All everyone wants to talk about with the Patriots relating to the NFL Draft is Mac Jones, who they selected No. 15 overall.
One of the narratives that is out there is the Patriots liked him, but didn't love him because if they did they would have traded up to get him.
NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah is a believer of that narrative.
“My first thought was, OK, it’s a good fit. He kind of matches the way they like to play. And then after I got to sit back and look at it, but I started to think about it and I’m like, ‘They liked him, they didn’t love him,'" he said Wednesday on The Pat McAfee Show. "If they loved him they would have gone up and got him. If you think about it, obviously the Bears loved Justin Fields. They weren’t going to take the chance, rely on fate for him to fall [into] their lap. The Chiefs went up and got [Patrick] Mahomes. If you look at Houston, they went up and got Deshaun Watson. … If you love a guy you’re not going to sit back there and go, ‘Well, I hope he gets here.’"
The thought process is understandable, but it does seem a bit unfair to Bill Belichick and Co.
What if the Patriots did trade up a few spots to land Jones? Then one of the narratives would have been they could have stayed at No. 15 and not given anything up to get him. What if the Patriots' war room just read the draft correctly and knew he would be there at No. 15?
Once picks 7-9 went by, it seemed very likely Jones or Fields would be there at 15, and maybe the Patriots had intel the Bears would be trading up to get Fields. After all, Belichick is pretty close with Giants GM Dave Gettleman, who Chicago traded with.
Thinking like this seems a little unfair to the Patriots and not giving them the benefit of the doubt in projecting how things would play out and therefore not having to give anything up to move up.