With free agency and the NFL Annual Meeting behind the Patriots, the franchise’s primary focus is on pro days and next month’s NFL Draft.
Patriots fans have plenty of questions about what the team will do and what’s real and what’s not. Let’s dig into them.
I’m Team QB at 3.
Get the quarterback when you have the chance, because you don’t know when that opportunity will arise again. The Patriots have the third overall pick, and there are at least three top quarterbacks in this class worthy of a top-five pick in USC’s Caleb Williams, UNC’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels.
I don’t think there should be any expectations for the Patriots to be overly competitive in 2024. They know they can get a quarterback in this year’s draft. They can try to fill needs at wide receiver and left tackle in the second and third rounds. And if they can’t, then they can always sit their rookie quarterback for a year and grab those players early in 2025.
It just seems like too big of a risk to pass when they’re in the perfect opportunity to get a franchise QB, because there’s always the risk that they won’t have this chance in 2025.
The latest hype at the NFL Annual Meeting, courtesy of my buddy Tom Pelissero from NFL Media, was that the Commanders could take Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy at No. 2 overall.
So, it’s really anyone’s guess where the Commanders will go at No. 2. I think some people in the Patriots’ organization would enjoy getting to pick between Daniels and Maye at No. 3 overall.
If Maye is picked No. 2 overall, then I know there are fans of Daniels in the organization.
They need an “X” receiver, since they’re currently loaded with slot and “Z” receivers. LSU’s Brian Thomas is a good fit, but they might need to package their second- and third-round picks to move up high enough to take him in the middle of the first round. Florida State’s Keon Coleman could be in range when the Patriots are picking 34th overall.
Unfortunately, most of the receivers in that second- or third-round range are “Z” or slot receivers. It would be interesting to package Maye and UNC’s Devontez Walker.
I like UCF’s Javon Baker too.
Draft your future starting quarterback, “X” wide receiver and left tackle with your first three picks.
It’s interesting to look at the Patriots’ roster and see who would be their top players at those positions right now. It would be Jacoby Brissett at QB, either Jalen Reagor or Kayshon Boutte at “X” receiver and either Chukwuma Okorafor, Calvin Anderson, Vederian Lowe or Tyrone Wheatley Jr. at left tackle.
It’s funny that of those three, the quarterback situation would be the least concerning. But I do still believe it’s a must to take a QB at No. 3 overall, because this draft isn’t about the 2024 season. It’s about the future of the franchise.
Wide receiver might actually be more troubling than left tackle. But it’s not ideal to head into the draft needing starters at those three positions.
There is still the possibility of a trade or add in free agency, but I don’t believe the Patriots are looking for one-year fill-ins.
League executives expect the Patriots to take a quarterback at No. 3 overall. So, I think that’s the likeliest scenario. I do truly believe the Patriots need to be “convicted,” as head coach Jerod Mayo said this week, to take a QB at No. 3. I don’t believe they’ll force it.
I’d personally be surprised if Michael Penix was the quarterback that winds up in New England, barring him falling pretty far.
Not from most people I’ve spoken to.
It’s possible, that’s almost too complicated to predict.
I do think one of the issues with trading back with the Vikings is that the drop from No. 3 to No. 11 is too far. If the Patriots were to accept that deal, they would almost need another trade agreed to in order to move back up.
Based on his answers at the NFL Annual Meeting about free agency and “The Dynasty,” yes.