First Draft of Pigskin History

As the dust begins to settle on the Patriots' 2024 NFL Draft, let's do what we all do in New England. 

Act like we could've done better than actual football people did.

Yeah, the NFL Draft is a total crap shoot. We won't know how good or bad this draft was for two, maybe three years. Is that going to stop us now?

Did I really need to ask that question?

The Picks

QB of the Future Drake Maye's feet have been quite the topic of discussion and well, sure, they do still call it football. Still, we all knew the Patriots knew Maye would be their pick at #3 when Eliot Wolf started talking about fixable and non-fixable traits, and that you can fix "the lower half" like, um, you know, footwork. Look, I know Bill Belichick knows more about football than I do, but I believe Wolf is right about this (mostly because, what other choice do I have now?). Anybody remember how Josh Allen looked like a bust his first year in Buffalo? Yeah, it may be a bumpy ride, but the kid has the tools, too. 

Note: I ran a number of mocks where I intentionally traded down with an eye on Michael Penix. While the Falcons taking Penix at #8 has roundly been, um, mocked (not to mention the Broncos taking Bo Nixon at #12), it helps to explain why the Patriots apparently passed on trading #3 for three 1st Round picks; they could've missed on all five of the top QBs and definitely would've missed on Maye and his clumsy feet.

Yes, I would've taken Adonai Mitchell at #37 but after watching WR Ja'Lynn Polk's highlight reel I feel pretty good about this pick. He's solidly built, tough, has great hands, and for a guy who was knocked for his 40 (4.5), he seemed to be fast enough with the ball in his hands. 

I ran a number of "volume business" mock drafts where I picked Caeden Wallace in the 4th/5th round based on his athletic traits and I'd heard the buzz regarding the Pats interest before the draft from local pigskin pundits and bobbleheads. Given the run on tackles early in the draft, I understand why the Patriots had to reach to get Wallace. Can he make the move to left tackle? Time will obviously tell but he certainly looks athletic enough.

The selection of Layden Robinson at #103 is a head-scratcher for me. Yes, he was a Top-10 guard on some big boards but given some of the other talent available (TE Theo Johnson, CB Khyree Jackson, DL Brandon Dorlus), and the number of young guards already on the roster, I'm struggling to make sense of it.

And I'm not much happier with Javon Baker at #110. I know, I know; there's been chatter about the Patriots interest in Baker for a month, but he feels an awful lot like Ja'Lynn Polk. I would've gone with Devontez Walker (taken by Baltimore three picks later) who looks a lot more like a WR1 (as in he actually runs a sub 4.4 forty) and was Drake Maye's college teammate. Hmm… Eliot Wolf clearly has a type.

With no picks in the 5th round, the Patriots next pick was CB Marcellas Dial at #180. No, I had not heard about this prospect; zero buzz from the local gridiron cognoscenti. Looking at his draft profile, he's got decent size, speed, and athleticism. And at this point in the draft, we're probably just throwing pebbles, aren't we?

In some of my "Godfather Offer" mock drafts I passed on QB early, and selected Joe Milton III right around where the Patriots took him, at #193. A bit of a surprise with DL Kristian Boyd and OT Travis Glover still on the board. Still, can you have too many good quarterbacks? You know, in case it turns out feet can’t be fixed. (Or, unless as Mike Reiss noted via the link above, Milton is that rare Wildcat QB/TE combo we haven't seen since, um, never.)

TE Jaheim Bell at #231 was also a selection in several of my mock drafts (unless I got Ben Sinnott at #103, and Jared Wiley was gone in the later rounds). Given the speed and athleticism Bell possesses, I think of him as more of a "big slot" receiver than a tight end. I'll take that.

That's it! 

Sort of. The Patriots have already been very busy on the UDFA front and there very well could be a trade or two as New England fills out its 90-man roster. Maybe there's a great story that's about to be told.

I can hardly wait.

Go Pats!