The New England Patriots could be getting ready to pull a draft night surprise in a couple of weeks with the No. 3 pick. Most draft analysts have the Patriots taking a quarterback in the first round. However, the Patriots front office doesn’t appear to love their options in this year’s class.
Jacoby Brissett is the current New England Patriots QB1
Patriots owner Robert Kraft said at the annual league meeting last month he wanted the Patriots to take a “top-rate” quarterback in this year’s draft. It’s no wonder Kraft feels that way, as his quarterback payroll includes Jacoby Brissett, Bailey Zappe, and Nathan Rourke.
While Kraft might wish for a quarterback to appease the fanbase, the new front office and head coach might not feel the talent in this year’s class is worth using the draft capital the No. 3 pick commands. They could trade out of the pick and use the capital to add a quarterback in a future draft.
The Patriots are interested in trading the No. 3 pick
According to Albert Breer with Sports Illustrated, the Patriots front office will listen to trade offers for the No. 3 pick. More importantly, the Patriots are only using three of their official 30 visits for the quarterback position:
“My sense is the New England Patriots haven’t made up their minds yet on trading or sticking at 3. So, yes, personnel chief Eliot Wolf’s going to take phone calls on the pick. And one really interesting piece of information I’ve gathered over the past week is that New England, to this point at least, has only allotted three of its 30 visits to quarterbacks.”
Breer infers that the lack of visits means that the Patriots are only interested in taking a quarterback if they draft at or near the No. 3 position. The Patriots probably aren’t interested in trading back, adding picks, and then drafting Bo Nix or Michael Penix Jr. later in the first round.
Could the New England Patriots trade back into the top five?
Breer does think there is a chance they could trade back from No. 3 and then get back into the top five to take a quarterback they like:
“O.K., so that said, what if, for example, Minnesota offers both its firsts and a 2025 first-rounder (maybe with a pick getting kicked back to the Vikings) for the third pick? And in that scenario, if Minnesota takes, say, Maye, could the Patriots then try to trade back up into the top five to take McCarthy? And if that were to happen, could they hold on to the 23rd pick, and wind up with someone such as Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton to fill their left tackle need?
I think all that’s on the table, as the Patriots work through their options.”
Of course, the Patriots could be using a smokescreen as they wade through the pool of quarterback applicants. In 2017, the Chicago Bears told Patrick Mahomes they would take him with the No. 3 pick in the draft. They pulled a draft night shocker by trading up to draft Mitch Trubisky, a quarterback they didn’t meet with after the NFL Combine.
The Patriots have several positions they need to get better at this offseason. It would make sense for the Patriots to trade back and add several quality players to their roster if they don’t think their best quarterback option left on the board at No. 3 can cut the mustard in the NFL.
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