After weeks of player profiles, mock drafts and rumors, the wait will finally come to an end tonight. The 2026 NFL Draft is right around the corner, and with it an opportunity for the New England Patriots to keep adding to a roster that reached the doorstep of a championship last year.

The circumstances for the team are obviously different than they had been in recent years. Picking at No. 31 overall, a welcome byproduct of their success last season, they are faced with a lot more uncertainty than in 2024 and 2025, when Drake Maye and Will Campbell were the shoo-in picks at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.

Naturally, what the Patriots are going do on Thursday night as well as on the subsequent two days is anybody’s guess. Heck, they themselves probably don’t know how the chips are going to fall.

Before they do, here are one reporter’s thoughts on the Patriots heading into Day 1 of the NFL Draft. Consider this a mid-week version of our Sunday Patriots Notes, even if it might be a bit less structured and more stream-of-counsciousnessy.

1. With the draft only hours away and rumors swirling around, it is hard to assess what eventually will happen on Thursday night. However, based on everything we know so far, it would not be a surprise if there was indeed a run at the offensive tackle position happening before the Patriots are on the clock.

They have the ammunition to move up the board — 11 draft picks, including five in a 33-pick cluster on Day 3 — but whether or not they will is a different story. For starters, it takes two to tango: they might be willing but if they cannot find a trade partner at the right price, no such climb will materialize.

The question would then become, what’s next? Tackle is not the only priority position the team might be after in the first round, but the scope would get a lot narrower if the top-tier players at that spot are all gone. New England might go after a wideout, but there is reason to believe they won’t (more on that in a second), which leaves two other clear-cut options: edge or trade-down.

Both scenarios appear realistic at this point in time, but, again, trading down might be attractive in theory but not in practice. And so, by the power of elimination, the Patriots could end up at the edge.

At first glance, a lot of the edges in the class and New England’s range look more like potential second-rounders. Akheem Mesidor, T.J. Parker, Cashius Howell, Zion Young, R Mason Thomas, Malachi Lawrence, Gabe Jacas — you name them — they all are good prospects but not necessarily universal first-round material for one reason or another. However, that might not matter when the Patriots are on the clock.

They have to pick someone, sure. But also, like executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf recently said, “this draft is maybe pretty heavy up at the top and then from call it 25 to 50 it’s sort of the same level of player.”

That point of view would justify seemingly over-drafting a player in that range. So, don’t be surprised if that is what ends up happening.

2. Whether it will be the first round or not, the expectation is that the Patriots will target their defensive edge early in order to get that speed element that Eliot Wolf was talking about during the pre-draft process. The expectation also is that they will draft a tight end and a linebacker potentially on the third day.

Those expectations are oftentimes rooted in reality; New England has taken measures to address those positions in the draft. However, expectation also is mostly build externally: we see the edge as a need and that’s why we assume the team does as well.

That might be the case, and by all indication it is. But without knowing the team’s draft board, there is a significant grey area. That is precisely where those seemingly head-scratching selections live.

One good example is cornerback. On paper, the Patriots have no need to address the position early with Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis and Marcus Jones all under contract. However, the information that we have — in-game performance, depth charts, contract details — is always incomplete; the team simply knows more about players at the present and how it projects them to perform in the future.

That is why a position like cornerback, albeit not a primary need in our estimation, could still end up seeing a significant investment come draft day. If a corner is the top-rated player on the board at, say, No. 31, and he fits into the projection, he very well could end up in New England even if seemingly not what the team should be looking for at that point in the draft.

Of course, that is only an example. But it illustrates that what we perceive as targets does not necessarily reflect what the team sees.

That, ultimately, is what makes the whole deal so much fun.

3. Leading up to the draft, the Patriots have had close reported contact with over 140 different players. Among them are 17 different wide receivers, which is likely on a fraction of the real number but nonetheless a significant portion relative to the total number available. What stands out about that group is not the volume, though, but rather the names on it.

Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion, who might come off the board as early as Thursday night, is the lone projected early-round receiver on the list. The only other top-100 wideout on the consensus big board to have reported contact with the team is Ole Miss’ De’Zhaun Stribling, who might sneak into the third round but just as easily could end up an early Day 3 selection.