Could they make two first-round picks?
What are the New England Patriots going to do with the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft? We will try and answer that question in this five-part mock draft series — with this next scenario coming from left field.
The Patriots are in “wait and see” mode when it comes to the 2025 NFL Draft.
Who will be available? Should they be proactive and make a trade? Have they already settled on a specific player?
We have been cycling through all the options currently being presented at One Patriot Place, doing our best to answer the questions above. New England might not be lucky enough to have a generational talent fall into its lap, though, and might not like the value of filling its last need at No. 4 — which brings us to a bold choice.
Did you read the same three grafs in our last mock? Yes, but nothing has changed, so we’re taking a similar approach but with a few twists.
The New England Patriots make two trades, selecting wide receiver Matthew Golden with the No. 9 pick and offensive tackle Josh Simmons with the No. 20 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
19 What do you think? Leave a comment.
New England doesn’t have many options when it comes to picking at No. 4.
Miami’s Cam Ward, Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Penn State’s Abdul Carter are increasingly looking like they’ll be off the board by the time they make their selection. LSU’s Will Campbell wouldn’t be a bad consolation in that scenario, but we like the idea of adding draft capital while eventually addressing multiple needs.
The Patriots might not have a chance to do that, but we used a simulator, and the computers seem to think the New Orleans Saints will be interested in moving up for a top-five pick. We took advantage of that, drafting a pair of personal favorites as a result.
Ohio State’s Josh Simmons is someone we’ve already touched on a couple of times, so check those stories out for more of an explanation. Texas’ Matthew Golden is a bit more of a wild card, and while there’s an argument to be made for taking Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan, perhaps we should revisit their careers in a couple of years and see who was more worthy. It’s not perfect, but that’s a high-upside duo.
We made picks and trades across all seven rounds, filling in the gaps to round out the roster. You can find the full results via PFF’s Mock Draft Simulator, and our reasoning, below:
Darius Alexander could have the best career in a draft full of promising defensive tackles, so if he’s on the board after you’ve already addressed two giant needs, you take him every single time.
RJ Harvey and Harold Fannin Jr. are similar in how they could provide very specific skill sets to positions that need a bit more variety at One Patriot Place. Harvey can be that classic passing-down back behind Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson — providing great depth early in his career while eventually growing into a more important role. Fannin would help the club get younger at tight end while being more versatile than the likes of Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper.
Josh McDaniels, rejoice!
Isaac TeSlaa is built in a similar mold to Puka Nacua, which is enough to take a flier on him. Hollin Pierce is another developmental prospect along the offensive line. Cam Miller is an uber-athletic quarterback who wouldn’t threaten for anything more than a practice squad role imitating opposing quarterbacks during the week — which is actually extremely valuable.
It’s not the most high-profile draft, but there are tons of high-profile guys in this group.