Patriots Mock Draft 2.0: Justin Fields Trade Shakes Up Draft Plans

What are the Patriots going to do with the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft? That’s exactly what we’ll try to answer in this five-part mock draft series. New England has options, so stick with us as we explore some possible outcomes ahead of April.

Mock Draft 1.0

The Patriots need to make a change at quarterback, and many believe the best way of upgrading the position will come via the draft. That doesn’t mean they need to select a signal-caller with the No. 3 pick, however.

Let us explain.

Mac Jones was once viewed as the heir apparent to Tom Brady in New England, but did nothing but prove he wasn’t that guy over the last two seasons. His successful rookie campaign quickly devolved into a three-year run that everyone seems to be ready to move on from. In looking to atone for that mistake, could the Patriots go out and add someone many believe they should have attempted to draft ahead of Jones.

Is Justin Fields the best option for New England moving forward? Let’s see how trading for him could influence the rest of the Patriots’ draft.

The Patriots trade the No. 3 pick to the Chicago Bears for quarterback Justin Fields, the No. 9 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

It might seem a tad unreasonable for the Patriots to give up the No. 3 pick in a trade for Fields, and we agree, that’s just the way it shakes out when you’re dealing with computers. The closer we get to the actual draft, the more leverage New England has in a potential trade. This is just an exercise, so everyone should relax a bit.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams and UNC quarterback Drake Maye are the first two players off the board in this scenario, so it comes down to who the Patriots prefer. LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, who we’re familiar with, or Fields and a shot at one of the best offensive tackles available. We went with the latter.

Fields is a dual-threat option under center, and has shown flashes to make many believe he could be successful in the right system. It’s pretty clear Chicago did not have that system. This is as just as much of a gamble as selecting Daniels, so it really came down to how the rest of the draft came out that has us feeling optimistic.

We made picks and trades across all seven rounds, using PFF’s Mock Draft Simulator. You can find the results, and our reasoning, below.

Joe Alt at No. 9, anybody?

The Patriots get their franchise left tackle in this scenario, and by throwing a large sum of money at Mike Onwenu in free agency, their offensive line would look infinitely better on paper than it currently does.

Roman Wilson, Malachi Corley and Luke McCaffrey are wideouts that can be multiple, which essentially means they’re interchangeable and provide positional versatility. They all competed at the Senior Bowl and came away looking like they’d be ready to contribute right away.

Braelon Allen might be the best running back in this draft, you can’t beat grabbing a guy like that in the fifth round. He’d immediately find reps behind Rhamondre Stevenson, who despite wanting to be New England’s feature back, hasn’t shown he’s able to handle a full workload. Jared Wiley is a developmental prospect at tight end, but would immediately be the Patriots’ most imposing player at the position. Joe Milton III is another developmental guy, but they’ll need to add more than one QB this offseason.

The Patriots’ defense is fine, but Tyler Nubin would provide an immediate replacement for a potentially-departing Kyle Dugger. Kalen King would join an already good-looking cornerback group. These two could turn New England’s secondary into the NFL’s best.

How do we feel Patriots fans?