Poll: Should Pats target Heisman-winning Hunter with top pick?

The picture at the top of the NFL's draft board, aka the bottom of the league, is starting to crystalize as we move into the final weeks of the regular season.

The Las Vegas Raiders, on full display last night, and the New York Giants have the inside track on the top pick as the only remaining 2-win teams in the league and neither appears like they want to let the opportunity slip.

Right behind them, for a second time in as many years, sit the New England Patriots in possession of the No. 3 pick. The pair in front of the Pats are both desperate to find their next signal caller, with most projections out there sending Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders to Vegas while the Giants nab Miami QB Cam Ward second.

That means the Pats could have their pick of the litter when it comes to the skill positions, something they so desperately need.

For much of this year, watching initially Jacoby Brissett and now Drake Maye run for their lives has made me want a tackle at the top of the draft. But the closer and closer we get, the more tempted I become with the idea of a grabbing a playmaker. Watching this team's receiving corps fail to find open space on the gridiron each week will do that to you.

Most mocks out there at the current moment, again, take them for what they're worth, have the Pats selecting the Heisman winner, 2-way star Travis Hunter with the No. 3 pick. At the beginning of the season, I wouldn't have liked this move one bit. Now, I'm all about it. In reading up on Hunter from the perspective of league scouts, it seems he'll be a Day 1 starting CB with a healthy package of sets at WR as well.

That's two spots New England is desperate for help. In the secondary, Christian Gonzalez has developed into one of the game's elite corners, while the rest of the unit is pretty leaky. Hunter is as lockdown as they come for the Buffaloes, with 31 tackles and 4 INT on the perimeter, and stands at 6'1"/185lbs with the height necessary to play the boundary in the NFL.

At WR, well, that production won him the Heisman. He's grabbed 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 TD to go with a rushing score.

He fits everything the Patriots need. It just comes down to what you think is easier to find via free agency or trade: a shutdown CB, a star WR, or an anchor on the O-Line for years to come?

Whatever that answer is, the Pats must target the other at the top of next April's draft.