It’s that time of year to start generating Mock Drafts.\u00a0 For this Mock, I am using Fanspeak\u2019s On the Clock Mock Draft Simulator, with Steve Shoup\u2019s player rankings and projected team needs.\u00a0 I am making no trades.\u00a0 Projected Compensation picks are included.<\/p>\n
As you may know, the Patriots’ real Draft Board usually contains no more than 75 names.\u00a0 Therefore I am going to use Draft Forum contributor Bacon Grundle Candy\u2019s Big Board of Patriots Type Players.\u00a0 These players are broken down by position and in what round they should be selected.<\/p>\n
Round 1 Pick 15 \u2013 Trey Lance QB North Dakota State<\/strong> \u2013 Come April for the real Draft, I do not expect Trey Lance to be available at number 15.\u00a0 I have to play this as it is made available to me and I wouldn\u2019t hesitate to take Lance.\u00a0 He was one of only 11 players BGC had as a Patriot type players and a 1st<\/sup> round grade.<\/p>\n Round 2 Pick 15 \u2013 Zaven Collins LB Tulsa<\/strong> \u2013 At 6\u20194\u201d 260 lbs he will be the biggest LB in the draft.\u00a0 He has the speed and instincts to go with it.\u00a0 186 tackles in 2020.\u00a0 I would be surprised if the Patriots took him at #15 in the real draft.<\/p>\n Round 3 Pick 96 \u00a9 – Darius Stills DT West Virginia<\/strong> \u2013 At 6\u2019 285 Stills is a smaller DT but he runs under 4.96 40 yards dash.\u00a0 He had 7 sacks from his DT position in 2020.\u00a0 Butler and Guy are UFA at this point.<\/p>\n Round 4 Pick 119 \u2013 Dazz Newsome WR North Carolina<\/strong> \u2013 5\u201911\u201d, 190 lbs runs a 4.4 40.\u00a0 Excellent route runner from the slot, good hands and excels at yards after the catch.\u00a0 Last two year at NC, he had 126 catches, 1700 yards and 16 TDs.\u00a0 Newsome was rated a 3rd<\/sup> round player by BGC.<\/p>\n Round 4 Pick 138 \u00a9 \u2013 Sadarius Hutcheson OG South Carolina<\/strong> – I had another player in mind at this pick that wasn\u2019t on BGC\u2019s list.\u00a0 However Hutcherson is a Left Guard and I believe Joe Thuney will be gone via Free Agency. \u00a0He is 6\u20194\u201d 320 lbs but slow at 5.4 40.\u00a0 He has played LT and RG and would be a valuable player to have.\u00a0 BGC rated him a 2nd<\/sup> round player.<\/p>\n Round 4 Pick 144 \u00a9 – Tyree Gillespie S Missouri<\/strong> \u2013 He is 6\u2019 200 lbs, plays a Single High Safety position.\u00a0 Devin McCourty will not last forever.\u00a0 Gillespie has been described as a terror, flying around from the safety position.\u00a0 He also made his bones at Missouri by playing on Special Teams as a true freshman.\u00a0 He never red-shirted.\u00a0 BGC had Gillespie as a 3rd<\/sup> rd selection.<\/p>\n Round 5 Pick 158 \u2013 Shi Smith WR South Carolina<\/strong> \u2013 5\u201910\u201d 186 lbs , Smith is explosive off the line.\u00a0 Very quick feet and fearless going over the middle.\u00a0 His quickness shows at the top of his routes too.\u00a0 I saw him in the Senior Bowl practices and he impressed.\u00a0 Expect a 4.33 40 from him.\u00a0 Smith was also rated a 3rd<\/sup> round player by BGC.<\/p>\n Round 6 Pick 198 \u00a0– Quinn Meinerz OG Wisconsin<\/strong> \u2013 Whitewater (DIII)\u00a0 6\u20193\u201d 320\u00a0 This is the one pick I made that was not on BGC\u2019s list (I think it will be on his next update).\u00a0 Meinerz absolutely killed the Senior Bowl practices, being voted National Team OL Practice player of the week.\u00a0 This honor was voted on by the D Lineman he went up against all week.\u00a0 He dominated.\u00a0 He also moved to OC and did not look out of place.\u00a0 In fact he broke his hand in practice and never came out.\u00a0 Finished practice and begged to play in the game on Saturday (They don\u2019t allow injured players to play). Meinerz didn\u2019t play in 2020 since DIII cancelled the season. \u00a0He has Patriots written all over him., and I think he will be a day 2 selection.<\/p>\n Round 7 Pick 240 \u2013 Tony Fields LB West Virginia<\/strong> \u2013 6\u20191\u201d 220 4.6 40.\u00a0 He played Inside LB for WVU.\u00a0 Transfer from Arizona.\u00a0 Fields was the National Team LB Practice Player of the week as voted by his peers.\u00a0\u00a0 Some say he could be a Day 2 selection.\u00a0 Again by the rules we are using, Fields was rated a 3rd<\/sup> round player by BGC.<\/p>\n NFL League Schedule<\/strong><\/p>\n Feb 23 \u2013 New NFL Year begins and Trading Season can officially begin.<\/p>\n Mar 10 \u2013 College Pro days begin, as of now, the first Pro Day is Mar 10.\u00a0 Only 30 schools have listed their Pro Days, so this date may move to earlier.<\/p>\n No Combine workouts \u2013 Regional \u201cCombine\u201d will be internet interviews and limited medical workups.\u00a0 Pro Days will become more important.<\/p>\n Mar 17 \u2013 Clubs are allowed to begin contact with players that are about to become UFAs.<\/p>\n Mar 18 \u2013 Teams can exercise options, submit qualifying offers to RFAs and extend Minimum Salary Tenders to exclusive rights Free Agents.<\/p>\n Mar 18 – Teams are required to be under the salary cap of $180M with the \u201crule of 51\u201d definition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s that time of year to start generating Mock Drafts.\u00a0 For this Mock, I am using Fanspeak\u2019s On the Clock Mock Draft Simulator, with Steve Shoup\u2019s player rankings and projected team needs.\u00a0 I am making no trades.\u00a0 Projected Compensation picks are included.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":28199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22266],"tags":[22265,44,22427],"class_list":["post-35296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2021-patriots-draft","tag-2021-patriots-draft","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-patriots-mock-draft"],"yoast_head":"\n