"Assessing the Patriots' Latest Kicking Prospect and Draft Class"

Chad Ryland, a former soccer player and baseball pitcher, became the highest specialist Bill Belichick ever drafted in his New England Patriots tenure. Ryland was a two-time all-county and all-league kicker in high school and became the program’s leader in PATs made and in career points scored at Eastern Michigan. He transferred to Maryland for the 2022 season, where he made 19 of 23 field goals, earned a Senior Bowl invite, and was drafted by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Ryland's first task in Foxboro will be beating out Nick Folk for the team’s starting job.