Category: Patriots News

Patriots select OT Caedan Wallace with No. 68 pick in 2024 NFL draft

The Patriots boost their offensive front by selecting Penn State OT Caedan Wallace with the No. 68 pick

The New England Patriots boosted their offensive line depth on Friday night by selecting Penn State offensive tackle Caedan Wallace with the No. 68 pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

Wallace is a talented offensive lineman who was mostly overshadowed by first-round draft pick Olu Fashanu, but he more than held his own in the trenches. The Patriots clearly needed to boost their offensive front after drafting rookie quarterback Drake Maye on Thursday night.

So in back-to-back rounds, the team hopefully improved two of the biggest areas of need on their roster by drafting wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk in the second and Wallace in the third.

Granted, more work needs to be done before anyone can make the argument that things would be comfortable for Maye under center. There are still questions at left tackle.

Wallace is projected to play on the right side behind Mike Onwenu, while Chuks Okorafor could end up being the left side option. There’s still plenty of time for the Patriots to add more help up front through the draft.

But that obviously isn’t the arrangement fans were hoping to see on paper.

Patriots select WR Ja’Lynn Polk with No. 37 pick in 2024 NFL draft

The Patriots got their receiver

The New England Patriots got their receiver.

After trading down from No. 34 overall, the Patriots came back up on the clock and selected Washington receiver Ja’Lynn Polk with the No. 37 pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

Polk should add a boost to the Patriots’ ability to work outside the numbers due to his size and ability to consistently win in contested catch situations. It should be noted that Texas’ Adonai Mitchell was still on the draft board when this pick was made, which should raise some eyebrows.

However, Polk’s big-play ability was probably intriguing for the Patriots, particularly with rookie quarterback Drake Maye under center.

Maye’s deep balls are phenomenal, and the Patriots lacked the receiving weapons capable of stretching the field. DeVante Parker was the team’s deep threat receiver last season, but he has since been released and signed by the Philadelphia Eagles.

With Tyquan Thornton still struggling to break out, the Patriots needed a big receiving target to keep defenses honest. Hopefully, Polk can be that player for them.

Patriots trade No. 34 overall pick in second round to Chargers

The Patriots have traded the No. 34 pick to the Chargers

The New England Patriots have traded their No. 34 pick in the second round on Friday to the Los Angeles Chargers.

After taking a rookie quarterback with the No. 3 pick in the first round, the Patriots will clearly have their work cut out for them in rebuilding the roster. That work is going to take more draft picks.

So it isn’t a surprise to see them work the board early. They need help at wide receiver and offensive tackle, which were two of the biggest trouble spots for the team last season.

Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the trade was an exchange of the Patriots’ second-round pick (No. 34) and fifth-rounder (No. 137) for the Chargers’ second-rounder (No. 37) and fourth-rounder (No. 110).

The Patriots moved further up the board by adding another fourth-round pick, while only moving a few spots down early. It’s a solid move for first-year de facto general manager Eliot Wolf.

Here are the massive trade offers the Patriots reportedly passed up for Drake Maye

The Patriots reportedly had massive trade offers on the table for the No. 3 pick

The New England Patriots might not have gotten “the bag” they wanted, but they were reportedly offered a massive haul in exchange for the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye was expected to be the player available in the spot, and that’s exactly how the board fell on Thursday night. That prompted the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings to make last-ditch trade offers to the Patriots.

Per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Giants offered the Patriots their 2024 sixth-round pick, along with their 2025 first-rounder, while the Vikings offered three first-round picks in total, including the No. 11 and No. 23 picks this year, along with a 2025 first.

Breer wrote:

The Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants did make offers to the New England Patriots for the No. 3 pick to take Drake Maye. Earlier this week, Minnesota offered the Nos. 11 and 23 picks, and its 2025 first-rounder, with pick swaps favoring the Vikings as part of the proposal; and that offer ticked up with New England on the clock. The Giants, meanwhile, did wind up putting their 2025 first-round pick in their offer to move from No. 6 to No. 3.

According to Breer, the fact that Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell and Giants coach Brian Daboll were so interested in getting Maye made the Patriots want him even more.

Both coaches are strong evaluators of talent, and they obviously saw the incredible potential in Maye. Of course, if the North Carolina quarterback ends up being a bust, people will look back on these trade offers as major missed opportunities.

But the hope is that Maye lives up to the hype to the point where people forget the massive trade offers ever existed.

C.J. Stroud thinks Drake Maye is the most ‘NFL-ready’ rookie QB

C.J. Stroud sees something special in Drake Maye

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud had high praise for New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye, following Day 1 of the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday night.

Maye will look to turn around the struggling Patriots after becoming the second quarterback drafted by the organization in the last four years. In the meantime, Stroud knows a thing or two about being a highly-touted franchise quarterback.

He was able to lead the Texans back to the playoffs, after having a strong rookie campaign in which he tallied 4,180 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions in 2023. He, too, was drafted by an organization with high expectations.

Stroud made a media appearance on Thursday night and had high praise for Maye.

“I feel like Drake Maye is (the most NFL-ready). You watch his tape, just his arm talent jumps off,” said Stroud.

Patriots fans are hoping that arm talent can bring stability back to the quarterback position. The Patriots certainly need an NFL-ready quarterback with other holes to fill on the offense.

