Patriots Can’t Force Quarterback With #3 Pick

The New England Patriots are tasked with a situation that they haven’t faced in about 30 years. Let’s take a trip back in time, shall we?

The 1993 Patriots Draft

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The year is 1993. The Patriots have been at the center of relocation rumors. Possibly to St. Louis. They have the #1 pick in the NFL Draft. The QBs on the roster were former Dolphins and Cowboys quarterback Scott Secules, who was signed as a free agent after being let to test the market by Dallas, and Scott Zolak, who is now a beloved radio host of 98.5 The Sports Hub with Marc Bertrand on “Beadle and Zo” and the color analyst for the Patriots games broadcasted on 98.5 along with Bob Socci.

The unanimous #1 quarterback in 1993 was Washington’s Drew Bledsoe. For first-year coach Bill Parcells, they quickly made the selection and set themselves up with a quarterback of the future. For seven seasons, this was largely the case. Hell, if not for a catastrophic injury, a feisty young quarterback with a chip on his shoulder, and a coach who shared that mentality, he could’ve been the QB until 2011.

The Quarterbacks of 2024’s Draft

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When you look at where the Patriots were in 1993 and 2024, you’ll find some similarities. A new head coach (with much more experience, granted) taking over an operation that ranked dead last in many areas of football. A high-end draft pick, with a ton of work to do. All of this, without a quarterback to lead you into the new era.

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The biggest difference though, is that the Patriots of today don’t have that #1 pick. They won’t have a chance to go get the undisputed best quarterback of the class in USC’s Caleb Williams. They won’t even have their choice of the runner-up as the Washington Commanders own #2, and will likely take LSU’s Heisman-winning signal caller Jayden Daniels. Jerod Mayo, Elliot Wolf, and Robert Kraft will still have the chance to land a very good signal caller. The odds are that one of Daniels or UNC’s Drake Maye will be there. There’s also Michigan’s JJ McCarthy. The youngest quarterback of the class, but also the winningest.

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Who the Patriots are linked to has been a mixed bag. It has been well-reported that Bill Belichick was a massive fan of Daniels. It is reasonable to assume that the Patriots have some holdovers from that crowd as well. Lately, McCarthy has been all the noise in Foxboro halls. Michael Holley of NBC Sports, Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal, and others all have stated they believe Wolf is a big fan of McCarthy. Chris Gasper of the Boston Globe has said that he could be a “compromise quarterback” for the team.

Trading Down?

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As we explore what other teams think, the Minnesota Vikings have put themselves out there as a team that will be aggressive in moving up and taking a quarterback. Their rumored preferred candidates are Maye and McCarthy. Hell, they even traded with the Houston Texans to gain an extra first-round pick as further ammo to move up from 11. It’s all but certain that they’ve reached out to the front office of the Patriots. Rumor has it, they’d be willing to part with not only the Texans’ pick of #23 overall, but also their 2025 first-round selection. That’s a hard bargain to deny. The Las Vegas Raiders, Denver Broncos, and New York Giants have also been rumored as teams that wish to move up. So the Patriots will have a plethora of options of what to do at that #3 pick come the 25th in Detroit, Michigan.

What should the Patriots do?

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This is Elliot Wolf’s first draft for the Patriots on his own. The Bill Belichick era is over, and the Elliot Wolf era truly begins on night one of the NFL Draft. He has the opportunity to set the direction of this franchise for years to come with this pick.

With that being said, we have no idea what the tendencies of Wolf are. We can look back at his time with the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns, but those were all nearly a decade ago, some even more. And neither team was this barren of offensive talent as this team is headed into the 2024 season.

With all of that in mind, I believe the Patriots’ philosophy for this NFL Draft should be fairly simple. If you love a quarterback, and he’s there at #3, select him. Whether that be Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, or even J.J. McCarthy, that should be the selection. It is so important for any team to pair a young coach and his staff with a quarterback they all love.

But at the same time, be aware this team is a long way away from being competitive. No rookie quarterback is changing that overnight. You could put Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on this team and I’m still questioning if the Patriots are making the playoffs. With an offer like the Minnesota Vikings are prepared to offer, you can draft an offensive tackle at #11, and get a really good WR or hell, even Washington’s Michael Penix Jr at #23 and set yourself up with a blindside tackle for years to come. It’s something that must be considered.

The bottom line

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The bottom line should be to not take a quarterback just for the sake of needing one. It’s unlikely any of the rookie quarterbacks will make this team a contender in 2024. Throwing a rookie quarterback out to the wolves could ruin them. Without a solid offensive line, a true number-one pass catcher, and an unproven coaching staff, it would be unwise to force the issue.

You can solve some of those ailments by trading down with the Minnesota Vikings, get that tackle, get that wide receiver, and begin to build what should become an NFL offense in time. I’m an advocate for taking your guy as it pertains to the position of NFL quarterback. But if there is any doubt from anybody in that war room on draft day. I think the answer is pretty simple. But we’ll all know soon enough when the Patriots get on the clock, about a half hour into the NFL Draft on April 25th in the motor city.

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