It is a juicy conspiracy theory: Robert Kraft nudged Bill Belichick to draft Mac Jones.
Too bad it isn’t based in reality.
There are signs that indicate Kraft was frustrated with the team’s direction, like every other person who was forced to sit through last season’s slog. In the lead-up to the NFL Draft, the Patriots’ owner criticized Belichick’s recent run of failed selections. “In the end, if you want to have a good, consistent, winning football team, you can't do it in free agency,” Kraft said. “You have to do it through the draft. I don't feel we've done the greatest job the last few years and I really hope, and I believe, I've seen a different approach this year.”
By all accounts, Belichick followed Kraft’s directive. Belichick ran a more collaborative pre-draft process this year, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, and publicly credited consultant Eliot Wolf with engineering the trade that allowed them to move up to No. 38 overall and select Alabama defensive stud Christian Barmore.
Belichick praised the work of his team before the draft. “Matt (Patricia) rejoined us and has been heavily involved in the process, and Dave Ziegler, Eliot Wolf and Matt Groh have really carried the ball on this,” he said.
The Patriots also spent an NFL-record $165 million guaranteed in free agency — a stark contrast to their austere track record. Clearly, there is a sense of urgency within the organization.
But their actual draft strategy was still unmistakably Belichick. The Patriots didn’t trade up, despite incessant speculation about how they must move into the top 10. Belichick was never tempted to move up, and would’ve been content taking a quarterback in the second round, Breer reports.
Belichick let the board fall to him. Jones was there at No. 15, and he took him. Ben Volin told Ken & Curtis he thinks there was a quid pro-quo between Belichick and Kraft on Draft Night. “Bill wants to sign 20 free agents: ‘OK, Bill, I’ll let you do it. But you’ve gotta get me a quarterback,’” Volin said. “‘I can’t do another season of Cam Newton.’ … I think it was clear in the first couple of rounds he had to take a quarterback.”
Ken Laird backed up Volin’s theory on “The Greg Hill Show.” “I think (Belichick) agreed with Kraft, and said, ‘OK, if you want this, I’ll do it for you.’”
Really? So Belichick is now ceding his draft board to Kraft, whose last known involvement in the player evaluation process was showing up to Tebucky Jones’ personal workout with a stopwatch?
That’s far-fetched.
It’s apparent Belichick likes Jones. He showed up to his Pro Day, and perhaps most importantly, there’s the Nick Saban connection. Charlies Weis, who knows Belichick pretty well, told the GHS he thinks Jones is a “perfect fit.”
Christian Fauria, who of course played under Belichick, believes Jones will be ready to start Week 1.
Belichick said Thursday Newton is still the quarterback, but that’s expected. There’s no way Belichick was going to publicly declare there’s an open competition between Newton and a rookie. His public steadfast support of Newton is almost certainly part of a strategy to quell any sort of QB controversy this summer.
We’ve been around Belichick long enough to know how he operates.
Make no mistake: Belichick is in charge. Kraft can talk about how much he wanted Tom Brady to stay, but the fact is, he seemingly allowed Belichick to lead the negotiations with TB12. If Kraft wanted Brady to stay above all else, he possessed the power to step in.
He didn’t.
Belichick makes the calls, whether it’s letting Brady go or drafting Jones. Belichick got his next potential franchise quarterback without relinquishing any assets. Instead, he just hung at No. 15.
That sounds like pretty good value. In other words, quintessential Belichick.
