3 Quarterbacks Patriots Could Draft if Tom Brady Leaves
Late last week it was reported that the New England Patriots intend to draft a quarterback this year no matter what Tom Brady's decision ends up being during free agency.
Brady's situation will obviously impact how early New England targets a quarterback. However, the report even suggested a Brady-less Patriots team could target a quarterback in the first round.
With a quarterback selection looking pretty plausible based on the report by Matt Miller of Bleacher Report, it's a good idea for us to look at three options the Patriots have at QB in this year's draft. Let's start with three options in the event that Brady leaves. We will go over the other options on Tuesday in the event that he stays.
1) Jacob Eason, Washington
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After the first go around, New England might be a little gun shy drafting a quarterback named Eason in the first round. They went down that road before when they drafted Tony Eason 15th overall in the 1983 Draft. Still on the board was longtime rival and now Miami Dolphin legend, Dan Marino.
To make things even funnier and to get things back on track, Jacob's father is named Tony Eason. However, he is not the Tony Eason that played for the Patriots. Instead, he played receiver for the University of Notre Dame, but never played professionally.
Jacob shares something with previously mentioned Marino. Jacob Eason has a cannon of an arm. He can throw some absolute rockets down the field. Arm talent like Eason's does not come around frequently. His deep balls are something to marvel over.
With all that being said, Eason shares something with former Patriots quarterback Tony Eason as well: a lack of being cool under pressure. Jacob received an extremely low grade from PFF while being under pressure and it seems to be one of his biggest issues.
Here you see an alarmingly low (37.6) pressure grade from PFF, which is one of the lowest in the country this year.
While Eason does intrigue for sure, the question remains if he is worth spending a first round pick on. With him likely being gone early on Day 2, the 23rd overall pick would be the only spot New England could take him.
Taking Eason with the 23rd pick would likely mean that Brady has vacated Foxboro for another opportunity elsewhere. That means their quarterback room would most likely be Eason, Jarrett Stidham, and Cody Kessler. With Eason needing to likely sit back and absorb a lot before throwing him into the starting role, Stidham or Kessler would likely be at the helm trying to lead the 2020 Patriots team to victory with the team's first round pick sitting on the bench. I am not sure that is an ideal situation for the team next season. Needless to say, a lot of thought would have to go into that pick.
2) Josh Love, San Jose State
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No, not Jordan Love. This is Josh Love from San Jose State. Love has managed to fly under the radar during the entire draft process and did not receive an invite to the NFL Combine.
Despite all this, he received some flattering grades from PFF and impressed me in film study.
Really impressive grades here for Josh Love. Especially impressed with his pressure grade, which apparently improved dramatically during his college career.
Love has a fourth round grade by PFF. However, with no invite to the combine and nobody talking about him, he could slip a lot further than that.
Hopefully he falls right into the Patriots' arms in the later rounds and has time to sit back and learn, especially if he gets the chance to sit back and learn from Brady. But in the scenario presented in this article, that wouldn't happen.
At the very worst, Love fills the role as the Patriots' backup quarterback for years to come. Whether that be under Brady, Stidham, or someone else unknown, Love's floor is high enough to have at least backup longevity in New England.
3) Anthony Gordon, Washington State
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As another late-round prospect, Anthony Gordon has been nailing the pre-draft process. Gordon displayed strong upper body mechanics, great accuracy, and a quick release during the throwing session of the NFL Combine. Not to mention, he also had strong interviews and his highly-coveted leadership quality was on display during that portion of the Combine.
Gordon was a guy who really did not get too many swings as a starter at Washington State. After sitting under Luke Falk and then Gardner Minshew, Gordon finally got his opportunity in 2019 and did really well during that time. He threw for 5,563 yards and 48 touchdowns last season. Those are staggering numbers in an air raid-style offense under Mike Leach.
Here is Gordon's PFF ratings. All pretty solid grades here.
Gordon had a strong Senior Bowl as well, yet, he is still largely undervalued by scouts and the media. If he is available early on Day 3 of the draft, he is absolutely worth taking a shot on. He would be an intriguing prospect with tools to be successful in New England.
