2021 NFL Team Draft Page

Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots pulled off a strong victory against the Arizona Cardinals that not many people thought they could win. Now, at 5-6, after losing Tom Brady and a handful of players opting out due to COVID-19, dare I say that prospects look promising for the future?


The defense has looked strong, even without key players such as Hightower and Chung, ranking middle-of-the-pack at 352 yards given up per game. They also rank 12th by giving up "just" 23.2 points per game. Obviously, it is a step back from being the number-one-ranked defense last season, but as I mentioned before, players decided to opt-out, plus they lost others in Free Agency in the likes of Jamie Collins and Kyle Van Noy.

The offense, on the other hand, struggles to score by only putting up 20.8 points per game (27th), and only gaining 197.4 passing yards per game (29th). They do rank 5th in the league with 149.6 rushing ypg. The rushing attack seems to do well, but when they are playing from behind, they really need a better passing game. Surprisingly, the Patriots only have 6 passing touchdowns on the season (through Week 12); the entire receiving corps with just 3 of those! Seriously??!!

Tight End Ryan Izzo, a 2018 7th-round pick, is a nice player, but he is not a big receiving threat, only posting 12 receptions for 193 yards and 0 touchdowns on the year. Not happy with Izzo, GM Belichick drafted two 3rd-round TEs in Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene in the 2020 draft, but neither of those guys are paying dividends. Asiasi has seen just 81 snaps, Keene just 24 through Week 12. This is where Kyle Pitts comes in. He is a scoring machine, with 11 touchdowns on the season on 29 receptions for 513 yards. Labeled as an elite "pass-catching TE" (read: can't block) after the 2019 season, Pitts worked ferociously in the off-season to turn that weakness into a strength

Check out our new Team Page feature, the Patriots' Team Page shows the entire roster of New England picks for Consensus Mock Draft #10 centralized in one place.

- Jack Hott, Patriots Analyst