Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Marvin Harrison Jr., Drake Maye all meeting with Patriots at combine

BOSTON -- It's been a long, long time since the Patriots owned a top-three pick in the NFL Draft. So as you would imagine, the team is doing every bit of its due diligence before making what could be a franchise-altering decision.

To that end, the coaching staff and front office is putting in work to get to know all of the top prospects.

At quarterback, that means all of the top-tier prospects -- including presumed No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams -- as well as some of the second-tier prospects. According to the Boston Herald's Doug Kyed, the Patriots met with Williams of USC, Jayden Daniels of LSU, Drake Maye of UNC, J.J. McCarthy of Michigan, and Bo Nix of Oregon.

That figures to be the area of most attention for the Patriots, and The Athletic's Chad Graff and Jeff Howe reported that the team is mostly focused on that position.

"The Patriots really want to draft a quarterback with the No. 3 pick," Graff and Howe reported. "The front office wrapped up its pre-free-agency meetings a week ago and seems to be on the same page that the best way to jump-start this rebuild and yield long-term success is to find a young quarterback in the NFL Draft to build around."

Still, with the talent of wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. being undeniable, the team also made sure to meet with the Ohio State standout, according to MassLive's Mark Daniels.

Harrison has been projected as a top-five pick, with some mock drafts projecting him as the No. 1 overall pick. And though the Patriots may be intent on taking a quarterback, they still have to consider Harrison if he's available to them at No. 3.

Unfortunately, several weeks still remain (eight, to be exact) until the grand mystery of the first three picks of the NFL Draft is finally revealed. For now, though, the contingent of Jerod Mayo, Eliot Wolf and Alex Van Pelt is putting in the work to ensure that the Patriots are equipped with every possible bit of information when they do end up on the clock in late April.