From the first pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Patriots put everyone — fans, draft experts, and local media — on the back foot.
By the time it was over — several controversial/head-scratching picks, including double-dipping at running back, later — people around the region were asking themselves, “What was that?”
What it was, in truth, was the Patriots realizing two things: they’re in danger of falling behind the rest of their division, and the rigid value-based system they’ve so often employed just wasn’t getting it done.
So they appeared to throw the traditional playbook out of the window in an effort to start creating a roster more like the rest of the modern NFL.