The New England Patriots made a few head-scratching picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, including selecting a quarterback in the fourth round just one year after landing QB Mac Jones at No. 15 overall in Round 1.
Jones, an Alabama alum, is coming off an impressive rookie season with the Patriots, but Bill Belichick and company still went back to the quarterback well Saturday to nab Bailey Zappe out of Western Kentucky with the No. 137 selection.
So, what gives?
Well, Patriots director of player personnel Matt Groh explained the organization simply saw an opportunity to add depth at an important position. But well-documented New England hater Nick Wright believes there’s more to the story, with the pick reflective of a bigger issue in Foxboro.
“So, you think maybe this is a motivational ploy? Maybe Belichick was like, ‘Hey, Mac. A little less time in the trademark office and dance studio; a little more time in the lab.’ Like, you think maybe that’s what it was? Or, he’s not quite as sold on Mac Jones as you are,” Wright said Monday on FS1’s “First Things First” while discussing the Zappe pick. “Or, Option 3: The Patriots stink at drafting. And a team that has holes all over the place just used a fourth-round pick on Bailey Zappe to be their backup quarterback. Just like they used a fourth-round pick on (Jarrett Stidham), and you loved that, and now you’re like, ‘OK, he’s probably out.’
“I couldn’t be more happy,” he added. “After we got off the air Friday, the Chiefs made another draft-day trade, once again with the Patriots, because they spotted the sucker in the room again.”
Jones drew rave reviews throughout his first season in New England, so it’s a leap to view the Zappe pick as an indictment toward the former. But the Patriots have had a spotty track record of drafting in recent years — with the exception of 2021 — and therefore no longer have the benefit of the doubt.
“So, it’s Option A: It’s motivation for Mac Jones because they think he needs motivation,” Wright said, doubling down on his skepticism of the Zappe pick. “Option B: It’s insurance for Mac Jones because they’re not quite as sold on him as (Kevin) Wildes is. Option C is they don’t know what they’re doing.
“Those are three doors. It’s like ‘Let’s Make A Deal,’ the old game show, except there’s just a goat behind all of them. Not the baby GOAT; an actual goat. There’s no car, there’s no money, it’s just bad.”
New England’s first selection this year — Chattanooga guard Cole Strange at No. 29 overall — was a total shocker. From there, the questions only increased, to the point where it’s fair to wonder whether the Patriots dropped the ball with their 2022 draft class.
