New England Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolf said all the things you’d want to hear after the second day of the NFL Draft, the things every NFL decision-maker says. That the draft went just as he hoped. That he got the players he wanted all along and the board fell just right.
In one sense, that’s great for the Patriots. This new regime knows it needs a jump-start to this rebuild and an influx of talent for a roster that went 4-13 last year despite having the greatest coach of all time. Friday night, New England checked the boxes of the two positions it needed most after its home run pick of Drake Maye in Round 1, taking a wide receiver in the second round and an offensive tackle in the third round.
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And, yet, it’s hard not to walk away from Day 2 of the draft a little … well … underwhelmed.
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Second-round pick Ja’Lynn Polk (Washington) might end up being just the kind of wide receiver Maye needs. Third-round pick Caedan Wallace (Penn State) might flip from right tackle to a position he didn’t play in college (left tackle) and turn into a day one starter, protecting Maye’s blind side for years. Maybe these questions will look silly in a couple of years.
But all offseason, we’ve heard about how this new Patriots leadership team led by Wolf and coach Jerod Mayo wants to weaponize the offense. The Patriots had the most boring offense in the NFL last season based both on explosive plays (they ranked last) and points (tied for last).
Yet what surrounds the quarterback on the Patriots offense doesn’t look much more exciting today than it did when the season ended. At left tackle, the Patriots are replacing Trent Brown with either the Pittsburgh Steelers’ swing tackle last season (Chukwuma Okorafor) or their third-round pick (Wallace) who only played right tackle in college.
“He’s a guy we felt like was athletic enough to possibly make the switch to the left side,” Wolf explained.
When the Patriots were on the clock with the 37th pick (after trading down from No. 34), they had quite a few exciting options to potentially pair with Maye. Earlier in the day, they brought Maye into town via a private plane and cruised a low route over Gillette Stadium so Maye could see his name on the giant video screen. The truth of this draft is that it’ll be primarily graded in future years based on how he turns out. If he’s the quarterback of the future, little else matters. Same for if they whiff on him but hit on all the other picks.
But the Patriots passed on the potential excitement of receivers like Adonai Mitchell (Texas) or Ladd McConkey (Georgia) in favor of Polk, a steady, high-character guy who projects as a No. 2 if all goes according to plan.
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On one hand, that makes sense. The Patriots are realistic about what this season could look like. At this point, seven wins would be a success. So it doesn’t hurt to add high-character players you don’t have to worry about showing up and working hard on cold December days when the playoffs are an afterthought. Build up the culture, then add the freak athletes next year. There’s some sound thinking.
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On the other hand, free agency and Rounds 2 and 3 of the draft didn’t exactly leave the Patriots offense looking considerably more dangerous.
There are reasons the Pats were high on Polk that go beyond his maturity, willingness to block and the work ethic his former coaches rave about. He’s good at contested catches and grabbing balls that are slightly off target. That could be useful if the Patriots end up starting a rookie quarterback who occasionally struggles with ball placement.
Polk doesn’t possess elite speed (he ran a 4.52-second 40), and his route running could use work. But if he adds some polish there, he could become a Jakobi Meyers kind of receiver — someone who can be a quarterback’s best friend while making reliable catches as a steady No. 2 option. That would be good for Maye. Plus, Polk seems like the same kind of easy-to-like guy Meyers was. Former coaches and teammates rave about him. There are no off-field issues or concerns about his work ethic. He’s just solid.
“Had our eye on him for a while,” Wolf said of Polk. “Really good fit in our offense. He’s really tough, strong. Can run all the routes, play inside, outside. He’s a good blocker. Really competitive, both for the ball in the air and as a run-after-catch player. Kind of a versatile, do-everything type of guy. He ran a little bit faster than a lot of people expected, but when you turn the tape on, you see him running by people.”
EAZY PEEZY 😤@jpolk_22 | @UW_Football
📺: #PatsDraft on NFLN pic.twitter.com/JGpp6Ygp97
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) April 27, 2024
The Patriots tried late Thursday to trade back into the first round for a wide receiver, but they couldn’t find a trade partner at the right price, which meant they missed out on options like Xavier Legette (South Carolina) and Ricky Pearsall (Florida).
In the third round, the Patriots found themselves on the wrong end of a run on offensive tackles. Three at the position were taken in the nine picks before the Pats went on the clock at No. 68. Initially, Wolf had wanted to trade back, accumulate more picks and still take Wallace a bit later. But after that run, he didn’t want to chance it.
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Wallace is a smidge shorter than you’d like for an offensive tackle (6-foot-4 7/8) which is why some teams feel he might have to play guard in the NFL. But the Patriots believe his athleticism (he had a 31-inch vertical jump at 314 pounds) means he should be able to play left tackle.
The Patriots better hope so. Their picks Friday hit the intended position groups. That’s meaningful progress, and both Polk and Wallace may end up as fine selections.
But both seemed like reaches. Polk, the early second-round pick, had a third-round grade from our draft expert, Dane Brugler. Wallace, the third-round selection, had a fourth-round grade.
The Pats had the biggest reach of round 3 based on the consensus big board. https://t.co/7uPx6DVFS7
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) April 27, 2024
After getting their quarterback of the future and the excitement that accompanied his news conference at the 50-yard line earlier Friday, the picks that night didn’t yield the same enthusiasm.
One of the best compliments the Patriots brass had for Maye is that he elevates the players around him. That’s good because, for now, the Patriots offense still needs more big-play weapons.
(Photo of Ja’Lynn Polk: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
