Patriots

Patriots will reportedly coach top NFL prospects at 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl

The Patriots drafted four players last April who participated in the East-West Shrine Bowl.

The Patriots coaching staff will have an up-close look at some of the top NFL prospects ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft. Winslow Townson/AP

By Conor Ryan

January 11, 2023

The Patriots’ coaching staff will reportedly get an up-close look at some of the top prospects available ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft.

New England will be one of two NFL teams to coach the 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl in Las Vegas on Feb. 2, according to Ben Volin of The Boston Globe.

The Atlanta Falcons will be the other team carrying out coaching duties in the showcase, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The NFL league office assigned both the Patriots and Falcons to their respective coaching roles for the event, which will be held at Allegiant Stadium as a prelude to the revamped 2023 Pro Bowl Games.

The Shrine Bowl is an opportunity for multiple NFL hopefuls to showcase their skills in front of a large audience. But the game is also a developmental workshop for coaching personnel at the NFL level, with Bill Belichick expected to serve in more of a supervisor role for New England.

As a result, other individuals on the Patriots’ staff will get the chance to coach up a level or handle new responsibilities in a game setting. Granted, the Patriots didn’t fare too well this year when coaches were thrust into different roles.

In a statement, the Shrine Bowl also noted that the annual collegiate All-Star game “will have coaching fellows from HBCU institutions get to learn and develop as coaches during the week.”

This year, the East-West #ShrineBowl will be coached by Two Full NFL Coaching Staffs.

It's a fantastic opportunity for our players not just to impress the 32 NFL teams in attendance, but to develop and showcase their ability to a team all week long.👀🏈 pic.twitter.com/aMOJETrP7A
— East-West Shrine Bowl (@ShrineBowl) January 9, 2023

The Patriots have had plenty of success identifying draft talent at the Shrine Bowl. New England was tied with the Tennessee Titans for the most Shrine Bowl participants selected at the 2022 NFL Draft, with Tyquan Thornton, Jack Jones, Pierre Strong, and Sam Roberts all playing in the game last year.

Undrafted free agents LaBryan Ray and D’Eriq King also took part in the game before signing with New England a few months later.