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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots‘ rookie class has been widely panned by draft analysts, with some scouts and executives across the NFL also sharing their viewpoint with ESPN that first-round pick Cole Strange and second-rounder Tyquan Thornton went earlier than their teams had anticipated.

“I just don’t think they got value with their first two picks this year,” ESPN senior draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. wrote.

Fellow ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay echoed those thoughts, calling the Strange pick “eyebrow-raising” while noting he was his 77th-rated prospect overall.

• Kiper’s draft grades for every team »
• McShay’s 32 favorite picks »
• Rankings | Analysis of every pick
• Winners, losers: Day 1 » | Day 2 »
• Answering big Round 1 questions »
• More coverage » | Full draft order »

Jordan Reid, another ESPN draft analyst, rated Strange a third-round pick.

While everyone expressed respect for longtime coach Bill Belichick, and acknowledged that he could ultimately have the last laugh, the Patriots’ early draft work — and how it didn’t align with the boards of draft analysts or other teams — became a topic of discussion in some NFL circles.

What does it really mean?

Not much now. After all, there is no shortage of examples of the Patriots being widely praised after a draft, only to later learn the class didn’t produce the expected results (here’s one random example from 2019 — an A for what now looks more like a D draft).

So much happens between when a player is selected and the three-year window that most around the NFL believe is the benchmark for when a draft can be most fairly analyzed.

How the players are coached and brought along in the system is critical. The mentality of how they take that coaching, and adjust to football as their full-time job, is equally important. Injuries are sometimes a factor.

So at this point, instead of a knee-jerk instant analysis of the Patriots’ draft class, perhaps a smarter approach is to de-emphasize the question of how they fared, and instead ask this: What did the Patriots’ draft approach say about how Bill Belichick views his team?

Here is one reporter’s take:

1. Speed deficient on offense: When you select the receiver (Thornton) and running back (Pierre Strong Jr.) who posted the fastest 40-yard dash times at the NFL combine in their respective position groups, it couldn’t be more obvious. More home run threats on offense were needed.

2. Changing of guard: One of the knocks on the selection of Strange was that the Patriots created the need by trading veteran guard Shaq Mason in March. That’s one way to look at it, but a more accurate assessment seems to be that Belichick didn’t view Mason’s performance as worthy of his salary and saw the draft as the best way to not only upgrade, but do so at a fraction of the cost. It didn’t have to be in the first round, but that’s the way it turned out.

3. Eyes on AFC East: The physical makeup and sticky-coverage/sudden playing style of third- and fourth-round cornerbacks Marcus Jones (5-foot-8, 174 pounds) and Jack Jones (5-foot-10, 171) seem like a direct response to what the Patriots face in the division — as dynamic Tyreek Hill joins Jaylen Waddle in Miami, and few Patriots could keep up with Bills pass-catchers Stefon Diggs, Isaiah McKenzie & Co., late last season — especially on deep crossing routes.

4. Still invested in young LBs: What to make of the Patriots passing on linebackers entirely? Belichick is not yet ready to give up on 2020 third-round pick Anfernee Jennings, and as director of player personnel Matt Groh said, 2021 fifth-round pick Cameron McGrone is like an “additional draft pick” after sitting out his rookie season while recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee suffered at Michigan. There’s also 2021 third-round pick Ronnie Perkins and 2020 second-rounder Josh Uche in the conversation.

5. White a wild card: Veteran running back James White said last week that he is still not cleared after having hip surgery last season. When the team drafts two running backs (Strong Jr. and Kevin Harris) despite already having Damien Harris, Rhamondre Stevenson and White on the roster, it reinforces that the team is protecting itself when it comes to White’s status.

6. Hedge on Harris’ future: Harris enters the final year of his contract in 2022, and while an extension can never be ruled out, loading up the depth chart behind him with two draft picks could foreshadow how Belichick will view any future contract talks. It marked the first time the Patriots selected two running backs in a draft since 2011 (Shane Vereen, Stevan Ridley).

7. Stidham on notice: Selecting Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe in the fourth round (No. 137) shines a spotlight on Jarrett Stidham‘s development. The 2019 fourth-round pick has not seemed to ascend and now has a real battle to make the team as a backup to Mac Jones.

8. Belief in Groh: Belichick seems to have put a lot of faith in Groh, the first-year director of player personnel and former national scout, considering he veered away from power programs on a few picks. Strange played at Tennessee-Chattanooga, fourth-rounder Strong at South Dakota State and sixth-round pick Sam Roberts at Northwest Missouri State.

