INDIANAPOLIS -- There are 76 days until the NFL draft. Before then, teams will adjust their "big board" and lay roster groundwork in free agency.

That's a roundabout way of saying: It's still very early in the pre-draft process.

But for those who follow the mock draft landscape closely, a popular name linked to the Patriots at pick No. 29 is Texas Tech tight end Jace Amaro, who finished the 2013 season with 106 catches, 1,352 yards and seven touchdowns.

We cut to the chase with Amaro on Thursday, asking him how closely he follows mock drafts.

"You have friends and all them telling you where they think you're going to go, so that stuff," he said. "But you never know where you're going to go until draft day, so I kind of just leave that to that."

When we pressed Amaro on the possibility of landing in New England, he expressed enthusiasm about such a scenario.

"I think that starting with maybe one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game would be a great start for me, especially in a system like that," he said.

"And yeah, I've taken notice of teams like that, and I think that would be a great, ideal place for me."