From a predictability standpoint, this was a classic Bill Belichick draft.

As in, it’s completely useless to try and predict which direction he’s going to go. Perceived needs just don’t apply.

Belichick, and personnel head Matt Groh by extension, continues to march to the beat of a different drummer. That’s the biggest takeaway from the Patriots’ 2023 draft haul.

While the prevailing pre-draft view was that Mac Jones needed help on offense, specifically at receiver and offensive tackle, Belichick disagreed.

He used most of what would be considered his best, most impactful picks on defense. While the Pats took care of cornerback, which was important, and added a few more super-duper athletes for the defense, some glaring offensive needs weren’t completely addressed.

A plug-and-play tackle to protect Jones, who was mauled last season?

Nope. Not in this draft.

After going with defense the first three picks, the Patriots added a center (Troy’s Jake Andrews), who is perhaps a long-term replacement for David Andrews, along with a guard (Eastern Michigan’s Sidy Sow), and a kicker (Maryland’s Chad Ryland) in the fourth round. Their lone fifth-round pick was another guard (UCLA’s Atonio Mafi).

Belichick decided improving depth in the middle of his offensive line was more important than tackle, as one by one, the best prospects at the position were gobbled up without the Patriots making a move.

Even though the Pats shot up the board a few spots to get Ryland at No. 112 in the fourth round, they could have moved up one more spot to snag mammoth Ohio State tackle Dawand Jones.

Only, they weren’t interested.

While it’s nice for the Patriots to pad their depth on the interior of the line, and give new offensive line coach Adrian Klemm some options, tackle was a significant need, perhaps their most important need in terms of providing Jones time to throw from the pocket. But there was no starting-caliber tackle to be found.

Left tackle Trent Brown runs hot and cold, while right tackle is a mystery. Isaiah Wynn is gone. The Pats signed aging veteran Riley Reiff, who wasn’t the answer as a starter with the Bears last year, and Calvin Anderson, who seems to have a lock on the swing tackle role.

Apparently, the Patriots believe Reiff can handle the job, and Anderson and Conor McDermott are sufficient as backups. We respectfully disagree.

As for a bonafide receiving threat who puts fear in defenses?

The Pats didn’t necessarily solve that problem either, even with the selection of LSU’s Kayshon Boutte in the sixth round. He falls more into the category of taking a flier on a prospect.

He’s low-risk being a sixth-round pick, and could actually be the player they desperately crave. It would just be better if the Pats had something closer to a sure-thing. Liberty’s Demario Douglas, meanwhile, is a special teams returner who might have a future in the slot.

In the first round, Belichick chose Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez with Ohio State star Jaxon Smith-Njigba still on the board. That wasn’t necessarily a bad move given the need at corner, but if not Smith-Njigba, what about the rest of the draft? Why wait until the sixth round?

Belichick obviously didn’t feel he needed any difference-making wide receivers, or tight ends from a class that was considered loaded at the position.

Except, neither Mike Gesicki or Hunter Henry are noted blockers, and both are free agents next season. So who’s going to block?

Belichick could have grabbed Georgia’s Darnell Washington, one of the best blocking tight ends in the draft who has “enormous mitts” to catch the football. Or the Patriots could have selected South Dakota State’s Tyler Kraft, since they seem to love small school studs. He skipped over both.

Getting back to Boutte, he was once a promising receiver, but has been hampered by a bad ankle injury he suffered in 2021. There have also been off-field concerns and issues with effort. Let’s just say if he can get his act together and recover the explosiveness he had early in his LSU career, now we’re talking. But having a nagging ankle issue, along with motivational problems, is never good for a receiver.

During his conference call with the media, Boutte said he was “motivated more than ever now.”

Groh, meanwhile, hinted at Boutte’s issues with effort, saying: “He has all the potential in the world if he wants to apply himself.”

The Patriots are obviously taking a chance that maybe they’ll strike gold, and Boutte recaptures his suddenness and elusive abilities, traits that would have made him a possible Day 1 selection two years ago. And that would make him a hell of a sixth-round pick.

It’s just hard envisioning that, and hard to count on a roll of the dice, in terms of taking care of their need for an offensive weapon that strikes fear into a defense.

As it is, once you get past the fourth round, picks are more or less a crapshoot.

Does Belichick understand the Patriots need to score more than 21.4 points per game, the team’s average in 2022 and a far cry from the top offenses in the league?

The NFL is currently a league where success is largely predicated on quarterbacks and weapons.

In the AFC East alone, the Patriots arguably have the fourth-best quarterback behind Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, and Tua Tagovailoa, and don’t stack up in the weapons race.

While Groh contended there was some spots they tried to move up, he and Belichick just waved at all the possible impact receivers — at least, those who aren’t considered a gamble like Boutte — as well as the better all of the potential plug-and-play tackles.

Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Belichick was more comfortable going defense with his first three picks.

During his video call Friday night, Belichick suggested what the Patriots did in free agency with respect to those needs will have to suffice.

That means they’ll make do with adding receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and tight end Gesicki, while losing Jakobi Meyers. That means they’re fine with Brown, Reiff and Anderson as their primary tackles.

Guess they also believe the addition of offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien solves most of the woes on offense.

On Friday, Belichick, however, said there was nothing to read into their selections to that point. They simply went with the best player available.

