A Look At Second-Day QBs That Could Appeal To Pats
People that want the Patriots to draft a franchise quarterback at this month are hoping they’ll be able to trade up out of the No. 15 slot.
But that could be costly.
If they’re unable to land one of the three quarterbacks -- Mac Jones, Trey Lance, Justin Fields -- that figure to be the third through fifth ones picked, they might have to consider someone that will need time to develop into an NFL start beyond 2021.
In his latest mailbag for SI.com, Albert Breer weighed whether Pats should consider trading for Jimmy Garoppolo or sticking with Cam Newton. Regardless of which one is on the Pats roster, Breer figures they’re going to have to add a rookie even if it’s not a first-round talent.
Breer writes:
“All of that is to say whether it’s Newton or Garoppolo or both on the roster in July and August, I’d think there’ll be a rookie there to compete, along with incumbent young guy Jarrett Stidham. And with the likelihood seeming to be slipping that any of the top five quarterbacks will make it to 15, I think Day 2 prospects like Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond, Florida’s Kyle Trask and Wake Forest’s Jamie Newman could be in play.”
This might not satisfy Pats fans, especially ones that don’t think Newton or Garoppolo is the answer. But by drafting another position at No. 15 and taking a quarterback later, the Pats might strengthen themselves at two positions.
Circling back to Garoppolo, in light of San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan’s comments earlier this week that he won’t be trading his veteran quarterback without being overwhelmed by an offer, Breer shared what he’s hearing it’ll take to get San Francisco engaged in trade talks:
“I was told that, yes, it’d take a first-round pick for the Niners to listen at this point, which of course would be nice for San Francisco to have after it yielded its firsts in 2022 and ’23 to jump from No. 12 to 3. That, of course, is subject to change. Maybe a veteran stopgap they see as comparable to Garoppolo could come along, and they’d then be motivated to move him (I’m not sure who that would be). Maybe the rookie will arrive and blow everyone away over the summer, and the Niners will want to play him.
“As it stands right now? I don’t think the Niners feel any sort of urgency to move Garoppolo, which makes his market value completely irrelevant in comparison to the Niners’ price.”
In other words, the Pats would have to be truly convinced that Garoppolo was their man before they engaged the Niners in talks they would actually listen to.
