Seven of New England’s eight picks were used on offense, including four of five on Saturday.
Entering the 2024 NFL Draft, everyone knew what the New England Patriots must do.
Eliot Wolf, Jerod Mayo and the rest of the Patriots personnel department and coaching staff knew as well, as they used seven of their eight selections on the offensive side of the football.
“We had more holes on the offensive side of the ball. You guys knew that,” head coach Jerod Mayo said Saturday following the team’s final selection. “Defensively, we feel pretty good about the players that we have.”
After beginning the draft by addressing their three biggest needs with quarterback Drake Maye, wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk and tackle Caedan Wallace, the Patriots stayed the course on Saturday. With five picks on Day 3, four of them were used to continue to address the offense.
That started in the fourth round as the Patriots selected offensive guard Layden Robinson and wide receiver Javon Baker within 10 picks. While New England continues to create competition along the interior of their offensive line, Baker’s attitude was the first thing that stood out to the first-year head coach.
“He’s all ball, which I can appreciate. You can see the passion come through when you watch them on film,” Mayo said. “We wanted to draft good players, and you can’t help but turn on a UCF game and see that this guy really loves ball, the way he runs, the way he’s able to run routes. He’s just a good player.”
After a long wait, New England eventually double-dipped at the quarterback position with the selection of the big-armed Joe Milton. When asked about the decision, Mayo echoed comments on the previous selections about adding good football players to the roster to create competition.
“We’re in the business of trying to get good football players through the door, and Milton happens to be one of them,” Mayo said. “Obviously he understands we took a quarterback at 3 in Drake [Maye]. One thing that we preach is competition. Everything is about competition, and nothing is given. All of it’s earned. That’s how we thought about the process.”
The Patriots ended their draft haul again on the offensive side of the ball with tight end Jaheim Bell, but did address one position on defense during Day 3. That was at cornerback, where they add a developmental man coverage corner at pick No. 180 with Marcellas Dial.
“We see him as a versatile player, a guy that can do it all,” Mayo said. “Honestly we were so excited to get him. We were kind of nervous that he was going to come off the board. His versatility as you guys know, we cover that, and can’t wait to see him on the field.”
Mayo now leaves his first draft in charge with what projects as a strong group, as the Patriots filled several of their key holes en route to weaponizing their offense. But now the important work begins as they their attention and work to the field.
“I’m very excited about the players that we selected. 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, let’s take the best available player. 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. I thought it was a great process.”
“Right now, everyone feels pretty good, and we’ll see as we continue to go down this journey what it looks like.”
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