{"id":874079,"date":"2026-04-25T04:00:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T04:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/874079\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T04:00:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T04:00:40","slug":"patriots-day-2-mock-draft-roundup-what-experts-are-projecting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/874079\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots Day 2 mock draft roundup: What experts are projecting"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNew England Patriots\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tEdge and receiver are still positional needs for the Patriots.<\/p>\n

\"Patriots
\n\tEli Stowers is one of the players being projected as a possible Patriots draft pick. AP Photo\/George Walker IV\t<\/p>\n

The second day of the 2026 NFL Draft<\/a> is here, and the Patriots<\/a> have a pair of picks to make at No. 63 and No. 95<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New England went with an offensive tackle in the first round, taking Utah\u2019s Caleb Lomu<\/a> at No. 28 after swinging a trade with the Bills<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, where do the Patriots go from here? They are once again at the end of the upcoming rounds. They\u2019ve already traded up once, and there are several needs to fill.<\/p>\n

Edge-rusher and wide receiver remain positional needs for New England. They could also get younger at tight end. Perhaps they could look at a defensive tackle to even further solidify the defensive line.<\/p>\n

As we head into the Day 2 festivities, here\u2019s a round up of what the experts are predicting the Patriots might do.<\/p>\n

ESPN<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Matt Miller <\/a>called this a \u201ctrenches\u201d draft for the Patriots with Lomu in the fold.<\/p>\n

He has New England taking Texas Tech defensive tackle Lee Hunter, a 6-foot-4, 325-pound senior who has \u201cthe tools to move around the line\u201d at No. 63. <\/p>\n

The Patriots have had one of the league\u2019s best run defenses over the last few years, and they\u2019ve got time to develop players up front with Christian Barmore and Milton Williams in the middle. <\/p>\n

Their pass-rush lacked punch at times late in the year, but Miller doesn\u2019t have them addressing that here. <\/p>\n

He also had New England taking Stanford tight end Sam Roush, a possible replacement for fellow Stanford product Austin Hooper who signed with the Falcons in free agency. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Roush ranked second among tight ends at the combines athletic score test per NFL.com<\/a>, but has much left to prove in terms of production.<\/p>\n

The Athletic<\/p>\n

The Athletic\u2019s Nick Baumgardner <\/a>also has the Patriots taking a TE\/DT tackle on Day 2.<\/p>\n

Baumgardner thinks the Patriots will take Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers at No. 63. Another potential weapon for Drake Maye.<\/p>\n

\u201cStowers is not a blocking asset, but he\u2019s one of the most explosive pass catchers in the draft,\u201d Baumgardner wrote about the 6-foot-4, 235-pound tight-end. \u201cHis vertical jump (45 1\/2 inches) set an NFL combine record for his position.\u201d<\/p>\n

He projected run-stuffing Missouri defensive tackle Chris McClellan to the Patriots at No. 95.<\/p>\n

NFL.com<\/p>\n

NFL.com\u2019s Lance Zierlein<\/a> had the Patriots taking Michigan edge Derrick Moore at No. 63.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoore\u2019s production and traits are worthy of a second-round pick if he can keep his motor engaged,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n

UConn receiver Skyler Bell was the projected choice for the Patriots at No. 95. The speedy 5-foot-11, 192-pound Bell was sixth<\/a> among receivers in overall athletic score. <\/p>\n

CBS Sports<\/p>\n

CBS Sports\u2019s Josh Edwards <\/a>projected Indiana cornerback D\u2019Angelo Ponds to the Patriots at No. 63. At 5-foot-9, 182 pounds, there are concerns about size, but Edwards thinks it won\u2019t be too big of an issue. <\/p>\n

\u201cCould Ponds be that next undersized cornerback, like Trent McDuffie, who has the flexibility to line up outside as well as over the slot?\u201d Edwards wrote. \u201cHe plays bigger than his size and held his own against some very talented receivers in the Big 10.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edwards projected Michigan edge Jaishawn Barham to the Patriots at No. 95. The 6-foot-3, 243-pound senior had just four sacks last season, but could bring an element of speed off the edge.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Profile\t<\/p>\n

\t\tKhari A. Thompson<\/a>Sports Reporter\t<\/p>\n

Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGet the latest Boston sports news<\/p>\n

Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New England Patriots Edge and receiver are still positional needs for the Patriots. Eli Stowers is one of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":874080,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2050],"tags":[7,1167,249,2326,2094,6,208],"class_list":{"0":"post-874079","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-england-patriots","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-new-england","10":"tag-new-england-patriots","11":"tag-newengland","12":"tag-newenglandpatriots","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-patriots"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116463353267909335","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=874079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874079\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/874080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=874079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=874079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=874079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}