Plainsmen Predictions: Would the Patriots take Owen Pappoe early?
Trey Lee/Auburn Daily
NFL Mock Draft season is in full swing, and if I have to read one more time about Bryce Young being the second-best prospect again, I'm gonna be as sick as I was when Virginia double-dribbled, so I decided to focus on our favorite Auburn players from now until Draft Day. Next in the series is our favorite Freak, Owen Pappoe.
The popular narrative around the former five-star is that if he stayed at Auburn another year and turned in solid, not stellar, results, he could catapult into the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
After turning in a blazing 4.39 40-yard dash, he showed that he belongs in day two, besting all linebackers at both speed and bench press reps. The Freak, as he called, was the talk of the combine amongst defensive coaches and will certainly hear his name called by the commissioner come April.
Staffs will look to help him build upon his 93-solo tackle 2022 senior season at Auburn, so let's see who could get lucky with the Lawrenceville native.
TOP PREDICTION: New England Patriots, Round 2-3
Bill Belechick is notorious for taking "his guys" early in the NFL Draft, which goes against all conventional wisdom when building a team, but if you have 7 Super Bowl rings who cares what conventional wisdom is? He loves to take developmental prospects that should go round 5 in round 1 and more often than not it pays off. He may not know how to evaluate wideout prospects, but the man knows defense and has built a legitimate Auburn pipeline to New England (taking on the likes of Jonathan Jones, Cam Newton, Brandon King, etc).
Pappoe will need time to develop into a Hasaan Reddick type defender in the middle of the field, but with all his physical traits, Belechick won't want to wait for another team to scoop up the promising young talent. Pappoe fits the scheme of applying pressure to mobile quarterbacks and bruising halfbacks once they cross the line of scrimmage, and with a division that hosts the likes of Breece Hall and Josh Allen. His speed will be useful in the age of faster offenses in the NFL, and Bill won't wait this time to play catch-up.
ALSO CONSIDER: Carolina Panthers, Round 3-4
Carolina is rebuilding... Again. Under Frank Reich and former Bronco defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero this one looks to be more promising. Offense will be the talk of the draft for round one after trading up for the top pick, but after taking care of their running back need with the signing of Miles Sanders, the Panthers will looking for fresh talent to add to Brian Burns and Derrick Brown, and having the fastest linebacker fall to them in round 3 would be Christmas time for Carolina.
The 3-4 scheme will take some time to adjust to, but Pappoe proved his versatility and learning abilities playing under three different coordinators at Auburn. Shaq Thompson might not be around Charlotte for much longer and Scott Fitterer needs to HOPE that Pappoe is available this late, considering they spent a lot of capitol to move up to #1 in the Draft.
WILD CARD: Los Angeles Rams, Round 5-6
Speaking of rebuilds, what a fall from grace for the 2021 Super Bowl Champions. After giving up nearly every major draft asset to build a team that won it all the Rams find themselves in rebuild mode. Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp will be back, but Les Snead needs to figure out how to retool the offensive line and bolster a defense that just released Bobby Wagner and traded Jalen Ramsey.
Former DPY Aaron Donald is the new Aaron Rogers/Tom Brady when it comes to retirement rumors, so developing talent under his mentorship and captaining of the defense will be a priority. If you don't have a first-round pick from now until the next century, Owen could be the fitting heir-apparent to the starting linebacker spot post-Wagner.
For what it's worth, Les Snead is an Auburn man, so you KNOW he saw what the Freak could do on the Plains.
Overall, Owen took a gamble on himself with this years Draft, but if the combine means anything, it means it's about to pay off for him. It will pay off for another team too.
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