New England Patriots 2026 Team Mock Draft 1.0

We'es now a month away from the 2026 NFL Draft, and what better time than now is there to take a peak into the future and see what the Patriots, led by Eliot Wolf and Mike Vrabel do to add to a Patriots roster that definitely could use some help defensively still with some notable losses, and a potential long term replacement for right tackle Morgan Moses. Here's a potential scenario of how things could maybe go down next month in Pittsburgh.

- Simply for arguements sake, we're assuming A.J. Brown will be a Patriot at some point.

- Mock Draft done via StickToTheModel.

Round 1, Pick 31) Akheem Mesidor, EDGE (The U)

Mesidor's draft range is pretty wide as of this point; really, anywhere from 15 to 31, just looking at most of the recent slew of mocks, and it just so happens that he was on the board here for us. Mesidor is an interesting case, given he's a sixth-year breakout prospect out of The U, but he was just as instrumental in Miami's National Championship run as his running mate, Rueben Bain. Just like his teammate, Mesidor plays with a ton of energy, can line up on the inside if asked, much like new Patriot Dre'Mont Jones, and his pass rush bag is pretty good outside of a lack of counters. He's not as good a run defender when he's not truly out on the edge, and there were enough times on tape where he lost his center of balance after getting wins in pass-rushing spots, which left some plays on the table, but I'm a fan of the vasty majority of what he has on tape. We have an early second-round grade on Mesidor, but I would have zero reservations about selecting him at 31, or even making a minor jump (3-4 picks max) to get him.

Check out our Scouting Report on Akheem Mesidor here.

TRADE

 Patriots Receive: Pick 50 (115)

Lions Receive: Picks 63, 125, and 191 (109)

The Lions, as it stands, don't have any third-round picks and are set for a 68-pick dry spell between picks 50 and 118. A slight value loss here, but this would give them more than enough ammo to get into the third round with what would be three picks in the fourth and sixth rounds, respectively, for them.

Round 2, Pick 50 (via Detroit Lions) Jake Golday, LB (Cincinnati)

This is a pretty good linebacker draft as it is, but Cincinnati's Jake Golday is as enticing a prospect at the position this year, given his size. Not the superhuman that Sonny Styles out of Ohio State is, but he has some good size at 6'4 1/2” and 240 lbs. Formerly a pure EDGE at Central Arkansas, he made the jump to Cincinnati and, as a fifth-year senior, made First-Team All-Big XII honors. He's a bit of an interesting case in that it appears Cincinnati utalized Golday as a big nickel defender which is fascinating, but he's the kind of atheltic, rangey linebacker, with more traditional size and the ability to play the run at a high level, that I think the Patriots should be all over (especially if they think he has some play as a big nickel given where they sit at safety/safety depth). Right now, at linebacker, all the Patriots really have is Bob Spillane, Christian Elliss, and Marte Mapu (K.J. Britt is almost certainly a core special teamer for them). A trade-up is certainly risky, but I don't think the Patriots would be able to nab him at 63.

Round 3, Pick 95) Dontay Corleone, IDL (Cincinnati)

Don't know how Mike Vrabel would feel about a double dip at an Ohio school that isn't Ohio State, but nevertheless, this feels like a perfectly good spot to find a new prospective 0-2 tech IDL to help with the loss of Khyiris Tonga, and do draft names get much better than Dontay Corleone??? This would mark the third straight pick with a player five at least five years of experience, but Corleone has either been a first or second team all conference player the last four years (one AAC, three Big XII), and from a phsyical standpoint, is pretty similar to Tonga in that he's in the 6'0" range with pretty small wingspan metrics. Also like Tonga for the Patriots in 2025, Corleone was a fantastic run defender for the Bearcats and was a pretty frequent target of doubles in the run game.

Sadly, Corleone had a case of blood clots in his lungs prior to the 2024 season, which could certainly cool teams off on him, but miraculously, he missed very little time that season and put up 3.5 sacks and 5 TFLs. Those numbers weren't as good in 2025, but the run defense is what'll bring him to the dance, and I think he makes a ton of sense if he's here at 95, which seems likely.

Round 4, Pick 131) Jude Bowry, OT (Boston College)

Grabbing a tackle early on day three should be a priority for the Patriots, and the Patriots had a pretty large contingent to see a prospective option in that regard, the other day, in the form of Boston College's Jude Bowry. A 21-game starter (only nine in 2025 due to injury) primarily at left tackle, Bowry is someone who definitely suffers a tad from a lack of elite arm length numbers, which I'm sure Patriots fans will be delighted to hear, but he tested extremely well at the combine, speciffically in the 40, vertical, and broad jumps. He's definitely green relatively speaking, but given he's a swing tackle option in the fourth round here, with a ton of athletic upside (and experience occasionally working with Dante Scarnecchia), Bowry's for sure a guy worth taking a flyer on.

Remaining Picks:

Round 5, Pick 171) Bishop Fitzgerald, SAF (USC)

Round 6, Pick 198) Will Kacmarek, TE/FB (Ohio State)

Round 6, Pick 202) Lorenzo Styles Jr., DB (Ohio State)

Round 6, Pick 212) Eli Heidenreich, RB (Navy)

Round 7, Pick 247) Lewis Bond, WR (Boston College)

Main Image via