Makai Lemon ranks second in FBS in receiving yards so far this season.
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The days spent scouring over various mock drafts to see who the Patriots might select with a top-five pick might be a thing of the past.
New England appears to be ahead of schedule with their rebuild, with Mike Vrabel’s team currently first in the AFC East with a 4-2 record.
A lot can change over the span of a full NFL season, but New England doesn’t appear to be a team in line for another top-10 selection during the 2026 NFL Draft in April.
With New England still staring at several deficiencies across their depth chart, Eliot Wolf, Ryan Cowden, and the rest of the Patriots’ top brass need to still hit on several of their high-value draft picks in the next few years if they want to properly supplement what looks like a winning core of young talent.
And given the Patriots’ need of another impact wideout to pair alongside Drake Maye, it should come as little surprise that ESPN’s Jordan Reid has New England targeting a pass-catcher with their first-round pick in the 2026 Draft.
With the 22nd pick in the next year’s draft, Reid has the Patriots taking wide receiver Makai Lemon out of USC.
“Even with the emergence of Kayshon Boutte, and free agent signing Stefon Diggs recapturing his pre-injury form, there’s no such thing as too many receivers for quarterback Drake Maye, especially with Diggs turning 32 in November,” Reid wrote. “Lemon is a do-it-all target who can play the slot and outside.
“He’s highly productive (44 receptions for 682 yards and six touchdowns this season), and his body control and catch radius help him make miraculous catches look routine.”
A dangerous route-runner who could fit in a variety of roles in Josh McDaniels’s offense, Lemon’s 682 receiving yards so far this year ranks second in FBS, even if the California product isn’t the most imposing figure at 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds.
While there’s been plenty of variance in these early mock drafts as to where New England will pick, the recurring theme has been the Patriots picking a wideout in the first round.
USA Today’s Ayrton Ostly has New England taking Tennessee WR Chris Brazzell II with the 25th overall pick, while CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards has the Patriots dropping to pick No. 16 — where they take Washington WR Denzel Boston.
Despite New England’s clear need for more firepower on offense, the Patriots haven’t fared all that well when it comes to using premium draft capital on wideouts.
The last time New England used a first-round pick on a receiver came in 2019 — when the team picked N’Keal Harry out of Arizona State with the 32nd pick.
A few of the wideouts taken in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft include Deebo Samuel (No. 36 overall), A.J. Brown (No. 51 overall), and DK Metcalf (No. 64 overall).
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.