Ranking rookie camp intrigue among Patriots’ draft picks

We all remember the first time…the first time we saw certain athletes of course.

Size, speed, performance. They can all stand out for better or worse, even in the shorts-and-helmets world of an NFL offseason practice field.

In just a couple days, the gathered New England media will get a first look at the latest and hopefully greatest Patriots’ draft class to come through Gillette Stadium at the team’s rookie mini-camp.

A year ago at his time, with mini-camp off limits to the media in the final, fading days of the Bill Belichick era, Patriot Nation went both icky balooky and gaga all at the same time over a short social media video of top pick Christian Gonzalez. With media in attendance this Saturday for this mini-camp, the wave-like reactions to the first looks at the 2024 draft class could be even more, well, reactionary.

So as we get ready for our first taste of the young guns who could be the foundation of the next great generation of Patriots’ football, here’s how we’d rank the intrigue, interest and excitement level surrounding New England’s draft picks heading into rookie mini-camp.

1 – Drake Maye: The future is now in Foxborough and its name is Maye. The No. 3 overall pick will decide how much success Mayo and Eliot Wolf have in the coming years. He will be the straw that stirs the energy drink in New England. From the second he steps on the field and in front of the media everything Maye does and says will be broken down and compared to not only expectations, but to how others like Mac Jones, Cam Newton and Tom Brady have done things in the recent past. It’s all about Maye!

2 – Javon Baker: The fourth-round receiver out of UCF does social media self-promotion in a way that might make P.T. Barnum, Don King and Dana White blush. He’s not lacking for self-confidence. He certainly has the on-field skills and potential to be an impact playmaker. Now he needs to go out and learn how to be a productive, professional receiver. Get open and catch the ball, if Baker does that he’s going to be a total star in New England.

3 – Joe Milton III: A potential fourth-string QB among the most interesting players at a mini-camp? Well, when that guy has one of the strongest throwing arms on the planet and his built the way Milton is, you’re damn right eyes will be on him every time he throws. Maybe Milton is a developmental option. Maybe he’s Happy Gilmore. Who knows? But he’s intriguing as all hell.

4 – Cadean Wallace: Not that a lot will be ascertained for a lineman in non-contact action, but this idea promoted by the Patriots that the career Penn State right tackle could be the answers to New England’s massive hole at left tackle puts a bulls eye on the back of the third-round pick. As Bill Belichick noted often over the years, ability for guys to switch sides on the line is a massive unknown depending in the individual. If Wallace is what the Patriots say he is, he could be one of the most important guys on the roster as a rookie. If their projection is misguided, left tackle could be a fatal flaw of this team. Wallace faces some significant pressure and expectation right out the gates.

5 – Ja’Lynn Polk: Based on reports, Polk may not have been New England’s first choice to fill a top need at receiver. But that doesn’t matter anymore, Polk is a talented prospect with the kinds of intangibles that teams love. In some ways he and Baker may be a tandem to build around – brining different styles, personalities and skills to the mix as a much-needed injection of youthful upside at receiver. And the rapport that Polk (and Baker) need to build with Maye starts immediately.

6 – Jaheim Bell: You’d think the last player taken in a draft class would have the least buzz. But Bell has a couple things going for him. First, he plays the tight end position where Patriots’ fans have been lusting for a young player since some guy named Gronk. Second, Bell has athletic versatility that could make him a unique chess piece in Alex Van Pelt’s system.
Some bread crumbs of that could be on full display in shorts’ action on Saturday.

7 – Marcellas Dial: Dial is the lone defensive player taken by the Wolf-led collaborative at a position of sneaky need in New England. There are jobs to be won and roles to be filled in the back end of the defense. We’ve seen late-round and undrafted defensive backs carve out unexpectedly large roles for themselves as rookies the past. It would be nice if the taller Dial followed that path to success in Foxborough.

8 – Layden Robinson: The Patriots should be set on the interior line with former first-round pick Cole Strange and a trio of draft picks there last year. But, some believe that Robinson has starting potential as a rookie mid-round pick. He’s a big ol’ option for AVP’s zone rushing attack, a guy who might just be in the mix to lead the way for Rhamondre Stevenson. Does he look athletic enough and ready for such a potentially big role as a rookie? We’ll start to answer that question with baby steps in the trenches this weekend.