Patriots 3-round 2024 NFL Mock Draft: Brock Bowers, Oregon star QB-WR duo selected with first 3 picks

No. 38: Patriots select Troy Franklin, WR - University of Oregon

Belichick shocks the draft board by keeping selection No. 38 and drafting Nix’s top target in wide receiver Troy Franklin.

What better way to help his new rookie quarterback than giving him a target he is familiar with.  At 6-foot-2, 187 pounds, Franklin has excellent speed and is a player who could create the kind of separation the Patriots playmakers have been lacking the last few seasons.

With his ability to play both outside and in the slot, Franklin would be ideal in New England.  Coming off a season in 2022 when he caught 61 receptions for 891 yards and nine touchdowns, the Oregon wide receiver has picked up where he left off in the first weeks of the 2023 season.

Through the first five games, Franklin already has 32 receptions for 535 yards and 7 touchdowns.  The Nix-Franklin connection has been on an elite level and the Patriots getting both early in the second round along with Bowers would give the Patriots an A+ in the draft just for those three selections alone.

Patriots fans could get use to this:

At this point in the season, both players could end up as high first-round talents, but as the draft positioning currently stands, the Patriots are in good position to manipulate the draft board to their advantage.