How members of Patriots front office view 2024 NFL Draft in early stages
The Patriots have a few possible routes they can take with the No. 3 overall pick.
The Patriots might not have a general manager or a head of their player personnel department yet, but members of their front office seem to already be making opinions on the 2024 NFL Draft.
Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolf, who has been speculated to be the top in-house candidate to run the team’s player personnel department, might have a non-quarterback position preference with New England’s top draft pick.
“If it’s Wolf running the show, expect the Patriots to give a long, hard look at drafting a left tackle with the No. 3 pick,” The Athletic‘s Jeff Howe reported Saturday.
The Patriots selecting an offensive tackle with the third overall pick seems like it would be a surprise considering their need for a quarterback and with many mock drafts so far having them selecting a quarterback. But it would make sense for them to draft an offensive tackle considering both Trent Brown and Michael Onwenu are set to hit free agency this offseason. The team has also had struggles at the position over the last couple of seasons due to injury and productivity.
While Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels have gotten a lot of the buzz so far as possible top-three picks, there are a couple of standout offensive tackle prospects in the 2024 class. Notre Dame’s Joe Alt and Penn State’s Olu Fashanu have been viewed as possible top-10 and even top-five picks by some draft analysts, making it reasonable the Patriots could select either one.
It’s still unknown if Wolf will run the Patriots’ personnel department, but other members of the organization tipped hands in their early assessments of the draft and which positions stand out in the 2024 class.
“There’s a couple of good positions in this draft,” Patriots college scouting director Camren Williams reportedly told Patriots.com at the Senior Bowl this week. “Quarterbacks are pretty deep, tackle is deep, so there’s probably different avenues to make our team better based on what’s available in the draft.”
Williams’s thoughts on which positions he views as the deepest in the 2024 NFL Draft fit with what new head coach Jerod Mayo told WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” in January on which direction the Patriots could go with the No. 3 overall pick.
“We’re going to take the best available player for the biggest need on the team – offensive line, receiver, quarterback – pick your [choice],” Mayo said.
If the Patriots opt to go with an offensive tackle, wide receiver, or do something out of left field with the No. 3 overall pick, director of player personnel Matt Groh seemed to imply he might like more than just the top three projected quarterbacks in the upcoming draft.
“It’s a good group,” Groh told Patriots.com of the quarterbacks in this year’s draft. “You’ve got guys who have played five years of college football and more for some of these guys. There’s a lot of experience and success with these players, individual and team. As an organization, there’s nothing more important than team success. A lot of these guys have really done a great job in leading their team, and now we get to drill down and see who they are as people as well.”
Beyond Williams, Maye, and Daniels, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, Washington’s Michael Penix, and Oregon’s Bo Nix have commonly been viewed by draft analysts as the next tier of quarterbacks who could possibly be first-round picks. Penix, Nix, and Daniels were all five-year starters in that group while Williams, Maye, and McCarthy each started for at least two seasons.
Camren Williams and Groh got a chance to get an up-close look at Penix and Nix in Mobile this week as both quarterbacks participated in the practices ahead of the Senior Bowl. The Patriots also reportedly met with all seven quarterbacks in attendance at this week’s Senior Bowl.
There are still many dominoes to fall ahead of the draft in April, but the Patriots haven’t been shy in sharing their thoughts about the draft so far.
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