Drafting is a mugs game. Pure and simple. I know just as much as any dimwit on Twitter, and just a little less than someone who writes detailed scouting reports. Unless it’s actually your job to pick the players, you’re better off closing your eyes and playing eeny, meeny, miny, moe and hope you catch the tiger by the toe.
The modern perception about drafting a quarterback solely because you need one, and if you take the wrong one you can simply take another one in the next draft, is how people justify demanding instant gratification. The Patriots need to copy the Kansas City Chiefs model, despite the fact what the Chiefs did was trade up to take Patrick Mahomes at No. 10 and prior to that from 2013 to 2017 laid the foundation of what would become their championship core. They began the rebuild by drafting tackle Eric Fisher, and traded two second round picks for Alex Smith. It wasn’t the sexiest off-season, but it set them on the right track.
So why can’t the Patriots emulate that by drafting Joe Alt or Olu Fashanu, and signing Gardner Minshew in free agency?
Because the team is not run in that pragmatic direction anymore, and fans aren’t enamored with multi-year projects even if the evidence is staring at them in the face that this is the more viable route than simply drafting Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels and praying they’re the franchise savior. These same people will also be ready to drive them to the airport when they throw their first interception.
Quarterback is the hardest position to determine, for every success there are so many failures. Historically, there’s only been a handful of sure things taken in the draft at the position. John Elway, Peyton Manning, and Andrew Luck. Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels are likelier to all be awful, than even one of them becomes franchise players. Stay far away from them. If I’m the Chicago Bears I’m trading out of the first pick, same goes for if I’m the Commanders (Ew), and if I’m the Patriots I’m either trading down or taking Joe Alt with my pick.
If you can trade down for either J.J McCarthy or Michael Penix and they aren’t up to snuff, at least you picked up an extra asset and didn’t get no value for the pick. It’s what Belichick wanted to do with the fifteen pick that was Mac Jones. If he was allowed to trade down for David Mills he’d be a quarterback of similar production to Jones and an additional asset.
Good Time Basketball 