The NFL Draft is just days away now, and the excitement is at an all time high. In three days, we’ll know where each of the draft’s top prospects will end up, and fans around the league will either be very excited for their future, or very angry at their team for making what they believe is a bad pick. As we’ve been counting down the days to the draft, we at EssentiallySports have been creating one seven-round mock draft a day until we cover all 32 NFL teams.

Today, we’re going to highlight the New England Patriots, who hold the 31st pick in the draft after losing to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX. Round 1, Pick 31: ED Keldric Faulk NCAA, College League, USA Football: SEC Media Day Jul 15, 2025 Atlanta, GA, USA Auburn Tigers defensive lineman Keldric Faulk answers questions from the media during SEC Media Days at Omni Atlanta Hotel. Atlanta Omni Atlanta Hotel GA USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJordanxGodfreex 20250715_jla_th5_049 If you’ve watched any of our live mock drafts over the past couple of weeks, you’ll know I’m not too high on Keldric Faulk.

I can see the appeal – he’s 6-foot-6, 276 pounds and is a really good athlete – but as a Saints fan, I can’t get Marcus Davenport out of my head. He was another athletic guy without a ton of college production, and he never panned out in the league. Someone is going to take a shot on Faulk, and it’s probably going to be earlier than No. 31, but in our mock, he was still on the board and would fit in well in the New England Patriots’ defense.

He just needs the proper coaching to reach his maximum potential, and I think New England can get the most out of him. Round 2, Pick 63: LB Anthony Hill Jr. I’m a big fan of Anthony Hill Jr.

At one point, I had him as a first round prospect. I don’t think he will be a first rounder anymore, but that just shows how high I am on him. You don’t find many players that are his age with his production anymore.

In three years at Texas, Hill started all three years and totaled 250 tackles, 17 sacks and eight forced fumbles. This is a very deep linebacker class, but he might be my top linebacker available on day two. I really like Jacob Rodriguez, but Hill’s ceiling is very high in my opinion.

New England doesn’t really have that star off-ball linebacker, so Hill would fit right in. Round 3, Pick 95: S Zakee Wheatley INDIANAPOLIS, IN – FEBRUARY 26: Penn State defensive back Zakee Wheatley answers questions from the media during the NFL, American Football Herren, USA Scouting Combine on February 26, 2026 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, IN. Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire NFL: FEB 26 Scouting Combine EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2602263378 I love the Kevin Byard pickup for New England, but they still need a long-term solution at safety now that Jaylinn Hawkins has left the building.

There are a lot of good safeties in round one, but if they could land Zakee Wheatley in round three, I think the Patriots would be ecstatic. In 2025, Wheatley played 325 coverage snaps and allowed just 36 receiving yards and one touchdown with an interception. He was targeted just 10 times all year and never gave up more than 10 yards in a single game.

He was a bright spot on Penn State’s defense, and if the Nittany Lions didn’t fall off the face of the Earth last season, he’d be getting a lot more hype. Round 4, Pick 125: OT Isaiah World I don’t think offensive tackle is as big of a need as people say, but it’s hard to pass up on Isaiah World here. If he didn’t tear his ACL in January, he would go much, much higher than round four.

But he did, and that’s obviously going to be a turn off for a lot of teams, but New England need depth at tackle, so if they do need to move Will Campbell to guard, they have another option in the building already. I don’t think they’ll need to move Campbell to guard, so they could have World move to the right side and learn behind Morgan Moses for a year or two. Then, once Moses moves on, World could step into a starting spot if they deem him ready.

Round 4, Pick 131: TE Michael Trigg NCAA, College League, USA Football 2025: Utah Vs Baylor NOV 15 November 15, 2025 Baylor Bears tight end Michael Trigg 1 catches a pass against Utah Utes safety Jackson Bennee 23 during the 1st half of the NCAA Football game between Utah Utes the and Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas. Matthew Lynch/CSM Credit Image: Â Matthew Lynch/Cal Media Waco Tx US EDITORIAL USE ONLY Copyright: xx ZUMA-20251115_zma_c04_379.jpg MatthewxLynchx csmphotothree443177 There’s nothing wrong with Hunter Henry, he’s a fine option at tight end, but if New England wants to make their offense even more dynamic (which it will become after the AJ Brown trade), they need to add another athletic, downfield threat at tight end, and that’s exactly what Michael Trigg is. Trigg is one of the best pass catching tight ends in this class and has been super productive for Baylor over the past couple of seasons.