9. Inner circle: As shown on Patriots.com, the Patriots have probably the smallest draft room in the NFL, with Belichick, Groh, owners Robert and Jonathan Kraft, director of scouting Eliot Wolf, pro scouting director Steve Cargile, senior football advisor Matt Patricia, college scouting director Camren Williams, director of football/head coach administration Berj Najarian and director of research Richard Miller among the selected few from the organization spotted on Day 1 of the draft. This is the leadership group Belichick has entrusted in a year of transition, with former director of player personnel Dave Ziegler having departed to become Raiders general manager.

10. Return game: After a down year on special teams, one way to bring back the mojo is to select arguably the draft’s most dynamic punt returner in the third round (Marcus Jones). Groh also said the Patriots will consider what second-round burner Thornton might contribute as well (possibly on kickoff returns). Projecting picks onto the roster is a significant part of the draft, and this was a reminder how the Patriots continue to place a significant emphasis on fourth down.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:

1. Relative athletic scores: The Patriots’ 2022 draft class spoke volumes about how Bill Belichick & Co. view the team’s deficiencies — specifically with a focus on speed in a game that continues to be played more in space.

Director of player personnel Matt Groh also pointed out how the Patriots have always placed a high value on toughness.

Whether the Patriots identified the right players to inject those traits into their roster will be determined in time, but how they came to the conclusion that guard Cole Strange (first round, 29th), receiver Tyquan Thornton (second round, 50th), and cornerback Marcus Jones (third round, 85th) were ideal targets was notable.

In short, the Patriots’ Class of ’22 — criticized in some circles because of the perception the team reached on players — might turn out to be the litmus test for how much stock teams should place in analytics and testing numbers when valuing players.

Relative athletic score, which grades a player’s measurements on a 0-to-10 scale compared to their peer group, is becoming more mainstream in football reporting, and the picks of Strange and Thornton provide a springboard to highlight them.

Strange, in particular, is off the charts.

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Cole Strange was drafted with pick 29 of round 1 in the 2022 draft class. He scored a 9.95 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 7 out of 1298 OG from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/RRKLKRSIJK #RAS #Patriots pic.twitter.com/FxExB6k1sR

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 29, 2022

When his measurements and testing numbers are compared to others at guard since 1987, he ranks seventh out of 1,298 prospects.

“He’s almost 6-[foot]-5, 300 pounds and runs sub-5 seconds in the 40 [-yard dash]. Benched 225 [pounds] 31 times. There’s not a lot of humans out there that are doing that,” Groh said Friday night.

Meanwhile, Thornton’s 4.28 time in the 40-yard dash is the fourth fastest by a receiver at the NFL combine since 2006.

Thornton’s relative athletic score is also promising, ranking 405th out of 2,785 receivers from 1987 to 2022. The speed is elite.

The trend continued on Saturday in the fourth round when the Patriots selected South Dakota State running back Pierre Strong Jr., whose 4.37 time in the 40-yard dash at the combine was tied for the fastest among running backs. Strong also had a high relative athletic score, with elite speed.

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Tyquan Thornton was drafted with pick 50 of round 2 in the 2022 draft class. He scored a 8.55 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 405 out of 2785 WR from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/rVWTfUMA2a #RAS #Patriots pic.twitter.com/w79vj8MnBm

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 30, 2022

Of course, projecting traits has long been a part of scouting. Relative athletic scores don’t play football on Sundays, and Strange, Thornton & Co., wouldn’t be Patriots if they hadn’t already transferred some of their unique athletic gifts to the field as football players.

But their elite testing numbers, and how the Patriots now project those to the NFL relative to the other 31 teams when assessing value, was an obvious storyline of note.

2. Why not McDuffie? It is often said that a team’s draft is best assessed after at least three years have passed, and with the Patriots’ 2022 class, a top player to watch will be cornerback Trent McDuffie. Had the Patriots stayed at the 21st pick overall and taken McDuffie instead of trading down to 29, they’d likely be getting a lot of “attaboys” for their work in filling a top need with a player who wasn’t expected to be available.

So why didn’t they?

One NFL scout pointed to McDuffie’s shorter-than-ideal arm length (29 3/4) as a possible reason the Patriots didn’t race to turn in their card — especially since they have traditionally preferred to play press-man coverage on the outside (where some view arm length as critical). Weighing that against the value the Patriots received to trade down (getting a solid haul of third- and fourth-round picks), they took the trade, knowing there was a small handful of players (including Strange) they were comfortable selecting at 29.

3. Thornton’s speed: In selecting Thornton, the fastest wide receiver in the 2022 draft, the Patriots might have had this statistic on the mind — New England receivers ranked 25th in the NFL in separation on deep balls last year. They had only 1.6 yards of separation on throws 20-plus yards downfield, per ESPN metrics powered by NFL Next Gen Stats.

