What Are Odds That Patriots Draft One of Top QBs in 2020 Draft?

You might be surprised by how strong oddsmakers give the Patriots a chance of drafting one of this year's top quarterback prospects.

One intriguing scenario many fans and media members have salivated over the past several weeks is the potential for the New England Patriots to trade up in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft to acquire one of this year's top prospects at the quarterback position. 

Figuring out what would it would take for the Patriots to move up, and where they should move up to - has been a widely discussed topic. On top of that, there's been numerous debates as to whether New England would be move up take Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa - who was coached by a long time friend of Bill Belichick (i.e. Nick Saban) - or Oregon's Justin Herbert, who fits the mold of a prototypical Patriots quarterback, and is rumored to be loved by the organization. 

While there have been plenty of opinions regarding New England's chances of obtaining one of the top quarterbacks in this year's draft class, how does Vegas feel about Bill Belichick's chances of getting Tagovailoa or Herbert? Let's take a look:

Here are the odds, via SportsLine, of which team will draft Tagovailoa:

Dolphins: -150

Chargers: +250

Redskins: +400

Lions: +1200

Jaguars: +1500

Bengals: +1800

Patriots: +2000

Panthers: +2000

Raiders: +3000

Buccaneers: +5000

The Dolphins and Chargers make sense as the top picks by oddsmakers, as they hold two of the top 6 picks this year and are in need of a quarterback. Washington and the Lions hold the 2nd and 3rd picks, respectively, but the Redskins drafted Dwayne Haskins in the first round last year and signed Kyle Allen this offseason, and the Lions have Matthew Stafford, so drafting a QB doesn't make a ton of sense for either of those teams. 

If none of the aforementioned teams drafted Tagovailoa, then the Jaguars would likely not let him slip by them at 9th overall pick, which is why they are 5th in the odds. Jacksonville has Hunter Minshew, but they can afford to draft another QB in the first round to spark a QB competition this summer. The Bengals seemingly have their hearts set on drafting LSU's Joe Burrow with the 1st overall pick, but they could have a change of heart and pick Alabama's QB to kickstart the draft if they chose to do so, which is why they are ahead of the Patriots in the odds. Speaking of New England, they are 7th in the odds, and are the only team in the top 10 of SportsLine's odds that do not have a top 15 pick in the first round. 

Here are the odds, via SportsLine, of which team will draft Herbert:

Chargers: +150

Dolphins: +160

Panthers: +700

Jaguars: +900

Patriots: +1000

There is a little bit of uncertainty as to where Herbert will land in the draft - mainly because of Tagovailoa - which is why there isn't a clear separation in the odds for where Oregon's QB will land. New England is the only team out of the five listed that does not have a top 10 draft pick. 

Overall, the odds for the six-time Super Bowl champions to acquire one of the top 3 quarterbacks in this year's draft are pretty strong when considering they own the 23rd overall pick and Tagovailoa and Herbert aren't expected to slide outside the top 10. 

It's highly uncharacteristic of Belichick to make a blockbuster move of any kind, like one that would seemingly need to happen in order to draft Tagovailoa or Herbert. However, the Patriots are in a unique situation where they are in need of a starting quarterback. So if there was ever a time for Belichick to do something that doesn't fall in line with how he's conducted business over the past 20 years as the Patriots' decision maker, 2020 would be the time to do it.