INDIANAPOLIS — Two months out from the NFL Draft, the Patriots have reportedly decided how to address the quarterback position.
According to MassLive, the Patriots plan to draft a quarterback at No. 3 overall, likely LSU senior Jayden Daniels or North Carolina’s Drake Maye, and sign a veteran free agent who could start over him.
If so, that plan is news to multiple high-ranking personnel evaluators within the team.
According to sources, such a decision has not been communicated throughout the Patriots’ front office. Director of scouting Eliot Wolf recently led pre-combine meetings where scouts deliberated drafting a quarterback at No. 3, sources said. One front-office source views all three of the top quarterbacks in this year’s class, including projected No. 1 pick Caleb Williams, as worthy of the third pick.
This week, the Patriots arrived at the NFL combine with Wolf and head coach Jerod Mayo entrenched as their chief decision-makers. Mayo, in an interview with MassLive, said this week “there are about 10 scenarios that can actually happen,” with regard to the quarterback position.
Several league sources believe the Patriots will ultimately draft a quarterback at No. 3 overall. A veteran personnel executive who previously worked with Wolf told the Herald he would be “shocked” if the Patriots did not select a quarterback, even though he doesn’t believe Williams, Maye and Daniels are all worthy of a top-3 pick. The Patriots met with all three passers at the combine, as well as Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and Oregon senior Bo Nix, according to sources.
In free agency, the Patriots’ top options include Kirk Cousins, Baker Mayfield, Jacoby Brissett and Ryan Tannehill. Mayfield could be a fit in New England, given his Cleveland ties to Wolf, new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney. However, league sources expect Mayfield to return to Tampa Bay, provided his free-agent salary demands — which could exceed $40 million annually — don’t price the Buccaneers out.
Brissett, a 2016 Patriots draft pick, is the most logical fit among the free-agent options. He started 11 of 16 games for the Browns in 2022 and is well-regarded as a leader and teammate. Brissett appeared in three games last season with the Commanders, going 18-of-23 for 224 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
The Patriots’ pass offense has ranked among the league’s worst each of the past two seasons with former first-round pick Mac Jones. Last season, surrounded by poor receiving talent and protection, Jones was benched four times and lost his job to backup Bailey Zappe. Jones is expected to be traded this offseason, per MassLive and The Athletic, which also raised the strong likelihood of the Patriots drafting a quarterback at third overall.
League sources peg Jones’ trade value in the neighborhood of a fifth-round pick. It’s unknown how many suitors the Patriots will have, if and when they explore trade talks.
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