The New England Patriots have picked in the top four each of the last two NFL drafts, but after a 14-3 regular season and a trip to the Super Bowl this past season, the reigning AFC East champs will be picking near the bottom of the first round in April at No. 31 overall.

The Patriots could target several different positions with this pick, including wide receiver, defensive back, offensive tackle and edge rusher.

The 2026 class is particularly strong at edge rusher and the defensive line as a whole.

On a new Next Pats Podcast, NBC Sports draft expert Connor Rogers talked to host Phil Perry about some of the best options for the Patriots at No. 31. He focused on two edge guys.

“Two jumped out to us right away when we were going through this process, Rogers said. “You look at Zion Young from Missouri. He’s a bigger edge player and the pass rush ability really, really took off this year. He was already a very solid 3-down player coming into the year when we went through the summer scouting process, because he’s such a stout run defender with pass rush potential, and it felt like he really tapped into that potential this year and carried it over into Senior Bowl week.

“And the same can be said for Gabe Jacas from Illinois. Now, Gabe has played a lot of football for Illinois, and he’s played at a high level since his freshman season, where he really burst onto the scene. He’s a guy whose spring weight was around 279 pounds, his Senior Bowl weight was around 260 pounds, and I’ve seen him thrive in all different kinds of ways. He can play at a heavier weight, and once again defend the run on the edge. But then, at 260 pounds, he could stand up, get off the ball and rush the passer from an inside/outside perspective, where he challenges tackles in a lot of different ways.

“So if New England is looking to add to their pass rush group and they just want to go based off of talent, I wouldn’t be shocked to see one of those guys sneak into the first round because of New England picking at No. 31.”

Young set career highs with 42 tackles, 6.5 sacks and two forced fumbles 13 games for Missouri last season. He earned All-SEC first team honors. Young was especially impressive at the Senior Bowl and won Player of the Game.

Jacas tallied 43 tackles, three forced fumbles and a career-high 11 sacks for Illinois as a linebacker in 2025. He earned second-team All-Big 10 honors.

The Patriots currently own 11 picks in the 2026 draft, including two in the fourth round and four in the sixth round. This abundance of draft capital gives New England a lot of flexibility to make trades up and down the board if certain players fall further than expected.

Also in this episode:

Phil Perry’s most recent mock draft

Key players to watch at the Combine

The upside of KC Concepcion

Daniel Jeremiah on why he mocks Zion Young to Patriots