The New England Patriots have been unable to thoroughly address their receiving corps in free agency, only signing auxiliary option Mack Hollins.
For a team that doesn’t have a legitimate No. 1 receiver, that isn’t good enough, and while the Patriots are apparently interested in adding Stefon Diggs, they will also need to find some pieces in the NFL Draft next month.
Matt St. Jean of Pats Pulpit sees New England heavily focusing on wide receivers over the first three rounds of the draft, predicting the Pats to select Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan with the No. 4 overall pick and then projecting them to take Iowa State’s Jaylin Noel in Round 3.
We already know the story with McMillan. He has been pegged as a potential target for the Patriots for months now and is generally viewed as the second-best receiver in this upcoming draft class behind Travis Hunter. New England selecting him would not come as much of a surprise.
However, Noel would absolutely be an interesting selection in the third round, as he may very well be one of the most explosive weapons available.
“From a 4.39-second 40-time to a 6.81-second 3-cone to an 11-foot-2 broad jump, Iowa State wideout Jaylin Noel improved his stock at the Combine,” St. Jean wrote. “Thanks to that performance, he may not be here when the Patriots pick at No. 69. If he is, they should run that pick up to the podium regardless of whether they’ve taken another receiver in the draft.”
Noel hauled in 80 receptions for 1,194 yards and eight touchdowns this past season, averaging a cool 14.9 yards per catch.
The 5-foot-11 speedster arrived at Iowa State in 2021 and gradually improved each year before breaking out entirely in 2024.
The Pats may have no choice but to take a couple of receivers over the first two days of the draft, and a haul of McMillan and Noel would be fantastic.
