2013 NFL Draft Projection: Zach Rogers To The New England Patriots

October 27, 2012; Columbia, SC, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Zach Rogers (83) makes a touchdown reception against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first half at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Zach Rogers – WR – 6’0″/182

Zach Rogers, much like Mychal Rivera, was overshadowed last season by his offensive counterparts in Tyler Bray, Justin Hunter and Cordarrelle Patterson.

Coming into the 2012 season Rogers was expected to play a more prominent role in the offense due to the departure of Da’Rick Rogers. Junior college transfer Cordarelle Patterson ended up playing a bigger role than initially expected, which pushed Zach Rogers back to the number three wide receiver.

Despite being the number three wide receiver, Rogers still had a very productive senior season. The Nashville, TN native finished the season with 32 catches for 491 yards and 7 touchdowns. The 7 touchdowns were the second most on the team.

Last season against South Carolina, Rogers showed he was capable of having a huge game when he exploded for 3 touchdowns and 107 yards on 8 catches.

Zach Rogers is an all-around solid receiver that does all the little things right. He runs his routes very well, especially the underneath routes. Rogers also has great hands, he’s an extremely reliable receiver that had very few drops during his career at Tennessee.

At Tennessee’s pro-day in March, Rogers showed he had good speed, running a 4.46 in the 40 yard dash. In the season opener last year against NC State the former Vol showed off that speed, scoring on a 72 yard touchdown catch.

Where do we expect Zach Rogers to be drafted? 

We project that the New England Patriots will select Rogers with the 20th pick in the 7th round.

When you watch Zach Rogers play one player comes to mind immediately — Wes Welker. Rogers is a little taller than Welker, and definitely faster, but the two play a very similar style of football.

With Wes Welker leaving New England for the Denver Broncos the Patriots will be looking to replace the production of their leading receiver.

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is a big fan of drafting under-the-radar players late in the draft and Rogers would seem to fit that mold.

The only hangup with the Patriots possibly drafting Rogers are the solid workouts that he has had leading up to the draft. It’s very likely that Rogers could be drafted in the 6th round, a round in which the Patriots do not have a draft pick.