Alabama wideout Slade Bolden appears to be tailor-made for the Patriots. He models his game after Julian Edelman and says Bill O’Brien would talk to him about how he used Wes Welker.
Now the Patriots just need to draft the kid.
NFL Media draft guru Daniel Jeremiah said Thursday everyone around Tuscaloosa will be “shocked” if the Patriots don’t select Bolden, who’s also Mac Jones’ best friend.
Bolden made his pitch to the Patriots when he met with reporters this week at the Combine. “We use a lot of their plays. Even after Bill (O’Brien) had left. We used some of their plays as well,” he said. “It was basically kind of how they used me — if you need a good third-down play, a good third-down catch, or having that guy that’s been able to run an option route or run the catch-tuck-turn type passes," Bolden said. "That’s the kind of guy Wes was, catch the ball in the middle of the field, with no traffic. That’s kind of how I was used as well.”
Bolden caught 42 passes for 408 yards and three touchdowns last season. As a sophomore, he had 24 catches for 270 yards and a touchdown in eight games with Jones under center. He’s projected to be a sixth- or seventh-round pick.
When asked about NFL comps, Bolden quickly named Edelman. “That’s the easiest answer I’ve got — that’s Julian Edelman, for sure. Just the way he played the game, how he worked,” he said.
In addition, the Patriots met with Alabama receiver John Metchie, who’s also close with Jones and played under O’Brien. Metchie finished with 96 receptions and 1,142 yards last year.