The New England Patriots, among 31 other teams in the NFL Draft, are set to make their first-round picks this Thursday, with the team in desperate need of offensive playmakers and a quarterback. Back in 2021, local Patriots fans thought the team nailed the Mac Jones pick, though the personnel department provided hardly any talent around him.
That said, what should New England do with the third overall pick in the draft? Let’s look at what director of scouting Eliot Wolf and first-year head coach Jerod Mayo should do with the third pick.
Now, developing reports came out this week that the Patriots are listening and taking calls from teams looking to trade for the third pick. The team is in an interesting position where they can entertain trade proposals and exchanges for the pick. Three years ago, when the team took a chance on Jones, things were clicking for a completely brand-new team. Fast forward to 2024, the franchise has now missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
For quarterbacks, the likely outcome will be a selection of either Heisman winner Jayden Daniels, North Carolina’s Drake Maye or Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy. Mayo and the personnel department know that this pick could be a tip of the iceberg moment for the organization.
The obvious pick should be the Bears selecting USC’s Caleb Williams with the first overall pick. Following Chicago’s selection, Daniels could fall easily to the Commanders, who are in dire need of a quarterback. This past week, Wolf touched on the importance of bringing in veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett. “We feel like if we end up drafting a quarterback high, he is someone that can support that player and would be a positive influence on them, while competing with them,” he said.
If that isn’t a tell-tale sign that the Patriots aren’t at least focused on drafting any of those three quarterbacks to sit them for a year or compete against Brissett, all New England fans have been misled. It was also announced this week that franchise president Jonathan Kraft will be involved with the third pick decision.
When the Patriots traded Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but kept backup Bailey Zappe on the roster, the move was intriguing. The team needs offensive playmakers and barely made any moves to fix the wide receiver position. In recent years, the Patriots have missed drafting playmakers like N’Keal Harry in 2019, and the top receiver on the board, Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., is not going to fall past the top 10. The Patriots’ next pick is 34 in the second round, and while there are appealing options to draft a receiver in the second round, the franchise hasn’t exactly developed guys like Tyquan Thornton.
Currently, New England’s receiver room stands as follows: Kendrick Bourne, K.J. Osborn, Demario Douglas, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Jalen Reagor. Kayshon Boutte is a question mark due to his arrest and charges for gambling on himself in college and the NFL.
Harrison Jr. is the son of Marvin Harrison, who was Peyton Manning’s go-to guy for the Indianapolis Colts. Harrison Jr. in 38 college games had 155 catches for 2,613 yards and 31 touchdowns. In addition, he was named unanimous All-American the last two seasons in the CFB and won the Fred Biletnikoff Award for best wideout in college football. He was the most talented and decorated receiver in college, but can his game translate to the NFL with mediocre quarterback play from Brissett, Zappe or a second-round quarterback that the Patriots may draft?
Not selecting a quarterback and trading down would not be a surprise move for the Patriots. In prior drafts, they have traded down a couple of slots in the first round, but this isn’t the year to do that. The team’s needs are quarterback, wide receiver, offensive line and cornerbacks. Drafting Harrison Jr. would be a phenomenal pick on the Patriots’ personnel staff, but guys like that aren’t going to develop with the Brissetts or Zappes of the world.
Drafting Daniels, Maye or McCarthy should be the direction they go and sit them for a year. The team hasn’t exactly developed quarterbacks like Stidham, Jones and Zappe with the receiver room. When the second round comes, draft receivers like FSU’s Keon Coleman or Georgia’s Ladd McConkey.
This is going to be a rebuild year for the Patriots and it will be interesting to see how they handle this year’s draft.