The biggest move of the Patriots offseason still might be to come.
New England last week spent an eye-opening amount of money in free agency to overhaul their deeply flawed roster. However, for many, it’s hard to imagine Bill Belichick rolling with recently re-signed Cam Newton as the quarterback to lead his new and improved offense.
Well, according to top NFL Draft expert Daniel Jeremiah, the Patriots might have their sights set on Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields.
During their latest “Move the Sticks” podcast, Jeremiah and fellow NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks discussed the Patriots, who reportedly have been scouting many signal-callers ahead of next month’s NFL Draft.
“I think the New England Patriots could be real aggressive,” Brooks said. “We’ve seen the New England Patriots step outside their comfort zone as it relates to free agency. We saw them completely rebuild the roster with the number of signings and free agency. … I believe they’re about to go all in on an offensive makeover. The young quarterback is the final piece to the puzzle. And I think that quarterback will be an athletic quarterback.”
Added Jeremiah: “I keep an eye on somebody like Trey Lance or Justin Fields. Those are the two that would make sense for them to target. Hear a lot of rumors out there that they are really high on Justin Fields out of Ohio State. So, they’d have to (trade up) quite a ways to get Justin Fields.”
The Patriots own the No. 15 overall pick in the draft, but many expect Fields to be off the board by then. Thus, New England likely would need to executive an aggressive trade up the draft order. Such a move would be out of character for Belichick and Co. but, considering what they already have done this offseason, nothing would surprise us.
So, will Justin Fields be tabbed as the quarterback of the future for the Patriots? We’ll find out when the draft starts Thursday, April 29.
