Patriots Rumors: NE Eye WR; Scouting Jordan Addison, Jonathan Mingo in 2023 NFL Draft

There's no denying that the New England Patriots need some help at wide receiver, and it appears they could attempt to fill the void through the 2023 NFL draft.

The Patriots have "shown interest in the top wideouts" in the 2023 class, per ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid. While Bill Belichick might not take a wide receiver in the first round with the 14th overall pick, the team is said to be eyeing Zay Flowers, Jordan Addison and Jonathan Mingo, per Reid.

It's not necessarily surprising to hear that Belichick may not select a wide receiver in the first round. After all, he completely missed when he selected N'Keal Harry in the first round of the 2019 draft.

The Patriots have had a mediocre pass-catching unit over the last few seasons, and losing Jakobi Meyers to the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency this winter undoubtedly made matters worse.

New England did sign JuJu Smith-Schuster this offseason, adding him to a group that includes Kendrick Bourne, DeVante Parker and Tyquan Thornton, but they still lack an elite receiver for third-year quarterback Mac Jones, who is entering a critical season in his development.

Flowers spent his entire four-year collegiate career at Boston College. In 2022, he caught 78 passes for 1,077 yards and 12 touchdowns in 12 games. He also rushed for 40 yards.

Addison spent two seasons at Pitt, winning the Biletnikoff award in 2021 as the country's best wide receiver, before transferring to USC in 2022. Due to an ankle injury, he only appeared in 11 games for the Trojans, though he did catch 59 passes for 875 yards and eight scores.

Mingo spent four seasons playing for the Ole Miss Rebels, putting together the best season of his collegiate career in 2022, catching 51 passes for 861 yards and five touchdowns in 13 games.

Bleacher Report's NFL Scouting Department has Addison ranked as the third-best wide receiver prospect in the 2023 class behind TCU's Quentin Johnston and Ohio State's Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

The scouting department also has Flowers ranked as the fourth-best WR prospect, while Mingo was not included in the rankings.