New England Patriots: 5 First-round targets in the 2018 NFL Draft

The New England Patriots are sitting pretty with the No. 23 and No. 31 pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft — who will they target?

The 2018 NFL Draft will be full of surprises and the New England Patriots are often one of biggest shakers, despite always picking near the bottom of the draft. This year, they hold the No. 23 and 31 picks, so there’s some speculation that instead of moving down to get more picks, the Patriots might actually move the draft board.

Whether or not they move up shouldn’t change their draft strategy too much. The Patriots are an elite and storied organization that doesn’t know how to lose, but they are still flawed in terms of their roster and could use some serious help.

Here are the five prospects the Patriots should target in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. 

5. Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama

The chances of the Patriots taking a receiver in the first round seem unlikely considering their draft history. In fact, the last wide receiver the Pats drafted in the first round was in 1996 with Terry Glenn, who went No. 7 overall. Still, the need for a receiver looks to be a top priority and, if Calvin Ridley falls to them, he’d arguably be the best player available.

Ridley is a smart wideout who not only understands how to run routes, but he’s been compared to Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison and former Alabama star wideout Amari Cooper. His sure hands and route running ability reminded his former college head coach, Nick Saban of an old-school Houston Oiler, Drew Hill.

"“Maybe some people don’t remember Drew Hill that we had with the Houston Oilers way back when I coached there… Ridley has been great coming out of a break. Can really drop his weight and separate out of a break. I know some people look at his size and say, well, we like bigger guys and all that. But this guy’s really a hard-working, very dependable receiver. Great hands.”"

While the Patriots are expecting Julian Edelman back from injury, the recovery from his ACL tear could prove to be difficult. They also have players like Malcolm Mitchell and Phillip Dorsett, the latter of whom could be the replacement for Brandin Cooks. Nevertheless, having a guy with the talent, can run crisp routes and stretch the field gives them an automatic X receiver who can work the boundaries and allow the rest of the offense to exploit the middle of the field.