# List of New England Patriots first-round draft picks

The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference East Division. Founded in 1959 as the Boston Patriots, they were a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) and joined the NFL in 1970 following the AFL–NFL merger. The Patriots played their home games at various stadiums throughout Boston, including Fenway Park from 1963 to 1969, until the franchise moved to Foxborough in 1971. As part of the move, the team changed its name to the New England Patriots. Home games were played at Foxboro Stadium until 2002 when the stadium was demolished alongside the opening of Gillette Stadium. The team began utilizing Gillette Stadium for home games the same year.
The NFL draft, officially known as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting", is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings; the teams with the worst win–loss records receive the earliest picks. Teams that qualified for the NFL playoffs select after non-qualifiers, and their order depends on how far they advanced, using their regular season record as a tie-breaker. The final two selections in the first round are reserved for the Super Bowl runner-up and champion. Draft picks are tradable and players or other picks can be acquired with them.
Before the merger agreements in 1966, the AFL directly competed with the NFL and held a separate draft. This led to a bidding war over top prospects between the two leagues, along with the subsequent drafting of the same player in each draft. As part of the merger agreement on June 8, 1966, the two leagues began holding a multiple round "common draft". Once the AFL officially merged with the NFL in 1970, the "common draft" simply became the NFL draft. The first AFL draft was held prior to the start of the 1960 season. The first round of the 1960 AFL draft was territorial selections. Each team received a "territorial pick" which allowed them to select a single player within a pre-agreed upon designated region (the team's "territory"). Teams then agreed on the top eight players at each position, who were subsequently assigned to teams by random draw, with each of the eight teams receiving one of those players. This process was repeated until all 53 roster spots were filled. Beginning in the 1961 draft, the AFL, using the same system as the NFL, began to assign picks based on the previous season's standings.
Since the team's first draft, the Patriots have selected 71 players in the first round. The team's first-round pick in the inaugural AFL draft was Gerhard Schwedes, a halfback out of Syracuse; he was the team's territorial selection. The Patriots have selected first overall five times, drafting Jack Concannon in 1964, Jim Plunkett in 1971, Kenneth Sims in 1982, Irving Fryar in 1984, and Drew Bledsoe in 1993. In the most recent draft, held in 2024, the Patriots selected North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.
The Patriots did not draft a player in the first round on eight occasions. Four of the team's first-round picks—John Hannah, Mike Haynes, Ty Law, and Richard Seymour—have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Patriots used four first-round picks in the 1960s to select players—Gary Collins, Jack Concannon, Tommy Mason, and Jerry Rush—who chose to sign with the NFL instead.

