Patriots pre-draft tracker: Interviews, workouts, meetings, analysis, and more

NFL Draft season is underway.

NFL Draft season is in full swing, meaning that the New England Patriots will be quite busy over the coming weeks.

They will be conducting interviews, working out prospects, inviting them for a finite number of pre-draft visits, and in general try to get as complete a picture as possible. It remains to be seen what this process eventually leads to, but there will be plenty of news to report up until late April.

In order to find out who the Patriots have already spoken to or worked out thus far, please make sure to bookmark this pre-draft tracker. We will have all contact listed to the best of our knowledge.

East-West Shrine Bowl

The Patriots’ staff was responsible for coaching the West team at the Shrine Bowl, meaning it got an intimate look at dozens of prospects both on and off the field. In total, 66 players worked with New England’s coaches (and there were an additional 68 on the East team that were coached by the Atlanta Falcons).

You can find a full list of Shrine Bowl players here. To make this tracker as easy to navigate as possible, we only included extra meetings below: if a participant either interviewed or worked out with the Patriots outside of the early-February event, you will find him listed here as well.

Senior Bowl

This year’s Senior Bowl falls into a similar category as the East-West Shrine Bowl, albeit at a lower scale. New England did not have its entire staff present to work with prospects in Mobile, but only one of its members: Patriots defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington worked with the American team as defensive coordinator.

Covington worked closely with 30 players in that capacity; you can find them listed here. As for this tracker, we are again only focusing on additional contact that goes beyond the Senior Bowl.

NFL Scouting Combine

DT Keondre Coburn (Texas): There are not a lot of 350-pound players out there, and Coburn is one of them. Standing at 6-foot-2, he lacks length but he projects as a solid role-specific nose tackle at the next level — one whose primary focus should be on plugging gaps in the running game. | Source

DE Habakkuk Baldonado (Pittsburgh): The Patriots worked with Baldonado at the Senior Bowl and also met with him in Indianapolis. A projected late-round pick or undrafted free agent, he has some enticing tools to work with but is a project at this stage in his development. | Source

DT Dante Stills (West Virginia): At 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds, Stills lacks the bulk to become an every-down interior D-lineman in the NFL. However, his role would be a different one: he projects as a sub rusher to take advantage of his quickness and gap-shooting skills. | Source

DE Tyree Wilson (Texas Tech): Wilson is right up there with the top edge defenders in the class. The surefire first-round pick can play multiple techniques up front, has great size at 6-foot-6, 275 pounds, and has had stretches of dominant play as both a run defender and a pass rusher. | Source

DE Lukas Van Ness (Iowa): An investment in Van Ness will be an investment in his ceiling. The 6-foot-5, 269-pounder has all the tools to become a productive edge defender at the next level, but his lack of experience makes him a developmental prospect. Nonetheless, he is expected to come off the board late in Day 1 or early in Day 2. His ceiling is a very high one, after all. | Source

LB Ivan Pace Jr. (Cincinnati): Pace Jr. might be a bit undersized at 6-foot-0, 235 pounds, but he has all the makings of a successful off-ball linebacker at the next level. He is a powerful run defender and has the athleticism to hold his own in coverage as well. | Source

K Jake Moody (Michigan): Moody was on the Patriots’ Shrine Bowl roster but his Combine media availability made it sound like he also met with the team there. Either way, he is one of the top kickers in the class after making 29 of 35 field goals and all 60 of his extra points in 2022. | Source

CB Christian Gonzalez (Oregon): Possibly the No. 1 cornerback in this year’s draft, Gonzalez looks like what you would get if you asked AI to draw up an ideal prospect at the position. Standing at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, he has outstanding length and combines it with impressive athleticism and advanced instincts. | Source

CB Joey Porter Jr. (Penn State): The son of former NFL linebacker Joey Porter is one of the top cornerbacks available in this year’s draft. A first-round prospect who combines size (6’2, 195 lbs) with speed, technique and aggressiveness, he is a perfect fit for a press-heavy scheme like New England’s. Porter Jr. projects as a quality starter, who might make a positive impact on a defense as early as Day 1. | Source

CB Emmanuel Forbes (Mississippi State): Forbes is a fringe first-round talent because of his ability to perform in man and zone schemes paired with a physical playing style and knack for making big plays. He might be too aggressive for his own good at times, but can develop into a quality outside cornerback with some time. | Source

CB Eli Ricks (Alabama): A quality starter at LSU, Ricks transferred to Alabama ahead of his 2022 junior season and needed some time to adapt to his new team. While that led to some limited opportunities and might be an issue for NFL teams, he offers an intriguing mix of ball skills, scheme flexibility and size (6’2, 200 lbs). | Source

QB Anthony Richardson (Florida): One of the better quarterbacks in this year’s draft class, Richardson is a prototypical dual-threat quarterback. He has a powerful arm and combines it with some impressive athletic skills. The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder needs to show some improvement as a passer, especially in regards to his accuracy, but is a prospect that checks a lot of boxes for the modern game. | Source

CB Cam Smith (South Carolina): Another potential first-round draft pick, Smith combines a natural feel for the ball with a physical edge. Even though he is a diamond in the rough, the 6-foot-0, 190-pounder has starting outside cornerback written all over him and projects to make an immediate impact in the NFL. | Source

DB Jay Ward (LSU): Standing at 6-foot-2, 188 pounds, Ward has solid length but his frame might force him to change positions at the next level. Instead of working as a perimeter cornerback, he might be better suited at safety where his lack of bulk cannot be exposed as easily. Nonetheless, he has shown that he can be an impact tackler. | Source

S Brian Branch (Alabama): Branch is projected as a first-round draft pick due to his positional versatility as a safety/linebacker hybrid, his smarts, and his SEC background. At 5-foot-11, 216 pounds, he offers solid size as a box defender and should be a future starter in the NFL. | Source

Pro Days/Other meetings

LB Andrew Farmer (Lane): The first reported meeting of the offseason outside of the scope of the Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl, the Patriots met with Farmer at the HBCU Bowl. At 6-foot-3, 250 pounds the likely UDFA has solid size as an outside linebacker but there are questions about his ability against next-level competition. | Source

S Trey Dean III (Florida): The Patriots already worked with Dean at the Shrine Bowl, but he said at the Combine that they have had extra contact since as well. At 6-foot-2, 211 pounds, the potential Day 3 pick offers some intriguing size and athleticism. However, it can only partially make up for some other shortcomings such as his slow processor and inconsistent technique. | Source

Top-30 visits

N/A