Last year, when the New England Patriots went on the clock in the first round of the NFL Draft, there was very little suspense about what they would do.
After the departure of legendary quarterback Tom Brady following the 2019 season, then-coach Bill Belichick cycled through a worn-out Cam Newton, 2021 first-round draft bust Mac Jones and 2022 fourth-rounder Baily Zappe before the team realized it needed to find a true franchise signal-caller.
After owner Robert Kraft fired Belichick following the team’s dismal 2023, 4-13 season, under new head coach Jerod Mayo and general manager Eliot Wolf the Patriots used the No. 3 overall pick to take Drake Maye out of North Carolina, the ACC’s leader in passing yards in both 2022 and 2023.
This year, under Mike Vrabel — the Patriots third head coach in three seasons — trying to figure out who the Patriots will select with the No. 4 overall pick is like trying to complete a Rubik’s cube.
Every time you turn, it looks different. For the first time in six years, the Patriots do not need a quarterback — but they need almost everything else, after their second straight 4-13 finish.
Patriots Draft Day Puzzle
Will they take an offensive lineman to protect Maye, after the rookie endured 34 sacks in just 12 starts last year? Maybe Will Campbell from LSU?
Will Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter be available at No. 4? How about Penn State’s highly-talented but controversial edge rusher Abdul Carter?
Then there’s Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. As head coach of the Tennessee Titans, Vrabel had success with bulldozer-style running back Derrick Henry.
Will he look to recreate that success in New England with Jeanty, a similar runner?
The Patriots also need wide receivers.
The team sat in the NFL basement last season in receiving yards. But if New England drafts a wide receiver with either their first or second-round picks, they will likely need to cut ties with at least one of the youthful but mostly unproven receivers currently on the roster.
In an ESPN report late Monday, the network’s NFL insider Adam Schefter named who he predicted that “expendable” wide receiver would be, and the name he chose was one of the remnants from the Belichick era.
Boutte May Be On Way Out of New England
In fact, 22-year-old Kayshon Boutte was one of the last draft picks Belichick made, in his 24 years of putting together Patriots draft classes. In 2023, the Belichick-led Patriots selected the LSU pass-catcher in the sixth round, with the 187th overall pick.
Echoing Schefter’s report, Danny Jailett of USA Today Patriotswire suggested that the team ship Boutte out to improve their draft standing.
“The Patriots are a rebuilding team, and they could use Boutte as part of a trade package to move up on the draft board or to simply acquire an extra draft pick,” Jailett wrote. “For a team with few receiving weapons, they’ll need a good backup plan in place to replace the production Boutte gave them last season.”
Boutte emerged as at least a credible threat in 2024, hauling in 43 receptions out of 68 targets for 589 yards, a respectable 13.7 yards per catch.
He was also a favorite target of rookie Joe Milton III who had a breakout game in his lone appearance, Week 18 against the Buffalo Bills.
Milton hit Boutte seven out of seven times for 117 yards, including a spectacular 48 yard touchdown pass as Milton rolled out of the pocket, throwing on the run.
Entering the third year of his $4.03 million, four-season rookie contract, Boutte would make an affordable development project for any team willing to take him in trade, if the Patriots in fact, as Schefter predicts, decide to cut ties with the Louisiana native.
