2020 NFL Mock Draft: Full first-round mock plus all Redskins picks
47. . Edge Rusher. New England Patriots. A.J. Epenesa. 23. player
Many have mocked Jordan Love to the Patriots with this selection. But frankly, that doesn’t make much sense. The buzz around the Patriots is that they want to give Jarrett Stidham a chance to start in 2020. Might they add a draft pick to compete at quarterback? Sure. But will they use a first-round pick on one? That doesn’t seem likely.
Bill Belichick wants to win now. He wants to prove that he can win without Brady. And to do that, he’ll need to fill some of the other holes on the roster and not spend his best rebuilding resource on a quarterback that probably needs to sit a year or two to prepare him for the NFL level.
The Patriots lost a lot of players this offseason and don’t have a second-round pick. For that reason, I expect that the Patriots will trade down. Belichick does that often enough anyway, but this year, the likelihood is increased. But if they don’t, they may opt to go for a guy like A.J. Epenesa.
The Patriots don’t have a lot of talent on the edge. Chase Winovich looked good as a pass rusher during his rookie season but the Pats need more than just one player up front, especially with Jamie Collins and Kyle Van Noy, two good pass-rushing linebackers, gone.
Epenesa isn’t a particularly good athlete. But at 6-foot-5, 275 pounds, he has great size and length. And he was productive and well-coached under Kirk Ferentz at Iowa, where he logged 22 sacks combined in his final two collegiate seasons.
Epenesa has good positional versatility, strength, and should be a good edge-setter at the next level. He’s not going to win with speed, but he won’t have to. And Belichick will find a way to utilize him in the team’s hybrid defense, and Epenesa could play all over the defensive line as a result.
This seems like a solid Patriots pick. They may even be able to get him if they trade down. But for the time being, Epenesa is a sensible option and would help to reinforce the Patriots’ front seven, which will need some improvements in the draft after their free agent losses.