Should the Patriots keep the No. 14 overall pick in the first round of 2023 NFL Draft, New England will make a selection just before many on the East coast head to sleep Thursday night.
According to ESPN Patriots reporter Mike Reiss, New England should be on the clock around 9:45 p.m. ET, as long as they keep the pick. That’s the time the Baltimore Ravens turned in their draft card when the organization had the No. 14 overall selection in last year’s event, per Reiss.
Reiss noted how the first round of last year’s draft lasted 3:18, which was the shortest first round in recent years. The 2021 first round (3:44), 2020 first round (3:54) and 2019 first round (3:39) all lasted between 20 and 40 minutes longer.
Of course, should the Patriots trade back with another team, their first selection in this year’s NFL draft could come later into the night Thursday or even Friday. The second and third rounds will be held Friday night. Recent drafts have proven Bill Belichick’s willingness to trade down. In 2020, the Patriots traded their No. 23 pick for a second- and third-round selection while in last year’s draft they traded from No. 21 to 29.
It was reported Thursday that New England does have some concerns about trading the 14th pick, however.
The jury is still out on what the Patriots will do in the first round, and the conversation is the same around the league. There are a handful of positions New England could try to target Thursday with quarterback noticeably jumping up the FanDuel Sportsbook betting board. As it stands at 2:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, offensive lineman (+200), quarterback (+300), cornerback (+400), wide receiver (+500) and defensive lineman (+600) are among those with the shortest betting odds.
But to truly know what Belichick and the Patriots will do, those around New England likely will have to stay up and hope for the best.
