New England Patriots: Why drafting Lamar Jackson makes sense
The New England Patriots are in the market for a quarterback to groom for life after Tom Brady, and Louisville’s Lamar Jackson makes the most sense.
Could Josh Allen really go No. 1 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft? Will the New York Giants pass on Josh Rosen if he’s there at No. 2? Will the Miami Dolphins trade up for Baker Mayfield? These are some of the rumors and reports going around. As the draft draws closer, we’re going to start hearing more such rumors, and some may come to fruition — and other are just that, rumors.
Teams will undoubtedly feed the media reports they want in order to throw other teams off. Sometimes the false reports are a team’s way of trying to bait the opposition to trade up for their respective pick. Still, there are some rumors that make enough sense that they have to be taken seriously. One of the reports that makes sense comes from the camp of the New England Patriots.
According to Boston.com, the Patriots are rumored to be smitten with Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson. Throughout the draft process, Jackson has been the single most polarizing player. There was the stuff about teams not being able to reach him to bring him in for interviews. And, of course, there was the fact that he declined to run the 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine. On top of it all, the major question was whether or not he’s a NFL quarterback. Well, the Patriots apparently don’t have those concerns:
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"“The Patriots are the team most interested in Lamar Jackson… Equipped with multiple first round picks, and five selections in the first three rounds, Bill Belichick has the ability to pursue a high level quarterback. Jackson’s dynamic playmaking ability – he passed for 27 touchdowns while rushing for an additional 18 in 2017 at Louisville – would make him an exciting pick.”"
The idea that the Patriots are enamored with Jackson shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Patriots Director of Player Personnel, Nick Caserio, was at Jackson’s Pro Day, despite knowing he wouldn’t be working out as a wide receiver. New England can afford to take Jackson with one of their two first-round picks, as opposed to trading up like some predicted. Still, Caserio and one rumor isn’t enough, so let’s take a deeper look into why the pick of Jackson makes sense and could be a possibility.
Take Josh McDaniels’ return as a sign that Jackson could be the pick. After turning down the head coaching job for the Colts, maybe McDaniels was promised an opportunity to be the next head coach of the Patriots (we don’t know, but that would make the messy situation make sense).
With that said, Jackson is the type of quarterback McDaniels would get behind, as evidenced by his selection of Tim Tebow in the first round during his short tenure as the Broncos head coach. Even when he returned to the Patriots, they brought Tebow in as a backup. So, why not get a guy who is much better quarterback and athlete than a guy he once drafted?
Even if that was a long time ago, consider the position the Pats are in. They pick at the bottom the first round, and Jackson is theoretically a second-round prospect. Selecting Jackson allows them to groom a quarterback for (assumedly) the next two years. If, by some chance, Tom Brady gets hurt over that time, Jackson at least has the ability to make things happen.
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When the New England Patriots are on the board, whether it’s at No. 23 or 31, fans should anticipate the Pats making a smart pick. Lamar Jackson could be one of them, but they also have the No. 43 pick — so there’s a chance he could be there then. Either way, he’s a great selection for the future of the Patriots.