Troy Franklin, Wide Receiver, Oregon

There might not be a bigger sleeper in this loaded 2024 NFL Draft wide receiver class than Troy Franklin.

All Franklin has done the last two seasons is ball out. In 2022, he corralled 61 of the 89 targets slung his direction for 891 yards and nine touchdowns. Last year, he upped his numbers even more by bringing in 81 receptions for 1,383 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Franklin stepped up in big games as well, including Oregon’s regular season tilt against the Washington Huskies where he went for 154 yards and a touchdown on eight catches.

Troy Franklin v Washington

– 8 catches
– 154 Receiving
– 1 TD
– 19.3 YPC

6’4 WR, impacts all 3 levels of the field, can play 50/50 ball when asked to (not his forte though), great ball skills, find ways to free himself and gets open consistently ! Should be there at 33. pic.twitter.com/924b029Bux

— IamMontyFetti 🖤💙✊🏾 (@WestsideFetti) January 13, 2024

Franklin not only has hefty counting stats working in his favor, but advanced stats paint him in a great light as well. Last season, he posted a 2.69 yards per team pass attempt mark, which is an outstanding number and one of the better averages in this class. He also has a hefty yards-per-route run number in his last two seasons.

2024 WR Class (plus Brock Bowers) by YPRR
+ Power 5-only, min. 175 routes

Age 18 Season

1. Brock Bowers (3.01)
2. Xavier Worthy (2.61)
3. Malik Nabers (1.95)
4. Brian Thomas Jr. (1.40)

Age 19 Season

1. Malik Nabers (2.44)
2. Brock Bowers (2.37)
3. Troy Franklin (2.34)
4. Keon…

— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) February 24, 2024

Not only does Franklin have the production everyone wants, but he has the athletic measurables too. He is a robust 6-foot-2 and ran a 4.41 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. However, it was revealed at Oregon’s Pro Day that Franklin was dealing with the flu in the days leading up to the Combine, which led to him dropping down to 176 pounds. He came in at 184 pounds at his Pro Day.

Note from @oregonfootball pro day- receiver Troy Franklin tipped the scale just under 184lbs, his natural playing weight & almost 8lbs more than the Combine. Franklin suffered with flu in the lead up to Combine and lost weight. Report from South Carolina and WMU pro day shortly

— Tony Pauline (@TonyPauline) March 12, 2024

Franklin’s results in the other athletic testing drills were near the top of the wide receiver class as well. He may have played in an explosive offense geared toward putting up numbers, but it is hard to poke holes at him as a prospect. If he slips at all, the Patriots should be ready and eager to pounce on him in the second round.

Jordan Morgan, Offensive Lineman, Arizona

The Patriots need a wide receiver badly. Their leading receiver last season was sixth-round rookie Demario Douglas with just 561 yards. They’ve also already departed with DeVante Parker. The acquisitions of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton have been massive disappointments. It’s a huge position of weakness. But offensive line may be an even more glaring spot New England has to address.

Last season, the Patriots had the worst offensive line in terms of pass block win rate according to ESPN.com. On top of that, they allowed 48 sacks in 2023 the ninth-most sacks in the NFL. And to make matters worse, their starting left tackle last season, Trent Brown, parted ways with the team and signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency.

The Patriots have to add to their offensive line through the draft.

Enter Jordan Morgan. Morgan has shined at the University of Arizona and was instrumental in the team’s bounce-back 2023 campaign. Through most of that season, he was one of the best offensive tackles in all of college football.

Top-Graded @PFF Tackles thru Week 12

90.6—Taliese Fuaga, Ore St*
82.8—Adam Karas, Air Force
82.5—Jordan Morgan, Arizona
80.1—Fernando Carmona Jr., SJSU
77.9—Jonah Monheim, USC
77.7—Kaleb Holcomb, Air Force

*Fuaga No. 2 nationally

— SuperWest Sports (@SuperWestSports) November 20, 2023

Morgan is a borderline first-round prospect who could fall out of the top 32. If he does, the Patriots would be prudent to swoop in and land him with their 34th overall pick. That would be a home run selection for them if they could pull it off.

Jerod Mayo sends strong message to Patriots fans frustrated with offseason

Mayo is preaching patience to Patriots fans.

Following a relatively quiet period in NFL free agency, Jerod Mayo is pleading New England Patriots fans to be patient.

Mayo, who’s entering his first season as the Patriots head coach, attempted to quell any concerns that fans might have as the team’s yet to make a splashy addition after going 4-13 in 2023.

“For Patriots fans, look, I understand the frustration,” Mayo told reporters at the NFL’s league meetings on Monday in his first comments since free agency opened. “I understand the expectation has been really built over the last 20 years. But at the same time, hopefully the fans understand that we’re trying to build this the right way. And we’re trying to bring in pieces that we think are for the long-term. I think there’s a combination of bringing people in for the short-term, but also you have to think long-term. That’s always the hard thing to do.

“I would just ask Patriots fans for patience. Look, once again, there will be players that hit the wire, free agents, guys that are exposed, whatever you want to say. There will be guys in the draft, there will be guys after the draft. So just sit back and kind of let us do our job going forward.”

It was pretty evident that the Patriots needed to revamp their roster following the 2023 season, having clear holes at quarterback, wide receiver and offensive tackle entering the offseason. They also entered free agency with over $100 million in cap space, with Mayo even saying in January that the Patriots were ready to “burn some cash.”

Mayo walked back that statement at the NFL Combine, which should’ve been an indication that they planned to not spend too much. They retained the vast majority of their top players who were set to become free agents, re-signing Michael Onwenu, Hunter Henry, Kendrick Bourne and Josh Uche as each were ranked among the best players at their respective positions who were set to hit the open market.

“The unknown is scary for a lot of people” – Jerod Mayo on free-agency

MORE on Jerod’s press conference: https://t.co/AegdQhpI5E pic.twitter.com/HjxLj3uInd

— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) March 25, 2024

But the most noteworthy outside addition the Patriots made was to sign Jacoby Brissett, adding the quarterback on a one-year deal. They also signed K.J. Osborn, Antonio Gibson and Austin Hooper as they made more depth moves.

What Jerod Mayo said of Patriots’ pursuit of Calvin Ridley

The Patriots were in on one of the big-name free agents, becoming one of the finalists to sign Ridley. As Ridley surprisingly signed a four-year, $92 million deal with $50 million guaranteed to join the Tennessee Titans, Mayo didn’t seem too bothered about the receiver’s decision.

“You know, obviously disappointed that Ridley went in a different direction, but hey, we’re good,” Mayo said Sunday. “I like the direction that we’re going.”

Mayo also iterated the importance of the Patriots keeping their own players, saying that’s the culture “we want to build.”

“I think the most important thing for us is to get our people back here, right?” Mayo said. “We sign our players, the Mike Onwenus of the world.”