Offseason Prediction: Patriots Acquire 2 QBs?
According to an offseason quarterback forecast from The Athletic, the New England Patriots will offer more than just a passing glance to their quarterback situation.
As debate rages on over whether the Patriots should update their passing unit with a veteran free agent or a rookie draft pick, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic casually suggests both: in forecasting the quarterback for each NFL team by the end of the coming spring, Rosenblatt has New England signing Jacoby Brissett and drafting Bo Nix.
The latter arrives in Foxborough as part of a trade-down process that hypothetically sends the third overall pick to the Las Vegas Raiders.
"There’s some buzz that de facto Patriots general manager Eliot Wolf wants to accumulate draft capital and build up the roster — it’s a bad roster — so trading down and picking up a bunch of picks in the present and future wouldn’t be a bad idea," Rosenblatt decrees. "Brissett signing on as a stopgap with the team that drafted him would be smart — Brissett will be in high demand as a No. 2, including for the Jets, but this is a starting opportunity.
"It still would allow the Patriots to take a flier on the next tier of quarterbacks either later in the first round (like JJ McCarthy, if he falls) or in later rounds on someone like (Michael) Penix or Nix."
The Patriots reportedly wasted little time in investigating a reunion with the longtime reliable backup Brissett, who began his career as a third-round pick of New England's in 2016. Nix, perhaps, isn't the thrower that Patriots fans would post in mocks that keep the third overall pick but a choice that could well emerge as the passing class' diamond in the rough.
Having resurrected his career at Oregon after transferring from Auburn, Nix may not hold the prestige or athletic accolades that some of his classmates hold but nonetheless earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year honors after a brilliant final campaign in Eugene saw him score a total of 51 touchdowns.
Though lacking some of the big-play, deep-ball abilities desired in modern throwers, Nix uniting with a stopgap passer like Brissett could truly work in all parties' favor, especially if they find a willing and able trading partner like the Raiders.
Free agency negotiations are set to officially get underway next week while the opening round of the NFL Draft will be held on April 25 in Detroit.
