Mock Draft #3 Post CombineThere has been some movement on the Draft boards after the official Combine workouts have been completed. This reflects the needs of teams Pre-Free Agency.I am using the PFF Mock Simulator, and any trades are made with teams interested and willing to trade, as long as you can make the trade balance out.Zion Young is selected just in front of the Patriots at #30 by Denver. That prompts the trade down to a team that wants to jump back into the 1st round and get that 5th year option on a rookie contract. Tampa will overpay to get that 5th Year Option.First Rd Pick 31 – TRADE with pick 6-190 to Tampa Bay for 2-36, 3-77, and 4-116.Second Rd Pick 46 – TRADE to Atlanta for 2-49 and 4-114 – OT Blake Miller, TE Eli Stowers, and OT Max Iheanchor are on the Board and dropping just two spots will give us one of the three. I never expected Indianapolis to draft Stowers, that makes no sense to me. They drafted Tyler Warren last year.Second Rd Pick 48 – Max Iheanachor, T, Arizona State – I have been on Iheanachor since I first saw him at the East West Shrine game. He is still new to the game, having just started playing 5 years ago in Junior College. He will get a year behind Morgan Moses and learn what it takes to become a Pro. He is just too good a prospect with a high ceiling to pass on him. He ran a 4.91 40 (2), 1.73 10/Split (4), at 6’6”, 321-pounds, with 33 7/8” Arms. His footwork was impeccable in drills, which reflected his Soccer and Basketball skills required by those other sports. PFF Grade A-Second Rd Pick 63 – Malachi Lawrence, EDGE, University of Central Florida – Let me state that I don’t think Lawrence will last until pick #63. This is just how the software worked out. The Patriots get their EDGE rusher. The Patriots want their EDGE players taller than 6’2” and 250 lbs. Lawrence is 6’ 4’’, 253 lbs, 33 5/8’’ Arm Length, and 9 1/4’’ Hands. He ran a 4.52 40-yard dash (3). He also had a 1.59 10/Split (2), 40” Vertical Jump (2), and 10’10” Broad Jump (2). He is a freak athlete. He had a 9.9 RAS. PFF Grade AThird Rd Pick 77 – Dani Dennis-Sutton, EDGE, Penn State – I double down on EDGE Rushers. Harold Landry is coming to the end of his career. We don’t know what K’Lavon Chaisson is going to do in Free Agency. Dennis-Sutton is too good to pass up at this position. Sutton ran a 4.63 40 (6), 1.63 10/Split, 39.5” Vert (4), 10’1” BJ (1), 6.90 3-Cone Drill. He stands 6’ 6’’, 256 lbs, 33 1/2’’ Arm Length, 10 1/8’’ Hands. Another freak athlete. Only 8 prospects broke 7.00, and Dennis-Sutton was by far the biggest. Maxx Crosby, Aidan Hutchinson, Vonn Miller, TJ Watt, Joey Bosa, and Danielle Hunter all broke 7.00 in their 3-Cone Drills. Let Lawrance and Dennis – Sutton fight it out for playing time. PFF Grade A-Third Rd Pick 95 – Kyle Louis, S/LB, Pittsburgh – Louis shined bright at the Senior Bowl, especially because of his coverage skills against TEs and RBs. His on-field work at the Combine will propel him up the board. He ran a 4.53 40 (4), 1.58 10/Split (3), 39.5: V (3), 10.9 BJ (2), 6.97 3-Cone Drill (2). At 6’0’’, 220 lbs, 31 1/4’’ Arm Length, and 9 1/2’’ Hands. One GM had him rated as his #1 Safety prospect. I see him as a wildcard defender capable of playing all over the field. PFF Grade A-
Stanford TE, Sam Roush – (PHOTO: Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
Fourth Rd Pick 114 – Sam Roush, TE, Stanford – A huge need for the Patriots. Roush is a very reliable blocker at 6’ 6’’, 267 lbs, 30 5/8’’ Arm Length, and big 10’’ Hands. He ran a 4.7 40, with 1.61 10/Split (4), 38.5 V (3), 10’6” BJ (4). 7.08 3-Cone Drill (1). He was the biggest TE at the Combine and is known to be a good blocker. This is what NFL Draft Buzz wrote after this weekend. “Indianapolis changed the conversation on Sam Roush. Before the Combine, the tape showed a well-coached, ascending tight end from a run-first Stanford system who did a little bit of everything without doing any one thing at an eye-popping level. The athletic testing told a different story entirely. A 267-pound man has no business posting a 38.5-inch vertical and a 10-foot-6 broad jump, let alone running a three-cone faster than Kyle Pitts and showing agility on a weight-adjusted basis that compares to Sam LaPorta. That 87-athleticism score, third among all tight ends, forced evaluators to look at the film with different eyes, and what you see when you go back is a player whose physical ceiling was never fully