The general consensus is that the New England Patriots will be taking a quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick in the NFL Draft later this month, but there are some who feel they should go with a wide receiver.
However, former Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork thinks the team should absolutely go with a signal-caller with their top selection.
“I’d go quarterback because this quarterback draft is so strong,” Wilfork said, via Adam London of NESN. “You don’t know next year what it is. I’m going quarterback because I’m not going to get the receivers. I’m not going to get the top-skilled position players coming to my team if I don’t have a quarterback. It’s hard to sell a program and an organization if they don’t have a quarterback.”
Wilfork has a point.
While some would make the counterargument that bringing in a rookie quarterback without any reliable weapons would be setting him up to fail, Wilfork is right in saying that this year is a particularly strong draft for signal-callers. Some consider it one of the deepest quarterback draft classes ever.
New England will likely have the opportunity to take either LSU’s Jayden Daniels or North Carolina’s Drake Maye with the third overall pick, and it would just seem like a very risky move to avoid both players and go with a wide receiver like Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr.
Currently, the Pats are employing Jacoby Brissett and Bailey Zappe as their main two quarterbacks, and neither player is a legitimate starter.
Brissett could serve as a bridge starter in a transitional year if the Patriots feel whoever they potentially take at No. 3 isn’t ready to take the reins just yet, but the point is that New England really needs to know now about what its future under center looks like.
We’ll find out with the Pats decide to do in less than two weeks.
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