We are just two days away from the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. And perhaps the most intriguing team near the top of the draft is the New England Patriots with the No. 3 overall pick.
The Patriots find themselves in a position that they haven’t been in for quite some time. In fact, the last time the team had a selection inside the top 10 of the NFL Draft, they used it on now-head coach Jerod Mayo, selecting him with the No. 10 pick back in 2008.
New England has been rumored for months now to have an interest in taking a quarterback of the future with the No. 3 pick. But the organization also does have a long history of trading down in the draft to acquire more draft picks, a possibility that is also very much on the table for them this year.
It seems like really every possibility is on the table for the team. And that also potentially includes selecting Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the No. 3 overall pick.
McCarthy recently went on a visit with the Patriots. And on Tuesday, he was quite complimentary of longtime owner Robert Kraft and first-year head coach Jerod Mayo.
“The coolest, smoothest guy I’ve met in a long time,” McCarthy said of Kraft. “Just being able to know that you’re in good hands when the Kraft family is running that whole thing.”
“And obviously Coach Mayo’s been apart of that success over the years,” McCarthy added of Mayo. “And what he’s building is a feeling that I got when I first stepped onto Michigan — a sense of urgency to rebuild the culture, rebuild this team to where they want to get to and where they were.”
It’s hard to argue that quarterback is a crucial need for the Patriots if they want to compete in the AFC next season. Mac Jones is no longer on the team after they traded him this offseason. And we have seen that backup quarterback Bailey Zappe is capable of some adequate play in spurts but is seemingly not cut out for a full-time starting role at this point.
It may be a bit of a reach for the Patriots to go with McCarthy at No. 3. But if they feel conviction about McCarthy, don’t be surprised to see McCarthy go earlier than most expect to the Patriots. After all, they do have quite the history with Michigan quarterbacks…
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.