NFL Draft Prospects Patriots Must Target After 2024 Shrine, Senior Bowls
The start of the New England Patriots' 2024 NFL draft should already be set with a quarterback in mind.
The rest of the team's selections must be used to bolster a roster that has plenty of holes across it at the start of the offseason.
New England needs to add some offensive weapons around whomever starts the 2024 season at quarterback.
The Patriots may have found some mid-to-late round prospects at the East-West Shrine Game and Senior Bowl in the last week.
A majority of the standouts from those games should be available on Day 2 of the draft and one of them could help the Patriots improve offensively in Jerod Mayo's first year as head coach.
Malachi Corley, WR, Western Kentucky
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NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah noted that NFL teams "are excited" about Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley.
Corley burst on to draft radars with a 1,000-yard junior campaign. He followed that up with 964 yards and 11 touchdowns in his senior season.
Jeremiah ranked Corley as his No. 50 prospect in the 2024 draft class before the Senior Bowl and that suggests he could be a second-round pick. Bleacher Report's NFL scouting department ranked Corley as the No. 17 wide receiver in the draft class.
The Patriots should commit all of their first-round focus to a quarterback, who will likely be Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye.
They must get younger at wide receiver as well and Corley could be a solid Day 2 selection.
His availability will be determined by how many wide receivers land in the first round. As many as six or seven pass-catchers could be selected on Day 1 and three of them should go in the top 10.
Jamari Thrash, WR, Louisville
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Jamari Thrash joined Corley as one of the wide receiver standouts in Mobile.
Pro Football Focus' Trevor Sikkema was impressed with his overall effort during practices.
"He isn't the fastest or the quickest, but he's good enough in both areas while also showing really nice hands and a reliable skill for making deep catches over the shoulder," Sikkema wrote.
Thrash does not have the profile of a No. 1 wide receiver, but he could be a terrific depth piece for an offense that needs as much help as it can get.
Thrash, who is the 16th-ranked receiver by B/R's NFL scouting department, had 858 receiving yards in his step up from Georgia State, where he was a 1,000-yard wide out in 2022, to Louisville.
He should be one of the many options the Patriots look at as they fill out their roster in the middle rounds.
Max Melton, CB, Rutgers
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The Patriots have had plenty of luck with defensive backs from Rutgers in their history.
Max Melton could walk in the footsteps of the McCourty brothers and land in New England during the draft.
Melton, the brother of Green Bay Packers wide receiver Bo Melton, produced a solid week of practices. He projects as a slot corner, as Sikkema noted:
"He spent most of his time out wide this past season, but his skillset lends itself to a successful slot transition."
B/R's NFL scouts ranked Melton as the No. 123 overall prospect in the draft class, so that would put him in the third-round range for the Patriots.
New England's need in the secondary will become more present in the draft if Myles Bryant leaves in free agency.
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