INDIANAPOLIS — It’s a good year for the Patriots to need a quarterback.

In an offseason that the Patriots should be looking to upgrade over Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe and hold the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, director of scouting Eliot Wolf confirmed the team plans to meet with the top three players at the position at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Wolf said the Patriots will meet with USC’s Caleb Williams, UNC’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels this week in Indianapolis. A source told the Herald the Patriots plan to meet with most of the QBs at the combine through formal and informal interviews.

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“I think it’s a really good year for quarterbacks,” Wolf said Tuesday at a podium at the combine. “It’s a really good year at a lot of positions. Like any position we’re going to we’re going to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, determine who fits for us. We’re pretty early in the process here. Like, I haven’t met any of these guys. Jerod (Mayo) hasn’t met any of these guys. So as we continue through the process here, we’ll determine what’s best for the team. One thing about the quarterbacks in this draft specifically that I’m excited about is that they all look like they’re really tough guys, which is obviously great at any position, but the quarterback position especially.”

Other top QB prospects include Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, Oregon’s Bo Nix and Washington’s Michael Penix. Williams is regarded as the top QB prospect in the draft, but other evaluators are torn on how to order Maye and Daniels after him. One AFC East college scout told the Herald this week that he’d put Maye (his No. 2) closer to Williams than Daniels (his No. 3) to Maye, but that it’s all personal preference.

Wolf said all options are on the table with what to do with the No. 3 overall pick, including a trade. He said the draft will be a collaborative effort, but that he would make the pick in the first round.

As for what qualities Wolf looks for in quarterback, leadership is paramount.

“First of all being someone that can elevate his teammates,” Wolf said. “Someone that your teammates want to play for. I think that’s an extremely underrated thing that people don’t really talk about that much. Leadership’s important and obviously physical talent. We wouldn’t be talking about these guys if they weren’t physically talented.”

Wolf was asked if it would be a good idea to drop a young quarterback onto a roster with significant holes. He seemed relatively confident the team could patch some of those holes in their goal to regain “respectability.”

The Patriots’ biggest needs, beyond quarterback, are positions that directly impact the QB at wide receiver, tight end and offensive tackle. Fortunately for Wolf and the Patriots, wide receiver and offensive tackle are also strengths of this draft.

“I think it depends on who we’re talking about and what holes we end up having,” Wolf said. “There’s a lot of time between now and the start of the season to patch those holes in. And hopefully we’re going to do more than patch them. We’re going to try to get the best players that we can and we’ll see what happens at the quarterback position.”

The Patriots have the third-most cap space in the NFL this offseason with the ability to create even more by moving on from cornerback J.C. Jackson. They can only fill so many needs in the draft, so they will need to do work in trades and free agency to fill in some of those gaps to support a rookie quarterback.

Jones has struggled for two straight years as a starter as he and Zappe led the Patriots to a 4-13 record and last-place finish in the AFC East last season. Wolf was happy to talk about both players when asked about the team’s plan at QB.

“I’d say there’s a lot of options on the table,” Wolf said. “I’m glad you asked about Mac and Bailey. We’re not going to be a program that’s talking about these guys in terms of, through the media, we’re gonna we’re gonna do what’s best for the team behind the scenes and the strategy of that is going to be myself, Jerod Mayo, Matt Groh, and we’re going to try to do the right thing for the team.”

Wolf was part of the front office that drafted Jones with the 15th overall pick in 2021 and Zappe with a fourth-round pick in 2022. Jones had a solid rookie season that ended with a playoff appearance but has struggled in ensuing seasons. Zappe was a solid backup in 2022 but also faltered as a starter in 2023.

Wolf was asked what he’s learned about evaluating quarterbacks since taking Jones.

“I think the main thing is just trying to do everything we can to support that person once we get them in the building. We’re going to make the best decision we can in terms of who that person is – if we decide to go quarterback at No. 3. But really putting every resource into everything we have into that person to support them and make sure that we get the best version of themself,” he said.

Wolf was asked a question unrelated to Jones about body language at quarterback. Jones’ on-field body language improved in 2023 after a frustrating 2022 campaign when his outbursts became a talking point in the media and rubbed some people in the organization the wrong way.

“Body language on the field is very important at that position,” Wolf said. “You don’t want a guy that’s throwing his hands up after a bad play, or you can see him physically pointing at somebody. Body language is important. Everybody’s looking at the quarterback.”