tapped in an offense that leaned on the ground game.” His 3-cone number would have been the 6th fastest amongst WRs that ran the 3-cone. The 3-cone drill shows quickness and change of direction as opposed to straight-line speed. He has an issue with drops with too many passes getting into his chest. PFF Grade BFourth Rd Pick 116 – JC Davis, Left Tackle, Illinois – He would end up as a backup Left Tackle and possibly a shift to Left Guard. He ran a 5.16 40 at 6’ 4’’, 322 lbs., 34 1/4’’ Arm Length, 10 1/8’’ Hands. Those are excellent times for a big man like Davis. He had 24 starts at New Mexico where he earned 1st team All Mountain West. Transferring to Illinois, he had another 25 starts in the Big Ten. That’s 48 starts in college. Davis made 1st team All-Big 10 in 2025. According to NFL Draft Buzz, “ Exceptional pass protector with elite technique and footwork, consistently stonewalling edge rushers in one-on-one situations. Demonstrates excellent lateral agility and quick feet, allowing him to mirror speedy defenders and maintain proper positioning. Possesses a strong anchor and core strength, enabling him to absorb bull rushes and maintain pocket integrity. Shows good hand placement and punch timing, effectively neutralizing defenders’ initial moves.” PFF Grade BFourth Rd Pick 125 – Nicholas Singleton, RB, Penn State – 6’ 0’’, 219 lbs., 31’’ Arm Length, 9 3/8’’ hand. He did not run at the Combine, deferring to his Pro Day. Lance Zuerlein had this to say about Singleton: “Well-built back with explosive speed whose 2025 season was flat after a strong 2024. Singleton is a linear runner who plays like his brake lines have been cut, affecting his ability to gather and elude tacklers or cut on demand. He has the speed to make defenses pay, but displayed a lack of vision and instincts to put himself in position to do so, relative to his teammate, Kaytron Allen. His size and speed will get attention, but his ability to return kicks and play on third downs could ultimately earn him a roster spot as a RB3.” He finished his Penn State career as the program’s all-time leader in total touchdowns (55) and all-purpose yards (5,586) over 53 games, with 3,461 rushing yards and 987 receiving yards on his final ledger. His road to the NFL hit an unexpected bump at the Senior Bowl in January 2026, when he fractured the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot during a Thursday practice, requiring surgery at the Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Center and ruling him out of on-field work at the NFL Scouting Combine. He participated in all the interviews and the all-important Physical. PFF Grade B-Fifth Rd 146 – Bryce Lance, WR, North Dakota State – 4.34 40 (5), 1.49 10/Split (2), 41.5” V (3), 11’ 1” BJ (3), 7.00 3-cone (5), at 6’ 3’’, 204 lbs., 32 1/8’’ Arm Length, 9 1/4’’ Hands. His 40 time was .26 better than expected, which is a huge improvement. His draft projection was held down because he was expected to run a 4.6! He may have been the biggest winner from the Combine. He had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons at NDSU and finished with 25 career TDs. His 7.00 3-cone drill and 1.49 10/Split mean he should be able to off-press coverage on the line, and his size equates to a big target on contested catches. PFF C-Fifth Rd 156 – Ted Hurst, WR, Georgia State – Hurst is another big receiver flying under the radar. His 4.42 40 was good, but a 1.55 10/Split wasn’t. At 6’ 4’’, 206 lbs., 32 5/8’’ Arm Length, 9 3/4’’ Hands he has good size for the X position. His 36.5” V is good, but his 11’1” BJ (1) is outstanding. He had 1995 yards in two seasons at Georgia State with a 15.5 YPC and 15 TDs. Hurst spent two seasons at DII Valdosta State before transferring to Georgia State. He had two TDs, including the game-winner with 15 seconds left, against a good SEC team, Vanderbilt. PFF Grade B-Sixth Rd 176 – Devon Marshall, CB, North Carolina State – 4.49e 40. 