The New England Patriots select at No. 3 in the Draft, and it’s possible they could be choosing between whichever of the top three QBs are left, other top prospects, or maybe a second-tier prospect.
So, when Ben Volin, the Boston Globe’s national NFL writer, joined the Junkies on Tuesday, they asked him for a bit of a New England perspective on the Big 3 – and it started with Caleb Williams “continuing to give the Bears reason for pause.”
“It’s an accumulation of a lot of little things that just kind of make your scratch your head, and when you're talking about making this kid the No. 1 pick, face of the franchise to build around you, you’d like to see a little bit more leadership and maturity,” Volin said. “Each of these things in a vacuum, not a big deal, but there was one loss last year where he totally skipped his post-game press conference, which is not what you want to see out of your franchise quarterback – you gotta stand up there and take it. Then the game they lost and he went crying in the arms of his mother in the stands, you wanna see your leader be a little more stoic and be able to handle his emotions a little better. And there were games where he was painting his nails to rip on the opposing team again, and he doesn't have an agent so you're dealing with his dad, and skipping the medical at the combine last week – that was weird, and just him being difficult just for the sake of being difficult. All these little things are adding up to where I think you have to wonder if he's got the maturity to be the No. 1 pick.”
That said, Volin still doesn’t see the Bears passing on Williams, but…
“It goes back to the 2017 draft when they picked Mitchell Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, and this is a franchise that can't risk doing that again. They cannot risk Caleb Williams going to Washington and being a superstar,” Volin said. “I think in a vacuum, they would love to swap with Washington, go back to No. 2 and take Jayden Daniels and not worry about all the headaches that Caleb Williams brings, but he's so talented and that franchise is so desperate for quarterbacks that they're just gonna have to bite their lip and talk themselves into accepting everything that comes along with him.”
Before anything there, though, the Bears have to find a trade partner for Justin Fields – but can they?
“One of the most interesting things I learned at the combine was that there is not a market right now for Fields, or many of these veteran quarterbacks that are available,” Volin said. “The Falcons were a team that I think in a vacuum looked like a decent spot for Fields, but they just hired Zac Robinson from the Rams to run kind of that Sean McVay drop-back passing offense, and I’m not sure that's a great fit for Fields. All the teams that need a quarterback, they wanna try their hand at the draft first because there's so many this year – and whoever whiffs, they're gonna have to end up with Fields or Russell Wilson or whoever, so there’s no rush or no demand for any of these guys, and it could take a while.”
So then, what is Volin’s best guess for the Commanders at No. 2?
“I think Jayden Daniels is a more exciting prospect than Drake Maye as far as getting the fan base excited, and I think a cleaner prospect,” Volin said. “He’s such an elite athlete, and I know people say he's got a little bit of a ways to go with pocket passing, but from everything I hear, Daniels is a really exciting prospect. I think the Bears will ultimately tak Williams, and the Commanders will happily run to the podium and take Jayden Daniels No.
2, and I think he'd be such an exciting player for that franchise.”
Volin then has the Patriots taking Drake Maye at No. 3, assuming ‘they have enough quarterbacks ahead of Maye so that they don't have to play him right away,’ but trading back for a different prospect and a QB later is an idea.
Take a listen to Volin’s entire segment above!