Notes and thoughts on the Patriots’ pre-draft meetings, a potential tackle trade, kicker watch, and more.
The NFL Draft is just days away, which means teams are putting the finishing touches on their draft boards and starting to make potential trade calls around the league.
Naturally, our focus this week has been on the draft first and foremost. To clean out the notebook from that and other stories that have emerged, please enjoy the latest edition of our Sunday Patriots Notes.
30 visits
With the NFL Draft just days away, the New England Patriots put a bow on hosting prospects to Gillette Stadium on 30 visits this past week.
The visits do not represent the top 30 players on New England’s draft board. Instead, they provide each team a closer look at specific prospects to further evaluate anything from their character to their medicals and everything in between.
“What sinks in the most with me is the first exposure to the second exposure to maybe the third exposure, and it’s difficult,” head coach Mike Vrabel said about the process. “You don’t really know what you’re going to get in the first exposure, and I think that’s kind of not very fair either. Some of these guys don’t even know what room they’re in at the Combine. If there’s not a Patriot logo somewhere in the room, it would be hard for them to know every single time which room they’re in because it’s just, the hallway’s tight, there’s a bunch of people out there and they get shuttled into a room. ‘Hey, this is so-and-so.’
“There’s a lot there. But then the next exposure, they get a little bit more comfortable, and then the next exposure, whether that’s a pro day or the 30 visit, you start to see maybe who they are and kind of what their personality is.”
The 30 visits perhaps provide a glimpse of prospects New England will be interested in during next week’s NFL Draft. Last year, Eliot Wolf’s front office hosted pre-draft visits with Drake Maye, Caedan Wallace, and Javon Baker.
In previous years, Christian Gonzalez was one of five members in the Patriots’ 2023 draft class to be hosted on a 30 visit, while the 2022 class saw Tyquan Thornton and cornerbacks Jack Jones and Marcus Jones make pre-draft trips to meet with the team.
The plans are not, however, always in plain sight.
The Patriots did not draft any player they hosted in both the 2021 and 2020 drafts. The visits could ultimately steer teams in the direction of avoiding a player while other clubs are looking at and getting ready to draft from the same group of prospects — such as wide receiver Kyle Williams who visited nine teams.
Teams will additionally select players they did not host on visits, such as Vrabel’s final season with the Tennessee Titans as he did not invite eventual first-round pick Peter Skoronski on a 30 visit. Meetings at Pro Days or All-Star events, like the Senior Bowl, could also be enough.
With the unexpectedness of the NFL Draft, time will tell which prospects are available when the Patriots are on the clock. For now, Vrabel and the front office will put the draft board together as they continue to work through as many situations as possible.
“We’re in the process of going through what everybody calls these simulations, and that’s been and will continue to be good exercises,” Vrabel said. “It’s just running scenarios and what we would do based on those scenarios. So, to say that we have a definitive answer on those scenarios, no, but those are processes that are ongoing, and we’ll be done here shortly.”
Meeting tracker
Many teams do not go on to use all 30 of their allocated visits, especially as regional players — such as Boston College’s Ozzy Trapilo — are not included in the count. To date, we’ve learned of 18 meetings the Patriots have used over the last several weeks:
RB: Dylan Sampson, Jaydon Blue, Trevor Etienne
WR: Tetairoa McMillan, Jaylin Noel, Kyle Williams
OT: Will Campbell, Aireontae Ersery
DL: Mason Graham, Joshua Farmer, Darius Alexander
ED: Abdul Carter, Oluwafemi Oladejo, Nic Scourton, Mykel Williams, Shemar Stewart
LB: Nick Martin
CB: Jacob Parrish
The list includes several potential options at No. 4 overall, such as LSU’s Will Campbell, Michigan’s Mason Graham, Arizona’s Tet McMillan, and Penn State’s Abdul Carter.
“We’re not going to discuss any of the interactions in the 30 visit,” Vrabel said. “I don’t think [Carter] took too many of them, but I would say that the tape is dynamic. There’s a lot of great qualities of a disruptive pass rusher. Very slippery, loose, sudden player. It was a fun tape to watch.”
Elsewhere, Mykel Williams and Shemar Stewart represent potential trade-down options in the first round while Ersery is an offensive tackle target if another position is targeted in the first round. Wide receivers Jaylin Noel and Kyle Williams are Day Two options at the position.
In addition to the 30 visits, New England also reportedly held private workouts with Ryan Fitzgerald (K), Tristian Vandenberg (K), Alex Raynor (K), Terrence Spence (DB), and Ruben Hyppolite (LB).
Running back
As Vrabel said at the League Meetings last month, adding a running back is “potentially something that we would like to do.” With the desire to select best player available, could that be Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty atop the draft, who many view as the third-best prospect behind Travis Hunter and Carter.
“I think that that’s individualized based on how good the player is,” Vrabel said. “How talented and what impact that he’s going to make, his ability to play on all three downs, his ability to catch the football, his ability to create mismatches and obviously, then what the team covets. I think that’s the most important.”