5’10” 197 lbs. He was one of the biggest snubs, not receiving an invite to the Combine. He was outstanding during the East-West Game practices. He is aggressive and a bit grabby, but has great recovery speed and attacks the receiver’s hands to knock a pass away. Last season, he had 16 pass breakups and 2 INTs. Several scouts talked to him at the East-West Shrine game. Marshall left the E/W Shrine practices after the 2nd day, having shown enough for scouts. PFF Grade CSixth Rd 201 – Robert Spears-Jennings, S, Oklahoma – 4.32 40 (2), 1.51 10/Split(3), 35: V, 10’5” BJ at 6’ 2’’, 205 lbs., 32 1/2’’ Arm Length, 10 3/8’’ Hands. NFL Draft Buzz had this to say about Spears-Jennings “Instinctive run defender who diagnoses quickly and attacks downhill with purpose, consistently beating blockers to their spot. Physical tackler who breaks down well in space and drives through contact, particularly effective when coming downhill. Shows natural feel in zone coverage, maintaining proper depth and leveraging routes while keeping eyes in the backfield. Versatile defender capable of aligning at multiple levels – effective both in the box and playing deep.” He played well in the East-West Shrine game and practices, showing leadership on the Defense. PFF Grade A-Sixth Rd Pick 211 – Kaleb Elarms-Orr, LB, TCU – 447 40 (2), 1.59 10/Split (3), 40” V (2), 6’ 2’’, 234 lbs., 31 1/2’’ Arm Length, 9’’ Hands. Elarms-Orr earned 2nd Team All-Big 12 in 2024 and 1st Team All-Big 12 in 2025. That production got him an invite to the Senior Bowl. He had a combined 130 Tackles and 4 Sacks in 2025. His amazing workout at the Combine has scouts looking back at this season, and his draft stock is rising. PFF Grade A-Seventh Rd Pick 247 – Jared Kanak, TE, Oklahoma – 4.52 40 1.61 10/Split, 36” V, 9’11BJ, 24 BP Reps, 6’ 2’’, 234 lbs., 30 1/2’’ Arm Length, 9 3/8’’ Hands. Kanak is a Jack-of-all Trades. He has played Linebacker for three years at Oklahoma and had 104 career Tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 Forced Fumbles. His speed at the Combine will make scouts re-look at him. He was a HS QB and even took some snaps as a Wildcat QB at Oklahoma. As a Senior he volunteered to switch positions to TE and had 44 catches for 533 Yards and a 12.1 YPC. At worst, he is a special-teams demon with the ability to be used in a variety of positions by Josh McDaniels. Let’s put this in perspective: after Antonio Gibson went down with his season-ending injury, the Patriots used Efton Chism and D’Ernest Johnson as the Kickoff returners. They were the two slowest Returners in the league. Chism runs a 4.7 40, and Johnson ran a 4.81 40. If Kanak was used as a returner, he runs a 4.52!Comings and Goings Diggs to be ReleasedIt doesn’t come as a huge surprise that Stefon Diggs was informed that he will be released at the start of the new NFL year. He is due a $6.9M Salary Bonus on March 13th. His original cap hit was $26M for 2026. By releasing him they save $16M on the cap while incurring $10M in Dead Cap space. I believe the Patriots approached the 32-year-old WR about restructuring his contract. He refused and they released him. Diggs had an incredible season coming back so quickly from a torn ACL and was ready for Day one of Training Camp. His leadership was a key to the Patriots’ success and an underappreciated part of his contribution to the team. His production was outstanding with 85 catches for 1013 yards and 4 TDs. The number of clutch catches cannot be denied.He had some off-field incidents, including a video on a yacht, a contentious relationship with high-profile rapper Cardi-B, fathered 4 children with 4 different women in 2025, and a pending court case for allegedly choking his in-home chef. I don’t believe these incidents were the reason why he was released. The most serious issue is the court case where it is a “He said / She said” case that I think he will be resolved of.Is this a prelude to a big splash at Wide Receiver, either through Free Agency or a Trade? The Free Agent would be Alec Pierce and trade possibilities are Brian Thomas and AJ Brown.Alex Austin to be Released CB Alex Austin was the starting Cornerback to start the season in Christian Gonzalez. He got benched and then was hurt and put on IR. He was activated by the end of the season, but strictly played Special Teams. The Patriots determined he wasn’t worth the $3.1M price tag a Restricted Free Agent would cost them. He will be released and declared a Free Agent.Yasir Durant will be Non-TenderedDurant was a non-factor on the roster this season and went on IR shortly after signing with the team mid-season. Rather than offer him a tender that he would likely have accepted, they will allow him to become a Free Agent. No loss here.
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About Mark MorseMerrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.View all posts by Mark Morse
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