3 Quarterbacks Patriots Could Draft if Tom Brady Stays

Late last week it was reported that regardless of Tom Brady's decision this offseason the New England Patriots would draft a quarterback in this year's draft. So, here at PatriotMaven we started off by concocting a list of QBs the Patriots could select in April in the event that Brady decides to depart New England. Now, we shift our focus to the scenario in which Brady decides to stay with the Patriots.

Here are three quarterbacks the six-time Super Bowl champions could draft even if their 42-year-old quarterback decides to stay:

1) Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma

This may seem like the most farfetched succession plan for the post-Tom Brady era. But I can't stop thinking about the possibilities.

Jalen Hurts, who is the biggest dual-threat QB in this year's draft, is a mid-to-late round gem for any NFL team that decides to take him. So if you're the Patriots, who will have time to develop a QB in the event that Brady returns to New England, why wouldn't you take a chance on an explosive player like Hurts?

Hurts is mobile, very accurate at the intermediate level, and is virtually a poor man's Lamar Jackson. PFF has him being drafted in the 5th round, which is because of his slow progression reads and lack of anticipation at times. But those things can be ironed out. Give him a couple years under Bill Belichick, who can allow Josh McDaniels to reinvent the Patriots' offense when it's Hurts' time to shine. Just think about what Hurts could do...

2) Josh Love, San Jose State

Josh Love also found himself on our list of QBs New England could draft is Brady decides to leave. He's here again because he's a great option given his potential upside and where they could draft him this year.

Love's mechanics are great, he reads through his progressions quickly, and has a knack for refusing to take negative plays in the pocket (i.e. sacks), which is very similar to what we saw Brady do last year when he was slippery in the pocket. The knocks on Love are he is just over 6-foot and he has small hands. But those "negatives" don't really matter, as we've seen in recent years that hand size and height don't correlate to success at the quarterback position in the NFL.

The San Jose State product is projected to go in Round 4 according to PFF, which is a perfect spot for the Patriots to grab a developmental QB that can compete with Jarrett Stidham for the backup job. Whoever wins that battle could be the successor to Brady in the near future.

3) Cole McDonald, Hawaii

Cole McDonald out of Hawaii would be quite the project for Belichick. But there is a sliver of hope he could turn into something at the NFL level.

McDonald led all college quarterbacks in 2019 with nine completions of 40 or more yards, which screams playmaking ability. He also has a knack for being very accurate on underneath throws, which Hawaii's offense if based around. What hurts him is he has 1-2 throws per game where he doesn't see a defender and makes a terrible throw, which screams Jimmy Garoppolo to me. However, a blessing and curse for McDonald is the fact that he can make a bad throw, but comes right out on the field again and tries to make another big play right afterward. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

McDonald is projected to go in Round 4, according to PFF. If Josh Love is no longer on the board come that point in the draft and the Patriots have not selected a QB yet, McDonald would make plenty of sense.