The New England Patriots’ final decision on what to do with the No. 3 pick might not be in the hands of the front office. The C-Suite could have the final say on whether the Patriots will land one of the highly hyped quarterbacks in the draft class.
Robert Kraft said the “team” would make the final decision at No. 3
During the annual league meeting in March, Owner Robert Kraft said he’d like the team to draft a quarterback with the No. 3 pick. Per a transcription of Kraft’s words by 98.5 The Sports Hub, Kraft said he would let the team make the final decision:
“In the end, I’ll let the team make the decision with what they think is best,” Kraft continued. He did close by saying “one way or another, I’d like to see us get a top-rate young quarterback.”
That doesn’t mean the Robert or the Kraft family won’t have influence over the pick. Per Tony Pauline with Sportskeeda, Kraft wants the Patriots to draft a quarterback at No. 3:
Another team will have to overpay for the Patriots to move out of the third pick and pass on a quarterback, which is the owner’s desire.
The Kraft family is “heavily involved” in the New England Patriots draft
One member of the Kraft family is on the team, and they could sway executive Eliot Wolf to select a quarterback early. Per Dianna Russini with The Athletic, the team’s president, Jonathan Kraft, is “heavily involved” in what the Patriots will do in the first round.
The New England Patriots are listening and taking calls from teams looking to move into 3.
While Eliot Wolf is running point, I’m told Patriots’ President Jonathan Kraft is heavily involved in the decision making.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) April 22, 2024
Michael Silver with the Bally Sports tweeted that it was “good” for the family to take back their team.
Good for the Krafts–they are taking back their team https://t.co/JJJK79NL6U
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) April 22, 2024
But is it?
The Patriots were pressured into drafting Mac Jones
The Krafts made terrible decisions in the previous decade at quarterback that didn’t help their chances in the AFC East, even as Bill Belichick made his own scouting mistakes at other offensive positions. Kraft refused to trade Tom Brady for capital that would help the Patriots transition their roster from being built around a future Hall of Fame quarterback.
Kraft pushed for the Patriots to draft a quarterback in 2021, which turned out to be a spectacularly awful year to draft a signalcaller once Trevor Lawrence went to the Jacksonville Jaguars. As of Monday, when Zach Wilson was sent to Denver, the rest of the quarterbacks taken in the first round that year have all been traded.
Belichick took Mac Jones to appease Kraft. Belichick reportedly wanted to move on from Jones following the 2022 season, but Kraft wanted to keep him for one more year.
Not much appears to have changed regarding who will make the decision at quarterback in the draft this offseason. Will the results be better this time?
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