‘Top-rate young quarterback’ on radar for Pats
But Kraft won’t commit to team taking one at No. 3
ORLANDO, FLA. >> The Patriots are in an ideal spot with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to take their quarterback of the future this spring. But no one has committed on the record to that plan this offseason.
Head coach Jerod Mayo said Monday at the NFL Annual Meeting that the Patriots are open to trading down, but owner Robert Kraft confirmed Tuesday that his preference is still to take a QB at No. 3.
“You know, I guess as a fan, I put my fan hat on, I definitely would. In the end, you can’t win in this league consistently unless you have a first-rate quarterback and a first-rate coach,” Kraft said Tuesday morning at the NFL Annual Meeting. “On the other hand, you’re in a different position, and we’ve never been in the third draft position since we owned the team. What happens, a lot of people behind are really desperate to move up. We’re going to be open to whatever can come our way, but in the end, I’ll let the team make the decision with what they think is best. One way or another, I’d like to see us get a toprate young quarterback.”
For months, USC’s Caleb Williams, UNC’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels have been regarded as the top three quarterbacks in the draft. But J.J. McCarthy has generated buzz with NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reporting this week that executives around the league believe the Michigan QB prospect will be the Commanders’ pick at No. 2 overall.
De facto general manager Eliot Wolf will have final say in who the Patriots draft at No. 3 overall. But Kraft didn’t commit to Wolf, whose official title is “director of scouting,” keeping the top job after the draft.
“I’m excited with what I’ve seen so far, and we’ll evaluate after the draft and see how that’s gone and decide where we go from there,” he said.
The Patriots were busy in free agency but didn’t make any splash additions with Wolf in charge.
They made it well known ahead of free agency that they would be targeting wide receiver Calvin Ridley, and in the end, failed to close the deal.
Ridley signed a four-year, $92 million contract with the Titans despite having an offer on the table from the Patriots. The Jaguars were also interested in bringing him back.
Kraft said Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meeting that the reasons Ridley signed elsewhere were out of the Patriots’ control.
“There was one outstanding receiver that unfortunately we couldn’t close. It was not because of finance,” Kraft said. “Clearly, his girlfriend wanted to be in the South. We had a situation where the taxes were, like, almost 10% higher. We offered — we were willing to keep going at that premium. But he didn’t want to be in the Northeast. And part of it might be the quarterback situation as well.”
The Patriots will likely take their quarterback of the future in the 2024 NFL Draft, and they had signed Jacoby Brissett to be a bridge option before Ridley signed. The Titans’ starter is Will Levis, a 2023 secondround pick who went 3-6 as a starter last season.
Kraft said he feels bad certain Patriots fans don’t feel optimistic about the 2024 season.
“I think we’ve actually made some improvements. I think we’re getting the system functioning the way we did where this year we signed a number of younger players that we had drafted or have been in our system,” Kraft said. “As a foundation, if you want to win consistently, you have to draft well and then get those players on the second contract. We started to do that this year. We pursued the people we wanted in free agency.”
He also commented on “The Dynasty” docuseries for the first time and addressed both the series and its most common criticism.
Kraft said he “loved” the first three episodes of the 10-part series, but took issue with its focus on controversies and its exclusion of certain interview footage.
“I felt bad that there was so much emphasis on the more controversial and, let’s say, challenging situations over the last 20 years. I wish they had focused more on our Super Bowl wins, our 21-game win streak,” Kraft said. “I felt bad there were players who gave hours and hours of interviews, and they felt only the negativity — people like Devin McCourty and Rodney Harrison and Matthew (Slater). Although, I didn’t — I just heard quietly that they’ve all felt that way.”
Kraft’s comments echoed comments McCourty and Harrison made in a video that went viral on social media last week and criticized “The Dynasty” for only including their negative comments or those pertaining to various scandals. Kraft also claimed there were “really prominent” interview subjects whose hours of contributions never made the series.
“So (I’m) little disappointed that there wasn’t more of a real positive approach,” he said. “Especially for Patriots fans who have lived the experience with us.”
As for the series’ most common criticism, that it unfairly maligned former head coach Bill Belichick and laid too much blame at his feet for the end of the Patriots’ legendary 20-year run, Kraft responded that he looks forward to honoring Belichick one day.
“I feel so privileged that we had Bill here. And you know, we hope when he’s finished that we’re gonna have a chance to honor him the way we did — we will do with Tom Brady this year,” Kraft said. “You know, we did this little ceremony at halftime of the Eagles game, but it was not adequate. And we look forward to being able to celebrate putting him into the Patriots Hall of Fame: six, twelve, twenty-four (June 12).
“And, you know, I look forward to the privilege of putting Bill into the Patriots Hall of Fame one day in the future.”
“The Dynasty” shares a name with its source material, a New York times-selling book sold available in the Patriots Hall pf Fame.