New England Patriots links 2/16/24 – QB is Pats’ main priority, then… the kicker?

Daily news and links for Friday

TEAM TALK

• Exclusive: 1-on-1 interview with Patriots Defensive Coordinator DeMarcus Covington. (1.30 min. video)
• Roundtable: Patriots Dynasty documentary recap, Episode 1. Fred Kirsch, Paul Perillo and Mike Dussault break down episodes one and two. (29 min. video)
• Patriots Unfiltered: Coaching staff additions, projecting offensive scheme; Recent mock drafts. (2 hours)
• Patriots Catch-22: NFL Draft talk, Tiers of wide receivers. (2 hours)

LOCAL LINKS

• Andrew Callahan concludes the 5 Patriots offseason fixes series: No. 1 — Draft and sign new quarterbacks.
• Mark Daniels wraps up his series analyzing each position group on the Patriots, with a look at Special Teams: How will the Pats fix the kicking position?
• Christopher Price helps us get to know Eliot Wolf, the man who has the pedigree to make personnel decisions for the Patriots. [Free]
• Andy Hart identifies the major problem with Alex Van Pelt’s plan for the Patriots’ offense. Van Pelt hasn’t been the guy to build, design and call his own offense since 2009 in Buffalo; Plus, it’ll be hard for any chef to cook anything when you don’t know what ingredients you have to work with.
• Chris Mason’s Patriots Mailbag: Answering questions on Matthew Judon, Troy Brown, Trent Brown, fullbacks; More.
• 98.5 The Sports Hub guest Albert Breer breaks down how it could make sense to trade down from No. 3.
• Dakota Randall NFL Rumors: What Patriots would need to pay in Justin Fields trade, and would this be a fair deal?
• Sean T. McGuire suggests the Patriots could target a prospect described as a ‘juiced-up Jakobi Meyers’ in the draft, Washington WR Jalen McMillan.
• Mark Morse (PatsFans) The young guns Patriots new defensive coaches.
• Mark Morse introduces the new Patriots front office: The Wolf Pack.
• Mike D’Abate relays ex-Patriots OC Bill O’Brien saying he was given the option to remain with the team on Jerod Mayo’s staff. O’Brien was formally introduced as the head coach of the Boston College Eagles Thursday.
• Nick O’Malley notes Bill O’Brien says he left the Patriots for Jerod Mayo’s sake.
• Michael Hurley reviews episode one of “The Dynasty”: The Tom Brady origin story.
• Mark Daniels offers four takeaways from the first two episodes of ‘The Dynasty’. 1. Bledsoe didn’t take Brady seriously.
• Mike Kadlick offers his reactions to episode one and episode two of Apple TV+’s ‘The Dynasty. “Drew Bldesoe was the man.”
• Alex Barth picks the top quotes from The Dynasty Patriots docuseries. Part 1 and Part 2.
• Jonathan Alfano discusses the Patriots selecting North Carolina QB Drake Maye in ESPN’s latest mock draft. “It’s a time for new beginnings in New England, and to fully embrace that mindset, a new QB like Maye is essential.”
• Locked On Patriots podcast: Mike D’Abate welcomes director Matthew Hamachek (The Dynasty) to discuss making the film, the surprises in store, and the dynamic relationship between Brady, Belichick and Kraft. (25 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Kevin Patra (NFL.com) Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson: ‘I want to be the featured back’ in New England.
• Daniel Jeremiah (X) Chart highlights key spots on the Patriots roster and identifies the playmakers. No blue-chippers on either side of the ball.
• GET UP (ESPN) Teams under the most pressure to win the offseason. Patriots included. (2 min. video)
• Chad Reuter (NFL.com) NFL rookie grades, AFC East. Patriots: C. The Patriots hit on CB Christian Gonzalez as a mid-first round pick.
• Steven Ruiz (The Ringer) The five biggest questions of the NFL offseason. 1. Will the quarterback market get reset—and how many times?
• Staff (The Ringer) Way-too-early 2024 Power Rankings. Patriots 31st.
• Nick Shook (NFL.com) NFL QB Index: Ranking all 66 starting quarterbacks from the 2023 NFL season. No. 50 Mac Jones. No. 42 Bailey Zappe. /Oof.
• Experts (ESPN) 2024 NFL predictions: Early Super Bowl 2025 picks, MVP, breakouts.
• Jay Busbee (Yahoo! Sports) ‘The Dynasty’: Whether you love the Patriots or hate them, there’s plenty in new documentary for you.
• Joseph Morgan (GoingFor2) The Kansas City Chiefs aren’t a true NFL Dynasty. /That’s a stretchhhh…
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Report: NFL is “scouring” ESPN, Fox contracts over planned mega-streaming service: Last week, ESPN, Fox, and Warner Brothers Discovery announced plans for a joint streaming service that sounds a lot like a new-age cable package.

BELICHICK

• Jerry Thornton continues his Belichick’s Greatest Hits series: No. 5 – Masterminding two comebacks against the Ravens with his galaxy brain. No. 4 – The 28-3 comeback. No. 3 – The time he shut down the Rams offense. Not that time; That other time. No. 2 – The time he shut down the Rams offense. Yes, that time. No. 1 – Pink Stripes.