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Entering the 2023 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots have plenty of room for improvement and several holes on both sides of the ball that need to be addressed. Adding starter-caliber talent at offensive tackle, cornerback, and wide receiver is at the top of the list of to-dos; other position groups would also benefit from reinforcements.
The good thing for the Patriots is that they have plenty of capital to work with. Following a series of trades and with two selections coming through the league’s compensatory process, they are entering Round 1 as the owners of 11 picks:
- Round 1: No. 14
- Round 2: No. 46
- Round 3: No. 76 (via Carolina)
- Round 4: No. 107 (via Los Angeles)
- Round 4: No. 117
- Round 4: No. 135 (compensatory)
- Round 6: No. 184 (via Las Vegas)
- Round 6: No. 187 (via Carolina)
- Round 6: No. 192
- Round 6: No. 210 (compensatory)
- Round 7: No. 245
New England has a lot of picks to work with, but there is a difference between quantity and quality. Every single first-round pick, for example, is worth more than all the seventh-round selections combined; having a shot at some of the elite talent in the class carries far more value than having the ability to bring in possible replacement-level players.
The Patriots’ current draft capital is spread out relatively evenly, with six of the 11 selections falling into the “roster lock” category — i.e. picks in the first four rounds that are virtual locks to make the opening day team. This gives the club some good capital to work with as a comparison with the rest of the league shows:
NFL Draft 2023: Team capital
| Team | Hill | Stuart | Johnson | OTC | PFF | Rank Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Hill | Stuart | Johnson | OTC | PFF | Rank Avg |
| Houston Texans | 1444.37 (1) | 86.7 (1) | 5020 (1) | 8767 (1) | 3.512 (1) | 1.0 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 1110.04 (3) | 77.4 (2) | 3757 (3) | 7772 (2) | 3.174 (2) | 2.4 |
| Detroit Lions | 1040.89 (4) | 72.4 (3) | 3546 (4) | 7239 (3) | 2.959 (3) | 3.4 |
| Carolina Panthers | 1252.81 (2) | 62.4 (4) | 3778 (2) | 5998 (7) | 2.231 (9) | 4.8 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 854.02 (5) | 62.1 (5) | 3269 (5) | 6247 (6) | 2.483 (6) | 5.4 |
| Las Vegas Raiders | 764.18 (7) | 60.3 (7) | 2547 (7) | 6654 (4) | 2.615 (4) | 5.8 |
| Chicago Bears | 739.49 (8) | 61.4 (6) | 2484 (8) | 6403 (5) | 2.53 (5) | 6.4 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 785.08 (6) | 56.8 (8) | 2715 (6) | 5924 (8) | 2.378 (7) | 7.0 |
| Green Bay Packers | 714.24 (9) | 54.0 (9) | 2383 (9) | 5883 (9) | 2.349 (8) | 8.8 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 680.52 (11) | 49.7 (11) | 2194 (12) | 5007 (11) | 2.031 (11) | 11.2 |
| New England Patriots | 606.24 (13) | 51.9 (10) | 1986 (14) | 5778 (10) | 2.181 (10) | 11.4 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 663.29 (12) | 48.3 (12) | 2219 (11) | 4972 (12) | 2.011 (12) | 11.8 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 694.42 (10) | 47.1 (13) | 2332 (10) | 4689 (13) | 1.962 (13) | 11.8 |
| Tennessee Titans | 590.08 (14) | 41.8 (14) | 2020 (13) | 4290 (21) | 1.743 (14) | 15.2 |
| Washington Commanders | 513.55 (15) | 40.9 (16) | 1650 (15) | 4483 (16) | 1.723 (17) | 15.8 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 481.90 (17) | 40.4 (17) | 1558 (17) | 4538 (15) | 1.74 (15) | 16.2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 470.84 (18) | 41.2 (15) | 1497 (18) | 4448 (18) | 1.735 (16) | 17.0 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 439.44 (20) | 40.2 (18) | 1363 (20) | 4563 (14) | 1.702 (18) | 18.0 |
| New York Jets | 502.38 (16) | 37.5 (21) | 1648 (16) | 3790 (24) | 1.493 (23) | 20.0 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 451.11 (19) | 37.9 (19) | 1412 (19) | 4080 (22) | 1.562 (22) | 20.2 |
| New York Giants | 415.06 (21) | 37.4 (22) | 1297 (21) | 4365 (20) | 1.679 (19) | 20.6 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 371.19 (25) | 37.8 (20) | 1135 (25) | 4435 (19) | 1.664 (20) | 21.8 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 338.91 (26) | 35.9 (23) | 1111 (26) | 4481 (17) | 1.646 (21) | 22.6 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 392.05 (22) | 34.6 (25) | 1234 (22) | 3800 (23) | 1.457 (24) | 23.2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 388.40 (23) | 35.7 (24) | 1215 (23) | 3785 (25) | 1.433 (26) | 24.2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 372.36 (24) | 34.2 (26) | 1168 (24) | 3754 (26) | 1.435 (25) | 25.0 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 337.04 (27) | 28.3 (27) | 1029 (27) | 3038 (29) | 1.144 (29) | 27.8 |
| Cleveland Browns | 185.89 (30) | 28.3 (28) | 532 (31) | 3456 (27) | 1.177 (27) | 28.6 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 329.45 (28) | 27.9 (29) | 1006 (28) | 2996 (30) | 1.128 (30) | 29.0 |
| Denver Broncos | 197.21 (29) | 24.5 (30) | 633 (29) | 2722 (31) | 0.964 (31) | 30.0 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 141.80 (32) | 22.6 (31) | 377 (32) | 3249 (28) | 1.157 (28) | 30.2 |
| Miami Dolphins | 169.15 (31) | 17.0 (32) | 573 (30) | 1932 (32) | 0.728 (32) | 31.4 |
While different draft value charts use different methodology to determine value, all of the five listed above have the Patriots in the same general range between the 10th and 14th most valuable portfolio in the NFL.
The charts created by Chase Stuart, Jason Fitzgerald and Brad Spielberger (OTC) and Pro Football Focus (PFF) see New England in 10th position. Pats Pulpit’s own Rich Hill, meanwhile, has the Patriots’ draft capital as the 13th most valuable in the league. Per his value chart, the team has 606.24 points to work with, which is roughly the equivalent of the third overall selection.
Of course, a lot can and will change over the next few days. Every selection and trade made by New England or other clubs will have an impact on the remaining capital. For the moment, however, the Patriots appear to be in a solid position as far as the total value of their draft is concerned.
Now, it’s about turning that theoretical value into actual one.
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