‘Tis the season for a reality check for New England Patriots fans. Unless reindeers start flying, the Patriots won’t be in the mix to draft Trevor Lawrence in 2021. That leaves an extended marriage with Cam Newton as the best option on the table for a team that devolved into a non-playoff contender for the first time in 12 years.
Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Kyle Trask—yes, I know the names.
But I also know the Patriots’ receivers and tight ends are among the worst skilled position groups in the NFL. For the most part, it’s the same group that had Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback of all time, looking like a shell of his former self. TB12 looked like TB-done in his 2019 season with the Patriots.
So he hightailed it to Tampa Bay and left an even bigger mess than the one that already existed. Then Covid-19 hit and that mess grew to seismic proportions.
Newton essentially joined the team in July with the expectations of learning a completely new offense on the fly with a 34-year-old Julian Edelman as his best receiver. It was an impossible season for the former league MVP caught up in the maelstrom of a global pandemic—all while trying to serve as the successor to the quarterback that won six Super Bowl rings.
No, Newton never stood a chance.
Coach Bill Belichick has been on janitor duty all year trying to restore that once pristine image of a perennial championship contender, but he’s been fighting a losing battle ever since Brady opted to walk out the door. Granted, the offense was a disaster with Brady behind center as well, but there were still those vintage moments of him turning water into wine and helping the team get over the playoff hump. The defense also had Dont’a Hightower, Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins and Patrick Chung. Throw in a cupcake schedule, and things fell into place for the Patriots despite the growing offensive concerns.
It would take a grand slam home run for Belichick to land a quarterback capable of carrying the offense as currently constructed. Anything less would turn an already lingering offensive mess into a full-blown catastrophe.
The closest bet to a sure-thing in the 2021 NFL Draft is Lawrence, but the Patriots haven’t stunk enough to even be in the hunt for that sweepstakes. Every other option out there is a crapshoot that basically ignores the real issue with the offense: the receiving corps.
The Patriots have a real opportunity to massively upgrade their skilled positions by keeping Newton and using their first-round draft pick on a prominent playmaker that can make an immediate impact. Someone like Alabama’s Devonta Smith or LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase would instantly change the way we look at the receiving corps. First-Team All-SEC tight end Kyle Pitts would also be a premium option for a team looking to build an offensive foundation before tossing a rookie quarterback into the shark tank.
Using the first-round pick on a receiver or tight end also increases the likelihood of Belichick flying closer to the sun. Make no mistake, the architect behind the greatest dynasty in NFL history doesn’t come without his share of the blame. A big reason for the current mess is his tendency to swing wildly and miss at receiver—you know, like drafting N’Keal Harry over DK Metcalf in 2019. There’s no excuse for missing in 2021 with the Patriots likely positioned to take one of the marquee receivers in the draft.
That goes without mentioning the copious amount of cap space the team will have heading into free agency. It’s only a matter of time before the Odell Beckham Jr. trade rumors start firing up again, and the Patriots will almost certainly be at the center of it. An offense of Beckham, Chase/Smith, Julian Edelman and Jakobi Meyers would look like night and day compared to the unit available to the team at the moment.
The Patriots might be in rebuild mode, but if they play their cards right, it won’t take them long to transform back into legitimate AFC contenders.
That isn’t to say they should completely abandon the notion of drafting a quarterback. It’s more about them recognizing the importance of having those foundational pieces in place. There’s also the option of swooping in later and grabbing a guy like Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, who could potentially slip in the draft.
Spare me the cries for Jarrett Stidham. He’s had plenty of time to convince the Patriots he’s worthy of starter consideration. If Belichick truly believed he had what it took to be the starter, there wouldn’t have been a need to sign Newton. If “Stid” really was the guy, he wouldn’t have been beaten out by journeyman backup Brian Hoyer as a starter when Newton was out with Covid.
This should be Newton’s team for the foreseeable future. Another year in the offense with actual weapons might lead to the sort of turnaround some envisioned for this year. At the very least, it limits the risk of striking out like most when attempting to reach too high for a quarterback. Belichick once believed in his system so much that he was willing to part ways with Brady and move on with Jimmy Garoppolo behind center.
It’s a sobering reminder that Newton might not be Mr. Right, but he can be Mr. Right Now.