The New England Patriots keep taking an up-close at this year’s draft class, with two more players added to their list of 30 visits.
According to reports, Penn State safety Zakee Wheatley and Ole Miss wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling are set to travel to Foxborough for a meeting with the team.
Projected as a potential Day 2 selection, Wheatley is a former cornerback who converted to safety following his redshirt freshman campaign. Overall, the 6-foot-3, 201-pounder saw action in 58 games with 28 starts
during his five seasons in Happy Valley and registered six interceptions as well as a trio of fumble recoveries.
His reported visit with the Patriots needs to be looked at within the bigger context of the team trying to upgrade the position this offseason. Not only did they sign first-team All-Pro Kevin Byard to a one-year, $7 million contract to take over the role previously held by free agency departee Jaylinn Hawkins, they also already had another 30 visit with possible first-round safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.
Both McNeil-Warren and Wheatley are rangy free safety types, who would presumably be developed to take over for Byard further down the line.
De’Zhaun Stribling, meanwhile, is an X-receiver who ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine and combines natural speed with a 6-foot-2, 207-pound frame.
Stribling started his college career at Washington State and via a two-year stint at Oklahoma State made his way to Ole Miss last year. In total, he played in 56 games and registered 216 combined catches for 2,964 yards and 23 touchdowns. He projects as a mid-round pick in the draft, and could come off the board as early as the third round.
His and Wheatley’s visits suggest that the Patriots have some interest in them or at the very least the position groups they are part of. Last year, six of the team’s 11 selections — OT Will Campbell, WR Kyle Williams, S Craig Woodson, DT Joshua Farmer, OT Marcus Bryant, CB Kobee Minor — later confirmed that they had visited New England leading up to the draft.
