Like most groups, the Patriots might use a lockdown cornerback.
Last season, their protection performed extra zone protection down the stretch than most each crew within the league, an admission they couldn’t play 1-on-1 in opposition to the NFL’s finest receiving corps. The Pats dearly missed an injured Jalen Mills, the one nook of their rotation taller than 5-foot-11. Even in the event that they re-sign Jonathan Jones in free company, the Patriots will want dependable exterior depth after Jack Jones’ late-season suspension confirmed he might not be a dependable professional.
Lucky for Bill Belichick and Co., a powerful crop of corners awaits them within the NFL Draft. Picking 14th general, the Pats ought to have a number of choices to restock on the place.
Christian Gonzalez, Oregon
At 6-foot-2 and 200 kilos, Gonzalez is a prototypical trendy nook with tremendous athleticism, fluidity in his actions and improved ball abilities. Some draft evaluators see him as a top-10 expertise able to dominating in man or zone protection. He initiatives as a Day 1 starter.
Last season, Gonzalez recorded 4 interceptions, seven different cross breakups and 51 tackles over a dozen video games. According to The Athletic, he hit 23.3 miles per hour in 2021, so there’s little doubt this large, bodily specimen might follow speedsters as properly.
Joey Porter Jr., Penn State
Two years older than Gonzalez, Porter Jr. brings the same sport at 6-foot-2 and 194 kilos. He’s lengthy and bodily with an aggressive model that matches the Patriots’ most popular man-to-man scheme. Porter Jr. can be a sound tackler, a should in Belichick’s protection.
He began three years at Penn State and totaled 11 cross breakups final season, averaging higher than one per sport. He is the son of former Steelers cross rusher Joey Porter Jr.
Devon Witherspoon, Illinois
Ball abilities? Check. Instincts? Check. Man-to-man capability? Check.
Witherspoon would be the best Patriots projection of any nook prospect on this class. He’s a ballhawk with a linebacker’s mentality that flashes at any time when he’s teeing up a giant hit or displaying in run help. But make no mistake, he’s a protection participant first. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed completions on simply 34.9% of his targets.
Witherspoon is scrappy and aggressive, traits which have helped far much less gifted corners achieve New England. But at six-foot and 180 kilos, Witherspoon may have so as to add some weight earlier than thriving within the professionals.
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Brian Branch, Alabama
A hyrbid security/nickelback, Branch is not the kind of participant who would persistently cowl exterior the numbers, however he’s somebody who would match completely in Foxboro. Branch performed in every single place within the secondary below Nick Saban and persistently showcased a excessive soccer IQ. Last season, he tallied 90 tackles, three sacks, seven passes defensed and two interceptions throughout a second-team All-American marketing campaign.
Bottom line: Branch is a playmaker and a high-floor prospect who ought to assist any crew that drafts him.
Keele Ringo, Georgia
Ringo is the one participant on this listing who would symbolize a attain at 14th general. He’s anticipated to check as some of the athletic gamers in all the class and competes properly in large moments, most notably scoring a pick-six to seal the 2021 nationwide championship sport for Georgia. However, questions linger about his over-aggressiveness, and a few evaluators see a attainable long-term match at security.
Ringo, a 6-foot-2 and 205-pounder, may very well be a possible play by the Patriots in the event that they draft him within the first spherical.
Source: www.bostonherald.com