Top Quarterback Prospects For The New England Patriots
NFL | February 14, 2021
While many NFL teams have been searching for their franchise guy for decades, the New England Patriots had the luxury of not having to worry about the quarterback position for 20 years. Tom Brady stepped in for an injured Drew Bledsoe during the 2001 NFL season, and never looked back. He won six Super Bowl titles with the Patriots, and head coach Bill Belichick never had to wonder who would lead his team into battle each week.
Fast forward to March 2019, when Brady decided to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and leave the Patriots behind. Placed in an unfamiliar position, New England decided to bring accomplished veteran quarterback Cam Newton to the team.
Newton still brought a dangerous element to the Patriots’ goal line offense, scoring 12 rushing touchdowns. But he appeared to be very limited as a passer, finishing with more interceptions than touchdown passes for the first time in his career.
It’s very unlikely the Patriots will stick with Newton, as they’ll look for ways to spark their dormant passing offense. They will pursue every avenue possible for an upgrade, but if there’s anything we know about Belichick—it’s that he won’t overpay to get his guy. Here are three quarterback possibilities for New England in 2021:
Mac Jones
The Patriots have the 15th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Without a trade to improve their position, they will likely miss out on the likes of Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields and Zach Wilson. But they will still be in the mix for a couple of other intriguing quarterback prospects.
New England might take a look at North Dakota Sate quarterback Trey Lance due to his modern skill set, but will perhaps be more intrigued by Alabama quarterback Mac Jones. He’s more of the prototypical drop back passer the Patriots have been accustomed to in the last couple of decades. Additionally, Belichick’s relationship with Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban has been well documented, and the team will likely get a detailed scouting report as a result.
Andy Dalton
At this stage of his career, Andy Dalton is no one’s idea of a prototypical franchise quarterback. Behind a beaten up Dallas Cowboys offensive line last season, the 10 year pro was serviceable filling in for Dak Prescott.
If the Patriots do want to give Dalton a shot under center this year, they’ll need to upgrade the receiving corps to give him a reasonable chance of success. The good thing about Dalton is, he has more arm talent than Newton displayed last season.
Ryan Fitzpatrick
At this point, the Patriots are the only team in the AFC East not to have employed the bearded wonder, and he could be the perfect stopgap to buy the team some time to find a long term answer.
If his past couple seasons with the Dolphins have shown us anything, it’s that Fitzpatrick doesn’t need a tremendous supporting cast to make plays. He’s also revered as a teammate, and will do whatever it takes to guide and instruct young players to get better.
Tags: NFL