At the same time, one point Groh made is that the team views Thornton as more than just a burner running down the field. “This isn’t just a linear guy. You see him really be able to get off the line,” he said. “And for as fast as he is, to be able to see him get in the red zone and do some things, it’s not just speed, it’s 6-2, ability to get up and really pluck the ball out of the air.”

Longtime NFL tape analyst Greg Cosell, of ESPN’s NFL Matchup Show, had highlighted Thornton as a receiver worthy of more attention before the draft.

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Here’s @gregcosell on new #Patriots WR Tyquan Thornton. “He may be along w/Jameson Williams the most vertically explosive player in the class. Speed consistently showed up on tape..refinement to his game when beating press..reminds me a lot of Chris Olave but tougher.” #ForeverNE pic.twitter.com/frmnDGLPOO

— Nik Athans (@NewEnglandNik) April 30, 2022

4. Early returns: The Patriots naturally hope Thornton and Jones develop into front-line options at receiver and cornerback, respectively, but not to be overlooked is their more immediate opportunity of helping the team in the return game. Thornton’s blazing speed could be a factor as a kickoff returner (he only returned eight kickoffs in college), and Jones is a top candidate to fill the void left by top punt returner Gunner Olszewski‘s departure. Over the past two seasons, Jones had 711 punt return yards and 12 punt returns of 12-plus yards — both the most in the Football Bowl Subdivision. In 2021, the Patriots ranked No. 18 in the NFL in kickoff return average (21.8 yards) and No. 6 in punt return average (11.3 yards).

5. Picks in 2023: A Friday night trade in which the Patriots gave up their late third-round pick (94) in exchange for Carolina’s late fourth-rounder (137) and a 2023 third-rounder showed how Belichick — with rock-solid job security — is often thinking ahead. The 2023 third-rounder essentially replaces what the Patriots previously traded for veteran receiver DeVante Parker. So when accounting for compensatory draft picks, and prior picks acquired from the Rams (Sony Michel) and Panthers (Stephon Gilmore), the Patriots have 2023 picks in the following rounds: 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6, 7.

6. Don’t forget McGrone: In what was viewed by many as a deep inside linebacker class, the Patriots stayed away from it entirely in the draft. While it’s always dangerous to say that’s a direct correlation to how the Patriots view the linebackers already on the roster, Groh highlighted second-year player Cameron McGrone (2021 fifth round) as “kind of an additional draft pick” after not playing his rookie 2021 season while recovering from a torn ACL suffered at Michigan. Add in trade acquisition Mack Wilson and the re-signing of Ja’Whaun Bentley, and Groh said there’s a level of internal excitement with the linebackers. Also, safety Jabrill Peppers projects to play more in the box in certain packages, and fellow safeties Adrian Phillips and Kyle Dugger can as well.

7. Mac elevating: Strange said he received a welcome text message from quarterback Mac Jones, who invited him to dinner at Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse on Friday. A native of Tennessee who was making his first trip to New England, Strange said the gesture made him feel like he was home.

Jones’ invitation reflects what some teammates relay has been evolving behind the scenes, with Jones showing increasing comfort stepping into a leadership role while also letting his own personality come out.

“He’s a great guy and just as funny,” center David Andrews told season-ticket members at the team’s annual draft party Thursday. “He also loves playing this game. He loves the grind of this game. The preparation. He’s such a smart guy. Being an undrafted guy, there’s not a lot of pressure on you. Being a first-round quarterback, I can’t imagine the pressure. And I can’t say enough about how he handled it.”

8. White not cleared: When the Patriots take the field for voluntary offseason workouts this month, veteran running back James White (hip) likely won’t be participating. White said at the draft party: “I still have a little while to go [after] a pretty rough injury.” If third-year running back J.J. Taylor wants to make a decisive move to show he’s ready for the role, he has a golden opportunity this spring.

9. Brooks covers Texas: Groh, the Patriots’ director of player personnel whose fire and passion percolated late Friday night in his media Q&A, classily highlighted the work of area scout Alex Brooks after the Patriots selected players from Texas-based schools in Thornton (Baylor) and Marcus Jones (Houston). Brooks, entering his fifth season with the Patriots, covers Texas as part of his broader Southwest responsibilities. He played football himself at West Virginia (2013-16), and spent the spring of 2018 coaching at John Carroll University before joining the Patriots’ personnel department.

10. Did you know? Strange, whose full name is Devin Cole Strange, is the first player from UT-Chattanooga to be drafted since offensive lineman Corey Levin went in the sixth round in 2017. Strange tops Terrell Owens (89th in 1996) as the highest-ever Moc drafted into the NFL, and is the second UT-Chattanooga player drafted by the Patriots. Running back Marrio Grier (sixth round 1996) was the other.