“I think whatever all the pre-draft hype is and speculation is, is as usual, pretty far off,” he said. “Nobody can predict how it’s going to go. You just have to take it as it comes and try to make the best decision you can when you get near or at the decision-making point.”

It’s not that the Pats picks aren’t, or won’t develop into good players. The Patriots clearly wanted to add some super-duper athletic freaks to the defense. Not sure why all the interior offensive linemen were necessary, but they certainly add depth.

The more important question is, have they closed the gap and made themselves more capable of competing, and matching scores with Buffalo, Miami and the New York Jets in their division alone?

“I think you always try to do what’s best for your team. There’s a lot of different ways to build a team,” Belichick said late Friday night after the Day 2 picks were in. “(The draft) is one part of it. Free agency was part of it. In the end, we field the best team we can to be competitive this year and where they come from, I don’t know, trades, free agency, draft, undrafted, waiver wire, I’ll just have to see how that all plays out.”

What’s played out is that it still doesn’t look like they’ve gained much ground on the competition. But like with any draft, time will tell.

Marcus Jones showed how much of a versatile talent he could be last season playing primarily on defense and special teams, while sprinkling a few plays on offense here and there.

He was electrifying whenever he got his hands on the ball whether running back a punt for a touchdown, picking off a pass, or catching a pass from Mac Jones and taking it to the house.

He had a 48-yard touchdown reception against Buffalo last season.

While Jones considers himself a defensive player, is it possible the added cornerback depth with first round pick Christian Gonzalez might free him up to contribute more on offense?

Or is the focus still for him to contribute primarily on defense?

Cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino was asked that very question during the assistant coach’s availability on Friday.

Pellegrino wasn’t quite sure the safest way to answer the question.

“He’s a defensive player … he’s a corner. I don’t have a good answer for you on that,” said Pellegrino. “That’s probably more of a Bill question, than a Mike Pellegrino question.”

Plenty of mock drafts had Boston College receiver Zay Flowers going to the Ravens at No. 22, and that’s exactly where he landed in the first round.

Speaking to the Ravens media, Flowers said he was excited to play with Lamar Jackson, who just agreed to a five-year, $260 million deal to remain in Baltimore, but to also join a revamped receiver room with Odell Beckham Jr., Nelson Agholor, Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay.

“(I’m) ready to get to work; ready to get some wins; ready to go play with Lamar; ready to go play with ‘O’; ready to go build this receiving corps all the way up,” Flowers said via the team’s website.

“Those are two guys (Jackson and Beckham) that are explosive, that can make plays at any time. You know what Lamar can do, and you know what Odell can do. You’ve seen flashes of it; it just so happened that he got hurt; but now he’s back and it looks like he’s 100 [percent]. Then, I’m coming in. Then, we have ‘Bate’ on the outside, then we have J.K. (Dobbins) in the backfield. It’s going to be fun.”

Head Coach John Harbaugh believes Flowers will help Jackson and the entire offense put pressure on opposing defenses in new Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken’s attack.

“He’s catches it all three levels,” Harbaugh said. “He goes deep. He runs intermediate routes. And then his run-after-catch is special. He can catch it, take two or three steps, and really accelerate away. We’ve got a versatile receiving group.”

Aaron Rodgers decided not to wear his familiar No. 12 with the Jets out of respect to Joe Namath.

And Broadway Joe was touched by the sentiment expressed by Rodgers.

“That was warm, that touched my heart a bit, that shows something about the man,” Namath told the New York Post. “He has a way about him, a lot of respect for the past. I was humbly grateful, you know what I mean? It felt good.

“It made me like [him] even more. First time I met him I liked him, and I’ll tell you what, I’ve not seen anybody play better than him the times over the last 10, 15 years I’ve been watching.”

Rodgers had his introductory press conference Wednesday inside the Jets Atlantic Health Training Center.

Here’s what he said about the No. 12.

“There’s some iconic names that have played here — probably not more iconic than No. 12. And I heard what (Namath) said about un-retiring his number, but to me, 12 is Broadway Joe.

“I didn’t want to even go down that path, and I’m excited about going back to my college (California) number.”

Meanwhile, Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said the team was looking forward to the Jordan Love Era.

“We’re excited for Jordan and his growth. He’s very obviously energized and ready to go,” Gutekunst said via the Wisconsin State Journal. “I think there’s just a lot of juice in the locker room, and we’re all excited for the season. It’s a long ways away, a lot of work to be done. But we’re moving forward.”

Kudos to Hall of Fame member Ty Law for giving back to the NFL’s player’s assistance fund. Part of the proceeds from sales of his new Corvus vodka is targeted to help former players. Law is planning to launch his new vodka brand at the Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremony in August.

“We’ll be ready to Rock n’ Roll in July. Our big launch is going to be at the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” said Law. “A portion of the sales from every bottle is going back to the player’s assistance fund, players who have fallen on hard times and need assistance.

“It was important for me to do that, because the reality is, guys wouldn’t be getting paid like I got paid, or they’re getting paid now, and what I was able to do for my family, unless it was for those guys who paved the way.

“That’s the least I can do with my brand – pay homage to those guys. Because I wouldn’t even be in position to do what I’m doing to help without them. So for me, it’s important to give back to where it all started.”

Law has already donated $35,000 from proceeds of previous vodka sales.

“That’s just small potatoes,” he said. “But as we grow, we’ll be able to do more.”