Zay Flowers visits Patriots for pre-draft meeting on Thursday
FOXBORO -- There is a whole lot of intrigue surrounding the New England Patriots and the 14th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. New England could certainly use some help at receiver, and has been meeting with the top pass-catchers in the draft over the last week.
On Thursday, the Patriots welcomed in Boston College star receiver Zay Flowers, who seemed pretty eager to meet with Bill O'Brien and company. According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Flowers took an overnight flight from Las Vegas and arrived in Boston at 6 a.m. He immediately made the trip to Foxboro to meet with the Patriots' brass and learn the New England offense.
BC WR Zay Flowers landed in Boston at 6 a.m. from an overnight Vegas flight and went straight to the #Patriots facility to spend the day learning the offense with Bill O’Brien on his visit, per source. New England has the No. 14 pick, three weeks from today.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 6, 2023
The 5-foot-9 Flowers is one of the top receiving prospects in the draft following an incredible four-year career with the Eagles. Despite being the only player worth the attention of an opposing defense, he hauled in 78 receptions for 1,077 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior in 2022.
Flowers was named to the All-America Third Team after his senior year, becoming the first Boston College wide receiver to earn All-America recognition since Gerard Phelan did so in 1984. He sits atop the BC record books in just about every receiving category, leaving the program with 200 receptions, 3,056 receiving yards, and 29 touchdown catches during his time at The Heights.
Flowers is pretty popular at the moment, meeting with the Dallas Cowboys (26th pick) and the Las Vegas Raiders (seventh pick) on Tuesday. He is expected to be taken somewhere in the first round, with his stock seemingly rising every day.
The Patriots staff is already familiar with what Flowers can do on the field, after coaching him during the East-West Shrine Bowl earlier this offseason. New England also reportedly had a meeting scheduled with USC's Jordan Addison this week, and Bill Belichick got a first hand look at Quentin Johnson at TCU's pro day last week. There haven't been any reports of the Patriots meeting with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but the Ohio State standout was seen at Fenway Park on Monday night.
The 2023 NFL Draft will take place in Kansas City from April 27-29.