After the initial wave of free agency, the Patriots roster heading into the 2026 NFL Draft is starting to take shape amid tons of activity in the veteran market over the last several weeks.
New England added immediate contributors in WR Romeo Doubs, EDGE Dre’Mont Jones, G Alijah Vera-Tucker, and All-Pro S Kevin Byard, while also upgrading at fullback (Reggie Gilliam) and signing a tight end (Julian Hill) to add some physicality on offense. Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel noted that he wants his young offense to get stronger this offseason and New England's signing of a starting guard, fullback, and blocking tight end seems to follow suit.
As we turn our attention to their draft approach, the looming question hanging over the Patriots draft plans is a reported pursuit of Eagles star WR A.J. Brown. New England has reportedly been in contact with Philly about trading for Brown, who would give them a bona fide No. 1 receiver to play alongside Doubs to form a legitimate one-two punch. From a financial standpoint, it makes more sense for the Eagles to trade Brown after June 1st, when the dead money remaining on his contract would be lessened on the Eagles cap sheet.
Without knowing exactly where things stand on the Brown front, predicting the Patriots draft strategy, which is already difficult to do, is even more challenging. If the Patriots trade for Brown, it would drastically change the need to pursue a top receiver in April's draft. Let's say Brown is on the roster, then New England would have seven viable roster candidates under contract: Brown, Doubs, Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins, Kyle Williams, DeMario Douglas, and Efton Chism III – suddenly, a position of clear strength for the Pats.
If the Brown trade goes down, it lessens the need for the Patriots to draft a receiver in the top-100, if at all, seeing that New England wouldn't have room for everyone on its roster. However, in a world where Brown doesn't end up on the Patriots by September, the Pats remain in search of high-end receiver talent; the difference between not drafting any receivers and possibly selecting a receiver with the 31st overall pick comes down to A.J. Brown's future.
Given that the Brown pursuit is a major wildcard, we'll use mock draft 1.0 as an exercise to project a Patriots draft under the assumption that Brown will eventually end up in New England.