Nine Patriots Draft Targets To Watch During Championship Week
The Patriots will have a keen eye on the 2025 NFL Draft.
New England has just four games left on the schedule, which means time is running out to do anything about its draft status — which currently has the brain trust of Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo picking at No. 4.
Mayo’s team is honestly just playing out the string, but that does include an increased effort to figure out how much of their first draft together is still salvageable. Wolf has shifted his attention toward rebuilding the putrid roster he helped put together, which includes ramping up scouting efforts as we approach April.
It’s never a bad time to talk prospects, though, so we’ll use key dates on the remaining college football schedule to do just that — beginning with conference championship week:
OL Clay Webb (#74), Jacksonville State
Conference USA Championship: vs. Western Kentucky
TV: CBS Sports Network
(Friday, 7 p.m. ET)
Yes, we’re diving deeeeeeeep into these conference championship games, giving you one propsect to watch in each of the nine matchups slated for Friday and Saturday.
Webb won’t grab the headlines when it comes to options on this list, but he’s a versatile offensive lineman with a great pedigree. Jacksonville State landed him following a couple of seasons at Georgia, where he originally arrived as a five-star recruit. It’s also Jax State and Western Kentucky, so this is about as good as it gets.
WR Ricky White III (#11), UNLV
Mountain West Championship: vs. Boise State
TV: FOX
(Friday, 8 p.m. ET)
Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty will grab all the headlines in this matchup, but there’s zero chance he’ll wind up in New England. White, on the other hand, is the exact kind of prospect the organization could be interested in — and you can learn more about him here.
DT Patrick Jenkins (#0), Tulane
American Athletic Championship: vs. Army
TV: ABC
(Friday, 8 p.m. ET)
Army literally doesn’t allow dudes even to be considered for the draft, so that limits options.
Jenkins is about as good as it gets for Tulane, serving as a decent disruptor along the interior. The Green Wave changed things up defensively under new head coach Jon Sumrall, which hurt the senior’s ability to get after the passer, but a decent showing in his final two collegiate games could catapult him into contention for a priority free agent contract.
RB Cam Skattebo (#4), Arizona State
Big 12 Championship: vs. Iowa State
TV: ABC
(Saturday, noon ET)
The Patriots don’t necessarily need to target backfield options in this draft, but the class is so deep it would make sense to start planning for the future in those middle rounds.
Skattebo would be a tremendous option, as his contact balance and ability to eat up yards after contact are the exact traits you’d look for out of a potential option to fill in behind Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson. It’s a luxury they probably can’t afford, but this is a guy you’ll want to keep an eye on anyway.
EDGE Brian Ugwu (#8), Miami (Ohio)
MAC Championship: vs. Ohio
TV: ESPN
(Saturday, noon ET)
Ugwu was the only option here.
OT Cameron Williams (#56), Texas
SEC Championship: vs. Georgia
TV: ABC
(Saturday, 4 p.m. ET)
Kelvin Banks Jr. is probably the name you anticipated reading when you arrived at this entry, but there are a couple of reasons why we elected to pass him over.
Banks suffered an injury last week and likely isn’t at full strength entering a matchup against one of the most feared defenses in college football. It’s also debatable whether or not he’s the best offensive tackle on his own team because everything we’ve seen this season would suggest otherwise.
Williams is not only much larger (6-foot-5, 335 pounds) than his teammate but he’s displayed much better technique and fluidity throughout this season — with an earlier matchup against Georgia serving as one of the few blemishes on his resume. The Longhorns will have an opportunity to get their lick back on Saturday, meaning the gigantic junior will. as well.
It’s aggressive to call Williams a better prospect than Banks, but he might be a better fit to play tackle at the next level. New England has also displayed a willingness to take a collegiate right tackle and try to flip him to the other side — so maybe it could happen again.
EDGE Mike Green (#15), Marshall
Sun Belt Championship: vs. Louisiana
TV: ESPN
(Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET)
Green is awesome.
The Patriots’ needs are so plentiful that you almost can’t find a position in which they won’t have some level of interest, including on the edge. Green is the exact kind of player they could target, as he’s viewed as a mid-round option who can immediately come in and provide a boost rushing the passer (18.7% pressure rate) while developing on early downs behind a guy like Anfernee Jennings.
Louisiana doesn’t necessarily sling it, so he won’t be able to pin his ears back Saturday. It’s a decent test to see how effective he can be in other areas, though.
OT Josh Conerly Jr. (#76), Oregon
Big Ten Championship: vs. Penn State
TV: CBS
(Saturday, 8 p.m. ET)
It’s time to get serious.
The Patriots need to make upgrades across the offensive line, which means they very well could make multiple additions in April. Conerly is an option in the second or third round, which is probably the sweet spot when it comes to this class of tackles, as none of them truly deserve to be considered in the first.
OT Blake Miller (#78), Clemson
ACC Championship: vs. SMU
TV: ABC
(Saturday, 8 p.m. ET
Miller is a similar example to Conerly, as he’s a mid-to-late-round option who could slide in and play multiple roles early in his career.
Oregon (Tez Johnson, Evan Stewart), Penn State (Abdul Carter, Tyler Warren), SMU (Brashard Smith, Elijah Roberts) and Clemson (Barrett Carter) all have skill players and defenders who can impact the game, but you’re kidding yourself if you don’t think offensive lineman are the most important players to watch moving forward.