ESPN Projects Patriots To Make Surprising Top-10 NFL Draft Pick

The Patriots desperately need help on the offensive side of the football.

New England’s offensive line needs to be improved, as protecting quarterback Drake Maye should be a franchise priority for years to come. Maye’s development also could be accelerated with better weapons in his arsenal.

However, one NFL draft analyst believes New England will go defense with its first pick in next year’s draft.

The Patriots are in line to pick early in 2025, as it owned the sixth overall pick coming out of Week 11. With that first-round position in mind, ESPN’s Matt Miller projected New England to use its second top-10 pick in as many years on Michigan cornerback Will Johnson.

“Left tackle is an important need for the Patriots, but the offensive tackle class isn’t strong beyond Kelvin Banks Jr. So instead of reaching, the Patriots could fill another need at corner with Johnson, my top-rated prospect in the class,” Miller wrote. “The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Johnson fits the mold of Pat Surtain II, showing excellent ball skills and the physicality to hang with NFL wide receivers. He has been limited by injuries this season but has two interceptions, both of which were returned for touchdowns. Pairing Johnson with 2023 first-rounder Christian Gonzalez would give the Patriots a legitimate spot of strength on defense, and having two top corners on rookie contracts would give New England flexibility to build around them.”

This wasn’t the first time ESPN linked Johnson to New England. NFL insider Field Yates back in April loved the idea of a “lethal” Johnson-Gonzalez tandem when he projected the former landing with the Patriots at No. 6 overall.

As for New England’s more pressing needs, the draft isn’t the only way those areas of concern can be addressed. One NFL insider “expects” the Patriots to focus on wide receiver and O-line improvements in free agency.