## Player selections

Key :
| Symbol | Meaning |
| † | Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| * | Selected number one overall |
Position abbreviations :
| C | Center |
| CB | Cornerback |
| DB | Defensive back |
| DE | Defensive end |
| DT | Defensive tackle |
| FL | Flanker |
| G | Guard |
| HB | Halfback |
| LB | Linebacker |
| NT | Nose tackle |
| QB | Quarterback |
| RB | Running back |
| T | Tackle |
| TE | Tight end |
| WR | Wide receiver |
New England Patriots first-round draft picks :
| Season | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1960 | Territorial | Gerhard Schwedes | HB | Syracuse | First round was territorial selections |
| 1961 | 2 | Tommy Mason | RB | Tulane | Signed for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings instead |
| 1962 | 6 | Gary Collins | FL | Maryland | Signed for the NFL's Cleveland Browns instead |
| 1963 | 7 | Art Graham | WR | Boston College | |
| 1964 | 1 | Jack Concannon* | QB | Boston College | Moved up draft order in trade with Denver Broncos. Signed for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles instead. |
| 1965 | 7 | Jerry Rush | DT | Michigan State | Signed for the NFL's Detroit Lions instead |
| 1966 | 3 | Karl Singer | T | Purdue | |
| 1967 | 21 | John Charles | DB | Purdue | |
| 1968 | 6 | Dennis Byrd | DE | NC State | |
| 1969 | 6 | Ron Sellers | WR | Florida State | |
| 1970 | 4 | Phil Olsen | DT | Utah State | |
| 1971 | 1 | Jim Plunkett* | QB | Stanford | |
| 1972 | No pick | No pick | No pick | No pick | Original pick sent to Minnesota Vikings. Pick received from Los Angeles Rams and traded to New York Giants. |
| 1973 | 4 | John Hannah† | G | Alabama | |
| 1973 | 11 | Sam Cunningham | RB | USC | Pick received from Los Angeles Rams |
| 1973 | 19 | Darryl Stingley | WR | Purdue | Pick received from Chicago Bears |
| 1974 | No pick | No pick | No pick | No pick | Pick traded to San Francisco 49ers |
| 1975 | 16 | Russ Francis | TE | Oregon | |
| 1976 | 5 | Mike Haynes† | CB | Arizona State | |
| 1976 | 12 | Pete Brock | C | Colorado | Pick received from San Francisco 49ers |
| 1976 | 21 | Tim Fox | DB | Ohio State | Pick received from San Francisco 49ers |
| 1977 | 16 | Raymond Clayborn | CB | Texas | Pick received from San Francisco 49ers |
| 1977 | 25 | Stanley Morgan | WR | Tennessee | |
| 1978 | 18 | Bob Cryder | G | Alabama | |
| 1979 | 25 | Rick Sanford | DB | South Carolina | |
| 1980 | 14 | Roland James | DB | Tennessee | |
| 1980 | 25 | Vagas Ferguson | RB | Notre Dame | Pick received from Houston Oilers |
| 1981 | 19 | Brian Holloway | T | Stanford | |
| 1982 | 1 | Kenneth Sims* | DE | Texas | |
| 1982 | 27 | Lester Williams | NT | Miami (FL) | Pick received from San Francisco 49ers |
| 1983 | 15 | Tony Eason | QB | Illinois | |
| 1984 | 1 | Irving Fryar* | WR | Nebraska | Moved up draft order in trade with Cincinnati Bengals using pick received from Los Angeles Raiders |
| 1985 | 28 | Trevor Matich | C | BYU | Moved down draft order in trade with San Francisco 49ers |
| 1986 | 26 | Reggie Dupard | RB | SMU | |
| 1987 | 23 | Bruce Armstrong | T | Louisville | |
| 1988 | 17 | John Stephens | RB | Northwestern State | |
| 1989 | 16 | Hart Lee Dykes | WR | Oklahoma State | |
| 1990 | 8 | Chris Singleton | LB | Arizona | Moved down draft order in trade with Seattle Seahawks |
| 1990 | 10 | Ray Agnew | DE | NC State | Pick received from Seattle Seahawks |
| 1991 | 11 | Pat Harlow | T | USC | Moved down draft order in trade with Dallas Cowboys |
| 1991 | 14 | Leonard Russell | RB | Arizona State | Moved up draft order in trades with Houston Oilers and Dallas Cowboys |
| 1992 | 13 | Eugene Chung | G | Virginia Tech | Moved down draft order in trade with Atlanta Falcons then up draft order in trade with Dallas Cowboys |
| 1993 | 1 | Drew Bledsoe* | QB | Washington State | |
| 1994 | 4 | Willie McGinest | DE | USC | |
| 1995 | 23 | Ty Law† | CB | Michigan | |
| 1996 | 7 | Terry Glenn | WR | Ohio State | |
| 1997 | 29 | Chris Canty | DB | Kansas State | |
| 1998 | 18 | Robert Edwards | RB | Georgia | Pick received from New York Jets |
| 1998 | 22 | Tebucky Jones | DB | Syracuse | |
| 1999 | 17 | Damien Woody | C | Boston College | Moved up draft order in trade with Seattle Seahawks |
| 1999 | 28 | Andy Katzenmoyer | LB | Ohio State | Pick received from New York Jets |
| 2000 | No pick | No pick | No pick | No pick | Pick traded to New York Jets |
| 2001 | 6 | Richard Seymour† | DE | Georgia | |
| 2002 | 21 | Daniel Graham | TE | Colorado | Moved up draft order in trade with Washington Redskins |
| 2003 | 13 | Ty Warren | DE | Texas A&M | Original pick traded to Baltimore Ravens. Pick received from Buffalo Bills then used to move up draft order in trade with Chicago Bears. |
| 2004 | 21 | Vince Wilfork | NT | Miami (FL) | Pick received from Baltimore Ravens |
| 2004 | 32 | Benjamin Watson | TE | Georgia | |
| 2005 | 32 | Logan Mankins | G | Fresno State | |
| 2006 | 21 | Laurence Maroney | RB | Minnesota | |
| 2007 | 24 | Brandon Meriweather | DB | Miami (FL) | Original pick traded to San Francisco 49ers. Pick received from Seattle Seahawks. |
| 2008 | 10 | Jerod Mayo | LB | Tennessee | Original pick forfeited. Pick received from San Francisco 49ers. |
| 2009 | No pick | No pick | No pick | No pick | Moved down draft order in trades with Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers |
| 2010 | 27 | Devin McCourty | DB | Rutgers | Moved down draft order in trades with Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys |
| 2011 | 17 | Nate Solder | T | Colorado | Original pick traded to New Orleans Saints. Pick received from Oakland Raiders. |
| 2012 | 21 | Chandler Jones | DE | Syracuse | |
| 2012 | 25 | Dont'a Hightower | LB | Alabama | Pick received from New Orleans Saints |
| 2013 | No pick | No pick | No pick | No pick | Moved down draft order in trade with Minnesota Vikings |
| 2014 | 29 | Dominique Easley | DT | Florida | |
| 2015 | 32 | Malcom Brown | DT | Texas | |
| 2016 | No pick | No pick | No pick | No pick | Pick forfeited |
| 2017 | No pick | No pick | No pick | No pick | Pick traded to New Orleans Saints |
| 2018 | 23 | Isaiah Wynn | T | Georgia | Pick received from Los Angeles Rams |
| 2018 | 31 | Sony Michel | RB | Georgia | |
| 2019 | 32 | N'Keal Harry | WR | Arizona State | |
| 2020 | No pick | No pick | No pick | No pick | Moved down draft order in trade with Los Angeles Chargers |
| 2021 | 15 | Mac Jones | QB | Alabama | |
| 2022 | 29 | Cole Strange | G | Chattanooga | Moved down draft order in trade with Kansas City Chiefs |
| 2023 | 17 | Christian Gonzalez | DB | Oregon | Moved down draft order in trade with Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 2024 | 3 | Drake Maye | QB | North Carolina | |