Could Patriots Tank For Trevor Lawrence? One AFC Evaluator Believes So

The quarterback rumor carousel has spun at a rapid rate ever since the New England Patriots lost Tom Brady in free agency.

Andy Dalton to the Patriots? Cam Newton to New England?

Well, it seems one anonymous AFC evaluator has axed those thoughts and instead transitioned to the 2021 NFL Draft, questioning if perhaps the most prized commodity — Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence — could land in New England.

“I’m a little worried that they are tanking for Trevor Lawrence,” one AFC evaluator told The Athletic’s Mike Sando in a story published Friday.

Lawrence, as you likely know, is the frontrunner to be the No. 1 overall selection in next year’s draft. And while the Patriots could earn that selection by having the worst record in the NFL, it’s much more likely they would have to trade quality draft capital in order to select Lawrence.

Other evaluators, however, believe the Patriots genuinely like Stidham (as NESN.com’s Doug Kyed wrote Friday) and will not look to sign other free-agent quarterbacks.

“The takeaway is, they like Stidham and they believe he is the next guy, but he is going to compete with (Brian) Hoyer,” a different, but still anonymous, evaluator told The Athletic. “Does bringing in (Andy) Dalton work well in a shortened year? Would he come in, learn their offense and be ahead of Hoyer, who has been in it before? I don’t see it.”

In addition to Stidham, the Patriots currently have veteran signal-caller in Hoyer and a pair of undrafted rookies at the position.

More Patriots: Mike Lombardi Believes New England Will Do ‘Due Diligence’ On Andy Dalton