When the New England Patriots are on the clock on Thursday night, star linebacker Matthew Judon is hoping the team’s first pick is on the offensive side of the ball.
The defense was the backbone for the Patriots in the 2022 season, and it was almost strong enough to carry a bad offense to the playoffs. Judon is siding with fans in New England hoping to see the team go after more offensive firepower, starting with adding a big-play receiver.
For Judon, that player is TCU’s Quentin Johnston.
“You can’t have enough offense,” Judon said, when asked who the Patriots should draft at No. 14 overall. “I like Quentin Johnston from TCU. I think he’s a long, rangy guy. He has exceptional hands. He can catch anything, and he can stretch the field. I believe he was good against man, he was good against press, he was good every year he was at TCU, and all he did was make big plays in big-time games.
“Eventually, that’s somebody that you can’t leave one-on-one. I think as he grows in the offense, he’s going to make our offense boom even more and he’s going to be a deep ball threat.”
Johnston is coming off a career-high, breakout season with 60 catches for 1,069 receiving yards and six touchdowns. He has the prototypical size and large catch radius to play outside as a legitimate No. 1 receiver for the team that ends up drafting him.
With Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Zay Flowers projected as the top-two receivers in this year’s draft, there’s a strong likelihood that Johnston will still be on the board when the Patriots come up to pick at No. 14.
Defense alone isn’t going to be able to cut it in a loaded AFC East division that just added Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets. Opposing teams have far too much firepower for the Patriots to continue striking out at receiver.
