New England Patriots: Would Jake Fromm be worth trading up for?

Could the New England Patriots make a move up in the draft to select quarterback Jake Fromm to replace Tom Brady this season?

Now with the reality of being without Tom Brady under center for the first time in two decades, the New England Patriots could look to address the quarterback need early on in the 2020 NFL Draft this week. One quarterback that is picking up some steam ahead of the draft on April 23-25 and has been connected to the Patriots is Georgia’s Jake Fromm.

In the past week or so leading up to the annual draft, which will be presented in a virtual format this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing guidelines, a few different notable NFL analysts have linked New England to Fromm and potentially even moving up to draft the young quarterback with one of its dozen draft picks.

Last week, Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy said on ESPN’s NFL Live, via 247 Sports, that he thinks there is a strong possibility a team will trade up to take Fromm at the end of the first round or early in the second round at the latest. More specifically, the Patriots.

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"“I think he fits for the Patriots. I think he fits for the Saints, as well. He fits both of those organizations. About a trade-up scenario, I don’t know. But there’s two teams sitting there in that back half that he fits for. He fits everything both those teams want to do,” Nagy said on ESPN. “He’s a winner. He’s got all of the intangibles. The arm talent is underrated. He can rip 18-yard outs. I’ve seen it many times.”"

That comment is one that was echoed a little bit earlier in the month by fellow ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky. Orlovsky took to Twitter to talk about Fromm as an NFL prospect, saying the quarterback has the ability to “connect the dots as good as anyone” in reading defenses while under center.

Orlovsky added that the Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints and Patriots would be good landing spots for Fromm, saying “he’s a perfect fit.”

In numerous mock drafts, Fromm has been projected as a player that could be selected anywhere from the second to the fourth rounds in the draft. But if a team, most notably New England, views Fromm as an immediate NFL contributor and solid prospect, it could try and move up at the end of the first round after its No. 23 selection to try and grab Fromm before anyone else does.

Leading up to the 2020 season, many think the quarterback job in New England will come down to either of the two quarterbacks currently on the Patriots roster. That being second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham or veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer.

But the fact that New England doesn’t have a third quarterback currently on the depth chart is reason to believe that Bill Belichick and company will ultimately draft a quarterback at some point in the draft this year.

Fromm could be a solid option to take over for Brady under center this season and beyond in Foxborough, and he has kind of flown under the radar to some extent with the likes of LSU’s Joe Burrow, Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, Utah State’s Jordan Love and Oregon’s Justin Herbert gaining a bulk of the attention as first-round picks in the upcoming draft.

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Fromm had a nice tenure at George, starting at quarterback for three seasons while completing 622 of his 983 pass attempts for a total of 8,236 yards, 78 touchdowns and just 18 interceptions. In 2019, he threw for 2,860 yards through the air with 24 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Could it be possible that Belichick and the Patriots have their eye on Fromm and are looking to add him to the quarterback competition in New England this season? That could very well be the case and Fromm could end up being drafted by the Patriots this week in the draft and ultimately taking over for Brady as the quarterback of the future in Foxborough.

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