While Jeanty fits the description of the back Vrabel described, New England could opt to address the position later in the draft to take advantage of a deep running back class.
Owner Robert Kraft noted at the League Meetings that the team was looking for a “speed back” — which fits the mold of the three backs New England held on 30 visits who are projected to be late Day Two, early Day Three prospects.
Analytics
Spending last year on the Cleveland Browns staff as a consultant, Vrabel got a first-hand look at one of the more analytically-driven front offices in football. While New England has been lacking in that area in recent years, Vrabel discussed the role that analytics play in several parts of the team’s scouting process.
“I think you rely on analytics to help you ask questions about what you see on tape and not only ask questions, but get them answered,” he explained. “So, I think that it’s a quick, very good snapshot of — you talk about durability, you talk about height, weight, speed, measurables, time missed, does that correlate to potential time missed in our league and the durability? So, those are all things that they can give you.”
While Vrabel reiterated that the on-field tape and production remain the priorities, the numbers can help evaluate each position in more detail.
“You can talk and you can look at certain positions, right? Analytically, as it relates to the receivers and their drop percentage, their ability to gain yards after the catch, their contested catch or how many separation yards, right? And then you go to the next position,” Vrabel said. “So, every position has a different analytical number or value that we would kind of look at, and then you go back and you watch the tape, and when those things are highlighted, you certainly want to make sure that all those things are accounted for.”
Line setup
In addition to hiring offensive line coach Doug Marrone and assistant Jason Houghtaling, the Patriots retained assistant offensive line coach Robert Kugler from last year’s staff. As center Garrett Bradbury noted, having three coaches up front is a new setup to him — but one he’s enjoying.
The added set of hands and eyes could be extra important for a Patriots team that is expected to address the offensive line — specifically left tackle — early in the draft.
“It’s a tough position to develop,” Vrabel explained. “In the spring, if we can have three guys that are working with four or five players, however many are there, in smaller groups, that can be really beneficial. Having those guys, and the trust, once you get to the season, I want to be very efficient with our time… So to be able to divvy up some of those responsibilities to work ahead on the pressure, the third down game, making sure that we’ve got the run game and the diagrams drawn. I think that those guys are going to all be able to do that, and we’ll divvy up the responsibilities so that everybody’s efficient.”
Tackle trade
New England’s hunt for a left tackle saw a new name potentially added into the mix this week as Raiders’ veteran Kolton Miller did not report to the team’s voluntary offseason program as he enters the final year of his new deal. Miller, 29, is set to make just $12.3 million this season.
A captain in Las Vegas, Miller would fit a similar mold to many of New England’s offseason additions as he played two seasons under Josh McDaniels with the Raiders.
Kicker watch
Special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer has had a busy pre-draft cycle traveling the country to meet with and workout several kicking prospects. Springer and top assistant Tom Quinn have then worked through the film of every eligible kicker in this draft.
With the team soon set to add competition to John Parker Romo they could instead turn to a veteran, where a name was similarly added into the mix in Matt Gay. The 31-year-old was recently released by the Colts after converting on 84 percent of his kicks last season.
Gay noticeably kicked under Springer’s watch in Los Angeles back in 2022, where he went 28-of-30 on field goal attempts — including a perfect 21-for-21 on kicks under 50 yards (long of 58).
Draft lessons
Mike Vrabel made six first-round draft picks during his time as with the Titans. Among them was cornerback Caleb Farley, who entered the 2021 draft with significant injury concerns after undergoing back surgery leading up to the draft.
The gamble did not pay off, as Farley was limited to just 12 games over three years with the organization — missing all of 2023 with a back injury. Looking back, it was a learning moment for Vrabel.
“We took a couple guys with injuries that we thought were talented,” the coach shared this past week. “Maybe what injuries as they fell, and that value got to the point where we were comfortable taking it. I think that’s something that’s critical. What’s the ability for players to recover from one injury versus another injury I think is something that I learned.”
Spring bonding
The Patriots have enjoyed strong attendance to begin their voluntary offseason program. That has included free agent signing Milton Williams, who is now just one of three players on the roster —joining Joe Cardona and Carlton Davis — with Super Bowl winning experience.
The spring program provides the opportunity for players to grow close to each on and off the field, which was one of the biggest things Williams noted from his Super Bowl winning Eagles group.
“Just being together. Just being together as a team, as a position group, as a unit. Just being together. Not having no selfishness,” Williams said during a recent appearance on ex-Patriot Chris Long’s Green Lightpodcast. “We got to the point where it didn’t matter who made the play. Just, if you’re in the right spot and you’re doing your job, the play’s going to come to you. Just make it when it’s there.”
Setting up the week ahead
The time has finally arrived. The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft will open Thursday night, which means New England’s brass and coaching staff will spend the next few days finalizing their draft board as they get set to make their most important decision yet at No. 4 overall.
The work won’t stop there, as Day Two of the draft picks back up on Friday with rounds 2-3, while Day Three on Saturday finishes the draft with rounds 4-7. New England will then turn their attention to adding potential undrafted free agents.
Additionally, the players already on the team are entering the third week of voluntary offseason workouts.