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Some thoughts coming off of an interesting 2024 New England Patriots draft.
New England finished things up on Saturday with a bit of a surprise, adding another quarterback in addition to first-round selection Drake Maye.
They selected Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton in the sixth round on Saturday at #193 overall, throwing a bit of a wrinkle into the haul that included their other 2024 Patriots Draft picks.
That now creates a quarterback room that features five quarterbacks, including Jacoby Brissett, Maye, Bailey Zappe, Nathan Rourke, and now Milton.
Something will clearly need to give, and if the initial reports are any indication, it sounds like Zappe’s facing an uphill battle to remain on the roster.
NFL Media reporter Ian Rapoport reported not long after Milton’s selection that Zappe could potentially be on the trading block. He believes the club will try to do the right thing by finding Zappe an amicable place to be dealt, much like they did with former Patriots QB, Mac Jones.
What happens after that is the next question. Jerod Mayo said during his post-draft press conference Saturday when asked if they envision Milton playing anywhere else, possibly doing like they did last year with former undrafted free agent Malik Cunningham, who spent time during training camp at receiver.
However, Mayo said that “we drafted him as a quarterback,” which seems to remove that possibility. Milton more or less took it a step further after he made it clear that if the club had any intention of him playing elsewhere, he’s not cooperating. “That’ll never happen,” said Milton during his conference call Saturday.
That means that the Patriots were likely aware of that, which also indicates that changes in that room are coming.
Mayo downplayed that. “Everything’s about competition, and nothing is given,” he said, referring to the quarterbacks. “All of it’s earned, and that’s how we thought about the process.”
“But at the same time, you want to have a strong group,” he added. “You want to have a strong room and I would say the way it looks now, we have a very strong room.”
Strong, maybe. But crowded? Absolutely.
The additions of Maye and Milton has the club now with two big, strong, athletic quarterbacks, which if that’s the way they’re leaning certainly doesn’t fit Zappe’s mold. Maye, Milton and Rourke do fit that mold behind Brissett, with all being guys who are strong and can throw outside the pocket. So it will likely come down to a competition between the rookie from Tennessee and the former CFL QB for the club’s final quarterback spot on the depth chart.
As far as what the future holds for Zappe, it seems this ship is moving forward, and he may not be in their plans. For now, it will just remain something to keep an eye on as they start putting whatever plans they have into motion.
The Patriots selected both Washington receiver Ja’Lynn Polk (Round 2) and UCF wideout Javon Baker (Round 4) on Saturday, which now pushes the number of receivers on their roster to 11.
That means that changes are certainly ahead as Wolf and the offensive coaches also start revamping the room.
The belief is that the two rookies are clearly in their plans, with Kendrick Bourne, Demario Douglas, and K.J. Osborn the likely players who, unless Osborn doesn’t pan out, should be joining them.
That leaves Jalen Reagor, Tyquan Thornton, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kawaan Baker, and TJ Luther as the most likely players battling for a roster spot. Smith-Schuster may find himself gone after June 1st, with Thornton as the most notable name who will either be competing for a role or possibly find himself as a trade candidate.
Kawaan Baker and TJ Luther are both players who will be longshots, and that’s provided they’re still here by the time camp opens as the Patriots shed players to potentially make room to target those who are jettisoned as teams begin parting with current players.
Either way, it’s clear that the Patriots are looking to create a group that’s more dangerous down the field and guys who can challenge defenders.
Some don’t necessarily love Polk, comparing him to DeVante Parker, while others have questions about Baker, who draws comparisons to Bourne. But both are absolutely guys who attack the football and should be fun to watch.
As a result, they may not be splashy names, but Wolf quietly did an adequate job weaponizing a group that is certainly better and should be more of a problem for opponents than it was a year ago.
With New England going receiver in round two, that left the pick of tackles a little limited by the time the third round opened.
However, Wolf said Friday night that despite the urge to trade back when it was time to pick at the 68th overall spot in Round 3, the guy they were targeting, Penn State’s Caedan Wallce, was still there, and they felt the smart move was to go ahead and take him.
“Wallace was a guy we had targeted,” said Wolf. “We had some exploratory conversations about possibly moving back from 68, and then it was just kind of like, ‘Well, why? This is the guy we had wanted all along.’ So, sometimes it doesn’t fall for you. It fell pretty nicely for us today.”
The former Nittany Lion spent his career anchoring the right side of the line, with some wondering why the Patriots targeted a right tackle given their need on the left side. However, both Wolf and Wallace told reporters that making the transition to the other side is something they’re confident about shouldn’t be an issue.
“Yeah, we feel like Caedan has the athleticism to play over on the left side,” said Wolf. “Really, his teammate, Olu Fashanu that the Jets drafted was the reason that he played on the right. So, athletically there’s no reason why he couldn’t make the switch over there. He’s a really smart dedicated kid that we feel like can handle that.”
Wallace said that “it’s been a while” since he played left tackle in a game, but admitted that he spent time there during the Shrine Bowl and didn’t hesitate when asked how confident he was that he could make the transition to left tackle.
“Extremely confident,” said Wallace. “I mean, I play every position on the line and I’m just excited to get there and learn under some great coaches and get after it.”
Still, the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan challenged Mayo on that later on Saturday, with Callahan recalling the issue Matt Light had playing on the other side despite being a player who was both smart and athletic.
