Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the New England Patriots enjoy doing many things unconventionally when it comes to building an NFL roster, coaching staff, all of it. Hard to argue with their success during the Bill Belichick Era as well, even if ownership is a little disappointed there have been no payoff victories in (GASP!) three years. Rest assured work is always being done in the best interest of the football team, and the Pats perhaps could be following a familiar if non-traditional means of pursuing new talent.
According to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network, the Patriots had Offensive Assistant Joe Judge work out University of Miami quarterback D’Eriq King recently. King represents an intriguing prospect as he spent time as both a receiver and QB during his college days at both the University of Houston and Miami (King transferred to Miami after the 2019 season). King also had 32 rushing touchdowns, three receiving TDs and one kickoff return TD on his college resumé. Pretty impressive for an undersized signal caller / offensive weapon who is now being scouted as a receiver heading into the 2022 NFL Draft.
Does the Pats’ interest in King sound familiar? It should sound as familiar as Belichick attending Alabama’s Pro Day or drafting a player from Rutgers (both are still on the table this year). The Patriots have dipped into QB turned WR well many times, and rather successfully no less. Julian Edelman (yeah, the April Fool's prankster) was a quarterback at Kent State before transitioning to receiver/returner, rather successfully you could say, for the Pats. And current Patriots slot receiver Jakobi Meyers, who went undrafted before signing in Foxborough, played two seasons at QB for North Carolina State before transitioning to receiver for the Wolfpack.
King’s stats, and the comfort the Patriots have with helping a talented player transition from a position like QB to wide receiver at the pro level, would indicate a reasonable level of interest. As would having your de facto QB coach in Judge work out King privately. But wait until you read what King had to say following his Pro Day with the Hurricanes.
“The more you could do, the more valuable you are. So if I can be one guy on a roster that can be backup quarterback, receiver, special teams, whatever I can do,” said King, per Aaron Wilson, following King’s workout. "It's all about getting the best opportunity to make the roster."
Talk about Patriots Material 101.
The Patriots have been linked or rumored to be interested in several wide receivers in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft, scheduled to begin April 28th. This is the first mention of a unique off-the-grid talent like King potentially factoring into the mix. King has also drawn interest from several other teams, including Denver, Miami, Houston and Baltimore, so the Patriots might not be alone if they’re indeed interest in bringing King into the fold come end of April.
For the record Jakobi Meyers, a key contributor the Pats offense, is in the final year of his rookie deal with New England, set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2023 should the Patriots be looking for depth or a potential replacement at the QB-turned-WR spot.
