Patriots draft: 3 potential late-round steals who’d be perfect for New England

No. 1: Shane Buechele, QB, SMU

Bill Parcells, Belichick’s mentor, had a multi-faceted system that he relied on when looking to draft quarterbacks. Parcells wanted three-year starters who graduated, were able to win at least 23 games, and completed over 60 percent of their passes. In a time when more quarterbacks are declaring early, Buechele is one of the few QBs who can check most of Parcells’ boxes.

After losing the Texas QB1 job to Sam Ehlinger, Buechele ended up at SMU, where he conducted one of the most explosive offenses in the country. With and without OC Rhett Lashlee, Buechele showed off the deep accuracy and ability to throw off-platform that made him a hyped recruit, all the while totaling 57 touchdown passes against just 16 picks in his two years in Dallas.

Buechele has been an extremely productive passer…will he be a Patriots fit?

Buechele’s biggest problems are related to his size. Standing at a VERY generous 6-1 and 209 pounds, Buechele doesn’t have the strongest arm in the world, and that inability to drive the ball into tight windows could make him a hard sell for a team that plays in the bitter winter cold for a good chunk of the season.

Despite his physical limitations, Buechele has proven he can spin it in an offense that allows him to spread it out and chuck it down the field. While he won’t be ready to start as a rookie, he could have a higher ceiling than Jarrett Stidham, giving him an inside track to the backup job.