A pivotal offseason lies ahead for the New England Patriots and their new head coach, Jerod Mayo.
Coming off a 4-13 season, New England needs to make significant improvements to its roster to avoid a similar fate in 2024. Most of those improvements need to come on the offensive side of the ball.
The Patriots should be active in free agency, but they're set up to select the next face of the franchise with the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. They'll have a chance to select one of the consensus top-three quarterbacks -- USC's Caleb Williams, UNC's Drake Maye, or LSU's Jayden Daniels -- or a wide receiver with elite upside in Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr.
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It's anyone's guess where the Patriots are leaning with the draft more than three months away. However, Mayo may have hinted at where his mind is during a conversation with WBZ's Steve Burton.
“We’re gonna draft the best player for a position that is very important," Mayo told Burton. "You put the pieces together.”
Perhaps Mayo was being facetious, but if we're to put the pieces together, that sure sounds like a quarterback. It's the most important position in sports, and the Patriots will have a chance to take one of the best QBs in the class.
On the other hand, Mayo could have been referring to Harrison, who would fill one of the biggest needs on New England's roster. Harrison is the clear-cut top wideout in the 2024 draft and is expected to quickly establish himself as one of the league's top players at the position.
For what it's worth, our Phil Perry believes the Patriots must take a chance on a QB with the third overall selection. If he were in charge, he'd pick Daniels over both Williams and Maye.
It remains to be seen who will be making the decisions for New England on draft day. With Bill Belichick gone, director of player personnel Matt Groh and director of scouting Eliot Wolf are positioned to lead the front office. Speaking on the team's search for a new general manager on Wednesday, owner Robert Kraft said, "We want to see what we have in-house, look what’s out there in the marketplace, and then do what we think is right."
