What we learned about Pats at NFL Annual Meeting
New Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo experienced his first NFL Annual Meeting this week before jetting off to pro days to watch more quarterback prospects.
Here’s everything we learned from Mayo and owner Robert Kraft about the future of the Patriots before the league meetings wrapped up Tuesday afternoon.
Patriots need ‘conviction’ with QB at No. 3:
Mayo said that the team will need to feel “convicted” to take a quarterback at No. 3 overall. Executives around the NFL do expect the Patriots to select a quarterback in that spot, and with USC’S Caleb Williams expected to go to the Bears first overall, the top options remaining will be UNC’S Drake Maye and LSU senior Jayden Daniels.
Michigan’s J.J. Mccarthy has entered the early-round mix, as well, recently. One scout told the Herald this week that while there’s a lot to like in Mccarthy’s game, he’s a step below the top three.
Mayo also referenced there being five players in this class who could be solid quarterbacks in the future. One scout said Bo Nix was the fifthbest QB in this draft class while another executive told the Herald that there are a couple of different players who could hold that title of fifth QB.
Patriots see value in trading down:
The best argument for taking a quarterback third overall is that this is believed to be a good quarterback class, and there’s no guarantee that the Patriots will be picking as high as third overall again soon.
But the team has more needs to fill than just at quarterback, and there is significant value in acquiring more first-round picks, including ones in the future.
Mayo and Kraft both know that. “Honestly, the guaranteed way to win is to accumulate more picks,” Mayo said. “So if we don’t feel convicted at No. 3, to your point, like we are willing to do that, as well.”
Patriots wanted to set the free agency record straight:
On Monday, Jerod Mayo said five separate times that ownership is committed to letting the front office spend as it sees fit in free agency. He was not asked once about spending or the Krafts’ willingness to invest.
On Tuesday, Kraft singled-out Calvin Ridley’s wife (referring to her as “his girlfriend”) as the reason Ridley didn’t sign in New England. He admitted the Patriots made a hard push to sign Ridley, then the best receiver in free agency, and finances were not an issue.
Those were the sounds of a Patriots team that has heard the criticism about the team’s lack of free-agent activity. Specific to Ridley, it’s likely the Patriots’ quarterback situation and the Titans’ more favorable tax situation factored as heavily, if not more so, than his wife’s say. However, the Pats remain the NFL leader in cap space available, and are aware enough of their surrounding narratives that their head coach and owner wanted to set the record straight in their eyes.
NFLPA report card applies pressure:
In the latest NFL Players Association survey, the Patriots ranked 29th out of 32 teams and were downgraded for having what players regarded as the league’s worst weight room, plus no daycare available on game days. Kraft said the team is working to improve in both areas, citing a $50 million facility adjacent to the team’s current headquarters for football operations.