DRAFT Welcome to New England - Texas Tech QB Behren Morton (7th round, #234)

[jmt57]

Patriots select Texas Tech QB Behren Morton in seventh round

The Patriots had only Tommy DeVito behind starter Drake Maye until Saturday.

www.nbcsports.com

The Patriots had only Tommy DeVito behind starter Drake Maye until Saturday. That’s when they used a seventh-round pick on Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton, making him the 234th overall pick.

Morton is the ninth quarterback selected in the 2026 draft, although LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier isn’t one of those.

Morton finished last season with 2,780 yards passing with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions in 12 games. He missed two games with a hairline fracture in his right leg.

Patriots Add Potential to QB Room by Drafting Behren Morton

The New England Patriots secured the services of a quarterback with high upside in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

www.si.com

Morton went 18-4 as a starter during his time at Texas Tech, throwing 71 touchdowns to just 28 interceptions. At 6-foot-2, 221 pounds, he is well-sized to hold up in the NFL. Though he does have a concerning injury history, Morton has the chance to be a solid developmental project in New England’s offensive system.

https://985thesportshub.com/2026/04/25/patriots-pick-texas-tech-qb-behren-morton-234th-overall-in-2026-nfl-draft/

At 6-foot-2, 221 pounds Morton has a quick release and goes a good job of changing his arm angle to get the ball out without losing accuracy. While not much of a runner, he's shown he can maneuver in the pocket around pass rushers to extend plays and create time. His field vision improved as his college career went on.

Another question about Morton is his arm strength, but it's not as simple as him simply not having the power on the ball. He played through significant injuries each of the last three years. That includes a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder in 2023 and 2024. He had surgery to get it fixed prior to 2025, but then suffered a hairline fracture in his right (plant) leg midway through the season and continued to play through that. Given all of that, there's just not a ton of film of him throwing when fully healthy.

College Highlights: Patriots 234th Overall Pick Behren Morton

Watch college highlights from Patriots 234th overall pick QB Behren Morton.

www.patriots.com

 

[Ross12]

A lot of folks seemed unhappy with this pick but it seems OK to me. Kid played through a lot of random injuries. Seems like as a depth 3rd QB he will be kept away from injury risk and be able to develop his game, he has good tools. McDaniels should be able to mold him into a solid enough player for if emergency strikes these next few years. The top two spots are secure with Maye and DeVito so this is just that “emergency 3rd” role. There were maybe some higher ceiling guys at the position still on the board but I don’t hate the pick entirely, they may have preferred his character fit.

 

[Username]

A lot of folks seemed unhappy with this pick but it seems OK to me. Kid played through a lot of random injuries. Seems like as a depth 3rd QB he will be kept away from injury risk and be able to develop his game, he has good tools. McDaniels should be able to mold him into a solid enough player for if emergency strikes these next few years. The top two spots are secure with Maye and DeVito so this is just that “emergency 3rd” role. There were maybe some higher ceiling guys at the position still on the board but I don’t hate the pick entirely, they may have preferred his character fit.

People just like to complain.

At the end of the day, he's unlikely to ever take the field. He's just there as a safety net, in the unlikely event of Maye and DeVito both being hurt at the same time. All you want from your 3rd QB is a base level of competency, a good attitude and to follow instruction and not become a distraction

 

[Ross12]

People just like to complain.

At the end of the day, he's unlikely to ever take the field. He's just there as a safety net, in the unlikely event of Maye and DeVito both being hurt at the same time. All you want from your 3rd QB is a base level of competency, a good attitude and to follow instruction and not become a distraction

And most importantly, to make a few flashy plays in preseason in the 4th quarter

 

[Patjew]

People underestimate the importance of backup quarterbacks for practice and scout teams. It’s not as much about game day.

 

[Triumph]

People underestimate the importance of backup quarterbacks for practice and scout teams. It’s not as much about game day.

3rd camp QB.

 

[p8ryts]

Patriots select Texas Tech QB Behren Morton in seventh round

The Patriots had only Tommy DeVito behind starter Drake Maye until Saturday.

www.nbcsports.com

The Patriots had only Tommy DeVito behind starter Drake Maye until Saturday. That’s when they used a seventh-round pick on Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton, making him the 234th overall pick.

