Patriots Mock Draft 2.0: What Does Drafting For Need Look Like?
What are the New England Patriots going to do with the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft? We will try and answer that question in this five-part mock draft series — with our next snecario exploring needs-based approach.
The Patriots just put the finishing touches on a successful free-agent class, leaving them in a tremendous spot as they enter final preparations for the draft.
We changed our tune from last week, if you can’t tell.
New England made its biggest splash yet when it inked veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs to a multi-year deal last Friday. Diggs joins a class that already addressed several other needs in free agency, including potential cornerstone additions like Milton Williams, Harold Landry, Robert Spillane and Carlton Davis. We still need to figure out what will happen with the No. 4 pick, though, with really only one glaring need remaining.
Is it possible the Patriots go with Will Campbell no matter what? We think it might be, which is why this mock draft starts with making the decision that everyone has been wrestling with for several months:
The New England Patriots select offensive tackle Will Campbell with the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Patriots have done nearly everything in their power to fill the biggest holes left on the roster, except one. Ronnie Stanley, Cam Robinson and Patrick Mekari all seemed like viable free-agent options at left tackle but were either taken off the board early or deemed not worth their eventual price. New England, in turn, has been left hunting for other options to protect Drake Maye’s blindside.
Campbell is our choice because, well, this is the guy we’ve been talking about since a top-five pick even started to look like a possibility, so it feels right to ultimately land here.
We all heard about the arm-length issue, but that seems to have been quelled a bit. LSU measured him at a perfectly adequate 32 inches, which put him on par with what teams typically view as the cutoff point after a not-so-great measurement at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. Campbell also holds an advantage over other potential draft options, having played the left side, which is something Missouri’s Armand Membou hasn’t, and never having suffered a major injury, unlike Ohio State’s Josh Simmons.
Campbell is the safest option at left tackle.
We made picks and trades across all seven rounds, so it isn’t just about Hunter. You can find the full results via PFF’s Mock Draft Simulator, and our reasoning, below:
We decided to limit ourselves to a single trade in our mock drafts, this time shipping the No. 38 pick to the New Orleans Saints for picks No. 40 and No. 112.
Xavier Watts is our pick after trading back a couple of spots, filling the underrated need as a deep-third option in the defensive backfield. Jabrill Peppers and Kyle Dugger can both be expected to have better seasons, but it can never hurt to add depth on the defense — especially if those two veterans can’t reach their previous levels of success.
Malachi Moore is a more volatile option to fill that role, but we took him late anyway based on his talent.
Jaylin Noel might be a controversial pick, as he can only be expected to play primarily out of the slot. DeMario Douglas already occupies that role, but when you have a chance to add talent at the wide receiver position you can’t pass it up. Tory Horton is a very different player, adding some size and experience just a couple of rounds later.
Mason Taylor and Jo’Quavious Marks are another pair of offensive weapons, with the former having all the tools to potentially become the primary tight end in New England. Marks’ ceiling isn’t so high, but he met at length with the club during his pro day, so we had to include him after waiting until later in the draft to address the need at running back.
JJ Pegues and Teddye Buchanan are two defenders who we previously profiled, with the former having some legitimate two-way experience that can be tapped into. Buchanan fits the mold of a modern-day linebacker and would be an immediate contributor on special teams.
Seth McLaughlin is the perfect pick if we don’t say so ourselves. The Patriots need to find a long-term answer at center, and can do just that by taking a high-ceiling player who will fall due to injury. You can redshirt him behind Garrett Bradbury, then unleash him as a starter in his second or third season.
We cooked.
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