As the Patriots organization as a whole tries to return to its old standard of winning, their 2024 rookie class is setting a lofty goal of its own.
It’s no secret the Patriots are in the early stages of a rebuilding period. For any rebuilding team the draft is crucial, but that first draft is the most important. It’s meant to be the foundation for the entire roster-building process moving forward.
What the Patriots hope ends up being their “foundational class” from the 2024 draft includes eight players – quarterbacks Drake Maye and Joe Milton, wide receivers Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, tight end Jaheim Bell, offensive linemen Caedan Wallace and Layden Robinson, and cornerback Marcellas Dial. All eight made the team’s initial roster this week, something that hasn’t happened in New England since 1997.
That 1997 class came in under very different circumstances, coming off a Super Bowl season. With the organization now trying to turn things around after missing the playoffs three times in the last four years this class faces much more pressure.
Talking to those eight players on Wednesday, they’re all embracing that challenge – and appreciate the opportunity to be doing it together.
“It means a lot, but I’m definitely not surprised because I feel as if this class is a room full of ballers,” said Dial, sixth-round pick when asked about all eight players making the team. “So, definitely not surprised about it, but it feels great to have everybody around that I came in with.”
‘“It means a lot,” said Bell, a seventh-round pick. “We want to be the best rookie class that [the Patriots] have drafted. And that’s what we’re trying to do. The guys on offense that made the active roster, I feel like we bring a lot of explosiveness to the offense. And I feel like we can do nothing but help it go.”
That goal was echoed by Milton, another sixth-round pick. “We all had a goal in mind when we got here, and we all said that we would try to be the best rookie class the Patriots ever had,” Milton said. “So that’s just something that we try to do every day by putting one foot in front of the other and keep going.”
Contending for ‘best Patriots draft class’ means matching groups that were truly foundational. The classes in 1976, 1977, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2010, and 2012 all had that kind of impact. If the 2024 class can even get in the ballpark of those groups, this Patriots rebuild will be off and running.
It’s a lofty goal for the eight Patriots’ rookies, one they know they won’t accomplish overnight.
“Just going through training camp not really looking too far ahead, being where we were at, it was just a great thing that we’re all here. Now it’s time to do our part and do what got us drafted in the first place and make this team get better every single day,” said Robinson, a fourth-round pick.
“The same guys I came in with are the same guys I’m going to be able to grind with this upcoming season,” added Wallace, a third-round pick. “So it’s really cool to have that happen.”
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“We put in hard work to be here, and we’re still working,” Bell said. “We’re going to continue to work as hard as we can and we’re going to help this place to go.”
“None of us are too big for the moment,” said Milton. “We’re all just enjoying that we’re here, but at the same time, that we all have to do work.”
Overall, Dial probably summed up the current mindset of the rookie class best. “I would say, eager and ready to shock the world,” he replied when asked to sum up the group’s current mentality.
For the Patriots to turn things around quickly, it’ll take a major contribution from this draft class. They’ve checked the first box of making the team, now it’s about making an impact.
