New 2026 NFL mock draft has Patriots taking USC receiver

The times spent scouring over numerous mock drafts to see who the Patriots may choose with a top-five choose may be a factor of the previous.

New England seems to be forward of schedule with their rebuild, with Mike Vrabel’s group at the moment first within the AFC East with a 4-2 document.

Loads can change over the span of a full NFL season, however New England doesn’t seem like a group in line for an additional top-10 choice through the 2026 NFL Draft in April.

With New England nonetheless looking at a number of deficiencies throughout their depth chart, Eliot Wolf, Ryan Cowden, and the remainder of the Patriots’ prime brass must nonetheless hit on a number of of their high-value draft picks within the subsequent few years in the event that they need to correctly complement what appears like a profitable core of younger expertise.

And given the Patriots’ want of one other influence wideout to pair alongside Drake Maye, it ought to come as little shock that ESPN’s Jordan Reid has New England targeting a pass-catcher with their first-round choose within the 2026 Draft.

With the twenty second choose within the subsequent 12 months’s draft, Reid has the Patriots taking broad receiver Makai Lemon out of USC. 

“Even with the emergence of Kayshon Boutte, and free agent signing Stefon Diggs recapturing his pre-injury type, there’s no such factor as too many receivers for quarterback Drake Maye, particularly with Diggs turning 32 in November,” Reid wrote. “Lemon is a do-it-all goal who can play the slot and outdoors.

“He’s extremely productive (44 receptions for 682 yards and 6 touchdowns this season), and his physique management and catch radius assist him make miraculous catches look routine.”

A harmful route-runner who might slot in a wide range of roles in Josh McDaniels’s offense, Lemon’s 682 receiving yards to this point this 12 months ranks second in FBS, even when the California product isn’t probably the most imposing determine at 5-foot-11 and 195 kilos.

Whereas there’s been loads of variance in these early mock drafts as to the place New England will choose, the recurring theme has been the Patriots choosing a wideout within the first spherical.

USA Today’s Ayrton Ostly has New England taking Tennessee WR Chris Brazzell II with the twenty fifth total choose, while CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards has the Patriots dropping to select No. 16 — the place they take Washington WR Denzel Boston. 

Regardless of New England’s clear want for extra firepower on offense, the Patriots haven’t fared all that effectively relating to utilizing premium draft capital on wideouts.

The final time New England used a first-round choose on a receiver got here in 2019 — when the group picked N’Keal Harry out of Arizona State with the thirty second choose. 

Just a few of the wideouts taken within the second spherical of the 2019 NFL Draft embody Deebo Samuel (No. 36 total), A.J. Brown (No. 51 total), and DK Metcalf (No. 64 total).

 

Conor Ryan is a employees author protecting the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Crimson Sox for Boston.com, a task he has held since 2023.