The New England Patriots wrapped up their most anticipated NFL Draft in decades by continuing to focus on fixing the team’s offense. The Pats took a guard and a wide receiver in the fourth round, meaning their first five selections (and seven of their eight total picks) were all on offense, the first time they’ve done that in the modern era of the NFL.
Of course, quarterback Drake Maye rightly will get all the attention from this class. The No. 3 pick comes to New England with hopes he’ll be the franchise quarterback the Pats haven’t been able to find since Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay.
“Hopefully, we never have to pick at 3 again,” coach Jerod Mayo said Saturday.
How Maye fares as a pro will determine how we reflect on this draft class. If he’s great, it won’t matter that it feels like the Patriots reached for second-round wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk and third-round offensive tackle Caedan Wallace.
GO DEEPER
Did the Patriots do enough to help Drake Maye on Day 2 of the draft?
The Patriots seemed to emphasize ensuring Maye has some friendly targets to throw to. Neither Polk nor fourth-round pick Javon Baker has great speed, but they have large catch radii and can make plays on passes that aren’t thrown perfectly, something that could help a rookie quarterback.
Plus, Baker offered up the quote of the entire draft, one we can’t ignore before moving on to the rest of the picks.
“Bring your popcorn,” the former UCF standout said. “I make people in wheelchairs stand up.”
The picks
| Round | Pick | Name | Pos. | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
3 |
Drake Maye |
QB |
|
|
2 |
37 |
Ja’Lynn Polk |
WR |
|
|
3 |
68 |
Caedan Wallace |
OT |
|
|
4 |
103 |
Layden Robinson |
G |
|
|
4 |
110 |
Javon Baker |
WR |
|
|
6 |
180 |
Marcellas Dial |
CB |
|
|
6 |
193 |
Joe Milton |
QB |
|
|
7 |
231 |
Jaheim Bell |
TE |
NFL Draft 2024 tracker: Live blog, picks and analysis
Big board best available: Who’s left from Dane Brugler’s Top 300?
Draft pick grades: Round 1 | Rounds 2-3
Full draft order: Team picks for all 257 selections
Best value pick
We could take the easy route and go with Maye since he’s a good enough prospect that he’d probably go No. 1 in many other drafts. Instead, let’s go with Baker — and not just because he’s a confident kid with personality.
In a Patriots receiver group with so many similar players, Baker offers a different skill set. Even though his speed isn’t elite (he ran a 4.54-second 40), he can run deep routes well and track down long passes. Plus, he’s more of a true outside receiver, lining up there on 73 percent of snaps last season.
Baker had five catches of 50-plus yards last season and 21 catches of 20-plus yards, which ranked fourth in the FBS, behind only Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze and Malik Washington.
He has dealt with drops throughout his career (he had more drops in college than touchdowns) and will need to improve his focus. He also doesn’t bring much special teams experience.
But if Polk is the new Patriots receiver who always says and does the right thing, Baker brings a bit more bravado. He spent his first two collegiate years at Alabama and got to know Maye when the quarterback was briefly committed there. Now Baker thinks those three rookies — him, Maye and Polk — can usher in a new era of Patriots offensive football.
“Us three alone are going to bring back that winning mentality that everyone likes in Boston,” the 22-year-old said.
Added to the offense. @Javondbaker1 | @UCF_Football pic.twitter.com/6N7ojve3ee
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) April 27, 2024
Most surprising pick
Let’s go with two.
The first is the surprising move the Patriots didn’t make. They really liked Polk in the second round. Fine. Even though that’s probably a bit early for him, they wanted a high-character receiver in that spot who can catch tough passes. Polk checks those boxes. But then in the late second and early third rounds, there was a run on offensive tackles, and the Patriots didn’t do anything to move up for one of those players. Instead, they stayed put and, early in the third round, took Wallace, who was mostly seen as a Day 3 pick. He hasn’t played left tackle since high school, but the Patriots are hoping he might learn that position so quickly that he’s competing to protect Maye’s blind side this fall. That qualifies as a surprising decision.
But the other surprise pick was the one that followed. With the third pick in the fourth round, the Patriots took right guard Layden Robinson. He might end up being a fine player. But the Patriots drafted a guard in the first round in 2022, then used three picks early on Day 3 on the interior O-line last year.
After the offense’s struggles a year ago, you could argue that any position on the unit could use reinforcements. But after investing so many draft picks on the interior of the offensive line the last two years, it was surprising to see the Pats nab another guard with their fourth pick.
Biggest question mark
What are the Patriots going to do at left tackle?
Since the Patriots only had two picks in the top 65, they were always likely to only meaningfully address two of their three major needs: quarterback, wide receiver and left tackle. They chose the first two.
That means the Patriots are going to have a competition for the starting left tackle job between free-agent signing Chukwuma Okorafor and a third-round pick many projected as a Day 3 selection. That’s not ideal.
There are a few reasons why the Patriots aren’t anointing Maye and might make him start the season on the bench. He’s young and could use extra time to learn behind veteran Jacoby Brissett. He can be inaccurate, and Brissett is plenty capable. But another reason could be that the Patriots may not be able to properly protect the quarterback’s blind side.
GO DEEPER
New England Patriots NFL Draft picks 2024: Grades, fits and scouting reports
Remaining needs
The secondary is still a big need that was only addressed via a sixth-round pick. It’s not surprising that the Patriots focused on offense the first two days of the draft, but part of the reason the Robinson selection was so surprising is that cornerback was a bigger need than interior offensive line.
Two of the Patriots’ top three corners (Christian Gonzalez and Marcus Jones) are coming off of serious injuries, and Gonzalez is the only true outside cornerback they can rely on. If Gonzalez, Jones and Jonathan Jones all stay healthy, that’s a fine trio at the position. But the Patriots lack depth. At this point, sixth-round pick Marcellas Dial is probably their No. 4.
Meanwhile, the Patriots’ No. 3 safety is still Joshuah Bledsoe. They could’ve used more depth there, as well.
Post-draft outlook
The 2024 season for the Patriots is all about Maye. They can have a bad record if Maye shows signs he’s the kind of quarterback the franchise can build around. On the flip side, winning seven games with Brissett starting and Maye struggling in limited action wouldn’t do much for them.
Everything right now is about Maye and making sure the Patriots can get the very best out of him. Even if we can squabble about Polk and Wallace being reaches, the Pats tried to get him the weapons he needs to be successful.
If Maye is the quarterback Eliot Wolf hopes, the trajectory of the franchise is about to change.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Buy
(Photo: Eric Canha / USA Today)
