An Early Look at the Pats First-Round Options in the Draft and a Free Agency Wish List

Q: Would you rather wait until day two for an OT with all the depth and use our first-round pick on a WR/best available player? Or take an elite OT in the first round? – Nate

This will be the debate until the draft: best player available at no. 14 or best OT available. There are two schools of thought. If they miss on the top-three OTs (Johnson, Broderick, Skoronski), the Pats could trade down into the sweet spot for the next tier (Harrison, Dawand, Wright). Two, take the best player available with the 14th pick and “Barmore” it on day two, meaning trade up from the 46th pick into the 30s for a tier two OT. Ultimately, the 14th overall pick must be a foundational player for this Belichick reboot. I’d like them to land an offensive tackle, but the most important thing is that they come away with a blue chipper. They’re picking high enough for this first-rounder to be an All-Pro caliber talent, and the team desperately needs that level of player somewhere, really, anywhere.

Q: Who do you see the Pats chasing in a trade for a wide receiver between D-Hop, Mike Evans, Tee Higgins, and Jerry Jeudy? – Ana Lia

To me, this comes down to either Higgins or Jeudy. Evans and Hopkins are great. However, they’ll both be on the wrong side of 30 by the time the 2023 season begins. If the Pats swing big on a wide receiver trade, I’d rather see them do it for a player entering their prime. With that in mind, Jeudy is my most-likely target because he’s the most likely player to become available. The Bengals will do whatever it takes to keep Higgins, meaning they’ll have him play out the year and potentially franchise tag him in 2024. On the other hand, the Broncos could use the draft capital after trading first-rounders for Russell Wilson and head coach Sean Payton. Denver doesn’t currently have a first or second-round pick and only has five picks total. Although Jeudy is a good receiver, he’s nearing the end of his rookie contract and could net a top-50 pick for Denver to recoup some…