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The first round of the 2023 NFL Draft is in the books, and the New England Patriots not only made a first-round pick (after trading down, of course), but they came away with a major steal in Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez. The work is not over though. There are still six rounds and 11 more Patriots draft picks left to go. With that in mind, here are the three best players left on the board for the team to target with the Patriots' second-round pick and beyond in the NFL Draft.
3. OT Blake Freeland, BYU
One of the biggest Patriots draft needs is at tackle, with Trent Brown and Riley Reiff penciled in to start right now. The team can use an upgrade at the position, and BYU tackle Blake Freeland is a player with the size, skills, and athleticism to take one of those spots for 2023 and hold onto it for the next 10 years.
Freeland is 6-foot-8, 302 pounds, and he was all-state in basketball in high school as well as a state champions javelin and shotput thrower. He comes from an uber-athletic family as well as his father played college football, his mother played college basketball, and his sister is currently a BYU track and field star.
This is the kind of unique background that Bill Belichick likes, and Freeland will fit in well with the Patriots. He was also a four-year starter in college, and, as Belichick loves, he was a team captain for the Cougars.
Freeland should be around for the Patriots' second-round pick at No. 46, and maybe even in Round 3 at No. 76. If Belichick wants to gamble, that third-round spot is the place to grab the tall tackle.
2. TE Darnell Washington, Georgia
Back in 2010, the Patriots' draft included two unique talents at tight end. They took Rob Gronkowski in the second round and Aaron Hernandez in the third. Leaving the Hernandez tragedy out of the equation, this move paid off huge, and the Patriots may never have been better than when they had these two dominating the competition.
There are a lot of interesting TE prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft, but none have the profile of the 6-foot-7, 265-pound Georgia tight end Darnell Washington. He didn’t get a lot of targets with the Bulldogs, but he has excellent athleticism and skill for a player his size.
On the Patriots next season, Washington would pair well with Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki playing on the end of the line while those two play more WR-like roles. Adding a distinctive weapon like this would help Mac Jones (or Bailey Zappe) tremendously and make up for the team’s lack of weapons at the wide receiver position.
Due to his size and potential, Belichick likely won’t be able to wait for later Patriots draft picks to take Washington. If he wants this monster pass-catcher, he’ll have to take him with the Patriots' second-round pick.
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That said, he may not have to make the selection at No. 46. The team could trade back, as is the Patriots draft tradition, and get this TE a little later in Round 2.
1. WR Cedric Tillman, Tennessee
The two letters in front of Cedric Tillman’s name above will send shivers down the spine of Patriots fans. Just saying “wide receiver,” “NFL draft,” and “Patriots” in the same sentence will conjure up nightmares of Bethel Johnson, Chad Jackson, Brandon Tate, Taylor Price, Aaron Dobson, and N’Keal Harry, just to name a few.
However, after losing Jakobi Meyers this offseason, the Patriots' WR corps is still lacking. Yes, they kept Kendrick Bourne and added JuJu Smith-Schuster, but Tyquan Thornton, Tre Nixon, DeVante Parker, and Lynn Bowden Jr. aren’t scaring anyone.
The Patriots need to continue to try and find a No. 1 wideout, and in this draft filled with little guys and speedsters, Tennessee’s Cedric Tillman is one player who could fit the bill.
Tillman doesn’t get the press his counterpart Jalin Hyatt does, but the 6-foot-3 pass-catcher has as good a chance as any player in this NFL draft to become a high-volume No. 1 target at the next level.
The Volunteers wideout dealt with an ankle injury last season but toughed it out and showed up for his team every week. That hindered some of his production, but he still played great in some of the team’s biggest games.
Between his teammate getting a lot of attention and his injury, Tillman slipped through the cracks a bit in this draft. However, with all the Patriots' draft picks in the later rounds, Tillman should be a player for the team to target as the draft goes along.
