Patriots roll out red carpet for pre-draft visit with potential quarterback pick

2018 NFL Draft
2018 NFL Draft / Tim Warner/GettyImages
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The Patriots are continuing to set up more meetings with draft prospects this week, and they are already meeting with quarterbacks Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye, among other players. They'll add another signal caller to their list this week, as Michigan's J.J. McCarthy is in town for a visit with the team on Monday.

Interestingly, and on par with recent rumors, members of the Patriots organization set up a dinner with the quarterback on Sunday night, prolonging their visit beyond a simple meeting at the team's facility.

According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, McCarthy is the only quarterback the Patriots have done this with so far, specifically quarterback. Daniels and Maye were only in Foxboro for a standard meeting.

On the surface, it seems clear that the effort to have more time with the quarterback means the Patriots' higher-ups view him in high regard. It had been reported that Eliot Wolf was pushing for the Michigan alum to be the quarterback they select with their first-round pick.

It goes along with McCarthy's recent rise in the rankings as the draft nears, with some analysts even declaring he should be ranked in the top 3 instead of Daniels or Maye.

However, there's also the possibility that this is all just a ruse by New England to hopefully raise his stock even more to the teams picking ahead of them, both of which are almost guaranteed to take quarterbacks as well.

It would be a smart tactic if they are more enticed by the potentials of Daniels or Maye, who the Commanders will have their choice of when they're on the clock with pick No. 2. They will be the actual dictators of the draft this year, primarily the fate of the Patriots.

What their actual motives are with wining and dining McCarthy won't be known until draft night on April 25. And even then, we may never truly know how they feel about the quarterback, whether they select him or not.

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