The Patriots have an abundance of holes entering the NFL Draft, with the team in need of upgrades at cornerback, linebacker and receiver.
But Peter King has them taking an offensive lineman.
In his mock draft, King projects the Patriots will select offensive tackle Bernhard Raimann out of Central Michigan.
“Raimann is one of the best stories in this draft, by far,” King writes. “Austrian kid who first played football on a club team in Vienna at 14. As a high school exchange student, he played receiver on his Michigan high school team for a year. Back to Austria to finish high school. Bitten by the football bug. Committed to Central Michigan for the 2017 season—but had to fulfill a six-month Austrian military commitment, so he didn’t start working with the team till 2018. Tight end for two years. Then the pandemic. When football practice began again, Raimann was moved to tackle as a 290-pound player, and he started 18 games at left tackle in the last 1.5 seasons.”
Raimann’s unorthodox background may make him attractive to Bill Belichick, who enjoys going off the board and selecting players who don’t fit the typical NFL prospect mold. NFL Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah told King that Raimann reminds him of lineman Sebastian Vollmer. The Patriots selected the German native in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft, and he played on two Super Bowl-winning teams.
King adds the Patriots could use 2022 as a “developmental year” for Raimann.
Though providing Mac Jones with more protection is important, the Patriots already have Isaiah Wynn and Trent Brown as their starting tackles. With so many needs elsewhere, it would be curious for the Patriots to use their first round pick on somebody who may not contribute right away.
Other analysts predict the Patriots will go defense in the first round: Todd McShay and Mel Kiper have New England taking Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean at No. 21 overall in their new three-round mock.
