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The Patriots landed the steal of their sport’s history, snagging Tom Brady with the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. Two decades later, New England doesn’t appear likely to sit back and wait for Brady’s successor to fall into their lap. Though the Patriots — who hold the 23rd overall pick — currently sit …
The Patriots landed the steal of their sport’s history, snagging Tom Brady with the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. Two decades later, New England doesn’t appear likely to sit back and wait for Brady’s successor to fall into their lap.
Though the Patriots — who hold the 23rd overall pick — currently sit well out of range of landing any of the four quarterbacks projected to be taken in the first round (Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert and Jordan Love), NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport thinks Bill Belichick could trade up to land one of the elite prospects.
“The Patriots are going to take a quarterback, probably with a premium pick,” Rapoport said on The Rich Eisen Show. “I would just imagine it’s not at the pick they currently have.”
Multiple scenarios appear in play. Love would be the easiest to land by potentially trading up a handful of picks, but New England could also trade back for multiple picks — the Patriots don’t have a second round pick — and try to replicate their success in drafting Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round in 2014, perhaps via Washington’s Jacob Eason.
Another option is passing the torch to Jarrett Stidham, who was selected in the fourth round last year, but threw just four passes as Brady’s rookie backup.
“My understanding is they very much like Stidham. They think his potential is great,” Rapoport said. “There’s a lot of positivity and a lot to like, but they don’t actually know. He’s never done it…..I don’t think they’re going into the draft saying, ‘We got Stidham. We are good.”
As of now, Rapoport predicts 34-year-old Brian Hoyer — who joined New England for his third stint last month — will be the starter, whenever the season begins.
“But that’s something that’ll be ever-evolving as we get into next season,” Rapoport said.
