The Patriots may not yet have a general manager or senior player, but members of the front office seem to be making their opinions known about the 2024 NFL Draft.
Patriots scouting director Eliot Wolff is considered the top internal candidate to lead the team’s linebacker department and could also pick a non-linebacker position with New England’s top pick. “If Wolf takes the job, I expect the Patriots to take a long, hard look at drafting a left tackle at the No. 3,” Jeff Howe of The Athletic said Saturday.
That the Patriots selected an offense with the third overall pick seems surprising given their need for a quarterback and the numerous mock drafts that have selected a quarterback thus far. However, both Trent Brown and Michael Onwenu are set to become free agents this offseason, so it makes sense to target them.
The team has had positional problems in recent seasons due to injuries and poor performance. While Caleb Williams, Drake May and Jayden Daniels are concentrated in the top three so far, the 2024 class has some serious offensive tackle prospects. Notre Dame’s Joe Alt and Penn State’s Olu Fashanu are some of the top picks. With a specialist available as a potential top-10, or even top-5 pick, it makes sense that the Patriots could select one.
It’s not yet clear if Wolff will lead the Patriots’ personnel department, but other members of the organization have offered initial assessments of the draft and which positions will stand out in the 2024 class.”There’s a good spot in this draft,” Patriots director of college scouting Camren Williams told Patriots.com at the Senior Bowl this week. “We’re deep at quarterback, we’re deep at tackle, so there’s going to be a lot of ways to improve the team based on what we have in the draft.”Williams’ thoughts on where he thinks he has the deepest depth in the 2024 NFL Draft echo what new coach Jerod Mayo said on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” in January about where the Patriots could go with the pick general no. 3. It fits. .”We will select the best player available for the team’s greatest needs (offensive line, receivers, quarterback),” Mayo said. Player representative Matt Groh appears to have said the Patriots like at least three expected quarterbacks if they choose to go other than offensive tackle, wide receiver or left tackle with the no. 3.
In a future project.”It’s a good group,” Gro told Patriots.com of the quarterbacks in this year’s draft. “Some of these guys have been playing college football for five years, some of them have been there longer. These players have a lot of experience and success individually and as a team.
As an organization, nothing is more important than the success of your team. “A lot of these people have done a great job of leading the team, and now we get to dig deeper into who they are.”In addition to Williams, May and Daniels, J. McCarthy, Washington’s Michael Penix and Oregon’s Bo Nix are often considered first-round picks by draft experts. Penix, Nix and Daniels were five-year starters for the group, while Williams, May and McCarthy each started at least two seasons.Camren Williams and Groh got a chance to see Penix and Nix up close in Mobile this week as both quarterbacks participated in Pre-Senior Bowl practices.
The Patriots also met with all seven quarterbacks who participated in the Senior Bowl this week.There are still many dominoes falling before April’s draft, but the Patriots haven’t been shy about sharing their thoughts on the draft so far.
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