New England Patriots’ NFL Draft Strategy, Revealed

The New England Patriots own the No. 3 overall pick in the NFL Draft next week, and the general consensus is that they will be taking a quarterback.

However, unlike the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders, who own picks Nos. 1 and 2 ahead of the Patriots, what New England will decide to do does not yet seem to be a sure thing.

Pats director of scouting Eliot Wolf spoke on the team’s draft strategy on Thursday, saying that the club is open to all possibilities.

“We’re open to anything — moving up, moving down,” Wolf said, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “We’re open for business in the first round and in every round. We have some holes we feel like we need to fill in the draft, and we’re a draft-and-develop team. The more picks we have, the better. But if there’s an opportunity to move up and strike if the board kind of recommends it, then we won’t be afraid to pull the trigger on that either.”

There are some who feel that taking a quarterback with the third overall selection would actually be a bad idea for the Patriots, as the squad has no weapons for an incoming rookie signal-caller to utilize. However, Wolf has pushed back against that notion and went as far to say that New England would be “comfortable” taking one of the top quarterback prospects at No. 3.

Obviously, Wolf is not going to tip his hand too much before next Thursday. But, more than likely, the Pats will end up selecting a quarterback with the third pick.

Perhaps the Patriots will roll with a signal-caller at No. 3 and then trade down in the second round in order to add some more picks to fill out the rest of the roster.

We’ll see what New England decides to do a week from now.

The Pats went just 4-13 this past season, marking the club’s worst finish since 1992.