With reports in recent days that the Patriots are “most interested” in Lamar Jackson, including, gasp, Tom Brady calling Jackson a beast, the fires of speculation that the Pats could move up in the first round have only added more fuel. Quarterback is the most vital position in football so it’s no wonder why players like Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen and Josh Allen are all expected to be taken in the top 10.
How exactly they’ll be drafted will be the subject of great debate over these next couple weeks. If you feel good about how things might unfold Sports Betting Dime has locked in a few good sites with some draft prop bets. But for the Patriots it’s unlikely they’ll mortgage their huge draft pick capital just to take one player who won’t even play this year, injuries willing, especially with so many holes to fill.
But Jackson could be within striking distance and is certainly an intriguing prospect. What’s not up for debate is that he’s an elite athlete at the position, a next-generation quarterback who could really develop with a year or two behind Tom Brady.
He’s certainly not the scheme fit that Jimmy Garoppolo easily was. Accuracy is his biggest issue and that was one of Garoppolo’s biggest strengths. Really, Josh Rosen might be the best schematic fit for the Patriots, but again, it’s hard to see them making an entire draft about one player, no matter how old Brady is.
Bill Belichick is always one to stay ahead of the curve with his strategic approach, so there’s an argument to be made that players like Jackson, who can create explosive plays out of thin air, especially with his feet, are the future. The Patriots saw it firsthand when they faced Deshaun Watson last season and the rookie nearly pulled off the upset. Belichick’s defense has evolved toward athleticism in recent seasons, so it would make sense to evolve the offense in that direction as well.
The problem becomes creating an offense that suits Jackson behind Brady. The good thing about Garoppolo was that his skillset matched Brady’s and required little tweaking between the two signal callers. With Jackson you’d need almost an entirely new offense which would make Josh McDaniels’ life, along with the rest of the offensive coaches and personnel, extremely complicated.
Ultimately I think the Patriots will do what they always do — maximize their draft capital and if the right player falls far enough, trade up to take him, but I can’t see them going much higher than the late teens, which could very likely be where Jackson is available. He’s not a clear fit for what they currently do, but there’s no question he’s an explosive athlete who would quickly re-energize the fanbase and media pundits still pining for Jimmy G.
Given the needs at linebacker and tackle, I’d prefer to make a selection at those positions first before taking a quarterback. If Jackson were to fall into the early second round it would make a ton of sense to take him there, but he still feels like a luxury and not exactly a slam dunk.
I hope that unless someone obviously falls to us that we make the most use of Brady’s final years (as we’ve been saying for the last 5 years…). I’d feel sick if we spent the #23 pick on Jackson.
Love the last paragraph.