WHICH PROSPECTS DID THE PATRIOTS SHOW MOST INTEREST IN BEFORE THE NFL DRAFT?

The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft is less than 48 hours away, meaning that teams are in the process of finalizing their boards. In order to do that, they rely on a vast amount of information gathered not just over the last few weeks and months but oftentimes going back several years.

A big piece of the puzzle, and one that may hint toward a club’s eventual plans, is pre-draft meetings. There are several opportunities for teams and prospects to connect, with college all-star events, pro days, and visits all potential points of contact.

Obviously, not all information becomes public knowledge pre-draft; teams try to play their cards close to the vest which makes it impossible to paint a clear picture. Based on the facts that are available, however, we can see who teams — for whatever reason — have shown the most interest in so far.

In the New England Patriots’ case, 12 players stand out. All of them had more than one reported meeting with the organization before the draft, according to our tracker.

• WR Jalen Coker (Holy Cross): East-West Shine Bowl + Local Pro Day
• QB Jayden Daniels (LSU): Scouting Combine + Pro Day + Top-30 Visit
• OT Blake Fisher (Notre Dame): Pro Day + Top-30 Visit
• OT Travis Glover (Georgia State): Hula Bowl + Private Workout + Top-30 Visit
• CB Randall Harris (New Hampshire): Local Pro Day + Pro Day
• ED Laiatu Latu (UCLA): Senior Bowl + Pro Day
• QB Drake Maye (North Carolina): Scouting Combine + Pro Day + Top-30 Visit
• QB J.J. McCarthy (Michigan): Scouting Combine + Pro Day + Top-30 Visit
• QB Joe Milton III (Tennessee): Senior Bowl + Pro Day
• ED Gabriel Murphy (UCLA): Pro Day + Private Meeting
• S Malik Mustapha (Wake Forest): Senior Bowl + Pro Day
• S Mark Perry (TCU): Pro Day + Virtual Meetings (2)

The Patriots expressing a high level of interest in top quarterbacks Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy does not come as a surprise. The QB-needy team brought all of them in for pre-draft visits — an honor only shared by one other player at the position, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. — and also were well-represented at their respective pro days. One of the three ending up in New England appears likely at this point.

In addition to them, the Patriots also met twice with Tennessee’s Joe Milton, a toolsy but underdeveloped late-round quarterback prospect. Milton met with the team at the Senior Bowl, where New England assistant Troy Brown was serving as offensive coordinator of the American Team he also was on, and later at his pro day as well.

As for the other players, only two had three reported meeting points.

Georgia State offensive tackle Travis Glover met with the Patriots at the Hula Bowl, was worked out privately after his pro day, and visited Gillette Stadium. TCU safety Mark Perry, meanwhile, had dinner with New England at his pro day and later attended a pair of virtual meetings with the organization. Both players are considered as late-round picks or potential rookie free agents.

In addition to those 12 prospects, the Patriots’ pre-draft visits list is also worth revisiting. Including the five players listed above, the team had 25 players in town: 24 held so-called 30 visits, with another — Boston College’s Christian Mahogany — being classified as a local visit (and thus not counting against that 30-visit maximum).

• ED Austin Booker (Kansas)
• WR Javon Baker (UCF)
• QB Jayden Daniels (LSU)
• DT Brandon Dorlus (Oregon)
• OT Blake Fisher (Notre Dame)
• WR Troy Franklin (Oregon)
• OT Travis Glover (Georgia State)
• OT Tyler Guyton (Oklahoma)
• ED Jalyx Hunt (Houston Christian)
• OT Donovan Jennings (South Florida)
• OL Christian Mahogany (Boston College)
• OT Giovanni Manu (British Columbia)
• QB Drake Maye (North Carolina)
• QB J.J. McCarthy (Michigan)
• TE Tanner McLachlan (Arizona)
• WR Tejhaun Palmer (UAB)
• CB Rico Payton (Pittsburgh State)
• QB Michael Penix Jr. (Washington)
• CB Decamerion Richardson (Mississippi State)
• OT Darrell Simpson (Tulsa)
• OT Kingsley Suamataia (BYU)
• ED Xavier Thomas (Clemson)
• OT Caedan Wallace (Penn State)
• LB Nathaniel Watson (Mississippi State)
• TE Jared Wiley (TCU)

The Patriots showed particular interest in the offensive tackle and quarterback positions with their meetings. They had eight tackles in town, including projected early-round picks Blake Fisher, Tyler Guyton, and Kingsley Suamataia. The four QBs already mentioned above — Daniels, Maye, McCarthy, Penix Jr. — also were brought in.

As with other forms of pre-draft meetings, 30 visits are not necessarily an exact science to predicting actual interest. That said, last year a total of seven of 27 prospects reportedly meeting with the club ended up in New England either as draft picks or rookie free agents.

The chance of multiple players listed here finding their way to the Patriots is therefore high.

2024-04-24T09:15:48Z dg43tfdfdgfd