4 positions Patriots will most likely target on Day 2 of NFL Draft

The Patriots kicked off the 2024 NFL Draft in what most believed to be the right way by selecting their next franchise quarterback, Drake Maye.

It was a smarter move than trading down, which was a scenario overly discussed over the past month, and now they have addressed the most important position on the team to put them back on the road to success.

That allows the team to focus elsewhere on Day 2, which will hold Rounds 2 and 3. Plenty of talent remains on the board, especially in positions that the Patriots need to improve. But there are three that will likely be their priority throughout the night.

4 positions Patriots will most likely target on Day 2 of NFL Draft

Wide receiver

The most obvious of all is certainly wide receiver. Because of the class is said to be deep and full of talent, the Patriots luck out by waiting until the second round to finally take one.

Most of the top names are no longer on the board, including the later first round picks of Brian Thomas Jr., Xavier Legette, and Xavier Worthy. However, other great fits for New England will be available at pick No. 34, the second pick of the second round.

The receiver-needy Bills now pick ahead of them, though, so one of the prospects on the Patriots' radar will likely be swiped by their divisional rival.

Left tackle

Depending on who you ask, finding their next starting left tackle is just as important, if not more important, than picking a receiver on Day 2. But like the receivers, the tackle class is deep, and although nine were taken in the first round, there are still high performers waiting to be drafted.

Because they're in a great spot to take either receiver or tackle in Round 2, whichever they don't take could give Jerod Mayo and Eliot Wolf reason to trade up into the second. They wouldn't necessarily have to, but the head coach teased doing just that for Round 1, which didn't end up happening.

So why not do it for one of the other crucial positions of need?

EDGE

The defense has been the better part of the team for a few years now, so prioritizing it early might not be well received. However, despite the unit's dominance, a longstanding issue remains the pass rush, a part of the game that has heavily relied on Matthew Judon since his arrival in 2021.

Statistically, and the eye test, really, proved the eight-year veteran has been the leading force against opposing quarterbacks, but it became really apparent once he went down with a season-ending injury in Week 4 of the 2023 season.

Sacks plummeted and opposing offenses did not fear the Patriots' defense whatsoever. They could take one of the best remaining EDGE players in the next two rounds to get them back in a position where they are not being overlooked.

Tight end

One of the more under-the-radar positions of need is tight end. The new regime made the right choice in free agency to re-sign Hunter Henry, who has been the best player at the position since Rob Gronkowski "retired." Henry will now be signed with the Patriots for three more years.

There wasn't a real effort to pair him with an equal in free agency or even a proven productive player like Pharaoh Brown, but instead, Mayo and Wolf signed tight ends who will predominately spend their time as in-line blockers.

It's a part of the offense that shouldn't be ignored, but that leaves a lot of pressure on Henry to make an impact as essentially the lone tight end on the team.

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