NFL Draft: Potential Landing spots for Austin Proehl
New England Patriots
Anytime the slot position is mentioned the Patriots have to come up as a potential landing spot for a player. From Wes Welker to Julian Edelman, Tom Brady and Bill Belichik have made the position what it is in today’s NFL and there is no better spot for Austin Proehl to land.
To make things more interesting the Patriots are probably in need of some receiving help after losing wide receivers Danny Amendola and Brandin Cooks to free agency and trade. They also lost running back Dion Lewis to free agency as well.
The three players combined to catch 158 balls for 1955 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. That’s a lot of yards that need to be caught from the reigning MVP, Tom Brady, and Proehl has shown a knack for catching balls.
Additionally, Belichek has had good history with late round picks, Brady was a sixth rounder if you have been living under a rock the past couple of decades and could add to that history by selecting Proehl in the seventh round with the 219th pick and turning him into the next great steal.
The biggest knock on New England as a good fit in undrafted free agency would be their depth. Despite losing the players above, the Patriots do return Chris Hogan and Julian Edelman, the latter spent all of last season on IR but did have over 1,000 receiving yards the previous year.
The Patriots also signed Jordan Matthews in free agency and if that isn’t enough most likely will also have the best tight end in football, Rob Gronkowski, returning next season to catch balls from Brady. In other words, like at Carolina, it would be hard for Proehl to up the depth chart in New England.
In all honesty, Buffalo seems like the best choice for Proehl if he isn’t drafted, which would be a bit of a reach by most teams. Here is hoping wherever Proehl ends up, it is a good fit for him and the team and that he is able to show that same grit for them that he gave each and every day for the Tar Heels.