Heisman QB to Patriots? 2024 NFL 3-Round Mock Draft
Despite winning two of their past three games, the New England Patriots have been looking forward to the 2024 NFL Draft for quite some time now amidst a lost season.
With the Patriots set to have their highest pick in decades, April's draft provides an opportunity for them to kickstart their rebuild. A franchise quarterback is at the top of their wish list, and in Sports Illustrated's latest three-round mock draft, they get their wish by selecting LSU's Jayden Daniels at No. 4 overall.
"Regardless of who's calling the shots for New England next season, the Pats will be in desperate need of a true franchise passer," SI writes. "This year's Heisman Trophy winner, Daniels showed marked improvement as a passer in 2023, proving himself to be a true dual-threat playmaker worthy of top-five consideration."
Jayden Daniels
A former transfer from Arizona State, Daniels lit up the college football world with LSU this season. The Tigers star completed 72.2 percent of his passes for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns and just four interceptions, plus another 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. His remarkable season resulted in him winning the third Heisman Trophy in school history, and the first since Joe Burrow won it in 2019.
After hopefully securing their franchise quarterback, the Patriots then turn their attention to improving their offensive line, which hasn't been great this season to put it kindly.
The way they address that issue here is by taking Arizona's Jordan Morgan at No. 36 overall. The 22-year-old has been an AP First-Team All-Pac-12 selection in each of the past two seasons, and his pass-blocking grade of 82 ranked 33rd in the country, per PFF. He also stands at 6-5 and 325 pounds, so he definitely has the size of a potential franchise left tackle.
Then in the third round, New England gets Daniels a new target to throw to in Georgia's Ladd McConkey at No. 68 overall. Over three collegiate seasons, McConkey has caught 118 passes for 1,665 yards and 14 touchdowns while helping the Bulldogs win back-to-back national championships. He was limited to only eight games this season due to injury, but was still quite productive when on the field.
The Patriots' offense is in desperate need of an overhaul, and at the very least, this bounty would be a good start to said overhaul.
