Patriots Select Jaheim Bell With Final Pick In 2024 NFL Draft
The New England Patriots selected tight end Jaheim Bell with their final pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Bell, a Florida State product, was selected in the seventh round (No. 231). He measured in at 6-foot-2 and 241 pounds and ran a 4.61 40-yard dash. He caught 39 passes for 503 yards and two touchdowns in 13 games for Florida State in 2023. He played his first three college seasons at South Carolina.
Bell joins a tight end room headlined by Hunter Henry and veteran Austin Hooper.
The selection of Bell means the Patriots used each of their first five picks on an offensive player, and seven of their eight total selections on that side of the ball.
“Undersized as a tight end and lacking instincts as a lead blocker out of the backfield, Bell is a player without a clean positional fit after playing all over the field at South Carolina and Florida State,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in Bell’s draft profile. “When Bell centers in and locks up, he can be an effective blocker, but he is wildly inconsistent when asked to make blocks on the move in space.”
The Patriots drafted quarterbacks Drake Maye (No. 3) and Joe Milton III (No. 193), wide receivers Ja’Lynn Polk (No. 37) and Javon Baker (No. 110) along with offensive linemen Caedan Wallace (No. 68) and Layden Robinson (No. 103). And on the defensive side of the ball, New England used its initial sixth-round pick on cornerback Marcellas Dial (No. 180).