For this new season, the Patriots made a small but significant pair of moves at the end of free agency by releasing Joshua Dobbs after no trade materialized and signing tackle James Hudson III to a one-year deal.
While these moves did not fundamentally alter the roster, they indicate where the front office's priorities lie: protecting Drake Maye and strengthening the infrastructure around him, rather than allowing depth issues to extend into training camp.
This perspective is crucial for the upcoming draft as the Patriots are set to pick 31st following their Super Bowl run, which changes the dynamics of the draft.
Teams selecting in this range typically aren't looking for a single player to transform the roster but for smart additions that help maintain a strong team and prevent avoidable weaknesses.
New England's offseason moves have already suggested where those weaknesses may be, and despite Hudson’s addition, tackle depth remains important.
The passing game could benefit from another larger target with potential, and the defensive front still needs reinforcement on the interior to keep the rotation effective over a 17-game season.
They are not looking for “sleepers” in the traditional, novelty sense, as they need the type of sleepers that contenders value most: prospects who may not have first-round hype but fit genuine needs, can develop in a stable environment, and might seem like obvious picks in hindsight once the season begins.
Three names stand out as potential targets in this category.
OT Markel Bell, Miami
Markel Bell stands out as a natural sleeper for them due to how well he fits their current roster needs.
At 6-foot-9 and 346 pounds, he is a massive prospect even by tackle standards, and he has meaningful starting experience from Miami, where he earned third-team All-ACC recognition in 2025.
A recent draft profile focused on the Patriots described him as a likely third- or fourth-round pick, highlighting his potential as a developmental swing tackle who could eventually compete for a more prominent role. This aligns perfectly with what the Patriots should be considering at this stage of the draft.
It’s easy to understand his appeal when examining New England’s existing setup.
Will Campbell remains a long-term cornerstone on one side, while Morgan Moses provides a veteran presence on the other, and additionally, Hudson was signed as depth.
While these moves are beneficial, the team is not fully settled because Moses is not a long-term solution, and Hudson is on a one-year deal. Good teams typically prefer to groom their next tackle a year before they genuinely need him, rather than scrambling when a gap opens.
Bell fits this strategy perfectly as he wouldn’t be forced onto the field before he’s ready, which is crucial for a player with such raw physical gifts who still needs to refine his gameplay.
From a stylistic perspective, Bell complements a Patriots team looking to maintain a strong physical presence around their young quarterback, and he is not just a light-footed tactician because he brings a unique combination of size, length, and mass, along with valuable developmental upside that coaches often seek in a stable environment.
If they decide to invest in protection during the middle rounds of the draft, instead of waiting until their offensive line becomes expensive and fragile, Bell could be a savvy pick who makes a significant impact by Year Two.
WR Chris Bell, Louisville
Chris Bell is a receiver that contender-level teams should analyze more closely than the typical draft discourse acknowledges.
His style of play is more functional than flashy, and at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, his 2025 season concluded with first-team All-ACC honors, after recording 72 catches for 917 yards and six touchdowns, all career highs. This production is impressive and showcases a receiver capable of handling significant volume without falling into a gadget role or relying solely on a single skill.
For the Patriots, Bell's size and playing style are particularly appealing, and while the team has made strides in improving its offense, Maye enters Year Two with a more complete receiving corps. An additional boundary target who can provide the quarterback with more options would be valuable.
Bell fits this profile as he can absorb contact, navigate through tight coverage, and presents a different physical presence compared to the quicker, lighter receivers that many offenses tend to collect without diversification.
This variation is often underestimated, and young quarterbacks benefit not only from speed but also from throw-friendly windows, receivers who can withstand contact, and targets that help the offense perform well even when timing is off.
Additionally, Bell seems like a player who could exceed expectations based on his eventual draft slot, as his true value becomes more apparent within an offensive scheme than in isolation.
He might not dominate pre-draft discussions with impressive testing numbers or viral highlights, but he is the type of receiver a coaching staff can rely on to fulfill a crucial role, and for a Patriots team striving to build a more robust structure around Maye, rather than simply chasing headline names, Bell represents the kind of sleeper worth targeting.
He wouldn’t necessarily need to be the centerpiece of the passing game; rather, he would contribute to making the offense more reliable on third downs, in the red zone, and during critical moments when quarterbacks rely on familiar, trustworthy throws.
DT Rayshaun Benny, Michigan
Rayshaun Benny is a sleeper pick that makes sense for the Patriots if they want to come out of this draft as a more balanced team, less reliant on edge pressure to hold their defense together.
According to Michigan’s official bio, he stands at 6 feet 4 inches and weighs 305 pounds. His background aligns with the kind of foundational talent that teams like New England typically value: he was a former four-star recruit, played in a serious program, won a national championship, and developed into a respected interior lineman in a disciplined and powerful defensive scheme.
The key aspect to consider is not just his headline sack production, but what Benny could contribute to the rotation, and defenses cannot rely solely on edge rushers to remain effective throughout an entire season because they require interior linemen who can stand strong against the run, keep linebackers clean, and create enough pressure in the pocket to prevent offenses from feeling comfortable stepping up when edge rushers apply heat. Benny is well-suited for this role.
He is not being positioned as a top-tier disruptor who can change games on his own because he is the type of player who can make the defensive front stronger, more reliable, and more complete. This often proves to be more valuable for a contender than the louder, more flashy archetypes.
Benny also fits the current needs of the Patriots as they are not looking for foundational talent at every position but are instead focused on avoiding the depth erosion that can become apparent in January when the roster has suffered injuries, and the line of scrimmage starts losing key snaps.
He feels like the kind of mid-round investment that can help mitigate those issues, and if they are seeking a sleeper who can contribute to the rotation early and potentially develop into a more stable interior presence, he is a very viable target.
The broader point regarding all three players is that New England should not confuse “sleeper” with a small project, because Benny, along with Bell and Chris Bell, each makes sense because their roles are easy to envision now, rather than relying on two years of speculation and wishful thinking.
They all have problems, but a lot of qualities together with all this, which can surprise not only the team, but the fans too, and this is the kind of draft strategy that strong teams typically excel at.
They do not spend every pick trying to reinvent themselves because they dedicate enough selections to ensure that the version of the team they already like remains stable and doesn’t crack under pressure.
