Patriots: Latest NFL Draft rumor suggests Bill Belichick could be trading up

The New England Patriots turned a lot of heads when they re-signed Cam Newton to a one-year contract this offseason.

Not because a reunion was necessarily dismissed as a possibility. It just wouldn’t have been surprising if they went a different route given how he performed in 2020.

Newton looked disheveled under center for long stretches last campaign, but that can easily be attributed to him not having a full offseason to learn the playbook, testing positive for COVID-19 mid-season and throwing to a bottom-barrel receiving corps.

The Patriots and Bill Belichick clearly believe those extenuating circumstances contributed to his struggles, but it goes without saying that Newton will have to vastly improve in certain areas, like decision-making and downfield accuracy.

Taking that into account, it really isn’t surprising reports are indicating that the Patriots aren’t finished adding to their quarterback room. While some fans surmised they would either add a veteran to keep Newton honest, the latest buzz suggests otherwise.

According to draft analysts Bucky Brooks and Daniel Jeremiah, the Pats have been doing their due-diligence on some of the top QB prospects in this year’s draft pool. More specifically, studs like Trey Lance and Justin Fields have caught their attention.

Could the Patriots trade up for a quarterback in next month’s draft?

Slated with the No. 15 overall pick, Belichick would have to trade up into the top six (at least) to ensure he has a chance of drafting either one of Lance or Fields, who are widely expected to be taken within the first handful fo selections.

According to Jeremiah, Fields, who was formerly regarded as the consensus second-best quarterback prospect behind Clemson star Trevor Lawrence but has since seen his stock plunge a bit for reasons we don’t understand, is somebody the Patriots are seriously intrigued by.

"“I (would) keep an eye on somebody like Trey Lance or Justin Fields,” said Jeremiah. “Those are the two that would make sense for them to target. Hear a lot of rumors out there that they are really high on Justin Fields out of Ohio State. So, they’d have to (trade up) quite a ways to get Justin Fields.”"

Recent mock drafts have varied in terms of where many believe Fields will end up, but almost everyone has agreed that he will be a top-10 pick. The sheer uncertainty behind this means Belichick, if he’s actually thinking about trading up, will have his work cut out for him as far as determining the best spot to trade up to. After all, there could be up to eight teams (!) looking to draft a QB early in the first round.

https://twitter.com/NBCSBoston/status/1373696306733015043

Newton clearly isn’t the long-term answer at quarterback for the Patriots, and drafting Fields would give him a full campaign to learn under the former MVP’s wing before he’s presumably named the starer next season.

This is obviously a massive hypothetical, as there’s no way to know for sure if Belichick, who is more famous for trading back in the draft, is considering flipping his philosophy upside down to nab Fields early on in the first round.

However, with the draft just five weeks away, this rumor is definitely something Patriots fans should be monitoring.

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