{"id":1552415,"date":"2023-03-02T17:55:39","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T22:55:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1552415"},"modified":"2023-03-02T17:55:40","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T22:55:40","slug":"mel-kiper-mock-draft-patriots-fans-will-hate-the-predicted-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/mel-kiper-mock-draft-patriots-fans-will-hate-the-predicted-pick\/","title":{"rendered":"Mel Kiper Mock Draft: Patriots Fans Will Hate the Predicted Pick"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/cheap-paranoid-nfl-owners-skimping-nfl-scouting-combine\/\">NFL Scouting Combine<\/a>\u00a0has officially started in Indianapolis, meaning 2023\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/nfl-draft\/\">NFL Draft<\/a>\u00a0season is officially underway. And it also means another Mel Kiper Jr. mock draft if here. This time around, the ESPN draft guru had\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/bill-belichick\">Bill Belichick<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/new-england-patriots\/\">New England Patriots<\/a>\u00a0that will make Pats fans pull their hair out. That's because this Mel Kiper mock draft has the coach and de facto general manager doing the thing he's worst at, taking a first-round wide receiver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The latest Mel Kiper mock draft has Bill Belichick taking a WR <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It\u2019s mock draft day. New Round 1 predictions here \u2014 with three early trades. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LmABsErBm3\">https:\/\/t.co\/LmABsErBm3<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Mel Kiper Jr. (@MelKiperESPN) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MelKiperESPN\/status\/1630601115514314752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 28, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The latest Mel Kiper Jr. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/insider\/draft2023\/insider\/story\/_\/id\/35742992\/2023-nfl-mock-draft-mel-kiper-first-round-predictions-31-picks-best-team-fits-top-prospects-second-version\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mock draft <\/a>has the worst-case scenario for the Patriots. It has Bill Belichick taking a WR in Round 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Belichick has a horrific track record of selecting wideouts, especially early in the draft (more on that below). And in the latest Patriots mock draft, Kiper has the coach taking a player with a wide range of NFL outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The player in question is Ohio State WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smith-Njigba is a polarizing prospect. Some think he's a top-20 prospect and possibly the best receiver in the 2023 NFL Draft. Others believe he is a player of average athleticism who won't be able to separate at the NFL level and are worried about his injury history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Buckeyes WR played just three games in 2022 with a lingering hamstring injury. He finished the year with five catches for 43 yards. However, in 2021, Smith-Njigba was incredible. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound pass-catcher led Ohio State in receptions (95) and receiving yards (1,606) on a team with Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson on the roster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To justify this pick at No. 14, Kiper writes that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/mac-jones-trade-rumors-patriots-qb-could-reunite-former-coach\/\">Patriots QB Mac Jones<\/a>\u00a0would &#8220;He'd benefit greatly from Smith-Njigba, a true No. 1 wideout who knows how to get open.&#8221; However, Kiper also says, &#8220;Assuming his medicals check out and his hamstring won't be an issue, he'll be my top-ranked wideout in this class. There's no consensus within the league on this receiver class at the top.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bill Belichick and the Patriots definitely need a receiver this offseason, especially with Jakobi Meyers possibly leaving in free agency. However, drafting one on the first will make Patriots fans incredibly nervous, at best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-patriots-terrible-history-of-drafting-wrs-in-the-belichick-era\"><strong>The Patriots' terrible history of drafting WRs in the Belichick Era<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1250\" height=\"704\" src=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Patriots-mock-draft-2023-1-1.jpg?w=925&#038;strip=all&#038;quality=89\" alt=\"Mel Kiper mock draft, Mel Kiper Jr., Bill Belichick, New England Patriots, 2023 NFL Draft\" class=\"wp-image-1552418\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bill Belichick | Barry Chin\/The Boston Globe via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Since Bill Belichick became the Patriots head coach in 2000, the franchise has drafted 18 receivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The best pick, by far, was Kent State\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/julian-edelman-reveals-just-how-close-joining-eli-manning-giants-almost-a-giant-always-a-patriot\/\">quarterback-turned-receiver Julian Edelman<\/a>. The Patriots took him in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft, and he ended his career with 620 catches for 6,822 yards and 36 touchdowns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Deion Branch in the second round and David Givens in the seventh round of the 2022 draft were both solid picks. However, outside of that, the Patriots' WR history in the draft is horrific. Here are the rest of the wideouts Belichick has drafted, not counting special teams ace Matthew Slater, who's played in 223 games but recorded just one catch for 46 yards in his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Player<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>School<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Year<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Rd<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Pick<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Games<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Catches<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Yards<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>TDs<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Bethel Johnson<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Texas A&amp;M<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2003<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">45<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">39<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">30<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">450<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">4<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">P.K. Sam<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Florida State<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2004<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">5<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">162<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Chad Jackson<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Florida<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2006<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">36<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">14<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">13<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">152<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">3<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Brandon Tate<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">North Carolina<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2009<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">3<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">83<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">18<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">48<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">432<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">3<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Taylor Price<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Ohio<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2010<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">3<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">90<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">4<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">3<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">41<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Jeremy Ebert<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Northwestern<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2012<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">7<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">235<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Aaron Dobson<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Marshall<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2013<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">59<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">24<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">53<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">698<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">4<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Josh Boyce<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">TCU<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2013<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">4<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">102<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">10<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">9<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">121<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Jeremy Gallon<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Michigan<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2014<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">7<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">244<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Malcom Mitchell<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Georgia<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2016<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">4<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">112<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">14<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">32<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">401<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">4<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Devin Lucien<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Arizona State<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2016<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">7<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">225<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Braxton Berrios<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Miami (FL)<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2018<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">6<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">210<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">N\u2019Keal Harry<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Arizona State<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2019<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">32<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">33<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">57<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">598<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">4<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Tre Nixon<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Central Florida<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2021<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">7<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">242<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">0<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Tyquan Thornton<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Baylor<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2022<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">50<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">13<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">22<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">247<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>TOTALS<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"> <\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"> <\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"> <\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"> <\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>171<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>267<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>3,140<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>24<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see, the WRs Bill Belichick has drafted for the Patriots have been terrible. The group\u2019s total stats in 171 games is about what a Pro Bowl receiver would do in a season and a half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s why the latest Mel Kiper mock draft should scare Patriots fans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the latest Mel Kiper mock draft, he has Bill Belichick making a pick that will drive Patriots fans wild in the 2023 NFL draft. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":1552418,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4992,4904,4933],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v22.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mel Kiper Mock Draft: Patriots Fans Will Hate the Predicted Pick - Sports7<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the latest Mel Kiper mock draft, he has Bill Belichick making a pick that will drive Patriots fans wild in the 2023 NFL draft.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/mel-kiper-mock-draft-patriots-fans-will-hate-the-predicted-pick\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mel Kiper Mock Draft: Patriots Fans Will Hate the Predicted Pick\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the latest Mel Kiper mock draft, he has Bill Belichick making a pick that will drive Patriots fans wild in the 2023 NFL draft.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/mel-kiper-mock-draft-patriots-fans-will-hate-the-predicted-pick\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sports7\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-02T22:55:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-02T22:55:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Patriots-mock-draft-2023-1-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"704\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tim Crean\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@twcrean\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tim Crean\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/mel-kiper-mock-draft-patriots-fans-will-hate-the-predicted-pick\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/mel-kiper-mock-draft-patriots-fans-will-hate-the-predicted-pick\/\",\"name\":\"Mel Kiper Mock Draft: Patriots Fans Will Hate the Predicted Pick - 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