Mel Kiper Jr. Projects Patriots’ First Two Picks In 2024 NFL Draft

Mel Kiper Jr. believes the Patriots will use their first two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft to make significant offensive improvements.

Much has been made about the possibility of New England trading down in the first round. The Patriots could fetch quite a haul for the No. 3 pick, but Kiper believes Jerod Mayo and company will stand pat and select quarterback Drake Maye. Although Maye might need more time to develop than other signal-callers in the class, Kiper attached a “top-10” grade to the North Carolina product, who is “an elite deep-ball thrower.”

Thirty-one picks later, Kiper projected New England to add a significant weapon to Maye’s arsenal in the form of Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman.

“Coleman doesn’t have great speed, but he can win contested catches with his 6-foot-3 frame,” Kiper wrote. “He had 11 touchdown catches last season, five of which came on fade routes.”

Would a Maye-Coleman tandem immediately turn the Patriots into a playoff contender? Probably not. But the pair likely would help accelerate the rebuild in Foxboro, Mass. and bolster an offense that’s been stagnant for years.

The three-day 2024 NFL Draft kicks off April 25. New England currently owns eight total picks: one in each round except for the sixth, where it holds two.