We know the Bears and Commanders are taking quarterbacks at picks 1-2 in next month's draft. Most are fairly confident the Patriots will be taking a passer at No. 3. But I think it's possible -- and maybe recommended -- that they take a wide receiver instead.
New England hasn't had much at quarterback since Tom Brady skipped town after the 2019 season. They tried Cam Newton, and they tried first-rounder Mac Jones for a couple of seasons. But they'd benched Jones even before shipping him off to Jacksonville for a late-round pick; they're looking at either Bailey Zappe or veteran journeyman (and former Patriot draft pick) Jacoby Brissett, pictured, in the lineup this year.
So no one would dispute that they need an upgrade at the position. But is taking what they might deem the 3rd-best quarterback in the draft really the way to go? Taking the No. 1 wide receiver might be a better choice.
Aside from the fact he's elected not to work out at either the combine or even Ohio State's pro day, there are no negatives with Marvin Harrison Jr. Big, fast, hugely productive the last two seasons in college, son of a Hall of Famer (if you like that kind of thing) -- he's great. If the Patriots pass him up at No. 3, he's definitely going to the Cardinals at No. 4.
I think the case can be made that you can win with Brissett and a difference-making wideout like Harrison as easily as you can with a rookie quarterback (presumably either Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye or J.J. McCarthy) and a lesser group of skill guys around him. Because that's generally what the Patriots have put on the field in the post-Brady era, and it hasn't gone very well.
The last four years, the Patriots haven't had a quarterback rank higher than 17th at his position in fantasy leagues (and Newton got there strictly because of all his rushing touchdowns). But they've also put only one wide receiver in the top 30 at his position, Jakobi Meyers (who was 29th-best in both 2021 and 2022), and he's gone anyway. They've got Kendrick Bourne, who had a top-35 season in 2021, but he's coming off a torn ACL.
I know there are Patriot fans looking at McCarthy and saying, hey, our last quarterback selection out of Michigan went pretty well. Or maybe dreaming about Maye or Daniels (whoever Washington doesn't take) running the offense.
But Brissett looked pretty good in his limited work for Washington last year: 18 of 23 for 224 yards and 3 touchdowns. If Washington was trying to win games late in the year, rather than quietly angling for a higher draft pick, maybe he'd have played a little more. He had some good games for Cleveland and Miami the previous two years, as well. A Brissett-Harrison combo might be better the next couple of seasons than Maye/whoever throwing to Bourne and Demario Douglas. Nobody can be confident these quarterbacks are sure things.
Table shows all quarterbacks and wide receivers who have appeared in at least 10 games for the Patriots the last four seasons, sorted by fantasy rank (PPR for wideouts).
| PATRIOTS QBS AND WRS, 2020-2023 (10-PLUS GAMES) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Pos | G | Pass | TD | No | Rec | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2021 | Mac Jones | QB | 17 | 3801 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 295.0 | 17 |
| 2020 | Cam Newton | QB | 15 | 2657 | 8 | 2 | 35 | 13 | 309.6 | 17 |
| 2022 | Mac Jones | QB | 14 | 2997 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 224.1 | 22 |
| 2022 | Jakobi Meyers | WR | 14 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 804 | 6 | 184.3 | 29 |
| 2021 | Jakobi Meyers | WR | 17 | 45 | 0 | 83 | 866 | 2 | 188.8 | 29 |
| 2023 | Mac Jones | QB | 11 | 2120 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 155.6 | 30 |
| 2021 | Kendrick Bourne | WR | 17 | 25 | 1 | 55 | 800 | 5 | 182.8 | 32 |
| 2023 | Bailey Zappe | QB | 10 | 1272 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 101.9 | 38 |
| 2020 | Jakobi Meyers | WR | 14 | 43 | 2 | 59 | 729 | 0 | 145.0 | 53 |
| 2023 | Demario Douglas | WR | 14 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 561 | 0 | 109.2 | 64 |
| 2020 | Damiere Byrd | WR | 16 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 604 | 1 | 114.9 | 67 |
| 2022 | DeVante Parker | WR | 13 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 539 | 3 | 102.9 | 71 |
| 2021 | Nelson Agholor | WR | 15 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 473 | 3 | 103.4 | 72 |
| 2022 | Kendrick Bourne | WR | 16 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 434 | 1 | 88.3 | 81 |
| 2023 | DeVante Parker | WR | 13 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 394 | 0 | 72.4 | 88 |
| 2022 | Nelson Agholor | WR | 16 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 362 | 2 | 79.2 | 93 |
| 2023 | JuJu Smith-Schuster | WR | 11 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 260 | 1 | 61.0 | 98 |
| 2022 | Tyquan Thornton | WR | 13 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 247 | 3 | 66.3 | 98 |
| 2020 | N'Keal Harry | WR | 14 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 309 | 2 | 75.9 | 98 |
| 2021 | N'Keal Harry | WR | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 184 | 0 | 30.4 | 143 |
| 2023 | Jalen Reagor | WR | 11 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 138 | 1 | 28.5 | 144 |
| 2023 | Ty Montgomery | WR | 13 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 40 | 0 | 9.9 | 174 |
--Andy Richardson