NFL Draft Rumors: 5 players Patriots should take with Arizona pick
By John Buhler
Tyler Boyd turned heads starring for Pat Narduzzi’s Pittsburgh Panthers in the ACC in 2015 at wide receiver. While most of the focus entering the 2015 NCAA campaign was on running back James Conner, and rightfully so, Boyd was perhaps the best player on Pittsburgh in 2015. He’ll be off the board in the 2016 NFL Draft before the end of Day 2.
Boyd emerged as one of the best pass catchers in his conference under then offensive coordinator Jim Chaney. Chaney took his former disciple at the University of Tennessee in quarterback Nathan Peterman and turned Pitt into a high-octane offense thanks to a great season by Boyd at wide receiver.
With the New England Patriots needing help at wide receiver as Edelman and Danny Amendola aren’t exactly kids any more, perhaps New England will target a wideout of Boyd’s caliber at either No. 60 or No. 61 to play both in the slot and on the outside.
The leap from the guy throwing him the football in college in Peterman to the greatest active quarterback in the game in Brady is staggering to say the very least. If Boyd can put together 254 career receptions for 3,361 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns in his three years with the Panthers, imagine what he could do with Brady as his quarterback his first few years in the league.
Next: 3. Sterling Shepard