NFL Draft Rumors: Position Patriots ‘Likely’ To Use First Pick On If Not QB

Particularly if they trade up, the New England Patriots are expected to pick a quarterback in the first round of the NFL Draft.

The Pats own No. 15 overall and they are just drowning in rumors ahead of Thursday’s first round. There’s chatter that they’ll actually move back, not up, and even speculation that Stephon Gilmore could be dealt.

And the latest from ESPN indicates nothing all too new. In their “what we’re hearing” piece Wednesday, though, they wrote that if the Pats pass on a signal-caller, the Gilmore situation will prompt them to probably take a cornerback.

Potential Patriots: Picking Cornerback In Every Round Of 2021 NFL Draft

“If they don’t take a quarterback, New England likely will take one of the cornerbacks with their first pick, especially with cornerback Stephon Gilmore’s situation still unsettled. Gilmore is a sneaky candidate to get traded on draft weekend or soon thereafter, depending on how things shake out with New England’s defensive back situation.”

Caleb Farley is arguably the top corner available, but there’s a good chance the Virginia Tech product won’t make it out of the top 10. South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn, Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II and Northwestern’s Greg Newsome II are among the other top guys at the position.

Time will tell. One thing you can back on is that the Patriots are going to be in the news cycle quite a bit over the coming days.