Coach's slip of the tongue reveals Patriots miss out on top rookie quarterback

The Patriots staff was busy on Thursday, as they were in attendance for Drake Maye's Pro Day at UNC and Michael Penix Jr.'s at Washington. The team was well represented at both after watching Jayden Daniels' on Wednesday.

They are keeping their options open this year, thoroughly considering all quarterback prospects, including second-tier players like Penix, whom they hadn't met with until this week. This approach could be a sign they are seriously considering a trade-down scenario that has been rumored for weeks. Some argue this is a better plan than staying put at No. 3 and taking a quarterback there.

This year's draft holds significant importance for the Patriots, as reports have stated that Jerod Mayo and Co. are determined to select their next franchise quarterback in the first round. So it makes sense that there has been a focus on Daniels and Maye, both of whom have consistently been mock-drafted to New England over the last few months.

For much of the past month, Daniels has consistently been mock-drafted to New England, which would be the official sign of a new era under Mayo since he has a vastly different playing style than what we've become accustomed to seeing from quarterbacks in Foxboro.

But a viral clip of LSU's head coach has thrown a wrench into that plan.

Brian Kelly, the head coach of the LSU football team, spoke to reporters during Daniels' Pro Day and seemed to slip where the quarterback would be drafted.

After playing down the concerns that some have mentioned about Daniels, Kelly said the quarterback would be "getting the ball out to the playmakers and make plays for Washington," also known as the team picking ahead of New England in round one.

Patriots fans jumped on the clip just as quickly as Commanders fans, and both fanbases shared mixed responses.

It has been rumored for weeks that Washington has had a growing fascination with Daniels, and he was starting to move up the big board to be considered the second player drafted. So, hearing Kelly mention what the quarterback could bring to that team was right on par.

However, many began to bring attention to the clip being taken out of context, providing the full video to show Kelly was specifically asked what Daniels would bring to Washington if they were the team to select him in the draft.

You could hear a sigh of relief among those stressing out over the idea of Daniels becoming a Commander or the Patriots missing out on a potentially great quarterback once again.

It's important to remember that these types of incidents will continue as we approach the height of draft season. Fans and trolls will do almost anything for some sort of engagement, even posting a clip out of context to stir up some drama, and this falls right into that category.

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