1. One of the bigger takeaways from the Patriots' draft wasn't about the players they drafted, rather the positions they didn't. Bill Belichick and Co. did not select a single quarterback or wide receiver, which is rather noteworthy considering what is currently on the roster. By not selecting a quarterback, and only reportedly adding UDFA J'Mar Smith out of Louisiana Tech, they are showing great faith in Jarrett Stidham. He will be given every opportunity to earn the starting job and by passing over the third-best QB in the entire draft — Jordan Love — on Day 1, it was clear they like what they have in Stidham. Relating to wide receiver, this class was considered historic by some, which played out with the number selected. In all, 36 receivers were taken over the three days, tying the record set in 2003 for the most in a seven-round draft. By not selecting one, especially high, it shows the organization has confidence in both N'Keal Harry and Jakobi Meyers to make big Year 2 jumps. If there were questions with that, wide receiver likely would have been targeted early on in the draft. On the defensive side of the ball, the players selected in the front-seven — Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings — primarily play on the outside, so that shows faith in Ja'Whaun Bentley. Bentley, a middle linebacker who missed the vast majority of his rookie season, didn't take as big of a jump last year as some expected, but maybe that could come this season. In terms of the other side of the coin, selecting those EDGE players could be a sign the team has some questions relating to Chase Winovich and Derek Rivers, as those are two young players who play that position. And then by selecting three offensive linemen in the final two rounds, how much confidence does that show in Yodny Cajuste and Hjalte Froholdt, who were drafted in the middle rounds last year, but spent the entire season on injured reserve.
2. The success of this year's draft class as a whole for the Patriots may be decided by what comes from the two tight ends they selected — Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene — in Round 3. They were the second and fourth tight ends taken overall, as the team passed up on two that were considered to be the second and third-best in the class in Adam Trautman (Dayton) and Harrison Bryant (Florida Atlantic). Asisia has very limited experience, being a starter for only one season at UCLA, and then Keene is not the typical Patriots tight end, which Belichick admitted on his post-draft video conference. The Virginia Tech product didn't have much of a role in the passing game and lined up all over, including in the backfield. Two Patriot-like facts on Keene are he had only one drop in his college career and did not commit a single penalty last season.
3. There was a lot of criticism with selecting Lenoir–Rhyne (D-II) safety Kyle Dugger at No. 37 overall, but that really was where he was supposed to go. This wasn't Belichick taking a player expected to go in Rounds 5 or 6 in Round 2, this was a player legitimately expected to be a Day 2 selection. In fact, a few early mock drafts had him going to the Patriots at No. 23 overall. Yes, Belichick has had his fair share of issues of late when it comes to selecting defensive backs in the second round, but the argument he reached for Dugger could not be any more off base.
4. Belichick touched on it on his video conference afterwards, but the Patriots got a ton of value being at the Senior Bowl this spring with a number of their selections playing in the game. It was even more important due to COVID-19, as the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine were the only real chances teams had to meet with players face-to-face (besides virtual meetings). If the Patriots advanced deep into the playoffs like usual, they would not have attended the Senior Bowl and who knows how that would have impacted their draft.
5. It could be something, or it could be nothing, but the Patriots showed their "War Room" via Web-Ex Saturday morning and Josh McDaniels was not present. It was Belichick, Brian Smith (college scouting coordinator), Ernie Adams, Robert Kraft, Nick Caserio, Monti Ossenfort (director of college scouting), Dave Ziegler (director or pro scouting), Richard Miller (research director) and Dan Famosi (IT director). McDaniels very well could have been in a secondary "room," but getting that glimpse of the Patriots doing work and McDaniels not being present was interesting.
6. Stidham was very happy with one of the Patriots' undrafted free agents, Auburn wide receiver Will Hastings — one of his close friends. The two played together at Auburn, and Hastings attended Stidham's wedding last summer. Hastings missed the 2018 season with a torn ACL and while it wasn't everything, it could have some explanation was to why Stidham's numbers weren't as good as they were the year before. In 2017, Hastings recorded 26 receptions for 525 yards and four touchdowns with Stidham as his quarterback.
7. One note on the draft as a whole, despite some concerns by some of how it would go, it really could not have gone any better. Every coach asked about the communication with their own team as well as with other teams and the league said there were no issues, and then the combined ESPN/NFL Network broadcast went as well as it possibly could. One thing that could carry over to future years is having players stay at home with their families instead of physically going to the draft. Being at home with family and friends gets a more genuine reaction and seems more fun than spending it with one or two family members plus an agent in a back room at some big venue. Not to mention the league raised over $100 million for COVID-19 relief efforts. Great job, NFL.
