The Patriots covered many — though not all — of their bases during the 2023 NFL Draft.
When the dust settled Saturday night, New England drafted a potentially elite cornerback, an explosive defensive end, a trio of interior offensive linemen, a pair of high-upside receivers and a hard-hitting hybrid defensive back. The Patriots also brought in four special teamers, including a kicker, a punter and two speedy corners who might find homes in the kicking game. Along the way, New England took players from all around the country, including one from an FCS school and one from an HBCU (historically black college and university). Notably, the Patriots didn’t draft a tight end or an offensive tackle despite having obvious needs at both positions.
Shortly after the draft concluded, director of player personnel Matt Groh offered his initial takeaway on New England’s draft class and what the franchise was able to accomplish over the weekend.
“A lot of movement,” Groh said during a Zoom call. “Always trying to put ourselves in position to get a player that we want and then try and move kind of like a roadmap from position to position. You know, I would characterize (the class) as very diverse. Just given from, you know, some of the schools that we’re looking at, you know, from Oregon and UCLA out west to Troy and Jackson State a couple maybe not household names in football down in the southeast. A lot of good programs down there. Obviously the national champions with Coach Smart and Georgia. But there’s a lot of good players down there and they can’t all go to the SEC.
“So, just trying to find as many good players as we can all across the country, and then we really kind of run the gamut here position-wise, interior, offensive line to tackle to corner to wide receiver. And then, you know, with a kicker and a punter, it’s a pretty diverse group of positions and players from all around the country, big schools, small schools, Pac 12, Big 10. So we got them covered here.”
The story didn’t end with the draft, though.
The Patriots will work toward signing undrafted free agents, who have a long history of succeeding in Foxboro. New England reportedly agreed to a record-setting contract with an undrafted quarterback Saturday night, along with a tight end from the same school.
You can click here for ongoing updates on all Patriots UDFA signings.
