New England Patriots 2018 re-draft: What would Bill Belichick change?

Round 1, Pick 23: Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama

Original Pick: Isaiah Wynn, OT, Georgia

We are going to start to see how good the Wynn pick was this season. As of right now, we have pretty much no idea how good of an NFL player he can be. He is the favorite to take over for Trent Brown as the Patriots’ starting left tackle this season. If Wynn takes over that position successfully, it will be difficult to call this a bad pick. However, as of right now, we really do not know if he can do that.

With the uncertainty still surrounding Wynn, we are going to go in another direction here. Instead of snagging a potential franchise left tackle, the New England Patriots take wide receiver Calvin Ridley.

In the actual 2018 NFL Draft, Ridley went just a few picks after Wynn, landing with the Atlanta Falcons. In his rookie season with the Falcons, Ridley caught 64 passes for 824 yards and 10 touchdowns. He proved to be an immediate playmaker, showing an impressive combination of speed, quickness, route running skills and the ability to catch the ball in traffic.

Ridley is clearly one of the best young wide receivers in the NFL and the Patriots have an obvious need at the position. Not having Wynn ready to go as the left tackle of the future hurts, but Ridley is too good of a player and too strong of a fit to pass up.