Like many football analysts around the country, Damian Parson finds himself still perplexed by what the Patriots did in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Though Parson, a national NFL scout for The Draft Network, told WEEI he and his team liked New England's first-round pick Cole Strange, he said they gave the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga guard a third-round grade during the pre-draft process and expected him to come off the board "second round at earliest."
As for Tyquan Thornton, whom the Patriots moved up to take with the No.. 50 overall pick: "That one threw me for a loop. … I didn't look at him as a guy that I would have drafted second round."
On paper, Strange and Thornton are meant to help improve the offensive unit around second-year quarterback Mac Jones, who had a strong rookie season despite being the fifth quarterback taken in the 2021 NFL Draft. Both have acquitted themselves well thus far, with Strange slotting in immediately as the team's starting left guard and Thornton snaring targets and showing off his elite speed in team drills.
Jones, meanwhile, has made headlines for his commanding presence and big-time plays at spring practice, showing off an improved deep ball at mandatory minicamp sessions especially.
But for Parson, those two players plus the addition of veteran DeVante Parker, whom the scout referred to as a "lateral move," aren't enough to get New England back atop an AFC East ruled by the Buffalo Bills and now featuring an upstart Dolphins squad.
"I'm a little concerned," Parson said. "I just look at the offense, and we go back to the draft. You drafted two more running backs, Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris. Bailey Zappe in the fourth round made absolutely no sense to me. I was just like, 'How does this help Mac?'
"I would have rather went and got more pieces, especially for the receiving standpoint to help Mac. I don't feel like this offense weaponry-wise is built to where it should be. … There's an old adage: you draft to win your division. To me, I don't feel [Bill Belichick] did enough to help Mac win the division. Looking at what [Belichick] did, I don't see the true improvement."
That's a tough pill to swallow given how much the Bills appeared to have outclassed the Patriots in their final two games of the regular season and how Buffalo put itself in position to do so again by adding immediate difference-makers in cornerback Kaiir Elam and running back James Cook to their team.
Additionally, Parson points to the Strange pick as a missed opportunity to add an impact cornerback, one of the Patriots' bigger positions of need, early in the draft, though he praised fourth-round pick Jack Jones amid reports of the rookie's good first impressions.
New England's perceived reliance on versatility over elite skill in the secondary, combined with the speed and athletic ability the Patriots added on offense with Strange and Thornton, suggests the scheme shifts the team has teased on both sides of the ball in practice will become reality, according to Parson.
"I think there's going to be a zone change on both sides of the ball," he added. "Let's okay let's stretch defenses in the run game laterally. Let's force them to flow. … We're going to see more zone, especially defensively, than we have in a couple of years. Bill pivoted from that years ago when he was able to be able to bring in more guys he was comfortable with in man coverage and now he's got that type of corners where, you know what, we're going to play five yards off. What's the old saying: "Bend, don't break?" I think we're going to see that type of defense come back."
The big question: how can Bill Belichick's coaching acumen and willingness to try things few other coaches would dare bend the capabilities of an average roster to his will without breaking his young quarterback during a crucial second season?
For more of the interview with Parson, including which players he thinks the Patriots should be watching in the 2023 NFL Draft, click here!
