Patriots Reveal Plan For No. 3 Draft Pick; 'Leaning' Toward QB?

The New England Patriots have several roster needs heading into this year’s NFL Draft. However, their greatest necessity may be at the game’s most important position.

With the NFL Scouting Combine in full swing, and the Draft fast approaching, the New England Patriots are hoping to find the right prospects to fill several areas of need on their roster. 

While their 4-13 roster needs as much help as it can get, one NFL insider is reporting that the Patriots may have already decided on the fate of their most valuable piece of draft capital. New England, per a report by Jeff Howe of The Athletic, will be taking a strong look at the quarterback position with their No. 3 overall selection. 

“The Patriots really want to draft a quarterback with the No. 3 pick,” Howe wrote. “The front office wrapped up its pre-free-agency meetings a week ago and seems to be on the same page that the best way to jump-start this rebuild and yield long-term success is to find a young quarterback in the NFL Draft to build around.”

Though Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolf indicated earlier this week that “all options were on the table” for their third overall selection — including trading it, for the right package — Howe’s report seems to tip the scales in favor of securing the services of their future franchise quarterback.

In the process, it likely seals the fate of the Patriots current quarterback room — most notably 2021 first-rounder (No. 15 overall) Mac Jones. The big-picture plan - according to MassLive - is to sign a veteran quarterback in free agency, draft a rookie at No. 3 and usher Mac out either via trade or outright release.

After starting 11 games this season, Jones was displaced as the starter by backup Bailey Zappe prior to Week 13. Until that time, Jones had completed 224 passes for 2,120 yards, with 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. The Alabama product routinely exhibited an inability to make sound decisions when most-needed. His struggles led to a foundering of both his confidence and his mechanics — as well as his being benched in five of New England’s games. Unsurprisingly, Jones has already been the subject of trade rumors, as the team heads toward the start of the new NFL year on March 13.

Though Zappe played with greater confidence and play-making ability, he statistically did not fare much better than Jones. The second-year quarterback completed 63 percent of his passes for 1,272 yards, six touchdowns and nine interceptions. Under Zappe, New England finished the remaining six games of the season at 2-4, including a 17-3 loss to the New York Jets in their season-finale. 

The Pats’ third quarterback, Nathan Rourke, joined the team in December, after being claimed off waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was active for the team’s season-finale against the Jets, but did not play a snap. 

Accordingly, the Patriots appear to be narrowing their focus to drafting a young prospect to lead the team into a new era under the direction of rookie head coach Jerod Mayo. Wolf, per his comments on Tuesday, is looking for a franchise fit, who is not only capable of playing the game at a high-level, but also handling the additional pressures which are certain to arise as an NFL quarterback.

“I think it’s a really good year for quarterbacks,” Wolf said. "We have to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and determine what’s best for the team … We have to determine who can handle being the quarterback of the New England Patriots.”

As a result, New England will remain linked to top positional options such as USC’s Caleb Williams, UNC’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels — all of which Wolf confirmed will meet with the Pats this week. The team is also expected to meet with Oregon’s Bo Nix and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy.

Patriots Mayo Clarifies Wolf Call to ‘Weaponize’ Offense

While the Patriots have not, and likely will not confirm their plans prior to the start of April’s draft, the pool of quarterback talent looks to be stocked well-enough for them to make the move at arguably the game’s most important position — sooner, rather than later. 

“[T]he Patriots look at it like this: If you get the rare chance to draft one of the top prospects at the game’s most valuable position, it’s worth taking a big swing even if the surrounding roster isn’t great,” Howe concluded. “The quarterback position is simply too important to risk passing on one in hopes of maybe landing one a year or two later.”

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