Patriots’ New Assistants Worked Closely With Top Draft Prospects

The Patriots announced a large number of additions to their coaching staff Monday, including a number of names who are making the jump from the college ranks.

It’s a diverse group, that much is for certain.

New England hired coaching veterans to aid Jerod Mayo in his first season at the helm, yes. Alex Van Pelt and Ben McAdoo will run the offense, and they have literal decades of experience. DeMarcus Covington will return with knowledge of a defensive system that works, with a few additions that should help supplement lost leadership. Tom Quinn is an insanely experienced coach who will aid Jeremy Springer with the special teams unit.

There’s also a group of previously unknown additions that have little experience coaching in the NFL. They’ve got something that provides a ton of value this time of year, though; inside information on 2024 NFL Draft prospects.

Tyler Hughes and Tiquan Underwood, in particular, could prove to have quite an impact before they even hit the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium.

Hughes and Underwood will work together to coach wide receivers, with the former being in charge of the unit and the latter serving as his assistant. It just so happens that the Patriots’ receiving group needs a complete overhaul, as their leading receiver from last season was a sixth-round rookie who can do precisely two things.

Hughes makes his return to the Patriots after spending one season as an offensive assistant with the Washington Huskies. The same Washington Huskies that produced three wide receiver prospects (Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk, Jalen McMillan) that will be drafted in the first three rounds, an intriguing quarterback that might sneak his way into the first (Michael Penix Jr.) and two offensive tackles who will start as rookies (Troy Fautanu, Roger Rosengarten).

That’s quite the group.

Underwood might have information on another pair of interesting prospects, having served as the passing-game coordinator with the Pittsburgh Panthers over the last two seasons. It was during that stint he worked closely with Kedon Slovis and Phil Jurkovec, two quarterbacks who could be selected in the middle rounds of the draft. He also coached offensive tackle Matt Goncalves, who has a ton of fans around the NFL.

It doesn’t stop with Hughes and Underwood, though.

Michael McCarthy, who was added as a quality control coach, coached against highly-touted Yale offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie while at Brown. Vinny DePalma, who enters coaching fresh out of a career playing at Boston College, was teammates with defensive back prospect Elijah Jones for multiple seasons. Jamael Lett joins as a quality control coach, having worked with linebacker prospect Cedric Gray at North Carolina.

It’s unlikely these coaches, who mainly enter in support roles, will have a significant impact on the Patriots’ draft plans. There’s value in their familiarity, however, which could prove to make a difference in deciding on one prospect from another.