Ex-Patriots Defender Intrigued By New England’s New Draft Process

Kyle Van Noy saw the best of what the New England Patriots can do with a rookie quarterback.

The veteran linebacker earned a playoff berth during his second stint with the Patriots as Mac Jones tossed 22 touchdown passes as a rookie in 2021.

Now that Jones has declined to the point where his NFL future likely exists elsewhere, the Patriots may very well be ready to use another first-round pick on their hopeful franchise quarterback.

Despite that growing belief, former Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy believes keeping Jones could be a “possibility” based on Jones’ potential as a rookie, though New England has several directions to choose from.

“They could be happy with Mac, they really could,” Van Noy shared on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” on Thursday. “You could see Marvin Harrison Jr. at receiver drafted here. … I like this pick for the Patriots because of the new regime with Jerod Mayo and Eliot Wolf making that final decision.”

Quarterback seems to be the Patriots’ primary focus with every new report as the draft gets closer. Ultimately, New England may not have a “wrong” pick, at least in terms of drafting a position, based on the several needs on offense.

“We don’t know, but they have a lot of holes to fill,” Van Noy added. “What are they going to do at quarterback? They need receivers. They need help offensively to get more weapons.”

The Patriots will be at the center of attention when the NFL Draft begins in Detroit on April 25.