Patriots' Team Needs to Fill in 2022 NFL Draft

The New England Patriots come into the 2022 NFL draft with a more incomplete roster than they have had in previous seasons.

New England needs to plug a few roster holes that were left open by the departures of J.C. Jackson, Ted Karras and Shaq Mason over the past few weeks.

The Patriots will take a serious look at cornerback and offensive linemen in the first few rounds in April, but they also need to go after a top-tier pass-catcher.

Last year's free-agent bounty gave the Patriots a handful of reliable pass-catchers, namely Hunter Henry, Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne, but the roster still lacks a clear-cut No. 1 threat for quarterback Mac Jones to work with.

New England needs to balance its needs at the top of the draft. A new wide receiver would be nice, but they could use first-round talent at a few other spots on the roster.

Offensive Line

Butch Dill/Associated Press

New England has a few holes on its offensive interior.

Ted Karras and Shaq Mason departed recently, leaving the Patriots thin on the offensive line.

Michael Onwenu and James Ferentz are among the internal candidates to fill the offensive guard spots. Trent Brown and Isaiah Wynn are set to be the starting tackles, but Wynn is entering the final year of his rookie contract.

New England needs to look hard at all of the top offensive line candidates at the 21st overall pick. The top-tier offensive tackles will likely be off the board by then, so the Patriots should narrow their focus to guard and center.

Iowa's Tyler Linderbaum, Boston College's Zion Johnson and Texas A&M's Kenyon Green are the top three interior offensive lineman in the draft class, per Bleacher Report's NFL scouting staff.

Wynn and Nate Solder were the only offensive linemen to be the Patriots' first picks in a draft class dating back to 2011. And with the exception of Wynn, the Patriots have not taken an offensive lineman before the third round over the past five years.

That trend may need to be reversed if the Patriots want the best possible protection for Mac Jones.

Cornerback

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

If the Patriots do not select an offensive lineman at No. 21, they should take a cornerback.

New England's depth at the position has been tested over the past year. Stephon Gilmore departed in a trade last season, and J.C. Jackson signed with the Los Angeles Chargers in free agency.

The Patriots brought back Malcolm Butler and signed veteran corner Terrance Mitchell in free agency, but those additions are not good enough to challenge the Buffalo Bills' deep set of wide receivers in the AFC East.

Derek Stingley Jr. out of LSU and Cincinnati's Ahmad Gardner would be the ideal cornerback prospects to draft in the first round, but both players could be long gone by the time the Patriots hit the clock at No. 21.

Washington's Trent McDuffie, Kaiir Elam out of Florida and Andrew Booth Jr. from Clemson are the likeliest corners to be there for the Patriots in the first round. New England could have better luck at No. 21 than waiting for the second round to land a secondary piece, as it has in previous drafts.

Duke Dawson and Joejuan Williams were second-round picks in 2018 and 2019, respectively, while safety Kyle Dugger was a second-round choice in 2020.

Dugger and Williams are still on the roster, but neither player is a clear-cut No. 1 player on the depth chart. On Tuesday, Adam Schefter and Mike Reiss of ESPN reported that the Patriots had signed Jabrill Peppers to help out at safety.

Although offensive line and wide receiver are pressing needs, New England might be best off going after a top-tier cornerback in the first round because of how important that position is to winning the AFC East.

Wide Receiver

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

Do not blame the Patriots if they wait until the second day of the NFL draft to land a wide receiver.

The Patriots' most recent first-round pick at the position, N'Keal Harry, has failed to break through as a top-tier wideout, and that may give the franchise reservations about going for a wide receiver off the bat in the draft.

New England's other positional needs could also dictate when it goes after a wide receiver at the end of April.

The second and third rounds have been a gold mine for wideouts in the past two drafts. Elijah Moore, Rondale Moore and Nico Collins were among the Day 2 selections in 2021. Tee Higgins, Chase Claypool, Van Jefferson and Michael Pittman Jr. were chosen on the second day in 2020.

The Patriots can still find a wide receiver with No. 1 potential in the second and third rounds. Western Michigan's Skyy Moore, Purdue's David Bell and George Pickens out of Georgia could be among the targets available.

A potential early first-round run on the top wideouts and the Patriots' pressing needs at cornerback and on the offensive line could prevent a wide receiver from going to the AFC East side on Day 1.

New England needs to select a wideout at some point on the second day to give Jones as deep of an arsenal of players to work with as possible.