The New England Patriots find themselves in an unfamiliar position heading into the 2023 NFL Draft — the clear fourth-best team in the AFC East on paper. This comes after the New York Jets were able to acquire Aaron Rodgers in a blockbuster trade with the Green Bay Packers, which further emphasizes New England’s need to hit this draft out of the park to keep up with the rest of the division.
The Patriots first selection this year was initially at No. 14 overall, which would have been the highest the organization has picked dating back to 2008 when they owned the No. 10 overall pick and took linebacker — and current assistant coach — Jerod Mayo. However, they team traded down with the Pittsburgh Steelers to No. 17 overall to collect another fourth-rounder. With that top pick New England elected to address the secondary by bringing aboard arguably the top corner in this class in Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez. Beyond the opening round, New England has two other picks inside the top 100 and four fourth-rounders, four sixths and a seventh, which should be plenty of capital to move around the board to get the player they grade highly.
This is a pivotal time for the Patriots, so you won’t want to miss a second of the action over the three-day spectacle. Here is every single selection the Patriots have made and are slated to make at the 2023 NFL Draft.
|
1 |
17 |
Christian Gonzalez, CB (Oregon) |
|
2 |
46 |
Keion White, EDGE (Georgia Tech) |
|
3 |
76 |
Marte Mapu, S (Sacramento State) |
|
4 |
107 |
|
|
4 |
117 |
|
| 4 | 120 | |
|
4 |
135 |
|
|
6 |
184 |
|
|
6 |
187 |
|
|
6 |
192 |
|
|
6 |
210 |
|
|
7 |
245 |
Patriots select Christian Gonzalez at No. 17
The Patriots traded back with the Pittsburgh Steelers from No. 14 to No. 17 while picking up at 2023 fourth-rounder. Gonzalez ended up still being on the board for New England when they were on the clock again and and it didn’t take long for Bill Belichick’s team to swoop in and take the Oregon product. This is quite the coup for the Patriots as Gonzalez was looked at as arguably the top cornerback in this class. He was CBS Sports’ No. 1 ranked corner and the No. 7 overall prospect. While offensive tackle was a popular position to address for the Patriots throughout the pre-draft process, the corner spot was also a sneaky big need. Beyond Jonathan Jones — who re-signed in free…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CBSSports.com Headlines…