Patriots: 3 non-QB options in 2021 NFL Draft after re-signing Cam Newton

1. Rashod Bateman, Wide Receiver, Minnesota

The wide receiver position seems to represent something of a red, blinking light among New England’s positions of need in the lead-up to this year’s NFL draft.

While former UDFA receiver Jakobi Meyers has shown signs of promise in his first two seasons in Patriot Country, there are not a lot of reinforcements on the horizon in terms of the team’s current crop of pass-catchers.

Julian Edelman, Pats legend though he is, will be 35 years old when the 2021 season gets underway if he were to return for his 13th season in New England. Further clouding the team’s outlook at the position are the trade rumors that have begun to surface regarding N’Keal Harry, a testament to the lack of development on part of New England’s 2019 first rounder.

Rounding out newly re-signed New England QB Cam Newton’s targets in 2020 were free agent flyer Donte Moncrief and return specialists Gunner Olszewski and Damiere Byrd, the latter of who logged 47 receptions for 604 yards while leading the Pats with over 900 snaps played at receiver in the previous season. Byrd is set to enter free agency, and his departure would further gnaw away at the team’s depth among the receiver group.

With a fairly deep crop of pass-catchers among this year’s free agent class, it is a virtual certainty that New England will allocate some of its over $70 million in available cap space to the wide receiver position.

Though they have only drafted a receiver in the first round once in the Bill Belichick era, the Pats could nonetheless look to address the position with the 15th selection in next month’s draft, even as they appear to acknowledge the error in Harry’s selection with the team’s top spot a mere two seasons prior.

While the University of Alabama’s duo of DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle are lauded by most of draft media as the top incoming receiver prospects, it could be that the Patriots’ best fit at the position lies elsewhere in this year’s draft.

Minnesota’s Rashod Bateman could be this year’s top overall pass-catching prospect in terms of Belichick and the company’s demonstrated preferences at the position. The 6-foot-2, 210 pound Bateman is arguably the draft’s cleanest overall receiver prospect, particularly among boundary options, despite the fact that he is only 20 years old with a little over two seasons’ worth of college football under his belt.

The Patriots head coach has made it known what he looks for in a wide receiver, and Bateman appears tailor-made for a role in his and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ Patriot offense based on more than just his physical traits.

Bateman stands out from a crowded class of incoming prospects in terms of his suddenness at the line of scrimmage, his crisp route running, a fearless demeanor when working back inside, the strength apparent at all levels of his game and the fact that he is an absolute contested-catch monster.

If the stars were to align for Bateman and the Patriots, fans in New England will appreciate the violent, almost bullying approach he takes to the game of football. While comparisons to the New Orleans Saints’ $100 million X receiver Michael Thomas are inevitable, Bateman differs from Thomas as a prospect in that he displays truly dynamic downfield game-breaking ability. With defenses having little choice but to sit on his underneath routes, he shows next-level ability in the double moves that he deploys and will use his speed to glide past defenders on the back end.

Regardless, it is not unwarranted to imagine a Thomas-like level of production from Bateman if allowed to develop on the outside in the Patriots system.