New England Patriots DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo and director of scouting Eliot Wolf were among those from the organization attending USC's pro day last Wednesday and then Michigan's pro day on Friday, giving them a closer look at quarterbacks Caleb Williams (USC) and J.J. McCarthy (Michigan). Mayo and Wolf will likely be at LSU's pro day this Wednesday for Jayden Daniels and at North Carolina's on Thursday to watch Drake Maye. Many pundits project the Patriots taking a QB with the No. 3 overall pick in next month's NFL draft, and their scouting schedule only reinforces that thought. New England move on from Mac Jones this offseason, trading him to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and are fully expected to bring in a rookie signal-caller in the draft to compete with Jacoby Brissett for the starting gig in 2024.

The San Francisco 49ers reached an agreement on an undisclosed one-year deal with free-agent veteran quarterback Joshua Dobbs on Monday, according to his agent, Mike McCartney. Dobbs will give the Niners more depth behind starter Brock Purdy after Sam Darnold signed with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason. The 29-year-old Dobbs was the early season feel-good story in the NFL last year with the Arizona Cardinals and Vikings, but he was ultimately benched in Minnesota after they acquired him in a trade. In 13 games played (12 starts), the Steelers' former fourth-round selection in 2017 out of Tennessee completed 62.8% of his pass attempts for 2,464 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Dobbs also added six rushing scores. He should be considered the favorite for backups duties over Brandon Allen.

NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah said on Thursday that he thinks the Minnesota Vikings "will put forth a strong effort to try and get up to get Drake Maye" in the upcoming NFL draft in April. The Vikings sit with the No. 11 pick in the first round of the draft, but they just made a trade on Friday with the Houston Texans to add another first-round selection (23rd overall), giving them more draft capital to potentially make a leap into the first five picks in order to acquire a franchise signal-caller like Maye. The Vikings started down this path of trying to trade up for a QB after Kirk Cousins left for the Atlanta Falcons in free agency. Minnesota signed former first-rounder Sam Darnold earlier this week, but he will almost certainly serve as a bridge QB for whichever signal-caller the Vikings take in this year's draft.

The Buffalo Bills agreed to terms with free-agent wide receiver Mack Hollins on an undisclosed deal on Wednesday, according to sources. As of right now, Hollins is essentially replacing Gabe Davis, who agreed to join the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency earlier this week. In a run-heavy offensive scheme with the Atlanta Falcons with inconsistency all year at quarterback, Hollins caught just 18 passes for 251 yards and no touchdowns in 13 games in 2023. However, the year before in 2022 with the Las Vegas Raiders, the 30-year-old had a career-best 57-690-4 line in 17 games. The Bills will probably be looking to add more help to the receiver room through free agency and the draft, but as of right now, Hollins' fantasy stock in deeper leagues is trending up with the move to Buffalo.

Las Vegas Raiders free-agent tight end Austin Hooper is expected to sign a one-year deal worth up to $4.25 million with the New England Patriots on Wednesday. The veteran tight end will reunite with new Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who was with Hooper with the Cleveland Browns. Hooper made the Pro Bowl two straight years from 2018-19 while with the Atlanta Falcons, but he hasn't been nearly as involved as he was then in the last four seasons with the Browns, Titans and Raiders. In 17 games (nine starts) last year in Vegas, the 29-year-old caught just 25 of 31 targets for 234 yards and no touchdowns. With both Mike Gesicki and Pharaoh Brown now gone, Hooper figures to serve as New England's No. 2 TE behind Hunter Henry in 2024. Unless Henry gets hurt, Hooper is unlikely to have a significant enough role to warrant fantasy consideration in standard-sized leagues.