Former GM suggests Patriots' No. 3 pick should be a no-brainer

New England’s current QB depth chart reads Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe and Nathan Rourke. Neither Jones nor Zappe were good enough this season to inspire head coach Jerod Mayo to commit to as the starter going forward, leading many to believe whoever the team takes with the No. 3 pick in April is the new face of the franchise.

However, the Patriots have one of the worst rosters in the NFL with lots of holes that need plugging, and trading a top-three pick to another QB-needy team could net them a bounty of additional draft picks that can be used to replenish the roster more quickly.

If the Patriots do trade back in the first round, they’re effectively narrowing down their pool of potential signal callers to Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and Oregon’s Bo Nix — the only three remaining QBs who have been given a Round 1 grade from a majority of scouts. 

Or perhaps they find their QB of the future via the trade market should the Chicago Bears decide to go with Williams and move on from Justin Fields?

More clarity will presumably be gained once the Patriots actually name Bill Belichick’s successor as GM. Dimitroff says what New England does with the No. 3 pick likely hinges on who is hired to fill that position.

“If you have the right GM, and they’re not just about getting one or two players here and there but they have a really good insight on how they’re going to build their team and have the foresight to say, ‘In the next two or three years we’re going to do it this way,’ then I think you can pick the quarterback,” Dimitroff added. “If you’re just doing the here-and-now stuff, I don’t think you have a chance. And at that point, you really have to think about moving back.”