The 2024 NFL Draft came to a conclusion on Saturday in Detroit, Michigan and the New England Patriots under direction of their new head coach Jarod Mayo made eight selections.
With their first round pick (third overall), New England selected a quarterback by taking Drake Maye out of the University of North Carolina. Maye becomes the second QB since 2021 that the Patriots have taken in the first round, and are hoping they have found their franchise player at the position. The 6 foot 4, 223-pounder was the ACC Player of the Year, ACC Offensive Player of the Year, ACC Rookie of the Year, and also a conference first teamer with the TarHeels in 2022 while also earning a second team honor this past season. In the two full seasons he played in Chapel Hill, Maye passed for 7,929 yards with 62 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He completed 63% of his attempts, while also rushing 1,146 yards and 16 touchdowns.
In the second round at pick 37, they took wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk who had transferred from Texas Tech and played 15 games with the University of Washington last season. Polk had 69 receptions for 1,159 yards and nine touchdowns for the Huskies in 2023.
In rounds three and four (picks 68, 103, and 110), New England addressed their offensive line positions by adding offensive tackle Caedan Wallace (Penn State) and guard Layden Robinson (Texas A&M). Their other fourth round selection was at wide receiver in Javon Baker from Central Florida. Baker, a transfer to CFU from Alabama, accumulated 108 catches for 1,935 yards and 12 touchdowns in 27 games over the last two years with the Knights. He only had nine receptions for 116 yards and one TD in 19 games the previous two seasons with the Crimson Tide.
Here are the Patriots results from rounds six and seven, where they took a cornerback, another QB, and a tight end to round out their 2024 selections-
Sixth round (180th overall)- Marcellas Dial, cornerback (South Carolina)
Sixth round (193rd overall)- Joe Milton III, quarterback (Tennessee). Appeared in 21 games between 2022 and 2023 with the Volunteers passing for 3,784 yards with 30 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Seventh round (231st overall)- Jaheim Bell, tightend, Florida State. Appeared in 25 games between South Carolina and the Seminoles in 2022 and 2023, hauling in 64 catches for 734 yards and four touchdowns and also adding four rushing touchdowns.
The 2024 NFL Draft set a new all-time attendance record, as some 775,000 fans flocked to Detroit over the course of the three day event.
Written by Chris Lessner