Now, they finally have a player they can build around.

Drake Maye not buying negativity surrounding Patriots’ roster situation

Drake Maye was quick to swat down negative perceptions of the Patriots’ roster situation

There has been a ton of talk in regards to the New England Patriots not being an ideal destination for a rookie quarterback. Drake Maye shut down that talk quickly after being selected by the organization with the No. 3 overall pick on Thursday night.

The quarterback will have a chance to reignite an offense that was 30th in the league last year. The Patriots also hold the 34th overall pick in the second round on Friday night in a draft with plenty of wide receiver talent still on the board.

When meeting with the media, Maye was asked about New England being a difficult destination for a rookie quarterback. He was quick to swat down the notion that it would be a tough place to succeed in.

“I think they’re wrong. I think, you know, they had that defense last year, held a lot of teams to low points,” said Maye. “You know, looking forward to helping any way in the offense, offensively. Looking forward to being there, Coach (Jerod) Mayo in his first year, congrats to him. I think anybody that’s saying that, hopefully you’ll find out come this season. Just gonna work hard with the guys, and hopefully prove them wrong.”

The quarterback certainly does not lack confidence, as he looks to help the Patriots return to the playoffs for the first time since 2022.

What New England does in the coming days will be important, particularly after they struggled to build around Mac Jones in 2021. They would be wise to get offensive weapons for Maye because the organization itself can’t afford to strike out on yet another rookie quarterback.

Report: Patriots had trade discussions for 49ers WR Deebo Samuel

The Patriots reportedly had preliminary trade talks for 49ers WR Deebo Samuel

The New England Patriots are still diligently working behind the scenes trying to trade for a veteran wide receiver.

Per CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson, the team had preliminary trade talks with the San Francisco 49ers for former All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel before the draft.

After using the No. 3 overall pick on quarterback Drake Maye on Thursday, the Patriots desperately need to fill out other areas on the offense around him. One of the biggest reasons why things failed with Mac Jones was the team’s inability to surround him with the necessary talent to be successful.

They don’t want to make the same mistake twice.

Along with Samuel, the Patriots are also believed to have inquired about 49ers All-Pro wideout Brandon Aiyuk.

New England owning the No. 34 overall pick in the second round could play a major role in a blockbuster trade, if one comes to fruition. Aiyuk would be the better option of the two given his skill set, durability and contract.

Those still waiting for a big splash from the Patriots in the wide receiver market might finally get their wish on Day 2 of the draft.

Patriots select QB Drake Maye at No. 3 overall in 2024 NFL draft

It’s a new era in New England, and QB Drake Maye will be the face

The New England Patriots played with the idea of trading down enough to create pre-draft buzz, but when it was their turn on the clock, the organization stayed at No. 3 overall and selected top quarterback prospect Drake Maye at the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday night.

Multiple teams expressed interest in trading up, but the opportunity to land a franchise quarterback was too great for the Patriots to pass up in the end.

Some believe Maye has the greater upside of all of the quarterbacks on the draft board, including Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams. He can make all of the throws, and his deep ball is particularly off the charts. His exceptional size and ability to scramble when things break down in the pocket also makes him dangerous.

With this draft pick, the Patriots can finally turn the page on Mac Jones, who was shipped off in a trade to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round pick in free agency.

It’s a new era in New England with Maye as the center piece.

Jerod Mayo says Patriots are taking a player at No. 3, teases late trade up

Jerod Mayo reveals the Patriots’ draft plans

So much for the pre-draft drama.

New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo announced at a draft party, merely an hour away from the team being on the clock, that the Patriots are taking a player with the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

The team has been listening to trade offers, but up to this point, they haven’t had the offer that would make them budge from what has been looked at as a rare position in the draft.

They’re sitting at No. 3 with a chance to take one of the top-three quarterbacks on the board. So it was always going to be a situation where another team would have to wow them to get them to move down. That obviously hasn’t happened yet.

Mayo also teased a possible trade up scenario for the Patriots late in the first round.

“I hope you are excited as I am to start putting the team together and getting out there on the field,” said Mayo, via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “We’re going to get a great player at 3. It’s going to be early. And we can always sneak back into the first round.”

The Patriots trading back up was always a possibility with the team owning the No. 34 overall pick in the draft. If they do take a quarterback at No. 3, one would think they’d be coming up for either a wide receiver or offensive tackle, depending on what players are available.

Keep in mind, things can always change. The Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants and any other teams in pursuit of a trade still have time to change the Patriots’ mind.

Yet, the possibility of that happening is seeming far less likely.

Report: Patriots exploring trading back into first round of draft

Are the Patriots looking to have two first-round draft picks on Thursday night?

The New England Patriots have explored what it would take to trade back up in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

Along with the No. 3 overall pick, New England also holds the 34th pick in the second round, which could put them in a position to move back up for a quarterback, wide receiver or offensive tackle.

The wide receiver position is deep in this draft, and they would be wise to use it to build around a potential franchise rookie quarterback. For example, South Carolina’s Xavier Legette would be an option for New England. He has been taken by the Patriots in several mock drafts.

They need to stock up on talent on the offensive side of the ball, and this draft in particular will give them the opportunity to do so. Having two picks in the first round would give the Patriots ample options to rebuild their offense.