The month of April can be hectic and exhausting for NFL draft prospects. Just ask Zay Flowers.
After a visit with the Las Vegas Raiders, the highly touted wide receiver took a red-eye flight to Boston that landed around 6 a.m. ET on Thursday, then drove straight to Gillette Stadium to visit the New England Patriots, according to a report from NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.
The visit would include a full day of work with Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, per Pelissero.
That report generated excitement among Patriots fans who want their team to land the former Boston College standout. Flowers was an explosive playmaker during his four seasons in Chestnut Hill. In 2022, he caught 78 passes for 1,077 yards and 12 touchdowns despite playing in one of the nation’s worst offenses.
The Patriots also got an up-close look at Flowers when they coached him at the 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl. He participated in just one Shrine Bowl week but spent the week working with the Patriots’ coaching staff, including O’Brien and receivers coach Troy Brown.
Flowers is considered one of the top wideout prospects in this year’s NFL draft class and could be a first- or early second-round target for New England, which currently owns the 14th overall pick and lacks high-end talent at the receiver position.
The Patriots also have spent time with three other receiver prospects who are expected to go in Round 1: Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, USC’s Jordan Addison and TCU’s Quentin Johnston.
Veteran newcomer JuJu Smith-Schuster headlines a Patriots receiving corps that also features DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, Tyquan Thornton, Lynn Bowden and Tre Nixon.
