Patriots Still In Waiting Game After Comments From Commanders GM

The New England Patriots have to wait for the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders before being on the clock at No. 3 overall at next week's NFL draft.

The worst kept secret of the draft is the Bears will use the top pick on USC quarterback Caleb Williams. What happens after that is anybody's guess.

The Commanders, like the Bears and Patriots, are in need of a quarterback and have been linked to nearly every major prospect at that position. And Commanders general manager Adam Peters continued to keep things close to his chest when he met with reporters Thursday.

"We're real close... still a few more things in the process..." Peters told reporters Thursday, per ESPN's John Keim. "We don't need to make a decision until we need to make a decision; there's no rush with that. We'll probably have a good idea what we're doing early next week."

The Commanders will probably decide between Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye after Williams goes off the board. There is a split decision among NFL insiders on which signal-caller the Commanders prefer with the second overall pick.

ESPN's Adam Schefter believes Washington will use the selection to draft Daniels while NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah believes Maye is a good fit for what Peters wants out of a quarterback.

Washington certainly is trying to do its best not to tip its hand. The Commanders hosted Daniels and Maye, along with Michigan's J.J. McCarthy and Washington's Michael Penix Jr., all together for visits earlier this week.

It's obviously unclear exactly what the Commanders will do once they're on the clock. But whatever they end up doing, it will directly impact the Patriots.