No. 180, No. 193 and No. 231 marked the last calls for New England.
The fifth round came and went without the New England Patriots having a hand.
But the war room returned for the sixth and seventh rounds on Saturday afternoon, selecting South Carolina cornerback Marcellas Dial at No. 180, Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III at No. 193 and Florida State tight end Jaheim Bell at No. 231 overall.
Here’s a glance into what head coach Jerod Mayo, director of scouting Eliot Wolf and Co. were looking for as the 2024 NFL draft hit the home stretch.
No. 180: Boundary coverage traits in Marcellas Dial, CB, South Carolina
New England hadn’t been on the clock in 70 picks. The gap came to a close with the organization’s initial draft investment on the defensive side of the ball. And with Dial, who made his way from Georgia Military College to the SEC in 2021.
The 23-year-old cornerback went on to appear in 38 games during his South Carolina career, starting 29 and earning the program’s Overcoming Adversity Award. Along the way came 114 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble for Dial. He twice led the unit in passes defended and totaled 31 altogether. A trio of interceptions also led the Gamecocks in 2022. Pro Football Focus charted Dial for playing 1,818 snaps on the boundary during his tenure.
With size and speed traits to develop there as well as on special teams, Dial ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine. A 40 1/2-inch vertical and 10-foot-9 broad jump were added in Indianapolis by the East-West Shrine Bowl invite. He joins a Patriots depth chart that includes Christian Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones, Marcus Jones, Alex Austin, Shaun Wade, Marco Wilson, Isaiah Bolden and Azizi Hearn under contract.
No. 193: A lottery ticket of an arm in Joe Milton III, QB, Tennessee
Pick No. 193 had been acquired from the Jacksonville Jaguars as previous starting quarterback and team captain Mac Jones departed from Foxborough in March. It would be cashed in on the rarest of right arms in the class.
Milton, the prototype for end-of-game Hail Mary situations, began his long collegiate road at Michigan and ended it as Tennessee. Through 43 appearances and 21 starts, he completed 400-of-650 passes for 5,353 yards with 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. An additional dozen touchdowns came as a rusher across the former Orange Bowl MVP’s six seasons of eligibility.
A Reese’s Senior Bowl attendee with 10 1/4-inch hands, Milton’s throwing session at the combine drew roars as go-balls effortlessly eclipsed 70 yards. Issues with accuracy and touch on short-to-intermediate fastballs remain at age 24. But in the sixth round, the lottery ticket remained, too. Milton registered a 35-inch vertical and 10-foot-1 broad jump while at Lucas Oil Stadium. And now, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound project becomes a fascinating one for offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt to work with behind veteran Jacoby Brissett and top pick Drake Maye. The QB room stands five deep for the Patriots as Bailey Zappe and Nathan Rourke find themselves on the roster’s fringe.
No. 231: Youth and position flexibility in Jaheim Bell, TE, Florida State
There would be no bidding battle in the seventh round. In the stage of the draft where a club’s priority free agents instead become picks, the Patriots made one final call at No. 231.
It would be to Bell, a 6-foot-2, 241-pound flex tight end who spent three seasons at South Carolina before transferring to Florida State. He appeared in 42 games during his collegiate career, including 20 starts, amassing 95 receptions for 1,260 yards and nine touchdowns. Along the way came 84 carries for 303 yards an an additional four scores out of the backfield.
The 22-year-old Bell earned second-team All-ACC honors as a senior with the Seminoles. PFF logged him for 238 snaps on passing downs last fall, including 132 in the slot. His selection brings youth, H-back movability and a 40-time of 4.61 seconds to a veteran group of tight ends in New England. Team captain Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, La’Michael Pettway and April signing Mitchell Wilcox await.
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