Morton is the ninth quarterback selected in the 2026 draft, although LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier isn’t one of those.

Morton finished last season with 2,780 yards passing with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions in 12 games. He missed two games with a hairline fracture in his right leg.

Patriots Add Potential to QB Room by Drafting Behren Morton

The New England Patriots secured the services of a quarterback with high upside in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

www.si.com

Morton went 18-4 as a starter during his time at Texas Tech, throwing 71 touchdowns to just 28 interceptions. At 6-foot-2, 221 pounds, he is well-sized to hold up in the NFL. Though he does have a concerning injury history, Morton has the chance to be a solid developmental project in New England’s offensive system.

https://985thesportshub.com/2026/04/25/patriots-pick-texas-tech-qb-behren-morton-234th-overall-in-2026-nfl-draft/

At 6-foot-2, 221 pounds Morton has a quick release and goes a good job of changing his arm angle to get the ball out without losing accuracy. While not much of a runner, he's shown he can maneuver in the pocket around pass rushers to extend plays and create time. His field vision improved as his college career went on.

Another question about Morton is his arm strength, but it's not as simple as him simply not having the power on the ball. He played through significant injuries each of the last three years. That includes a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder in 2023 and 2024. He had surgery to get it fixed prior to 2025, but then suffered a hairline fracture in his right (plant) leg midway through the season and continued to play through that. Given all of that, there's just not a ton of film of him throwing when fully healthy.

College Highlights: Patriots 234th Overall Pick Behren Morton

Watch college highlights from Patriots 234th overall pick QB Behren Morton.

www.patriots.com

Eagar, committed, tough. Wish him well.

 

[Gator Mike]

I'm intrigued.

He's played through injuries in each of the past two seasons, so he's pretty tough. Giving him a year or two where he doesn't take many hits could be really beneficial for him.

The arm looks NFL caliber, based on what I've seen. This certainly grabs your attention:



Finished the regular season last year completing 67% of his passes with a 162.5 QB rating, a 22-4 TD/INT ratio, and an 11-0 record. And he did on a broken leg.

Chris Simms LOVES him some Behren Morton, by the way...

 

[patfanken]

I absolutely hated this pick. On the surface it seemed (and still does) like he was the kind of kid you could find in a half dozen places AFTER the draft. There several FA QBs still out there who would GLADLY hold a clipboard and mentor 2 young QB's ahead of them and collect $2MM. This would be better than what amounts, to me at least, a wasted pick when he had bigger areas of need like LB or NT. There is Wilson, Sudfeld, Rush, etc. All have more experience than our current #2 and there are more,

Even Pavia would have been a great story during camp. Think of the all the old Flutie stories that would have been rehashed. Here's an idea. sign Zach Wilson. He has experience being #3 and think of the consternation in Jersey if we turned him into a passable back up. The raw materials are there. Try developing a narrative out of this kid, I forgot his name already.

All that being said (and a lot of you are probably thinking this right now), a lot of us were thinking EXACTLY these kind thoughts when we drafted "another" wasted pick back in 2000 in the 6th round on a FOURTH string QB.

But in the end, by and large I thought we did a better job with the UDFA's than we did on the 3rd day of the draft with only the OT giving me any juice. And they could have saved this day if they had JUST got me my Uar!

Thank God there is a pretty good list of veteran LBs still out there or I would REALLY be worried. Bring me Millano or White. Better still, bring me BOTH!

 

[TinhWoodhead]

Patrick Mahomes or Bailey Zappe 2.0

 

[JoeSixPat]

Interestingly another 24 year old rookie from later in the drat - I think Wolf/Vrabel like having older guys at the back end of the drafting spectrum - they might not have the biggest upside but they have a higher floor than a 21 year old

 

[mgteich]

I absolutely hated this pick. .

I didn't like the choice, but it is much better than waiting until after camp to get you emergency #3 QB. We needed a camp QB psus we needed a #3 emergency QB.

