Patriots: Dan Orlovsky’s latest take clearly designed to tank Justin Fields
By Jerry Trotta
The New England Patriots addressed nearly all of their roster blemishes with their free agency spending spree, but they still need to figure out what to do with the No. 15 overall pick.
With the draft less than a month away, most of the latest mocks have the Patriots nabbing Alabama quarterback Mac Jones in the first round.
However, he might not be available if the links surrounding him and the 49ers are genuine after San Fran moved up nine spots to the third selection.
Perhaps more noteworthy was the fact that head coach Kyle Shanahan and GM John Lynch were both in attendance at Jones’ pro day this week, which was a little underwhelming as he grossly overthrew a pair of deep balls while faced with zero pressure, but that’s beside the point.
It’s worth pondering if this could all be setting the stage for Justin Fields to potentially fall to the Patriots. It’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility, as ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky’s latest scoop on the Ohio State product appears to have been designed to tank his draft value.
During an appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show,” Orlovsky revealed that his sources have questioned Fields’ “work ethic” and “desire to be a great quarterback.”
Dan Orlovsky on the @PatMcAfeeShow show today had some interesting quotes that he’s getting from guys in the know.
— Steere (@SethSteere) March 31, 2021
“Last guy in, first guy out.”
“I’ve heard there are some questions with Justin Fields’ work ethic.”
“Where is his desire to be a great quarterback?”
Why is Justin Fields suddenly getting a bad rep among draft analysts?
We hate to cast aspersions like this, but it’s pretty suspicious that all this Fields slander is being unearthed after his outstanding pro day, in which he ran a blistering 4.40 40-yard dash and uncorked some beautiful throws on the run.
We’re not sure who’s behind this tank job, but if the Buckeyes star slips past No. 3 overall, then there’s no telling where he could end up. Think about it like this: the Falcons, Bengals, Dolphins and Lions, all of whom have starting QBs lined up for next season, make up the next five picks.
Then you have Carolina (No. 8) and Denver (No. 9), either of whom could justify drafting Fields as their quarterback of the future. Given how desperate the Patriots are for a young signal caller — why else would they sign Cam Newton to an incentive-laden one-year deal? — they might just feel compelled to trade up into the 7-9 range to land Fields.
After their free agency splurge, the Patriots don’t need all 10 of their draft picks this year, meaning they should be just fine with shipping off a handful of them. As evidenced by the 49ers-Dolphins blockbuster, moving up several picks is going to cost multiple first-rounders, but that shouldn’t be much of a problem, either.
All about Justin Fields, btw. It could be a huge reason as to why he is dropping in rankings.
— Steere (@SethSteere) March 31, 2021
Pat’s question was summarized: why is he not QB2 like he was at the beginning of the season?
We’re no draft experts, but we’ve rated Fields as QB2 in this class for quite a while and that opinion didn’t change after an inconsistent final season in Columbus during which the program endured multiple stoppages because of COVID-19 outbreaks.
The Patriots landing Fields is obviously a long shot and Bill Belichick is more known for trading back in drafts, but this evident tank campaign could see him fall right into their laps. It’ll probably just require the de facto GM branching out of is comfort zone.
Bottom line? We’ll know soon enough just how desperate Belichick is to find his future quarterback in this year’s loaded draft.
