Patriots: Pat McAfee’s Bill Belichick conspiracy theory is awesome
By Jerry Trotta
It’s wild to think that the New England Patriots’ biggest free agent spending spree in over a decade has taken a back seat in the news cycle of late, but that can be attributed to the buzz they’ve been generating regarding the 2021 Draft.
It remains to be seen what their plans are for the first round, but the latest rumors have linked them to trading up to select a quarterback, which would make sense given that Cam Newton is only signed through next season.
In his latest mock draft, ESPN expert Todd McShay predicted that the Patriots will trade up to the No. 11 overall pick and nab Justin Fields.
Given how highly the Ohio State product is regarded by most analysts, this would be an absolute dream scenario for New England.
Fields, as most Patriots fans know, has been a polarizing topic of conversation over the last week, as a scoop unearthed by ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky brought the young quarterback’s work ethic and overall commitment to his craft into question.
This scathing report almost seemed like an attack against Fields, whose former coaches and teammates have since come forward to talk about his drive to be great, refuting what Orlovsky had “found.” However, has anybody stopped to think that maybe Bill Belichick was behind it all?
During the latest episode of his sports talk show, media personality Pat McAfee presented this exact conspiracy theory about the Patriots head coach.
What if this is Bill Belichick stirring up this bullshit just to land Justin Fields in New England? #PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/hfKp0MtPhK
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 6, 2021
Pat McAfee seems to think Bill Belichick might have a hand in the controversy surrounding Justin Fields.
Though we’re obviously not accusing Belichick of any potential wrongdoing, McAfee makes some salient points here. After all, it wasn’t long ago that Fields was regarded as the consensus second-best quarterback prospect in the 2021 class behind Clemson phenom Trevor Lawrence.
Fast forward a few months later after an up-and-down final season in Columbus, however, and a startling number of experts have Fields falling outside of the top 10 as the fifth signal caller taken in the first round. That can’t just be a coincidence, right?
Football fans know that smokescreens are just a part of the pre-draft process. However, the extent to which certain pundits have bought into the Fields slander has been alarming. If this was, in fact, put in place by Belichick, it would be his most diabolical move in recent memory.
In many ways, it would be a manifestation of how desperate the coaching legend is to return to relevancy after the Patriots endured their worst campaign in two decades last season. When Belichick is out for blood, anybody’s (and we mean anybody’s) reputation is at stake.
Again we are NOT accusing Belichick of anything McAfee speculated here. However, considering that the Patriots were reportedly blown away with their evaluation of Fields (that report dropped less than a month ago), it does make you wonder, at the very least.
