Bedard: Patriots no longer a joke after successful offseason, plus other draft and new-look roster thoughts

Some thoughts on the state of the Patriots after waking up from my coma thanks to Day 3 of the NFL Draft, which is totally mind-numbing and way too long...

 • Not to totally rehash my column after Day 2, but now that we know the results of most of the offseason, Mike Vrabel and Company did a very impressive overhauling of this roster. They entered with an eye on doing what the Commanders did last year - adding free agents they knew and could count on, and plugging holes with the draft with players that could immediately contribute - and on paper, it was mission accomplished. Not going to go over the top and be hyperbolic about what they've done, but I think we can all agree this was the most sensible Patriots draft in many years as far as filling needs and hitting on value. 

"Well, we hope that the talent levels increase. Otherwise, I think Mr. Kraft might say, ‘What have you guys been doing for the last few months?’ That's our job, right? That's what we're tasked to do," assistant GM Ryan Cowden said after the sixth-round pick. "I think you never settle. You can constantly chase.

"We're excited. We really are. I think from everything we've tried to do from some of the personality and the energy into the building, trying to get to know each other as new staffs coming together, empowering the people that were here, to lean into them for their decisions. ... Excited about how that path is going. Hopefully, we can continue to add more and more to that."

 • What are my expectations for this team? If the coaching staff is as good as we think it is, and is a huge improvement over the past couple of seasons, then I do expect the Patriots to challenge for a postseason spot.

In the span of just one offseason, you now look at the Patriots' depth chart and don't see major holes. I'm not going to say the roster is perfect or anything, and a major injury could derail a lot of things, but the Patriots look much more formidable than they did at any point last year or the one before. You do have to remember that there are a LOT of new faces in the locker room, and they're being guided by an entirely new coaching staff with new schemes — and all that stuff takes time to come together, sometimes upwards of half a season. But now you see a path forward for this team. I don't want to hear anything about a multi-year rebuild. This team is ready to compete now. Just ask Eliot Wolf.

"I think we'll be much more competitive this year," he said. "I don't like to put expectations on it, but I think we did a lot of things this offseason that were advantageous to us moving forward and we continue to improve the depth of the team and ignite competition here today."

 • Interesting answer from Wolf about what was different this offseason.

"I just think the whole vision for the team was really good," Wolf said. "Not that we didn't have that last year, or with Bill [Belichick] previously, but there was a lot of clear communication between [Mike] Vrabel and our staff. He was around a lot in our meetings. It was just a really good process. I would say, as the guys are still working on it right now, hopefully they're closing some of these undrafted free agent deals out, and this is on me from last year. We just didn't have an organized enough process, and Ryan Cowden and Coach Vrabel and Stretch [John Streicher] really came in and helped me organize this. I think we're going to have a productive group."

Wolf took the blame but the truth is he was really hamstrung last year because he had to divert his attention to help Jerod Mayo in so many areas. It was like he had one hand tied behind his back.

 • Just about every pick in this draft was at least at good value, and some were great value, like Day 3 picks to bring depth to the front seven in DT Josh Farmer and Edge Bradyn Swinson. 

"I think anytime you can get some depth on the defensive line, whether it's inside or outside, both these guys— Swinson has some pass rush, Farmer can rush the passer and play the run," Wolf said. "We were excited that those guys were still available and we just trusted the board. Not that you asked this, but kind of part of the reason for all the trades, just moving up and down the board as we saw fit where the value was."

 • The only pick that was an outlier in that regard was the first pick of Day 3, Cal safety Craig Woodson. Most draft experts thought he would go a little later, although Daniel Jeremiah loved him.

I will say, the Patriots had all night Friday and until Noon Saturday to figure out what they were going to do at 106 in the 4th round (4th pick of the day). They clearly had a conviction on this player, so I have no issue with it. If this was a case where they were surprised in the middle of a round - like if someone traded in front of them - then it might be different. But, to me, this was clearly a player they targeted at a position of need. He could be next Devin McCourty, and he could be a big nickel, considering the Patriots really like his man coverage ability (which is also needed because none of the Patriots' other safeties are good in that area).

I asked Cowden about all that, and he had a pretty good response in terms of the player he mentioned.

"I don't want to pigeonhole Craig or any of our players into one spot. I think Craig's a safety. I think he has the versatility to play a lot of roles that the safety position requires," Cowden said. "As I mentioned before, the communication skills are something that sets him apart. Craig's a skilled, high-level communicator. We have a process here that we believe in, in terms of our evaluations, our process of scouting. We're always going to try to stay true to that. I think I had, being there on the heels in Tennessee, and I'm not going to make this comparison to a player. Talking about trusting your evaluations, Kevin Byard was a non-Combine guy out of Middle Tennessee that had high-level communication with a smart guy in the third round. It was, ‘Tennessee reached.’ I'm not ever going to compare players, but comparing situations, it's a situation where a team trusted the board. I've had those scenarios in Carolina, Tennessee, New York, and that's what you want to believe in. Regardless of what the perception on the outside is, what matters is what we would think inside that room."

Not that I doubted their evaluation — again, they had like 12 hours to have conviction on their first pick — but if you were stomping around about that pick, I think that should make you feel a lot better.

 • The Patriots drafted a kicker, Andres Borregales out of Miami, who was the consensus top player at the position. Obviously that was an area of need with Joey Slye moving on. The Patriots got Belichickian with the drafting of long snapper Julian Ashby with their second-to-last pick.

Previously, Vrabel had cast off four of the Patriots' six captains last season — Jacoby Brissett, David Andrews, Ja'Whaun Bentley and Deatrich Wise Jr. I don't think it would be surprise if we saw the other two captains, Joe Cardona (just turned 33) and Jabrill Peppers, gone at some point when all is said and done. Indeed, it's a new day in New England.

