The New England Patriots were once the big bad lording over the NFL, but things have changed over the last few seasons. They haven't made the playoffs since the 2021 season and just endured their worst season of the new millennia. The Patriots ended 2023 with a paltry 4-13 record and still have more questions to answer a month into the 2024 offseason. They can begin answering some of those questions with what they decide to do with the third overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.

New England is in pole position to land either Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye in the first round, depending on who the Washington Commanders don't take. But the rest of the Patriots' roster is in major flux at the moment. Their receiving core is among the worst in the league and their offensive line wasn't great last year either. They need to land some gems in this year's draft to boost those positions. Players like Oregon's Troy Franklin, Houston's Patrick Paul, and Virginia's Malik Washington could qualify as sleepers the Patriots could land.

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Troy Franklin, Wide Receiver, Oregon

To say that the Patriots have struggled to find a wide receiver early in the NFL Draft would be a massive understatement. One would have to go back to Deion Branch back in 2002(!) to find the last successful wideout New England has drafted in the first three rounds of the draft. The rest of the bunch since then has been quite a doozy. Players that qualify include the likes of Chad Jackson, Brandon Tate, Taylor Price, Aaron Dobson, N'Keal Harry, and Tyquan Thornton. That's rough.

Troy Franklin can end this everlasting drought. Franklin was absolutely spectacular in 2023 for the Oregon Ducks. He hauled in 81 receptions for 1,383 yards and scored 14 times. He did benefit from a prolific, pass-happy offense in Eugene, but so did plenty of other receivers across the country. Yet, over their careers, only Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Brock Bowers had a better yards per route run average than the 2.63 mark Franklin put up. His speed and propensity to produce big plays are a big reason for that.

New England's depth chart at the position is extremely lacking at the moment. Demario Douglas led the team in receiving yards last season and was a nice find in the sixth round. But after him, it's Kendrick Bourne (who is coming back from a torn ACL), JuJu Smith-Schuster, KJ Osborne, Kayshon Boutte, and Jalen Reagor. Yikes. The Patriots have to add to this room by any means necessary. If they can land Franklin in the second round, that would be a home run.

Patrick Paul, Offensive Tackle, Houston

Perhaps an even bigger need than wide receiver at the moment for New England is their offensive line. In 2023, they ranked 32nd in the league in pass block win rate. There are 32 teams in the NFL, so finishing there in any statistic is bad news.

A great way to go about fixing that issue would be to draft Houston left tackle Patrick Paul. When it comes to protecting the passer, there simply weren't many better at that than Paul over the last two seasons in college football.

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The Patriots' starting left tackle last season, Trent Brown, signed with the Cincinnati Bengals earlier this offseason. They haven't really done anything to replace him either. Paul should be that replacement.

Malik Washington, Wide Receiver, Virginia

There may not be a bigger sleeper in this year's receiver class than Virginia's Malik Washington. He hardly played in his two seasons at Northwestern and his production was modest the two years after that. But he moved to the University of Virginia as a grad transfer and lit the world on fire. He racked up 110 receptions, 1,426 yards, and nine touchdowns in 2023. Only Washington's Rome Odunze, LSU's Malik Nabers, and UNLV's Ricky White had more yards than Washington last year.

As mentioned earlier, the Patriots' depth at receiver is very lackluster. They have to take multiple shots at the position with how many quality prospects there are in this year's draft. Washington is more than worth the dart throw for them.