Patriots: 5 QBs not named Trevor Lawrence New England could draft

Shane Buechele

SMU’s Shane Buechele hasn’t had a traditional career arc. He was the quarterback expected to bring Texas back, before their current quarterback who is expected to bring them back. A coaching change left Buechele on the bench, and looking for his opportunity elsewhere.

He found that opportunity under Sonny Dykes’ Air Raid offense at SMU. Dykes, for those who recognize the name, was Jared Goff’s head coach at Cal. That offensive system, the Air Raid, has also produced quarterbacks like Baker Mayfield, Gardner Minshew, Kyler Murray, and Patrick Mahomes.

Buechele threw for 3,929 yards and 34 touchdowns last season. Those were both school records. Now, he has the opportunity to prove that he can do it without stud wide receiver James Proche.

While not as mobile as a lot of college quarterbacks, Buechele has the arm talent and ability to quickly read a defense that’s needed to succeed at the NFL level.

Sam Ehlinger

The quarterback who replaced Buechele at Texas, Sam Ehlinger, has had the Longhorns as good as they’ve been since the Colt McCoy days. He even, a bit prematurely, declared Texas was back after beating Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

In 2019, however, his Longhorns managed to lose games they should have won. Cue the jokes.

Here’s the thing: Texas wasn’t losing games because of Ehlinger. He had the best year of his career, statistically. 3,663 yards passing and 32 touchdowns were both career marks, which, in a normal season, he’d threaten to improve upon.

Ehlinger brings the athleticism that is expected of modern quarterbacks, and looks a lot like a Carson Wentz-style player. That ability to play outside the pocket, while still be comfortable as a pocket passer, is a rare weapon to bring to the table at quarterback.

Jamie Newman

Cam Newton might be great Jamie Newman practice for the Patriots coaching staff.

Jamie Newman transferred to Georgia to prove he can succeed in a more traditional offense. That’s because, while at Wake Forest, he ran an offense where he was expected to read options, based on the opposing defense mid-play. It was an extreme, collegiate version of the RPO offense. At the very least, he’s proven to be a quick decision maker. Now, can he play in a more complex offense, and succeed against more complex defenses?

With a career 60.5% completion percentage, with 35 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, Newman’s stats don’t jump out at you. He has a solid arm, but won’t be winning any arm strength competitions. For the most part, he’s accurate under 20 yards, but has some issues with consistency on deeper balls.

Newman’s hope is to have an explosive season as a transfer, the same way Joe Burrow did, to build his draft stock.

As it stands now, he’s a mid-round talent, who could explode up draft boards with a strong campaign.

The Patriots haven’t had a mobile QB of the future since they flirted with emphasizing Jacoby Brissett, and the success and comfort Josh McDaniels displays with Cam Newton under center this year could go a long way towards determining the future of the position. If he has great success, while Newton leaves for greener cash-tures, maybe New England will target a guy with a bright future like Newman.