New England Patriots - NESN.com
Mel Kiper Jr. believes Will Campbell could “check a box” for the Patriots, but that wasn’t the most compelling insight the ESPN analyst provided on New England in his latest NFL mock draft.
Kiper attached Campbell, an offensive tackle out of LSU, to the Patriots at No. 4 overall in his mock published Tuesday morning. That was after the draft guru projected Abdul Carter (Tennessee Titans), Cam Ward (Cleveland Browns) and Travis Hunter (New York Giants) to be selected with the first three picks, respectively.
If the top trio of selections were made in that fashion, Kiper could see New England utilizing its first-round pick differently.
“This is a trade-back spot if something presents itself,” Kiper wrote. “Carter and Hunter are off the board, and one of the top two quarterbacks is still available. I’d bet the Patriots will be getting a few calls if the board falls this way, and I’m sure they’ll be very interested given the holes on their roster.”
New England absolutely should look into the possibility of trading back. Outside of Carter and Hunter, one could argue there isn’t a prospect in this draft class who the Patriots couldn’t pass up on at No. 4. And with how desperate teams can become for quarterback improvement, New England potentially could take advantage of a franchise that falls in love with Shedeur Sanders.
As Kiper noted, the Patriots have a lot of weak areas on their roster. The best way to accelerate the rebuild might be selecting a high-level prospect a bit later in Round 1 while bringing in new coveted assets.
