Tag: Patriots 2023 Draft Grades

Final draft grades round-up for Patriots G Atonio Mafi

A final look at the round-up of draft grades for Atonio Mafi.

UCLA offensive guard Atonio Mafi was right there for the taking for a New England Patriots team that appeared hell-bent on addressing their interior offensive line depth at the 2023 NFL draft.

The Patriots used the No. 144 overall pick in the fifth round to select the converted offensive lineman.

Mafi kick-started his collegiate career playing on defense, even earning a sack and four tackles for a loss as a defensive lineman in the 2019 season. But the real moneymaker for him was his abilities along the offensive front.

Mafi isn’t the most athletic player on the field, particularly in his ability to carry his weight with any form of lateral quickness, but he does have some size and power in the trenches.

UCLA offensive line coach Tim Drevno recently compared his build to Patriots offensive guard Michael Onwenu. If Mafi is half as good as Onwenu, he’ll be well on his way towards a long and prosperous career in the NFL.

Here’s what other media members were saying about this draft choice for New England:

Final draft grades round-up for Patriots G Sidy Sow

Did the Patriots hit a home run with the Sidy Sow draft selection? Here’s what media analysts are saying.

The New England Patriots’ decision to take Eastern Michigan offensive guard Sidy Sow with the No. 117 overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft came with mixed reviews.

On one hand, there were people still trying to make sense of the fact that the team appeared to be blatantly neglecting offensive tackle and adding more help at the skilled positions. How was another interior offensive lineman going to help the Patriots keep pace in a crowded AFC East division with some of the league’s most explosive offenses?

It’s no doubt a fair question.

However, on the other hand, some viewed the Sow pick through the lens of the actual player the Patriots were getting on the football field—a large and powerful offensive guard with the size and abilities to kick outside to tackle.

That kind of versatility doesn’t grow on trees, and the Patriots wanted to make use of it in their offensive system. Here’s what media members were saying about the draft pick:

Final draft grades round-up for Patriots K Chad Ryland

Opinions were mixed when it came to the Chad Ryland draft selection by the Patriots.

The New England Patriots didn’t get aggressive in adding another offensive weapon to the roster at the skilled positions, but they did trade up in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft to select kicker Chad Ryland.

And Patriots fans were not happy about it.

To be fair, it would have been a stretch at this point to go digging around for the next great receiver, especially for a Patriots team with a bad track record of finding talent at the position.

But the decision to get a kicker here is a bit of a head-scratcher. Granted, the Patriots finished the 2022 season with the worst touchdown scoring percentage in the red zone, but they probably could have waited a bit longer for the Ryland pick.

It’s as if the team panicked after seeing Michigan’s Jake Moody come off the board in the third round to the San Francisco 49ers.

Even if Ryland wasn’t there in the fourth round, one would think there were other options the Patriots could have explored with that draft pick. Here’s what others in the media graded the No. 112 overall draft selection?

Final draft grades round-up for Patriots C Jake Andrews

Jake Andrews was the first of three offensive linemen taken off the draft board by the Patriots. How is that selection being graded?

Center Jake Andrews represented a shift in focus to the offensive side of the ball for the New England Patriots, but it wasn’t in the way people were expecting.

Leading up to the 2023 NFL draft, all of the talk for the Patriots lingered on wide receivers and offensive tackles. Yet, coach Bill Belichick’s first selection after taking three defensive players initially was an interior lineman from Troy University.

Go figure.

Andrews is a tough player up front with the ability to not only play center, but he can line up at both guard positions as well. So the Patriots got a possible David Andrews replacement, along with a versatile player capable of serving as an emergency option for both Michael Onwenu and Cole Strange.

That should be considered a win in most eyes. Here’s what others were grading the No. 107 overall pick of the draft:

Final draft grades round-up for Patriots LB Marte Mapu

How media outlets are grading the Patriots for drafting Marte Mapu in the third round.

The New England Patriots are known for selecting at least one mostly unknown player from a small school in the draft each year, and they didn’t disappoint in the 2023 NFL draft with their third-round pick being Sacramento State linebacker/safety Marte Mapu.

Anyone that does homework on Mapu would quickly find a hidden treasure of a defensive talent. Mapu plays fast, loose and violent on the football field. He’s like a magnet that always seems to be around the ball.

It’s no surprise the pick has generated a tremendous amount of praise.

Mapu recently revealed the late, great Junior Seau was his uncle. So his arrival in New England makes for both a feel-good story and a needed addition for a unit that could use more speed in the middle of the defense.

Here’s how people were grading the Patriots’ No. 76 overall pick after the draft:

Final draft grades round-up for Patriots DE Keion White

A final grades round-up for Patriots second-round draft pick Keion White.

After addressing the backend of the defense, the New England Patriots shifted their focus to the front by selecting Georgia Tech’s powerful edge rusher Keion White with the No. 46 overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft.

White is a no-nonsense playmaker that is the very definition of speaking lightly and carrying a big stick. He’s an enforcer that has the ability to overpower offensive linemen and wreck plays before they happen.

For the Patriots, this was a solid draft selection considering some had White as a first-round pick heading into the event.

Of course, not everyone feels the same way about the pick for a Patriots team that could have addressed other needs on the roster. Here’s a round-up of draft grades for the Patriots’ new defender:

Final draft grades round-up for Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez

Christian Gonzalez was one of the biggest hits when it came to post-draft grades.

The New England Patriots were at the right place at the right time to draft former Oregon star cornerback Christian Gonzalez with the No. 17 overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft.

Even after trading down from pick No. 14, the Patriots still managed to come away with a player many projected as a top-10 draft pick.

Some would have preferred to see New England stay on the offensive side of the ball and draft either a receiver or offensive tackle. But a strong argument could be made that Gonzalez was the best player on the board. Combine that with the fact that the Patriots had a glaring need for an outside corner and it was the perfect pick on paper.

There were plenty of media analysts that agreed considering the move received high marks across the board. Here’s the final round-up of draft grades for the Patriots’ first-round pick.

Grading every Patriots pick in 2023 NFL draft

How did the Patriots fare in the draft?

The NFL had one of the more unpredictable draft weekends in recent memory with a plethora of trades and players falling or going earlier than expected.

The New England Patriots had their own unique draft when they took 12 players. They usually only select around nine on average. So this came as a shock when many around the league expected them to trade up and get aggressive.

Now that we have had some time to reflect and are in UDFA mode, let’s review each pick and hand out some grades.