Pats can’t afford to miss
While the Patriots have reduced their need at wide receiver, there’s another bugaboo position they can’t avoid in the upcoming NFL Draft: cornerback.
After receiver, the Patriots have had more draft busts at corner than almost any other position during the Bill Belichick era. With the draft just a few days away, however, the Pats need to select a corner, preferably one who can step in immediately and contribute.
Of course, it should be noted that the Patriots have hit the jackpot with undrafted free agents at the position, with Malcolm Butler, Jonathan Jones and J.C. Jackson at the head of the class. It’s just with the actual draft picks, particularly those taken in the second round, they haven’t been able to score a foundational piece. And that’s exactly what’s needed right now.
Joejuan WIlliams arrived in 2019 and was projected to be a possible weapon against tight ends given his size, but the most recent secondround choice hasn’t passed muster at the position. He’s not alone. There’s a whole string of busts before him.
Duke Dawson (2018), Cyrus Jones (2016), Ras-I Dowling (2011), Darius Butler (2009), and Terrence Wheatley (2008) were all secondround picks who didn’t do much in a Patriots uniform. Why so many flops?
For starters, it’s one of the toughest positions to nail in the draft.
Former NFL executive
Mike Tannanbaum, interviewed by the Herald recently, listed quarterback and wide receiver as the two toughest positions to nail in the draft, with corner third.
SiriusXM NFL analyst Solomon Wilcots, however, put cornerback ahead of receiver when speaking with the Herald last week. Because of their draft failures, the Patriots have had to make a trade or go the free agent route
(Aqib Talib, Darrelle Revis, Stephon Gilmore) in order to be competitive at the position.
With Gilmore and Jackson gone and free agency largely over, the Pats have to get back on the horse in the draft. Wilcots had a pretty good handle on the Patriots’ situation.
“They’re desperate, right?” he said.
Well, that’s one way of putting it. Even if they play more zone defense, it looks like they’re going to rely heavily on Butler, who’s 32 and coming off a year put of the league. At the other outside spot, it’s Jalen Mills, who’s best suited at safety.
Butler may be it for now, but the Pats are still searching for a No. 1 corner to help defuse all of these highpowered offenses. Having at least one corner who is capable of playing man coverage would help tremendously, especially if the Pats want to mix defenses or blanket one opposing receiver.
The 2022 draft has a few corners who can handle both man and zone equally well, but identifying them is another matter.
“The depth at cornerback this year is not that great (after the top group),” said ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper during a recent video call with reporters. “It’s there in numbers, but there’s a lot of hit-or-miss guys.”
That would suggest the Patriots having to step up to bat right away and grab one in the first round, and avoid the second round entirely, which might not be the worst idea. They really do need to draft a plug-and-play cornerback who can contribute right away.
Cincinnati’s Sauce Gardner and LSU’s Derek Stingley, considered the two best corners in the draft, could both go in the top 10. Washington’s Trent McDuffie should go shortly after that. It’ll be interesting to see if he’s still available at No. 21, where the Patriots pick, or if they’d have to make a move to get him.
Clemson’s Andrew Booth Jr., who is coming off hernia surgery, is the next tier along with Florida’s Kaiir Elam.
If they trade down from No. 21, or select another position in the first round, they’ll really be playing with fire, trying to hit pay-dirt at the position.
So what makes picking good corners so tough? Why have the Pats struggled to draft one?
Wilcots points to the rules in the NFL, and the jump corners need to make when they get to the pros, which applies to all teams.
The college game is a little more forgiving to defenders in terms of what they can, and can’t do. There’s no such thing as the 5-yard rule that exists in the NFL, where