However, Mayo pushed back, saying his confidence in his coaching staff and the intel they have on the player.
“Look, I love the way that he plays, but after having conversations with Van Pelt, Scotty Peters and that group and [assistant offensive line coach Robert] Kugler, they were very confident that this guy could play on both sides,” said Mayo. “So I have to have confidence that I picked the right people to evaluate or project what this guy can do going forward.”
Mayo also added that while it’s still his call, he’s confident in the guys around him who will be responsible for executing Wallace’s transition.
“I’m not into micromanaging or anything like that. If the offensive coordinator and the offensive line coach say, ‘Hey, this guy can do X, Y, and Z,’ all right, I’ll take it in, but at the end of the day, someone has to make that decision, which is me, but I already made the decision that we picked some good coaches.”
With the former first-round pick suffering a season-ending injury in December, the selection of Texas A&M’s Layden Robinson is definitely eyebrow-raising.
Robinson is considered to be an interior lineman, which obviously opened the door for questions given the number of guards the Patriots currently have.
The thought is that perhaps he was selected as additional insurance for Strange, who may or may not be ready to go by the time training camp opens.
The other thought is that players like Atonio Mafi and others may not fit the scheme that Alex Van Pelt are planning on running, and it may indicate that the club brought in Robinson to give them some additional depth as they begin transitioning their offense.
Strange suffered a knee injury during training camp that reports indicated required surgery, with Strange opting to try and play through it. He ended up appearing on the injury report to start the year and remained there, appearing on it for the first eight weeks of the season.
However, he missed the season opener while playing 100% of the snaps in Week 2, along with 61% of the snaps against the Jets in Week 3, before seemingly aggravating it.
He was then inactive for the next three weeks, with Strange being “limited” on the practice reports over that span. He finally came off the injury report after week eight.
But an injury against Kansas City on December 17th knocked him out for the rest of the season, which now has his status heading into 2024 in question.
There were no bold trades or questionable names taken this weekend, with Wolf opting to play it safe and stick with guys who fall into the category of simply being good players.
The most notable name taken over the weekend was Javon Baker, who carries with him the most swagger of any player we’ve seen in a long time.
He’s a player who, within his Twitter bio, it reads “I Hate DB’s,” with the standout from UCF telling reporters, “It’s just this mentality to just kill whoever’s on the other side of me. That’s really my mentality. That’s it.”
Baker also said that as a receiver, he doesn’t know anything other than attacking the football and doing whatever he needs to do in order to make plays.
“I don’t know nothing but receiving the ball,” said Baker. “I don’t care if the ball is thrown out of bounds in the sideline, I’m going to receive the ball. So at the end of the day, that right there, my mentality is just different from any other receiver.”
“I can get down and dirty, I can do anything. So, that right there, my mentality alone can just do everything as a receiver. Just my mentality, honestly.”
Meanwhile, teammate Ja’Lynn Polk is another player who attacks the football, albeit he’s not quite as bold. The former Washington receiver is simply a solid player who also goes after the football and was a key part of the success Michael Penix Jr. experienced as the team fought its way to the end against Michigan in the National Championship game.
“Man, they’re getting a beast, man,” said Polk when asked what fans can expect. “A dude that loves football, loves his teammates, and ready to build and be able to come and bring a great player and a very electric person and go on to win games.”
Aside from that, Wolf selected two solid offensive linemen in both Wallace and Robinson, with the club finally addressing its defense in round six (180th overall). They ended up with a solid defender in defensive back Marcellas Dial from South Carolina, with Dial possessing solid athleticism and long arms that made him a key defender for the Game Cocks last season.
“Oh, yes. I’m a sticky corner in coverage,” said Dial. “Someone that’s able to go up there and compete and play with any receiver, any body type. I’m very good at the point of attack. Whenever the ball is in the air, I can make plays on the ball. I know there’s bits and parts to my game that I got to get better at, but that’s why I’m going to come in and work to get better at it.”
The club also did grab a tight end late, with the Patriots selecting Florida State’s Jaheim Bell with the 231st pick in Round 7.
Bell finished with 39 catches for 503 yards and two touchdowns in 2023, and was the 10th best tight end out of 22 players by TheAthletic’s Dane Brugler.
Brugler believes he can be a solid addition to any team’s depth chart, even if he’s not necessarily a starter.
“Overall, Bell isn’t a dynamic weapon, but he has pass-catching talent, and NFL teams will like his contact balance and competitive chops as a blocker, receiver and after the catch,” wrote Brugler. “A similar player to the Houston Texans’ Brevin Jordan, he can earn a No. 2 tight end role .”
While Maye will be the player everyone talks about, the haul New England came away with will likely provide a pretty good group as Wolf attempts to rebuild the team’s foundation of young players.
For now, Mayo is pleased with how his first Draft weekend as head coach went, and he’s looking forward to getting to work.
“I’m very excited about the players we selected,” said Mayo. “Look, once again, we had our holes, we tried to fill those with good players, and then it got to a point where it’s like, ‘All right, let’s just take the best available player.’ So it was kind of a mix of philosophy. ‘Let’s make sure we get the best player at this spot,’ and then ‘Let’s just take the best player off the board.’”
“So I thought it was a great process, but, once again, you guys will judge us on this one in a couple of years, probably a couple of months, honestly.”
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