Prototypical Patriots WR Met With New England At NFL Combine

The New England Patriots will have to add some depth to the receiving unit this offseason. According to some reports, a prototypical Patriots wideout has met with the Patriots at the NFL Scouting Combine. If the team does the unthinkable and sign a wide receiver in the first round of the NFL Draft for the second straight year, then Thursday’s workouts offered a nice candidate.

Baylor’s Denzel Mims fits almost every measurable mark the Patriots typically need for their wide receivers. He is 6-foot-3, 207 pounds. Mims ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash with a 38.5-inch vertical leap, 10-feet, 11-inch broad jump, 4.43-second short shuttle, and a 6.66-second three-cone drill.

He was able to catch 66 passes for 1,020 yards with 12 touchdowns in 2019 with the Bears. The wideout finished his three-year college career with 182 catches for 2,901 yards and 28 touchdowns.

The New England Patriots will make great changes at the NFL Combine

Mims met with the Patriots at the combine.

“It went really well,” he said. “I had a great conversation with them. I let them know how I felt and they let me know how they felt. It was a great conversation.”

Mims didn’t really play in the slot in college. He was mostly working from the outside, and dropped seven passes in 2019 and caught 10 deep targets for 308 yards and three touchdowns on deep passes. The wideout is considered a late-first-round prospect by PFF.

What’s his best strength? Making contested catches. Mims caught 20 congested balls, and this ties him for second in the FBS.

“We did a lot of drills that had me get pushed around and had me still got to catch the ball,” Mims said. “We stayed late after practice and I got to catch 100 contested balls. And if I don’t catch them, I’m going to be there all night. If I drop one, we start over. We just work on it every single day. And it turns out I’m good at it.

“I had seen that it would separate my game from a lot of receivers in this league, and, so, I took pride in it,” Mims said. “And I knew that if I were elite at that, then I’d be an elite receiver.”