New England Patriots Make Shocking 3rd Overall Pick in Latest NFL Draft Projections
How will the New England Patriots improve heading into 2024?
It’s no mystery that the New England Patriots need a ton of help if they’re to get back to their heyday. However, with seemingly every position being a massive need on the offensive side of the ball, how will Jerod Mayo kick off his tenure as the man in charge in Foxboro? Will the third overall pick be a quarterback or will Mayo and co. decide to build around the rest of the roster before adding the franchise’s next signal caller?
“The obvious move for the Patriots is to draft a young quarterback, such as Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels (LSU), with the No. 3 overall pick. Analytically, that’s the right move. But it’s not the boldest move. The boldest move would be to draft the surer thing, the Ohio State receiver, and combine him with a veteran caretaker quarterback available in free agency and then gamble on a lower-round passer.
The perfect caretaker veteran quarterback? Jacoby Brissett — who was a Patriots third-round draft pick back in 2016. Brissett has made a career of surprisingly reasonable performances, with his best year coming with the 2022 Browns. And who was offensive coordinator of those Browns? None other than new Patriots coordinator Alex Van Pelt.
With Brissett throwing to Harrison, the Patriots can then use a lower-round pick on a passer to develop behind Brissett. Michael Penix Jr. (Washington) might be an option in the second round, or Spencer Rattler (South Carolina) in the third or fourth round.”
New England Patriots’ Legendary Reign Prior to 2020 Season
Just hours after famously resigning as the head coach of the New York Jets on a napkin…yes, a napkin. Bill Belichick was hired as the head coach of the New England Patriots in 2000. This comes after a modest 36-44 tenure as the leader of the sidelines with the Cleveland Browns from 1991 through 1995, and stints with the Patriots and Jets as an assistant from 1996 until his hiring in 2000. Following a 5-11 first season in Foxboro, Belichick righted the ship, most famously due to a certain Tom Brady stepping in for Drew Bledsoe following the latter’s injury in week 2 of the 2001 season.
Even after Bledsoe, who had freshly signed what at the time was the biggest contract in NFL history, Belichick stuck with the hot hand in Brady, who was just months removed from being the 199th pick in the draft. The Patriots would go on to beat ‘The Greatest Show on Turf’ in the form of the Kurt Warner-led St. Louis Rams to secure the franchise’s first Super Bowl win. Belichick and Brady would famously go on to win six Super Bowl titles before Brady’s departure to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following the 2019 season.
Brady went on to win another Super Bowl in Tampa Bay, his seventh, while Belichick was tasked with replacing the best player in the history of the sport…something that the Patriots are still struggling with as the club went just 4-13 this past season, which led to them owning the 3rd pick in this coming April’s NFL Draft.
