It’s the quarterback, stupid.
Nothing else matters. You can praise Josh Uche, Chase Winovich, J.C. Jackson, and Michael Onwenu, but in my opinion they are promising players on a bad team. Do we really know how good they will be?
And yes, the Patriots are a bad team because they didn’t make the playoffs and show no indication they will in the future. This is not a roster full of promise and hope that leads us to believe that next year will be any different unless ... they get a quarterback.
Currently, a team’s best chance to get that savior is to draft him in the first round. Bill Belichick MUST do so next spring. If he takes a guard and keeps Cam Newton or for some reason gives Jarrett Stidham a shot this great coach/mediocre GM needs to be shown the door.
It’s all about the Draft people. Something Belichick has not had much success with, especially at quarterback. Tom Brady does not count. Nobody drafts a kid in the sixth round thinking he is the future. I will give you Jimmy G and that’s it. But how come I keep hearing San Francisco wants to dump him?
Now, certainly a first-round pick is not a guarantee to return to the Super Bowl. However, it is the best chance for the Patriots to get back in the hunt. Over the last couple of decades, a sixth-round pick – again lucky – from New England dominated the Super Bowl history books. However, Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Flacco, both Mannings and Ben Roethlisberger -- all first-rounders -- have rings too. Yes, Nick Foles and Russell Wilson both third-rounders but odds are first is always better than third.
And you don’t need a top ten pick to find that QB. Rodgers went at No. 24, and Flacco 18th.
Let’s look at the present.
The top seven teams in the AFC have quarterbacks that are first-round picks. Lamar Jackson went 32nd, first in the second round.
There are exceptions. Over in the NFC Dak Prescott was a fourth-round pick and Russell Wilson went in the third. But overall, the first round is where it is at. The Patriots will pick in the teens next year and need to draft a QB. Do I know that the Patriots are guaranteed to get a quarterback of the future in the first round? NO. But I do know you must have a very good if not excellent quarterback to win in today’s offensive fantasy minded NFL.
Might I suggest Kyle Trask from Florida? And if he doesn’t hit, go back into the 2022 Draft and try again.
