14. New England Patriots: Anton Harrison, OT, Oklahoma
Without Tom Brady for the first time in 20 years, the New England Patriots missed the playoffs in 2020. They were unable to get it done with Cam Newton, who they decided to bring back again in 2021 — although he was released before the year ended.
That’s because they then used a first-round pick on Mac Jones from Alabama. Jones wasn’t a wildly gifted quarterback but all he did was win for the Crimson Tide. Bill Belichick believed he could run their offense and it worked last year.
New England made it back to the playoffs and while they lost in Round 1, it looked as though things were improving. That wound up not being the case as they struggled this season en route to an 8-9 finish. Jones took a step in the wrong direction and it even looked as though Bailey Zappe could overtake him at one point.
Looking ahead, they need to build around their quarterback if they want to get back into the AFC East race. They aim to do this with the addition of Anton Harrison who is the most experienced of the offensive linemen in this class. He stands 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds and would be able to start right away for the Pats.
They do need a receiver as well but this isn’t a team that uses day-one picks on wideouts very often.