The New England Patriots’ wide receiver group remains a work in progress, which in turn means that the reigning AFC champions are in the market for more help at the position. And while A.J. Brown has been floated around as a potential trade addition, the NFL Draft is no less likely to be the team’s ultimate target.
The public consensus is that there are multiple high-end targets in what is generally considered a deep class at the position. Is that really the case, though? Well, as a series of quotes
collected by Go Long’s Bob McGinn shows, the scouting community appears to not be entirely sold on the players and the group overall.
Let’s take a look.
Overall assessment
As noted above, opinions vary on the talent available in this year’s wide receiver class. The following quotes from talent evaluators reflect this.
“There’s a decent amount of depth but there’s no real stud.”
“These Denzel Boston’s and K.C. Concepcion’s and Antonio Williams’s of the world, they’re just guys. Even Makai Lemon, he’s a little guy, a tough guy, but he’s not a No. 1 [receiver]. I like Tate the best of all of them but he’s good, he’s not great. After Tate, in other years they would be second-, third- and fourth-rounders. There’s nothing out there.”
“You just don’t see first-rounders. They just don’t jump out. Mike Evans is a blue player. None of these guys are really blue. … A lot of guys don’t have the stats. But you watch all their targets and plays and you go, ‘Gee, this guy just needs to get the ball more.’ There’s a lot of good receivers in this draft.”
Carnell Tate (Ohio State)
Ohio State’s Carnell Tate is likely the first wideout off the board, and a player who should be gone before the Patriots are on the clock. That being said, not everybody seems sold on his status as the head of the class.
“Carnell Tate might be the first receiver taken but he wasn’t even the best receiver on his team in college.”
“He’s a No. 1 receiver. Hands are excellent. He’ll be a high-volume receiver in the NFL. I don’t think he has explosive speed but he can separate at the top of routes. He has really good short-area burst to separate and get open.”
“I don’t think he’s a first-rounder. No, he’s not Garrett Wilson. He’s a little less than [Chris] Olave. You look at Marvin Harrison and Tate, they don’t have a lot of speed. He just doesn’t have explosion. Every time he gets deep it’s either a blown zone coverage or it’s against a bad corner. Those kind of guys, they come to this level and the DBs are so much better. Catches the ball OK. Goes down pretty easy. Not the biggest guy. He definitely doesn’t have the traits of a No. 1 receiver.”
Jordyn Tyson (Arizona State)
Considering that Tate seems set to come off the board in the first half of the first round, he is out of the Patriots’ range. Jordyn Tyson also might be, but in the unlikely case he starts sliding just slightly from his projected spot in the high teens, the team might be tempted to move up.
“He’s really good. Somebody needs a receiver, you’re gonna look hard at him. I’d say he’s 20 to 30. He blocks. He can run great routes. He has great hands. He’s just a competitor. He’s fast and can hit the home run. He’s the whole package.”
“You can see the quick twitch and the movement, and he can run. But this guy is one of the most noncompetitive receivers I’ve done in a while. Body catcher even when it’s not contested. I’ve never seen anybody catch slants and just slide to the ground like this guy does. It’s nuts. He’s just not a tough dude. He doesn’t make catches when bodies are around him. Very inconsistent. And Hines Ward coaches him, which is crazy. Because I know no way Hines is saying, ‘This is what we need here.’ I don’t like him at all. He gets hurt all the time and I don’t think he’s very tough.”
Omar Cooper Jr. (Indiana)
If we consider Tate and Tyson as the top two wideouts in the class, Cooper Jr. is part of the second tier of players at the position. That does not mean he makes it all the way to New England, but chances are higher and he also would be in a more realistic trade-up range.
“He’s a really good receiver without any outstanding trait except he catches the hell out of the ball and helps your quarterback.
“He’s a tough guy. Kind of a possession guy. He had the big play against Penn State. Overall, kind of inconsistent making plays because he’s always in traffic unless they scheme him to get open. He’s more like your No. 3-special teams type. He’s a lot better than [teammate Elijah] Sarratt but I don’t get the hype. Nothing special as far as playmaking or explosiveness.”
Denzel Boston (Washington)
A big-bodied outside receiver who draws some comparison to A.J. Brown, Boston is another player to watch if the Patriots want to go wideout in Round 1.
“He’s an X-receiver. OK speed. He’s really more of a 50-50-let-me-outrebound-the guy. Body position, basketball player type guy. He’s a real starter.”
“He’s got a little bit of Mike Evans in him but he’s just not as fast down the field. He’s got a lot of talent. He’s big and strong, runs good routes, great hands, separates, he’s physical. He’s probably like Tate in the speed department but I like him as a receiver better than Tate. He knows how to get open, set guys up, stop and start, good route runner. He doesn’t have the extra gear but he’s a really good possession receiver.”
K.C. Concepcion (Texas A&M)
The Patriots have already shown some interest in Concepcion during the pre-draft process, hosting him for a 30 visit at Gillette Stadium. He offers a different skillset than Denzel Boston but projects as a fit in the late first or early second round.
“He can play Z but he’s really outstanding with the ball in his hands. He can motor. He was very productive at NC State and left for A&M. Made some big plays for them. He is super explosive. If he’s your third receiver you’re really excited. If he’s your 2 you’re hoping he can grow into a good 2.”
“He’s almost like a gadget guy, the way they play him. It’s going to be a while before he’s anything. Looks like a track guy. You can tell he can run when things are free. They scheme him up for his production. Doesn’t catch the ball well. Lot of drops around a lot of bodies. Doesn’t have catch radius. They do this slip-screen stuff with him and he has no run after the catch.”
Chris Brazzell II (Tennessee)
Brazzell comes with questions about his NFL-readiness, but as one of the most athletically impressive wideouts in this year’s class has all the talent in the world to make an impact. In fact, his skillset would match with Patriots quarterback Drake Maye’s.
“He’s got good speed and he’s big. He’s an X-receiver at 6-4 and has good hands. Big and athletic. He goes deep. He goes up and gets the ball real strong. He’s going to be an impact guy, there’s no question. I’d take him over Boston. I’d take him over Ja’Kobi Lane.”
“This kind of profile usually doesn’t work out. Just a downfield, long strider, build-speed guy. Not a really good route runner because he’s tight and doesn’t separate really well. Not very strong. B hands. He’ll flash and run by a DB against Cover 0 or something but, overall, just not a polished, versatile, natural receiver.”
The quotes presented reflect view points and opinions on the wide receiver class, but they also have to be taken with a grain of salt given the smoke-and-mirrors tactics that are popular leading up to the draft. What can be said, though, is that different teams value different skills. What is relevant for one and its offense might not be of importance to another. At the end of the day, it only takes one team to pull the trigger and the Patriots might be it at some point in the draft.