"Julian Ashby was a player that we liked. We felt like he was the best long snapper in the draft," Wolf said. "Through some of the conversations that we had, we felt like he might not be someone that would be available post-draft. Again, wanting to add some competition to the roster, we decided to pull the trigger there late."

 • One thing to clean up from Day 2. Wolf said on Friday night that before taking RB TreyVeon Henderson at 38, there was a healthy discussion in the draft room about which player, Henderson or unidentified Player X, the Patriots would draft at 38 if both were on the board.

"In all honesty, there were some really good conversations before our first pick with Coach Vrabel, Ryan [Cowden], Cam (Williams), Matt [Groh] and Alonzo [Highsmith]," Wolf said at the time. "Just there was a little bit of a debate about who we were going to pick, and ultimately, one of the players we were talking about got drafted, so it didn't end up mattering, but I think it was a really good step in the right direction just for us working together in our relationship as co-workers because we have to have productive disagreements for this to work. We can't just agree on everything; we can't just acquiesce to each other on something, so I think it was really productive from that standpoint."

As Wolf said, the player was picked before 38, so the discussion was moot. But he wouldn't identify the player.

According to multiple league sources, the player the Patriots were discussing was Arizona G/T Jonah Savaiinaea. He was taken at 37 when the Dolphins jumped their AFC East rivals by sending the Raiders an extra third-round pick in a trade. It makes a lot of sense because the Patriots were looking for a left guard starter with tackle potential to lock down the left side of their line almost immediately in the draft. Savaiinaea was a tackle at Arizona but will likely be a guard in the NFL.

"This was a player we had targeted, we spent a lot of time with," Dolphins GM Chris Grier said. "This is a player that we were very convicted on for what he can add with his size, his power, he’s got versatility. He’s played tackle, guard. So he’s an athletic kid, and as we spent time getting to know him he was the right kind of guy for us. He loves ball, he’s very competitive, so for us it was important as we were going through the board that he was the highest rated guy we had. And so the opportunity arose and we took it.

"Draft picks are valuable, but at the end of the day, this was a player that we were convicted, in that he was going to be a starter for us. He’ll play guard for us. He understands that. We’ve talked to him about it. We’re excited about it."

So, you have the AFC East element in this, but also a sliding doors moment.

I like what the Patriots did on Day 2 — Henderson, WR Kyle Williams and C/G Jared Wilson — but there was an alternative if the Dolphins didn't trade up and the Patriots selected Savaiinaea. Like I predicted, the Patriots went OL, WR and RB on Day 2, but I was off on the order. Not so if they landed Savaiinaea.

The Patriots' alternative Day 2?

38. Jonah Savaiinaea G/T
69. RJ Harvey, RB, UCF (perhaps the Broncos take Henderson, who they were high on, at 60 instead of Harvey)
77. Jaylin Noel, WR, Iowa State (taken 79 by Houston in a trade up)

Which draft do you have?

I like both drafts and all six players, but I think I prefer the way it worked out for the Patriots. It will be interesting to track how it all shakes out.

 • It was a mild surprise the Patriots didn't draft a quarterback, but they've signed at least one in undrafted free agency: Ben Wooldridge from Louisiana. We'll have a full write-up on the players they end up with. He's not listed anywhere on draft content.

 • I asked Wolf if the team still had the flexibility - especially financially - to add a big piece should one become available. Sounds like that has cooled.

"I think we have some flexibility," Wolf said. "(Director of Research/Cap Guru) Richard Miller might tell me differently, but that's his job. We'll definitely look at different ways to improve the team, whether that's trade or someone that might become available later."

 • Here's a look at my present Patriots depth chart:

 • Way-too-early look at the best competitions coming this spring/summer:

Left guard: I expect rookie Jared Wilson to get a great shot at this, but it's an all-out war between Cole Strange (contract year), Layden Robinson, free agent Wes Schweitzer and Sidy Sow.

Receiver: We know Stefon Diggs (when he's healthy), Mack Hollins and Kyle Williams are locks. Demario Douglas is a near-lock. You would think Ja'Lynn Polk, as a second-round pick, is relatively safe. That's five already. That means Kendrick Bourne, Kayson Boutte, Javon Baker, potential UDFAs along with JaQuae Jackson and John Jiles are competing for possibly one, maybe two spots. It's possible none of them make it.

Swing tackle: Seventh-round pick Marcus Bryant has all the tools to be a great developmental prospect, but he'll have to show something to stick on the roster or else hope to land him back on the practice squad. Caeden Wallace, Vederian Lowe, Demontrey Jacobs and Bryant are challenging for two spots.

Safety: I don't know what the heck they're going to do here. Fourth-round pick Craig Woodson is sticking, and Kyle Dugger (unless they trade him for some reason). That means Jabrill Peppers, Marte Mapu, free agent Marcus Epps, Jaylinn Hawkins and Dell Pettus are fighting for two or three spots.

Cornerback: This is an annual competition on any roster. Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis are locks. I would say Marcus Jones (contract year) and Alex Austin have good chances. But it's a free-for-all all with Isaiah Bolden, Marcellas Dial, Kobee Minor, DJ James and Miles Battle having a say.

Special teams: Kicker and, now after taking Julian Ashby, long snapper with Cardona.

 • Veterans on the hot seat:

Joe Cardona
Jabrill Peppers
Jahlani Tavai
Marte Mapu
Anfernee Jennings
Vederian Lowe
Demontrey Jacobs
Ben Brown
Jake Andrews
Cole Strange
Sidy Sow
Javon Baker
Kayshon Boutte
Kendrick Bourne
Antonio Gibson