Vrabel's First Impression, Draft Notes: Patch Patriots Roundup

FOXBOROUGH, MA — Mike Vrabel's introductory press conference this week served as both a refresher and a glance at the syllabus for the Patriots' path forward.

Vrabel said hello to some familiar faces, and team owner Robert Kraft ran through his Patriots bonafides.

The new head coach then shared some insights into his team building desires: selfless athletes who play fast and aggressively but carry a team-first attitude. Sound familiar?

Adding players to a roster that many view as lacking talent will come later in the year, but what Vrabel's next steps include is filling out his coaching staff.

Vrabel himself said the list for offensive and defensive coordinator candidates was long, but did confirm that former Patriot offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is being considered, as many expected.

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McDaniels was on Julian Edelman's "Games With Names" podcast in 2024 and discussed his theories on Drake Maye's development at the time. The podcast's YouTube channel recently resurfaced that clip which, of course, had the fandom talking.

Still, Patriots officials have kept a lid on the process thus far, with little new information about the process coming out since Monday other than theories on who could be interviewed for both coordinator positions.

Mock Draft Season

Football fans will know that, for teams outside of the playoff picture, January through April is mock draft season.

With the Patriots being relatively quiet this week regarding coordinator choices, what better time to review a few mock drafts than now?

To start, the Patriots have the fourth overall pick in April's draft. Though many expect the team to target an offensive lineman or receiver, it's certainly not impossible to see the team choosing a top defensive option given the state of the roster.

Most recently, CBS Sports had the Patriots potentially solving two problems in one with the selection of Colorado cornerback-wide receiver Travis Hunter.

The Heisman Trophy winner is considered by many to be the top prospect in the draft, but many have questions about whether he'll be able to play offense and defense in the NFL. A secondary question for Hunter is, if he doesn't play both sides of the ball, what position will he play?

The Athletic's Dane Brugler recently published an updated mock draft with the Patriots selecting Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, another name often linked to the team.

In The Ringer's latest mock draft, the Patriots addressed the offensive line with LSU tackle Will Campbell.

Expect these three names to continue bouncing around the Patriots orbit in the lead up to the draft, as its expected that at least one quarterback — if not two — will be taken before the team picks at four.