After a 4-13 finish to the 2023 season, the New England Patriots are selecting third overall in the 2024 NFL draft.
Most are expecting them to take a quarterback with the pick, but they could just as easily go in an entirely different direction. There’s no sugar-coating the fact that they are not a good football team. The defense was in the top-10 in the NFL, but it’s an offensive-centric league now.
With an offense that has been near the bottom in the last few seasons, they need a hard reset.
The Patriots recently named Alex Van Pelt as their offensive coordinator. Van Pelt has virtually a blank canvas to come in and shape his offense. With no roster commitments in terms of draft capital used in recent years, or bad contracts, the Patriots could theoretically wipe the slate clean.
I do not think that will be the case, but the option will be there for them do so if they see fit. Let’s take a look at some scenarios that could keep the Patriots from taking a quarterback with the No.3 pick.