2022 NFL mock draft: Texans pass on QB in QB-heavy predictions
2022 NFL mock draft: 18th pick
47. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Alabama. player. WR. John Metchie III. 18
Bill Belichick did not take kindly to his team missing the playoffs in 2020.
A 7-9 finish was made worse by the fact that Tom Brady, whom the Patriots let walk in free agency, went to Tampa Bay and won a Super Bowl in his first season with the team.
As a result of that, the Patriots did things they have literally never done in the Bill Belichick era.
They backed up the Brinks truck and spent more money in free agency than any other single offseason in franchise history.
They used a first-round pick on quarterback Mac Jones, a player many felt was a lock to go on day two or even later because of an apparent lack of athleticism compared to his peers in the 2021 class.
The Patriots are moving forward from the 2020 season, which was essentially a trial year in the post-Tom Brady era. New England saved cash for the 2021 free agency period. They sat in the weeds ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft and stayed in their 15th overall slot to get Mac Jones.
In the 2022 NFL Draft, they get him a familiar weapon.
The Patriots-Alabama connection is a strong one and John Metchie is the next receiver at Alabama who is going to make some big waves.
Like Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, Jaylen Waddle, and Heisman winner DeVonta Smith before him, Metchie is a first-round talent who had an awesome season in relief of the injured Waddle last season.
Metchie caught 55 passes for 916 yards and six touchdowns and will enter the 2021 season as Alabama’s WR1 with talented sophomore QB Bryce Young throwing him passes.