected to go around the top 50, so they'd probably either need to trade back from 31 or (more likely) up from 63 to get him.

Even if the Patriots are uncomfortable with Bell's medicals or simply don't get a chance to take him based on where they sit on the board, they have other options for an outside receiver on Day 2. Malachi Fields from Notre Dame is a projected late second-round or early third-round pick. At 6-foot-4, 218 pounds he's a pure bully ball, 50/50 ball threat who makes some spectacular catches.

If the Patriots wait until the third round here, their top options would be Ted Hurst from Georgia State and Bryce Lance (brother of Chargers quarterback Trey Lance) from North Dakota State. Both have impressive athletic profiles - Hurst is 6-foot-4, 206 pounds and ran a 4.42 40 with a 36.5-inch vertical. He has good short area quickness for a player his size but helps with his route running, but his hands aren't as reliable as some teams might want.

Lance stands 6-foot-3, 204 pounds. He ran a 4.34 40 with a 41.5 inch vertical, but that speed and explosiveness shows up much more in a straight line than it does when he as to change direction and cut. Still, even when he can't separate he can go get the ball away from defenders.

Both players also have some of the questions that come with small school prospects and how they'll manage the jump in competition. Lance is also an older prospect - he'll be a 24-year-old rookie.

While adding a player who should primarily play the 'Z' or slot roles on Day 1 doesn't make a lot of sense after signing Doubs the Patriots could look to build depth on Day 2, especially with Douglas on an expiring contract.

There are some really good options in this range in the draft. Around the Patriots' second pick, names to know are Germie Bernard from Alabama, Antonio Williams from Clemson, Zachariah Branch from Georgia, and Elijah Sarratt from Indiana.

Bernard stands out as a Patriots fit as he's built more for a role over the middle and should be able to line up both inside and outside at the next level (Alabama also used him out of the backfield at times, which could be a wrinkle for Josh McDaniels to copy). At 6-foot-1, 206 pounds he had good Combine testing for his size running a 4.48 40 and being among the best testers at the agility drills. That quickness shows up on tape, and he's a nuanced route runner. He's mostly going to win on shorter and intermediate routes and create big plays after the catch.

Williams looks like a classic Patriots slot receiver at 5-foot-11, 187 pounds. He's one of the better route runners in this class, and is experienced with four years of production. Once he gets the ball, he can turn up field and make players miss. That's how he creates big plays, but those yards will be tougher to come by in the NFL. He could develop into being an 11-personel feature player that comes off the field in bigger formations.

Branch profiles as more of a true gadget player. He's 5-foot-9, 177 so there will be questions about his durability in a volume role in the NFL. He's electric with the ball in his hands though and has breakaway speed, and has upside as a returner.

Sarratt fits a different mold in the slot. He projects as a big slot receiver at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds. At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds he wins with size, physicality, and strong route running but has a limited physical upside.

Moving onto the third round, Skyler Bell from UConn also profiles as a Patriots-like Z/slot under McDaniels. At 6-foot, 192 pounds he thrived in a volume role for the Huskies in 2025 catching 101 passes for 1,278 yards and 13 touchdowns in 13 games. He has room to improve in contested catch situations, and is an older prospect entering his age-24 season.

Then, of course, there's always the option of adding speed. Two of the top 40 testers sit at this range of the draft in Brenen Thompson from Mississippi State and Deion Burks from Oklahoma. Thompson paced all receivers with a 4.26 40. He's undersized at 5-foot-9, 164 pounds and needs to do more as a route runner, but that kind of speed will get teams' attention as a vertical slot. Burks ran a 4.28 at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds. So slightly bigger and more developed as a route runner, but there's still room for improvement there as there is with his hands.

As we move on to Day 3, this becomes more about looking for standout traits. And no player has more standout traits than Jeff Caldwell from Cincinnati.

Caldwell entered some rare company with his Combine testing. At 6-foot-5, 216 pounds, he ran a 4.31 40 with a 42-inch vertical. Insane movement skills for somebody his size.

So what's the catch? He's pretty raw. After three years of playing at FCS Lindenwood with only one season of major production, he transferred to Cincinnati last year where he caught 32 passes for 478 yards and six touchdowns. He's pretty much exclusively a deep ball threat at this point, and will need to develop a more expanded route tree for a regular role. He's also going to be a 25-year-old rookie.

There's a chance Caldwell's athletic traits get a team to reach for him on Day 2, but he profiles more as a Day 3 pick. He's not a bad player to take a (middle of) Day 3 flier on, with the understanding that that's what the pick is. In the right spot though, he could be an effective fourth receiver and has special teams upside as well.

In terms of the more traditional outside receivers in this range, Ja'Kobi Lane (6-foot-4, 200 pounds) from USC, Josh Cameron (6-foot-2, 220 pounds) from Baylor, and CJ Daniels (6-foot-2, 202 pounds) are some of the better contested catch, spectacular catch, 50/50 ball receivers in this class. All project as red zone and downfield threats, but not into volume roles. Lane and Cameron are expected to go earlier on Day 3 while Daniels - who has some injury history - looks like a later Day 3 pick.

De'Zhaun Stribling is more of a speed threat downfield than size. At 6-foot-2, 207 pounds he ran a 4.36 40 and has a 36-inch vertical. He has good hands and good body control. Played his best football in big games. At the start of his college career he didn't work as much underneath, but did show some development in that area last year when he transferred to Ole Miss. The Rebels also used him in some creative formations, in tight or even in the backfield. Stribling is another older prospect, he'll be a 24-year-old rookie. Current projections have him going early on Day 3.

Later on Day 3 if the Patriots are looking for more of a slot receiver, and Kevin Coleman from Missouri and Lewis Bond from Boston College are potential fits here. Both project more as high-volume chain movers than big play threats, but are on the smaller side and are older prospects.

The other thing about his range in the draft is being versatile is key. Along with wide receiver depth, the Patriots should be looking for a new kick returner this offseason. While that's harder to scout since the NFL changed its kickoff rules, two of the best kick returners in college football this past season are wide receivers expected to go late on Day 3 - Barion Brown from LSU and Kaden Wetjen from Iowa.

Brown has an interesting makeup. He had what looked like a breakout freshman year at Kentucky in 2022 as a receiver, but never matched that production in his following two years in Lexington. While he had an uptick last year at LSU with 53 catches for 532 yards he still never hit his ceiling. So, there may be some wide receiver upside to work with given his blazing speed and change of direction. But, he was a stellar kick returner throughout his college career. Wetjen is more of a pure returner, with almost twice as many career punt returns (54) as catches (23) during his time at Iowa.

On the outside, Jordan Hudson from SMU could be a Day 3 target. At 6-foot-1, 191 pounds he's a good contested catch receiver. NFL teams will take notice of his 11-catch, 136-yard performance against Miami. However, successful contested catch receivers his size typically need to be strong route runners, which is still a work in progress for him.

One last receiver to know about on Day 3 is Tyren Montgomery. He comes from McDaniels' alma mater and NFL coaching factory, Division-III John Carroll (after initially walking on to play basketball at LSU, then ending up as a backup at Nicholls after a stop playing flag football). In his lone season as a starter and really only season of full-time college football last year he caught 119 passes for 1,530 yards and 15 touchdowns. At 5-foot-11, 190 pounds he's a bit of a tweener but impressed with his footwork and ball skills at the Senior Bowl.