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

The New England Patriots are going to have to draft a QB who isn’t Trevor Lawrence.

Ever since the Colts decided to ‘Suck for Luck,’ it has been a trend for teams who need a quarterback to give up on a season, in the hopes of being in a draft position to take the next “can’t miss” quarterback. The Patriots, for the first time since Drew Bledsoe was drafted in 1993, don’t know what the long term answer is at quarterback.

Add in a rash of key players choosing to opt out of this season, and many Patriots fans want to tank for Trevor Lawrence.

Now, no one is denying that Lawrence is the best quarterback in the 2021 draft, but no Bill Belichick-led team is going to have the worst record in the NFL. Miss the playoffs? Maybe, but you can’t say with a straight face that they’ll have a worse record than teams like Washington, Chicago, or Jacksonville.

So, acknowledging that Trevor Lawrence — and, frankly, Justin Fields — will likely be off the board before New England is drafting, who could the Patriots choose at quarterback?

Trey Lance

Transfer candidate Trey Lance could be the next great Patriots QB.

Over the offseason, Trey Lance became the guy everyone brought up as the best QB you haven’t heard of him. And, why haven’t you heard of him? He plays at the FCS level, for perennial power North Dakota State.

Last season, as a redshirt freshman, he threw 28 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. This was against a completion percentage of 66.9% and amid another National Championship run for the Bison.  Listed at 6-4, the All-American has the prototypical NFL size.

Lance, unlike many college quarterbacks, has experience taking snaps from under center. At the same time, he retains the athleticism that everyone is looking for in a modern quarterback. He rushed for 1,100 yards and 14 Touchdowns in 2019. Accurate throwing to all levels, don’t overlook Lance for his small school status.

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.

Ian Book

Like his counterpart at Texas, Ian Book takes an unfair amount of criticism due to the team he plays for. After all, being the quarterback at Notre Dame has both benefits and drawbacks. You’re under a microscope.

So, after an undefeated regular season and coming out party in 2018, 2019 felt disappointing. Whether this was due to the two regular season losses, or his completion percentage dropping from 68.2% to 60.2%, something felt forgettable for Book. However, when you take into account the non-existent running game, where he found himself as the leading rusher multiple times in the season, and turmoil at offensive coordinator, that drop is explainable.

Add in his touchdowns jumping to 34 from 19 in 2018, Book threw one less interception than he did during the undefeated run as well. All the while, his passing yards went up to 3,034. It wasn’t as disappointing a season as Book’s critics would have you believe.

At the end of the day, Book is athletic, throws well on the run, makes good decisions, and is an accurate passer. He’s going to be passed up by a lot of teams for flashier prospects, but Book is an extremely underrated prospect.

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