No one has a clue which college QB Patriots are targeting — if any
Depending on what you read and who you trust, the New England Patriots have been linked to nearly every quarterback prospect in this draft so far.
No one knows smoke and mirrors like Bill Belichick.
As wily and brilliant as the New England Patriots head honcho has been on the NFL sidelines for years as a head coach, he’s just as savvy, shrewd, and intelligent when it comes to running a football team as general manager.
Belichick’s prowess as a GM often comes under fire — and unfairly so. You can read more on that here if you’d like a deeper dive.
But this offseason, the 68-year-old living legend seems to be up to his old tricks again. Belichick and the New England brass must be leaking all sorts of fake news and misdirection out from 1 Patriot Place these days in the final lead-up to the NFL Draft.
How do we know? Because no one has the faintest idea what their plans seem to be at quarterback.
To be fair, this is wildly uncharted territory for the Pats under Belichick. All this team, its constituents, and its fans have ever known during the Belichick New England run is a little bit of Drew Bledsoe and a whole lot of Tom Brady.
Now that Brady is a Buccaneer, the world is left wondering what the plans are at the game’s most important position up in Foxborough.
It could be Jarrett Stidham in Week 1. It could be Brian Hoyer in Week 1. It could be some already-released or soon-to-be-released veteran like Cam Newton, Jameis Winston, or Andy Dalton in Week 1. Or it could be a rookie quarterback in Week 1.
If Belichick and the Patriots know what their plans are, they’re not tipping their hand right now. On the contrary, they seem to be feeding all sorts of sources, rumors, and speculation that alternately links them to all of these possibilities at the same time — which, if true, is a brilliant strategy this time of year, of course.
Back in February, ESPN NFL Draft insider Mel Kiper Jr. was preaching that Washington Huskies QB Jacob Eason would likely go to the Pats at No. 23 in the first round, per 247Sports’ Sam Hellman.
Now in April, Kiper went on record as saying New England “would be aggressive” in pursuing Alabama Crimson Tide signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa should he fall in the draft, per Bleacher Report’s Blake Schuster.
WEEI’s Ryan Hannable outlined how CBS Sports analyst Charles Davis believes the perfect match for the Patriots in this draft would be Utah State quarterback Jordan Love, as he could sit and be groomed slowly over time this year as Brady’s heir apparent — especially if Stidham fails.
A writer from our sister site Chowder and Champions, Michael DeVito, detailed recently how New England’s draft interest in Oklahoma Sooners QB Jalen Hurts seems to be “gaining momentum” these days as we get closer and closer to April 23.
And then finally, Musket Fire’s own Peter Panacy recently cited NBC Sports’ Peter King in a report that straight-up said New England “loves” Oregon Ducks QB Justin Herbert.
These are just five different articles and sources out there in a sea of similar-type pieces of information regarding the Patriots and their plans at QB this offseason.
Next. Outside of BUF, is MIA or NYJ a bigger threat to NE in 2020?. dark
The only thing we really know for sure at this point? The Patriots probably — and emphasis on that word probably — will take a signal-caller at some point in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Who that quarterback will be? That’s anyone’s guess at this point…
Let us know who you think the Patriots should select at quarterback in this month’s draft in the comments section below — if you think they should take a QB at all, that is!