The Patriots Don't Need A Number One Receiver In The Draft

How many times this offseason have we heard "the Patriots need a receiver" ? It didn't stop once the Patriots acquired DeVante Parker. Which is funny because majority of the people still saying the Patriots need a number one receiver are pretty strong with their opinion of Parker. DeVante Parker is supposedly a number one receiver. So why do the Patriots need another number one?

Nelson Agholor is supposed to a number two. Kendrick Bourne is supposed to be a number three according to many. And Meyers is either a number two or three, depending on who one asks. Then the Patriots have Henry who is a number two pass catcher. And Smith who is either better than Henry or less than Burkhead as a pass catcher, depending on who's asked.

On paper, the Patriots theoretically don't need a top tiered pass catcher from the draft. However, the game is not played on paper. With that, the team does not need to invest a top 100 pick on a wideout. However, if one becomes available where the Patriots are comfortable, probably in round three, than the Patriots should take one if they fall.

Taking a developmental round six or seven slot guy still makes sense. I know there are those who want a guy who can't seperate so that Mac Jones has to throw into coverage a.k.a. throw 50-50 balls. It's funny we as fans have bitched about receivers not getting open. We have bitched about N'keal Harry not getting open. At the same time, we will still call Harry a 50-50 guy and say he wasn't used right. Why do we do this? Because as fans, we cannot admit that 50-50 is just another way to say a guy who's covered.

The Patriots don't need another Antonio Brown, Josh Gordon, or Brandon LaFell. They need another Troy Brown, Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, or, Malcolm Mitchell. That doesn’t mean we will not welcome a guy who can't get seperation from this draft class. We all know if they get one, we will put Randy Moss expectations on him. It's just being real in saying the Patriots don't need a guy they have to force the ball to or to create special plays taking everyone else out of the play, just so one guy might pick up 3 to 5 yards through the air.

Running backs have plays just for them because a handoff only has one option typically. On passing plays there should be four options. There is no reason to design a play that takes all but one pass catcher out of the play. If the defense guesses right and takes the guy out of the play, all that's left is for the quarterback to scramble or throw it away. Thanks but no thanks. 

Lawrence Owens once said that a number one should be the team's third or fourth target. And I agree with that. I also like how Nelson Agholor drew coverage away from everyone else in 2021. He didn't get the same amount of targets as Meyers but defenses treated him like a number one. If Parker is a number one, the Patriots should have two guys putting up Agholor production in 2022. That means there should be two guys that have inflated seasons in 2022, and I think that's gonna be Meyers and Bourne. And fans will fail to realize it until one or both of Parker and Agholor are gone.