Eric Froton: Potential sleeper picks for Patriots in 2023 NFL Draft

Finding possible sleeper picks for Patriots in 2023 draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Our Phil Perry has had you covered with in-depth analysis of the 2023 NFL Draft and what the New England Patriots could do with their No. 14 overall pick. But what about the under-the-radar players who might be available on Day 2 or 3?

NBC Sports' lead college football and draft analyst Eric Froton joined Perry on a new episode of the Next Pats Podcast to name some potential sleeper picks for New England. Which players at positions of need (offensive line, receiver, cornerback and edge) should Patriots fans keep tabs on in the later rounds?

Here are a few names Froton highlights in the episode...

Next Pats Podcast: Finding sleepers for the Patriots in the 2023 NFL Draft | Listen & Follow | Watch on YouTube

OL John Ojukwu, Boise State

Froton's take: "You just saw the way that he was able to handle power. Coming from Group of Five level, he was down a level. So those guys have even more to prove than the the Power Five guys when they're coming up. He was dealing with some pretty powerful rushers on the edge there.

"... There are some pretty physical, big edges that were at the Senior Bowl. ... I think if you look at the possibility of him at right tackle down the board in that Round 6 with the glut of picks you have in the late 100s, he could be a pretty nice swing tackle option that in a year or two, I think he could develop into somebody that could be an asset. Maybe never a full time starter, but we're talking sixth round."

WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton, West Virginia

Froton's take: "A Shrine Bowl guy. Tested out as legitimately just a tick below Megatron (Calvin Johnson) when it comes to his athletic comps. A 9.97 relative athletic score. The testing was ridiculous. A 4.38 40, 1.52 10-yard split for a guy who is six-foot-4, 221 (pounds). That's an otherworldly number. His shuttle, 4.15. Almost a four-second shuttle, that's excellent.

"The problem that he had was the quarterback room over there at West Virginia. ... For the second half of the season, Ford-Wheaton couldn't do anything. He was barely on the stat sheet and he was just taking quick hitches and just trying to make something out of them just through sheer force of will because he's a freak. And he was able to do okay in that realm, but you you've got some real low-level quarterbacks in college.

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"And we're talking about the second guy behind an already unstable quarterback position. That's going to affect receivers. So that's in terms of a guy that I look at, fourth, fifth round, give me some Bryce Ford-Wheaton."

CB Terell Smith, Minnesota

Froton's take: "Just an absolute freak. Six-foot-1, 207 (pounds). That's literally right in the wheelhouse for what pretty much every cornerback coach is looking for in size for a cornerback. And the thing about him is you look at him in pads, I remember seeing him at first and he looks like a box safety. Not even a single high safety. He looks like a box safety in pads. ...

"But he's out there on an island on the outside and he's covering all these receivers. And he is physical, he's staying in phase, he's not getting fooled. I was shocked at how agile he was for the 207 pounds that he was weighing in at."

EDGE Yaya Diaby, Louisville

Froton's take: "My favorite sleeper edge that I would like to see the Pats give a shot that kind of fits this mold. You're probably looking four, five-round territory for him. Six-foot-3, 263 so he's got the bulk to play on that edge. But then 10.5-inch hands, 34-inch arms.

"But his athleticism, his movement skills and his power. Like, his lower-body power is legit. Thirty-seven inch vert at 263. Ten-foot broad. Both of them are 94th percentile marks. Ran a 4.51 40 with a 1.51 split. That 1.51 split is a 99.9 percentile mark. Overall for athleticism, he's a 9.86. That's as close to perfect as you're going to get.

"Diaby's raw, but if you can get him and mold him a little bit and fine tune some of the technical aspects of it, get a little more diverse tool kit on the rush, help move his hands a little bit, give him a little hop chop kind of a move, just refine him a little bit, I think he has everything it takes to be incredible. I think that he can stand up as a base setting the edge in run support. I think he can take on those left tackles, pulling linemen who are trying to stand him up. He doesn't give ground in those circumstances."

2023 Draft Highlights: Yaya Diaby - OL, Louisville

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There are many more sleepers where that came from in the full episode.

Also in the episode: Crowdsourced mock draft results! Froton shares his observations of the Patriots coaching staff at the Shrine Bowl. And a legendary story about Bill Belichick’s motivational speech at Shrine Bowl.

Check out the latest episode of the Next Pats Podcast on the NBC Sports Boston Podcast Network, or watch it on YouTube below: