New England Patriots
Patriots Daily: New England to Pick Third; NFL Playoffs Set
With the New England Patriots 2023 season coming to an end yesterday, the team’s 2024 NFL Draft position is now locked in. The Patriots will select third overall. The Chicago Bears (via Carolina) and Washington Commanders have the first two selections. Potential picks for the Patriots can now be narrowed down considerably.
There are several players capable of going top three in the draft. New England desperately needs to address the offensive side of the ball, so defensive players can be eliminated. Brock Bowers (Georgia) is arguably the best tight end prospect I have ever seen, but tough to imagine a team with so many needs going tight end at three. Likewise, Joe Alt (Notre Dame) and Olu Fashanu (Penn State) are both elite offensive tackle prospects, a position of need for New England. But getting a skill player at three and adding a tackle in Round 2 is more likely.
So who will be the New England Patriots choice with the third overall selection of the 2024 NFL Draft? As of now, there are five possible candidates. The top three prospects all season have been quarterbacks Caleb Williams (USC), Drake Maye (UNC), and wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (Ohio State). Based on the need for a quarterback, and their outstanding play this season, both Jayden Daniels (LSU) and Michael Penix Jr. (Washington) deserve to be in the conversation as well. The choice will be the next face of the franchise in Foxboro. Who will it be? Stay tuned.
NFL Playoff Matchup
With the conclusion of the 2023 NFL regular season, the playoff matchups are now set. Several teams earned postseason berths on the final weekend. This included the Buffalo Bills, who went from the verge of missing the playoffs to being the AFC’s number two seed. The Wild Card weekend games will be:
AFC: Baltimore Ravens (bye)
Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills (Sun, 1:00 PM)
Miami Dolphins at Kansas City Chiefs (Sat, 8:00 PM)
Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans (Sat, 4:30 PM)
NFC: San Francisco 49ers (bye)
Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys (Sun, 4:30 PM)
Los Angeles Rams at Detroit Lions (Sun, 8:00 PM)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Philadelphia Eagles (Mon, 8:00 PM)
Personally, don’t see the need for a Monday Night Football game in the playoffs, but that’s neither here nor there.
Also in today’s Patriots Daily: Bills win AFC East; Deadly shooting after Dolphins game; Matthew Slater sendoff, and more.
New England Patriots
Patriots Football Now – Six Takeaways from the Patriots Snowy Season Finale vs. the Jets
Patriots Football Now – Boston Herald Report Looks at Dysfunction of 2023 Patriots
AFC East News
Syracuse.com – Bills clinch fourth straight AFC East title
CBS News – Deadly shooting near Hard Rock Stadium after Dolphins game
Jets X-Factor – Jets RB Breece Hall alludes to free agency demands
NFL News
Yardbarker – Ex-Warriors GM Bob Myers joins an NFL team
NFL.com – Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence on team’s collapse: “you should feel sick”
ESPN – Chicago QB Justin Fields chimes in on Bears tenure
PFN+ – 2024 NFL Draft Previews
Boston Bruins
Go over to our sibling site Boston Hockey Now to check out the great Boston Bruins coverage from Jimmy Murphy and the BHN team. The NHL season is underway and there is plenty happening in the Bruins 100 Anniversary season.
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Fun Fact of the Day
Following yesterday’s win, the Buffalo Bills clinched another AFC East title. Here are the all-time leaders:
22 – New England Patriots
14 – Buffalo Bills
13 – Miami Dolphins
6 – Indianapolis Colts
4 – Houston Oilers
4 – New York Jets
Tweet of the Day
Tweet of the Day is from the official Patriots account on X, with a sendoff to the great Matthew Slater…
Family ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/Lsb7rctENM
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 7, 2024