The Patriots have been in close contact with several prospects throughout the pre-draft process.
When it comes to finalizing their draft boards, NFL teams rely on a vast amount of information gathered not just over the last few weeks and months but oftentimes going back several years. A big piece of the puzzle, and one that may hint toward a club’s eventual plans, is pre-draft meetings.
Between college all-star events, pro days, visits and workouts, the draft cycle offers several opportunities for teams and prospects to connect. It goes without saying that only a fraction of those contact points become public knowledge before the actual draft; teams try to play their cards close to the vest which makes it impossible to paint a clear picture.
However, based on the facts that are available, we can still see who teams have shown the most interest in so far (either because they are legitimately considering drafting a player or for other undisclosed reasons). In the New England Patriots’ case, there are 22 players that stand out among the dozens who have had confirmed meetings with the club.
Those 22 all had more than one reported official interaction with the organization before the draft, according to our up-to-date tracker, indicating at least some level of interest on the Patriots’ side.
- K Andy Borregales (Miami): East-West Shrine Bowl + Pro Day
- WR Pat Bryant (Illinois): Senior Bowl + Combine
- ED Abdul Carter (Penn State): Combine + 30 visit | Draft profile
- LB Barrett Carter (Clemson): Senior Bowl + Combine
- OT Josh Conerly Jr. (Oregon): Senior Bowl + Combine | Draft profile
- OT Aireontae Ersery (Minnesota): Senior Bowl + 30 visit | Draft profile
- DT Mason Graham (Michigan): Combine + 30 visit | Draft profile
- RB R.J. Harvey (UCF): Senior Bowl + Combine
- ED Jah Joyner (Minnesota): Senior Bowl + Combine
- C Drew Kendall (Boston College): Pro Day + Local Pro Day | Draft profile
- ED Kyle Kennard (South Carolina): Senior Bowl + Pro Day
- CB Bilhal Kone (Western Michigan): Senior Bowl + Combine + Pro Day
- LB Nick Martin (Oklahoma State): Senior Bowl + 30 visit
- WR Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona): Combine + 30 visit | Draft profile
- QB Seth Morgan (New Hampshire): Pro Day + Local Pro Day
- WR Jaylin Noel (Iowa State): Senior Bowl + 30 visit | Draft profile
- RB ShunDerrick Powell (Central Arkansas): Hula Bowl + Pro Day
- S Jonas Sanker (Virginia): Senior Bowl + Combine
- ED Nic Scourton (Texas A&M): Combine + 30 visit | Draft profile
- TE Mason Taylor (LSU): Senior Bowl + Combine | Draft profile
- OT Ozzy Trapilo (Boston College): Senior Bowl + Pro Day + Local Pro Day | Draft profile
- WR Kyle Williams (Washington State): Senior Bowl + 30 visit | Draft profile
The Patriots expressing a high level of interest in several of the top offensive tackles and edge defenders available in this year’s draft is no surprise. Those are arguably the biggest needs on the current roster, and positions that are expected to be targeted within the first two days of the draft.
Abdul Carter is an expected top-4 pick on the edge, with Nic Scourton at potential target with the 38th pick in the early second round. Kyle Kennard is a late Day 2/early Day 3 prospect, with Jah Joyner projected to come off the board later than that.
Josh Conerly Jr. and Aireontae Ersery, who both met with the team’s representatives at the Senior Bowl and later at the Combine and on a pre-draft visit, respectively, project as fringe first-round picks. Both could be in play at No. 38 overall as well, or as trade-up candidates from that spot. Ozzy Trapilo, meanwhile, projects as a Day 3 pick and is one of only two players with more than two contact points.
The Boston College product met with the team at the Senior Bowl, at his Pro Day, and at the local Pro Day hosted at Gillette Stadium. Cornerback Bilhal Kone, meanwhile, had meetings at the Senior Bowl, Combine and the Western Michigan Pro Day.
In addition to those two and the other 20 listed above, the Patriots’ pre-draft visits list is also worth revisiting. Including the eight players listed above, the team hosted 19 known players at Gillette Stadium, with the real number certainly closer to the maximum of 30:
- DT Darius Alexander (Toledo) | Draft profile
- OT Kelvin Banks Jr. (Texas) | Draft profile
- OT Will Campbell (LSU) | Draft profile
- ED Abdul Carter (Penn State) | Draft profile
- OT Aireontae Ersery (Minnesota) | Draft profile
- RB Trevor Etienne (Georgia) | Draft profile
- DT Joshua Farmer (Florida State)
- DT Mason Graham (Michigan) | Draft profile
- WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith (Auburn)
- LB Nick Martin (Oklahoma State)
- WR Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona) | Draft profile
- WR Jaylin Noel (Iowa State) | Draft profile
- ED Oluwafemi Oladejo (UCLA)
- CB Jacob Parrish (Kansas State)
- RB Dylan Sampson (Tennessee) | Draft profile
- ED Nic Scourton (Texas A&M) | Draft profile
- ED Shemar Stewart (Texas A&M) | Draft profile
- WR Kyle Williams (Washington State) | Draft profile
- ED Mykel Williams (Georgia) | Draft profile
From a positional perspective, that list looks similar to the one above. There is an emphasis on offensive tackles — projected top-15 picks Will Campbell and Kelvin Banks Jr. as well as Ersery — and especially defensive linemen: bunching interior players and edges together, eight of the currently-confirmed 19 visits involved that particular position group.
Carter, Graham and Scourton are on the two-meeting list above as well. Shemar Stewart and Mykel Williams, both possible first-round picks, are being joined by Day 2 prospects Darius Alexander and Oluwafemi Oladejo, as well as potential Day 3 pick Joshua Farmer.
Obviously, 30 visits or any other form of meeting are not necessarily exact tools when it comes to gauging actual interest. That said, if we look back at last year, we can see that the Patriots have had pre-reported pre-draft contact — i.e. contact that was public knowledge before the draft — with four of their eight eventual selections, including three who visited the club in Foxborough.
The chance that some of the players listed above will find their way to the Patriots this weekend therefore appears to be quite high.