Patriots 'Committed' To No. 3 Pick?

Despite increased trade rumors, the New England Patriots will likely take their next quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Even with over a month to go until the NFL Draft, the moving and shaking has already begun with the Minnesota Vikings trading with the Houston Texans to acquire the No. 23 and 232 picks in exchange for the No. 42 and 188. 

Considering the Vikings just lost Kirk Cousins in free agency, who signed a four-year, $180 deal with the Atlanta Falcons, their move has spurred discussions of pursuing another trade, this time for a pick in the top four. This means for a team like the New England Patriots, their phone could be ringing. 

But if the Vikings do make the call to the Patriots about trading for the No. 3 overall pick, would New England even make the trade? NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah discussed this subject in a recent interview on CBS Sports Radio's "The Zach Gelb Show."

“New England to me feels stuck,” Jeremiah said. “They are taking [a quarterback]. Everything that I’ve heard seems to be they are committed to staying at three. They wanted an $8-$10 million quarterback. They got that in Jacoby Brissett, and they are going to take the guy of the future there at No. 3.”

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With the signing of Brissett and the subsequent trade of former first-round pick Mac Jones, the Patriots certainly look set to take their next franchise quarterback. The return of the 31-year-old gives New England a veteran presence in the quarterback room who could help develop and nurture a rookie while providing them with a potential bridge option. 

However, the other option is trading down in exchange for a bundle of picks and maybe passing on a quarterback in this draft. This route, albeit maybe unpopular among fans who want to find their next franchise quarterback as fast as possible, would be one that the aforementioned Falcons recently went down until this offseason. 

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Doing so would allow New England to take their time building out a roster first via the bonus draft capital they'd receive in a trade before adding their next quarterback. New England could become desirable for quarterbacks due to how they built their roster. 

So, who could make the move with the Vikings if not the Patriots? Jeremiah first called the Arizona Cardinals the "for sure" team that'd make a deal before adding his belief that the Washington Commanders are "more likely" than the Patriots.

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