Jaheim Bell Brings Explosiveness and Versatility to Patriots Tight End Room.
Bell’s college position coach and Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy offer insight into the Patriots seventh-round pick’s journey to New England.
After selecting quarterback Drake Maye, the Patriots went into the last two days of the 2024 NFL Draft with a clear objective: weaponize the offense.
Weaponizing the offense became a catchphrase for New England when de facto general manager Eliot Wolf used those terms at the combine in February. Wolf inferred that the Patriots offense lacked dynamic playmakers who could create a positive environment for their quarterback.
The Patriots personnel shortcomings were largely to blame for the demise of 2021 first-rounder Mac Jones. Jones had his slice of the blame pie, too. But the Pats former quarterback’s supporting cast was also underwhelming, especially given his skill set as a point guard passer, and Wolf seemed to acknowledge that was an issue during Jones’s three seasons in New England.
With the Patriots hitting the reset button with a more toolsy playmaker in Maye, Wolf quickly went to work to avoid repeating New England’s mistake with Jones. The Pats personnel chief double-dipped in a strong wide receiver class with Ja’Lynn Polk (No. 37) and Javon Baker (No. 110) — two downfield receivers to pair with Maye’s excellent arm talent.
Although the second and fourth-round picks have the most buzz, the Patriots potentially landed a steal with seventh-round tight end Jaheim Bell. The selection of Bell with their final draft choice (No. 231) would usually be seen as a lottery ticket on a player who’s a long shot to make the roster. However, that’s not the case here. Many pundits projected Bell to go two rounds earlier than where he ultimately landed.
New England also thoroughly vetted Bell, with exposures at the Senior Bowl, a private meeting before his Pro Day, a 30-visit in Foxborough, and even communication with Florida State’s coaching staff after the draft about the best ways to integrate Bell into the offense. Clearly, the Pats have a plan for Bell that goes beyond a typical seventh-round pick.
According to Florida State deputy head coach and tight ends coach Chris Thomsen, the Patriots thorough process has provided comfort for Bell.
“What I think he feels good about is that they did their homework on him. They were the team that probably did the most homework on him. So I think he feels great,” Thomsen told Patriots.com.
For his former position coach at Florida State, the Patriots reaching out after the draft for tips on coaching Bell was something new to Thomsen.
“I haven’t really had that before, honestly. Somebody calling after the draft and saying give me the ways this person learns. Give me the things that you learned about him. I thought that was pretty interesting,” Thomsen said. “It was pretty impressive that they were doing some follow-up. Give us a little bit of info to help us speed up the process. I really do think they’ve got a good role in mind.”
