Move up, move down or stay put.
The Patriots will need to make that potentially franchise-altering decision Thursday night when the NFL holds the first round of the 2021 draft.
The common football fan likely would tell you New England should try to trade up from 15th overall. After all, Cam Newton isn’t a long-term answer under center and the Patriots need a quarterback of the future. But while Bill Belichick and Co. likely will land a signal-caller over the course of the seven-round event, NFL insider Michael Giardi doesn’t seem to believe it will happen inside the top 10.
“I think they are interested in a quarterback, but a couple of weeks ago (it) was, ‘The Patriots are going to trade up into the top five and they are going to get the Falcons pick and they are going to get their quarterback,’ ” Giardi said Monday on “Mut at Night with Andy Hart,” as transcribed by WEEI. “I don’t sense that that is — I mean, I shouldn’t say that. If a deal was really sweet they might do it, but the deal isn’t going to be really sweet to get that high up. To me, it looks like, unless someone really falls into that 12-13 range, I don’t see it.”
For what it’s worth, the Patriots reportedly have done/are doing their due diligence on potential trade-up scenarios. New England, according to the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, has looked into possibly moving inside the top 10 in order to select Justin Fields.
