TEAM TALK
- Patriots sign OL Ulrick John.
- Erik Scalavino discusses Rob Gronkowsk’s announcement that he’s back on board for 2018.
- Paul Perillo posts PFW’s draft options: Tight end.
- Paul Perillo tackles this week’s Ask PFW Mailbag: Mocking the draft, Gronk, and more.
- John Rooke’s View from Above: Santos was the voice in all of us.
- Draft Countdown: First round facts. (22 second video)
- Todd McShay spoke to fans at Gillette Stadium about the upcoming NFL Draft and discussed three offensive tackles to keep an eye on, including two who have traits similar to Nate Solder. (1.17 min. video)
- From the NFL - Ian Rapoport: With tight end Rob Gronkowski’s return, expect New England to engage in contract talks next. (1.09 min. video)
LOCAL LINKS
- Karen Guregian puts on her general manager’s hat and offers five scenarios the Patriots could execute tomorrow and Friday.
- Mike Reiss sees the left tackle position as the Patriots’ number one need, but draft options are limited: This is not considered a strong class at tackle.
- Pete Davidson ranks the running backs in this year’s draft and sees plenty of options for the Patriots.
- Doug Kyed points out some options for the Patriots with each of their eight draft picks: Cornerbacks.
- Mike Reiss looks at what the Patriots might be looking for at the OLB/DE position in the draft: Need ranking, 6th. Pass-rush options appear limited.
- Phil Perry takes a look at a few draft prospects that could meet New England’s criteria for the interior DL position: Could Belichick dip into ‘Bama pipeline for interior DL help?
- Mike Reiss discusses two reasons why Rob Gronkowski meeting with coach Belichick was a critical development.
- Karen Guregian speculates on what spurred Rob Gronkowski to meet with Bill Belichick, but determines ‘it’s good to have them communicating again.’
- Phil Perry says it ‘seems as though if there was any friction between the tight end and the coach, that has been smoothed over...’ /Huh. So they worked it out. Who knew that was an option?
- Mike D’Abate (FullPressCoverage) Gronkowski confirms 2018 return to Patriots.
- Ryan Hannable can tell by the timing of Gronk’s announcement, that he must have been getting too much fan backlash from ‘his bizarre press conference’.
- Matt Dolloff needs to adjust his tinfoil hat after reading a “not-so-thinly-veiled shot at Belichick,” inside Rob Gronkowski’s tweet of support for Gronkowski the horse. /My eyes hurt from rolling them so hard.
- Kevin Duffy suggests the team address the TE position in the draft, even though Rob Gronkowski is coming back.
- Alden Newman (PatsMilitia) Choosing the heir: Quarterbacks who may become Tom Brady’s successor.
- Adam Kurkjian profiles Iowa LB Josey Jewell as an ideal fit for the Patriots in a number of ways.
- Ryan Hannable explains why the Patriots’ undrafted free agent class won’t come close to what it was last year.
- Steve Balestrieri (PatsFans) Wednesday Patriots Notebook: Gronk returning; Final mock.
- Nick O’Malley grades Bill Belichick’s first round draft picks: What happens when the Patriots don’t give away picks?
- Nick O’Malley thumbnails the 20 worst draft picks of the Bill Belichick era.
- Dakota Randall shares a personal story about Bill Belichick from ex-Patriot Damien Woody.
- Joshua Schrock notes Jimmy Garoppolo saw the video of him mirroring Tom Brady, and admits “it’s a little weird.”
- Steve Buckley attended Gil Santos’ wake, calls it the perfect celebration of his life.
- Michelle Williams reports the Patriots shared a message of support for rapper Meek Mill following his release from prison this week.
- Mike Dussault (PatsPropaganda) 2018 Patriots-only mock draft. Round 1: Alabama LB Rashaan Evans and Texas T Connor Williams.
- Hayden Bird compiles a database of mock drafts from around the NFL, and who the experts have the Patriots picking.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Joe Lucia (Awful Announcing) Your 2018 NFL Draft broadcast primer. Who to watch on which channel at what time.
- Brad Gagnon (Bleacher Report) Why this is the most important draft in years for the Patriots.
- Mike Lombardi (The Ringer) 2018 NFL draft preview: What will the Patriots do? (8.52 min. video)
- Jordan Zakarin (SYFY WIRE) Lawrence Guy talks about the love of anime inside the New England Patriots’ locker room.
- Peter King (SI) Rumors, realities and ruminations on draft eve; MMQB Mailbag.
- Greg Cosell (Yahoo! Sports) Draft analysis: Sam Darnold needs work to reach tantalizing potential.
- Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay (ESPN) 2018 NFL draft preview: Mel Kiper, Todd McShay answer last-minute questions.
- Justis Mosqueda (Bleacher Report) Breaking down every NFL team’s draft tendencies. “There’s something suspect about Bill Belichick owning four draft picks in the first two rounds of the draft, including two first-rounders.”
- Kevin Clark (The Ringer) Will NFL teams ever get smarter about drafting quarterbacks?
- Ken Fang (Awful Announcing) Comcast will move NFL Network off its most-widely distributed tier.
- Brett Bodner (NY Daily News) Troy Aikman looking for a raise after Fox offered Peyton Manning up to $10 million: report.
- Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks (NFL.com) NFL Draft: What Browns, Bills, Patriots should do in Round 1.
- Staff (ESPN) NFL free-agency recap: Top signings, grades for all 32 teams. Patriots: B.
- Peter Schrager (NFL.com) 2018 three-round NFL mock draft: Round 1. Pats pick Alabama LB Rashaan Evans and Arkansas C/OG Frank Ragnow.
- Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) 2018 NFL Mock Draft: What teams ‘should’ do. Pats pick Notre Dame T Mike Mcglinchey and Louisville CB Jaire Alexander.
- Mike Tanier (Bleacher Report) 2018 NFL mock draft: Final predictions. 12th Pats (via CLE) Florida State S Derwin James and 30th (via MIN) South Dakota State TE Dallas Goedert.