Patriots insider explains why team attended Trevor Lawrence’s pro day

There have been a lot of conflicting thoughts, perspectives and reports when it comes to the New England Patriots‘ search for a quarterback.

It’s truly been all over the place.

We’ve heard they’re not enamored with the free agent class; that waiting for the NFL Draft is too much of a risk because it could affect their other free agent hauls; that the trade market is too pricey; that a Cam Newton return seems to be the best for all parties.

Well, if a Newton return was the most likely, wouldn’t it have happened by now? Probably!

There’s really not much else out there with the exception of a Jimmy Garoppolo cap casualty scenario to capitalize on.

But perhaps the most bizarre development so far this offseason was that the Patriots were in attendance for Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s pro day. Why in the world would they waste their time? They’re picking No. 15 overall and Lawrence is undoubtedly going to the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 1.

Well, ESPN’s Mike Reiss gave us some valuable insight as to why the Pats are going to great lengths in their QB search.

Here’s what he had to say on ESPN’s “Get Up” Monday morning:

"“I think when we talk about their strategy and their approach, they’re all-in right now on the draft quarterbacks. They tipped us off by attending Trevor Lawrence’s Pro Day. They were one of just 17 teams to do that.“Think about that. They have no shot at Trevor Lawrence. They pick 15th overall in the draft. So why are they there? They want the most thorough evaluation of the entire class, so when they get to the draft and they start thinking more about strategy, they can make a determination. Do we want to trade up a little bit? Do we want to stand pat like we did in 2014 and Jimmy Garoppolo fell to us in the second round. That’s all information that they’re gathering right now, and they’ll see where that process takes them.”"

So maybe scouting Lawrence more closely could give them a better grasp on how QBs in their range or perhaps others in the middle rounds compare? It’s really not that crazy.

Then again, Lawrence figures to be a generational talent, so we’re not entirely sure what other signal callers would compare to him since just about everyone after BYU’s Zach Wilson is being evaluated as far from a Day 1 NFL starter, or at least something close to that.

Perhaps scouting Lawrence and comparing him to the other potential first-round talents could help the Patriots decide if trading up for one of the other QBs is worthwhile. Maybe staying at 15 and hoping one of the other QBs falls into their lap seems like a worthwhile risk. Maybe taking an entirely different player at 15 could be the move. Maybe the patented Belichick first-round trade-down could be in the cards.

Nonetheless, this does make sense. Use Lawrence as a reference point. Evaluate the drop-off of the other quarterbacks. Determine if a second- or third-round QB prospect is just as valuable as one of the other guys (Justin Fields, Trey Lance, Mac Jones). And hey, we’ll know in just over a week when the new league year starts.

Patriots: History shows that Bill Belichick probably shouldn’t draft a quarterback

History shows that New England Patriots general manager Bill Belichick probably shouldn't select a quarterback in this year's draft.