All eyes will be on the New England Patriots in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Tom Brady’s coming off a Super Bowl win with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Bill Belichick had a subpar 7-9 season without his former quarterback. Cam Newton’s future with the team is uncertain, but speculation around the league leads to a future without the 31-year-old. The Patriots draft No. 15 overall, giving them perfect position to potentially stumble into rookie quarterbacks like Justin Fields or Mac Jones.
It’s not that simple though. The Patriots aren’t just a quarterback away from being a winning team — they have holes in nearly every position on the field. So, it’d be smart to take the best player available and figure out the quarterback situation through a trade or signing a veteran who can handle the offense.
That’s why ESPN’s Todd McShay has the Patriots landing Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons with the No. 15 overall pick.
“No, one of the top five quarterbacks isn’t available, but this isn’t a bad consolation prize for coach Bill Belichick,” McShay said. “Parsons — my No. 4 prospect overall — slides to the No. 15 pick here because of unique circumstances following a rush on QBs and wide receivers. Dont’a Hightower will be back after opting out of the 2020 season and Chase Winovich has been disruptive off the edge, but Parsons gives Belichick a true sideline-to-sideline linebacker who can do a little bit of everything. And if the team moves on from Hightower after the 2021 season when he is set to be a free agent, Parsons would be the QB of this defense going forward.
“As for QB of the offense, it doesn’t seem to be in New England’s nature to trade up for one. Watch the free-agent market closely and keep an eye on what happens with former Patriot Jimmy Garoppolo, but if it comes down to the draft, the Patriots might have to look to Day 2 if all five QBs are indeed off the board.”
New England is known for having a reliable linebacker corps and they’re far from that right now. Fortunately, Hightower will be back, but that may not be enough. Despite opting-out of the 2020 season, Parsons is still projected to be drafted as a Top-10 player and his do-it-all ability is extremely rare. He’s 6-foot-3, 245 pounds and he has 4.43 40-yard dash speed, which is abnormal for players in his position.
It’s difficult to imagine he’d drop down to No. 15, but if he does, the Patriots should certainly grab him without hesitation.
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