Someone once said that, from a fan’s perspective, picking an offensive lineman in the first round is like getting a Christmas stocking. It’s practical, your team might need it and you might use it, but it’s hard to be happy with it.
According to Jeff Howe of The Athletic , the Patriots will strongly consider drafting the left tackle with the third overall pick if Eliot Wolff passes through the draft. Wolff is currently the Director of Research for New England. Prior to joining Foxboro, he was the assistant general manager of the Cleveland Browns from 2018 to 2019.
Now, Howe’s report comes with a big caveat. It may not be the Wolf show on draft night, and this prediction is actually moot. While there is still significant uncertainty surrounding New England’s running back department, it is likely that Wolff will hire offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt to “inject some energy into the organization.
“Coach Jerrod Mayo’s 2024 coordinator has been confirmed and is expected to turn his attention to the GM position. In the near future, power structures may become clearer.The general consensus is that the pick of the three in this scenario would be Notre Dame’s Joe Alt.
Another Daniel is Jeremiah’s ninth vision. The 20-year-old was a finalist for the Outland Trophy, given to the best offensive/interior defensive lineman in college football this season, and was also a unanimous selection to the 2023 College Football All-American Team. Alt’s father, John, was a first-round pick himself and spent 13 seasons at left tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs, earning two Pro Bowl selections and an All-Pro selection.
Jeremiah’s research report on Alt Jr. can be found here. If the Patriots intend to draft Alt, it opens up the possibility of a draft trade and possibly acquiring a quarterback like Drake May or Jayden Daniels from the team with the third overall pick out of New England.
Three of the four remaining NFL teams this season (Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions) took a left tackle in the first round. Ronnie Stanley of the Ravens went sixth overall, Trent Williams of the Niners went fourth overall and Taylor Decker of the Lions went 16th overall.
Detroit right tackle Penay Sewell was also selected seventh overall. Aggressive appeals are never sexy to the average fan. There are proven models of success in recent years. That is, building in trenches before reconstruction using technical positions. The Philadelphia Eagles were selected first in this draft.
If New England ultimately selects Alt with the third overall pick, the following questions arise: What are you going to do with the quarterback position? Select Alt and move the thumbnails down to get more options? What does this income look like? How will this affect the team’s plans in free agency, especially salary cap space? Drafting a tackle with the third overall pick will be more difficult for Patriots fans than any other franchise, as New England hasn’t drafted this much since Drew Bledsoe was first drafted 30 years ago.
Many fans who fell in love with the Patriots’ dynasty weren’t alive to make that pick. But this is a new phase of the Patriots’ life cycle, and eventually fans will have to move past the grief phase and embrace a new reality. I may have to settle for Christmas socks
