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

1. Taking it to the house: This promises to be the best Mother’s Day ever for Luisa Turner. A gift of a lifetime by her son, Patriots receiver Kendrick Bourne, makes it so.

Turner will spend the day in her new home in Oregon, which Bourne purchased for his parents just a few weeks ago.

While it is much bigger than their prior two-bedroom, one-bathroom residence — and has everything from a basketball court to a hot tub and sauna — it’s what that space represents that means the most to Mom.

“When I walked in, it just felt like home. I could see my life — my grandchildren here, my kids here,” she said. “It warms my heart that he did this for his family.”

Bourne, who has three siblings, had told his parents, Luisa and Eric, of his dream to buy them a home. He asked them to explore different possibilities and let him know what they found.

That’s when he decided to add a playful twist to it all.

When Luisa told him this was the one, Bourne relayed that he spoke with the realtor and they might not be able to close the deal based on another offer. So he identified a different house for them to consider.

Luisa was appreciative, of course, but the location of the second option wasn’t as preferable because it wasn’t as close to Kendrick’s Oregon residence.

Ultimately, Kendrick brought his parents back to the original house and handed them a floor mat that read “Home Sweet Home.” The house was theirs.

“That’s when I burst out in excitement,” Luisa said. “Since he was a baby, he’s been something else!”

Bourne’s sense of humor, and positive demeanor, have been staples with the Patriots since he signed a three-year contract worth a maximum of $22 million in March of 2021. His hard work as a football player — elevating from undrafted out of Eastern Washington in 2017, to hooking on with the San Francisco 49ers, and then to the Patriots — set the stage for his gift to his parents.

“He’s just a great son — a golden child,” Luisa said. “I tell him that all the time.”

2. O’Brien on hand: Bill Belichick previously said the Patriots’ coaching staff was likely complete, but that doesn’t mean visitors won’t be welcomed at various times — and Belichick’s network is deep. Along those lines, players took note of current Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien on the field at Gillette Stadium last week at the voluntary offseason program. O’Brien, of course, has deep roots in New England as a former Belichick assistant.

3. Groh at Shrine Bowl: Eric Galko, the director of football operations and player personnel for the Shrine Bowl, pointed out that the Patriots tied for the NFL high (with the Titans) by drafting four Shrine Bowl players.

The players are receiver Tyquan Thornton (second round), cornerback Jack Jones (fourth round), running back Pierre Strong Jr. (fourth round) and defensive tackle Sam Roberts (sixth round). While it might have been a coincidence, the presence of New England director of personnel Matt Groh throughout Shine Bowl week was notable to Galko.

“He was one of the longest-staying executives, there for at least four days,” he said. “One of the things we added this year was a lot of formal interview time. Most all-star games have 8 to 10 hours of interview time with players, sometimes up until 11 o’clock at night. Not for us. We had 24 hours of available interview time, all structured throughout the day.

“I think for executives like Matt, who were there and took advantage, they probably got a lot of good character and background feedback, for sure.”

4. Jones’ character: Jones, the fourth-round pick from Arizona State who began his career at USC, was arrested for breaking into a restaurant in 2018. A plea agreement reduced the initial felony charges to a second-degree misdemeanor charge of commercial burglary. In 2020, he was also suspended at Arizona State for fighting during practice. Teams had to investigate those issues while scouting Jones. Galko, who says he got to talk with Jones at Arizona State before inviting him to the Shrine Bowl, vouches for him.

“I think a lot of people see the one incident he had as an 18-year-old kid at USC, and [assume] that’s who he is. It’s really important, when assessing character for a player, [to consider] it’s not about what the player has done before but what they may do in the future. Is that past behavior predictive? …[Jones] made a mistake, he owns it, and it isn’t something he glosses over.”

5. Lofty comparison: While acknowledging he has a vested interest in Jones’ success as a Shrine Bowl alum, Galko, who previously founded Optimum Scouting and was a head personnel executive for the XFL, compared his potential to some of the draft’s top-rated cornerbacks.

“His ball skills, timing and reaction makes him special. I think in terms of pure man coverage ability, Ahmad Gardner, Derek Stingley Jr., he’s in that … ‘upside’ category,” he said.

Gardner went fourth overall to the New York Jets, one pick after Stingley was selected by the Houston Texans. Jones was selected 121st, and some draft analysts believe that was early.

If Jones delivers at the level Gardner and Stingley project to as top-5 picks, that would be quite a story in New England.

6. Thanks, mom! In an interview with the Patriots’ in-house media, Thornton, the second-round pick who ran a 4.28 time in the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, (fourth best for a receiver since 2006) credited his blazing speed to his mother, Latasha Jackson. Thornton said she was always the fastest in her class. A perfect Mother’s Day note, indeed.

7. Strong report: One NFL scout projects Strong, the running back from South Dakota State, to follow in the footsteps of James White, Shane Vereen and Kevin Faulk in terms of his role. “He is a pure speed, third-down back,” the scout said, adding that he hoped to see more toughness from Strong at times. “He didn’t dominate enough at the end of this year when they were making their playoff push to make me say ‘This is the guy.’ But he definitely has talent. Catches the ball. He’s got traits, the production is good, but one question I had is why were they alternating him during the playoffs against Montana State?”

8. Schedule preview: The NFL releases its 2022 regular-season schedule on Thursday night, which will pair the much-anticipated when to the already-known against whom. One of the first thoughts last week, when it was announced receiver DeAndre Hopkins is suspended for the first six games of the season, was if the Patriots might catch a break with an early-season date at Arizona. Ditto with a road game against Cleveland, with the possibility that quarterback Deshaun Watson faces an early-season suspension.

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Patriots 2022 opponents solidified:

🏈Home: Ravens, Bengals, Colts, Bears, Lions, Bills, Dolphins, Jets

🏈Away: Browns, Steelers, Raiders, Packers, Vikings, Cardinals, Bills, Dolphins, Jets

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) January 10, 2022

9. Older draft class: Patriots first-round pick Cole Strange turns 24 in July, and fellow rookies Thornton (22 in August), Marcus Jones (24 in October), Jack Jones (25 in December), Strong (24 in December), and Bailey Zappe (just turned 23) reflect how COVID-19 made this an older NFL-wide draft class. Age wasn’t a major concern for the Patriots. “Once you start getting to some of these older players, it’s a factor that you keep in mind, and I think the position plays a factor in that,” Groh said. “But I don’t think there’s that big of a difference between some of those age groups that we’re talking about.”

10. Did you know? The Patriots selected seven offensive players in the 2022 draft, the most of any team in the NFL, and their most in a draft under Belichick, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

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.