Last season, even though they boasted good pass catchers, a great offensive line and a great running game, they still ranked 26th in points scored and finished 7-10, which led to the firing of coach Arthur Smith. 3 in 2008.) They’ve built up a solid roster in recent years - except at quarterback. (They haven’t picked a quarterback in the first two rounds since Matt Ryan at No. They’ve had a top-10 pick in each of the past three drafts but have bypassed a quarterback each time. The opposite plan is what the Atlanta Falcons have done. The quarterback position is simply too important to risk passing on one in hopes of maybe landing one a year or two later.

They know there’s one roster-building sentiment that suggests they’d be wise to improve the rest of the team before dropping a rookie quarterback into it - that a rookie quarterback won’t be set up for success until the rest of the roster is better.īut the Patriots look at it like this: If you get the rare chance to draft one of the top prospects at the game’s most valuable position, it’s worth taking a big swing even if the surrounding roster isn’t great. The Patriots’ decision-makers know there are a lot of holes on the roster beyond the quarterback position. The front office wrapped up its pre-free-agency meetings a week ago and seems to be on the same page that the best way to jump-start this rebuild and yield long-term success is to find a young quarterback in the NFL Draft to build around. The Patriots really want to draft a quarterback with the No. So as combine week continues, let’s reflect on what we’ve heard about the Patriots’ plans, starting with the No.

“Honestly, you want to talk about some of the adversity,” Mayo said.

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