Once, we drafted Crownover, I thought that the last few picks were going to be for UDFA players that we wanted to make sure that we got.
Therefore, I have no problem with Obiozar, Morton, Miller and Hutchins.

As I see more about them I think that they all have a decent chance to make the 53-man roster.

 

[jimnance]

First time I've ever heard the name "Behren".
I respect everyone's 1st name.
But doesn't it seem like for a while now some parents just make the name up?
Oth, as a young Irish kid in Boston it would've been very cool to have the 1st name Quintayvious.

 

[mgteich]

First time I've ever heard the name "Behren".
I respect everyone's 1st name.
But doesn't it seem like for a while now some parents just make the name up?
Oth, as a young Irish kid in Boston it would've been very cool to have the 1st name Quintayvious.

???
Barron, Behren
Behren is a German name meaning bear.

Behren Name Meaning, Origin, History, And Popularity

Explore the name Behren, its origin, popularity, meaning and variations. Dig into our huge database of 85,000+ baby names for that one perfect pick

www.momjunction.com

 

[JoeSixPat]

I didn't like the choice, but it is much better than waiting until after camp to get you emergency #3 QB. We needed a camp QB psus we needed a #3 emergency QB.

Once, we drafted Crownover, I thought that the last few picks were going to be for UDFA players that we wanted to make sure that we got.
Therefore, I have no problem with Obiozar, Morton, Miller and Hutchins.

As I see more about them I think that they all have a decent chance to make the 53-man roster.

I'm not surprised they'd want to draft someone rather than roll the dice among the undrafted rookies who can sign anywhere - just a little surprised it was him.

Nothing on the tape wows me and he's not as physically big as one would like in a Maye or Brady or even Bledsoe but he's a high percentage completion QB I guess and that's the game that they've played particularly well

Though actually he's a little bulkier than DeVito who's also 6' 2"

Once again, another older rookie who - my guess - they think can develop into a Scout Team QB which gives them a future Tommy DeVito for a still cheap price (heck Jacoby Brissett gets $6 mil a season), who can still play the spread the field/accurate offense they have in place for Maye.

So this is not my "wow - look at this physical specimen" like Joe Milton III who if he could just be smart and learn how to be a better player could be amazing - he's another one of the older "might not have a high ceiling but we like the low floor" type guy.

Still like you said, not all that exciting but checks the box we need checked - because we don't need another Joe Milton III around here even with Maye fully secure as the QB

 

[mgteich]

I'm not surprised they'd want to draft someone rather than roll the dice among the undrafted rookies who can sign anywhere - just a little surprised it was him.

Nothing on the tape wows me and he's not as physically big as one would like in a Maye or Brady or even Bledsoe but he's a high percentage completion QB I guess and that's the game that they've played particularly well

Though actually he's a little bulkier than DeVito who's also 6' 2"

Once again, another older rookie who - my guess - they think can develop into a Scout Team QB which gives them a future Tommy DeVito for a still cheap price (heck Jacoby Brissett gets $6 mil a season), who can still play the spread the field/accurate offense they have in place for Maye.

So this is not my "wow - look at this physical specimen" like Joe Milton III who if he could just be smart and learn how to be a better player could be amazing - he's another one of the older "might not have a high ceiling but we like the low floor" type guy.

Still like you said, not all that exciting but checks the box we need checked - because we don't need another Joe Milton III around here even with Maye fully secure as the QB

I suggest watching the video by Sims (posted above). Sims discusses why Morton may be much better than he looked on his absolutely terrible Offense and having poor receivers.

 

[dliverey44]

I didn't mind the pick. He has a strong arm and can make all the throws, throws a good deep ball. Seems to process fairly quickly. I have seen a bunch of people point to the Oregon game as a reason that he sucks, but Oregon was a much better team and I would introduce the Patriots playoff run where Maye did not look very good.

Also it doesn't really make sense to me that people are complaining about a 7th round 3rd QB

 

[jimnance]

???
Barron, Behren
Behren is a German name meaning bear.

Behren Name Meaning, Origin, History, And Popularity

Explore the name Behren, its origin, popularity, meaning and variations. Dig into our huge database of 85,000+ baby names for that one perfect pick

www.momjunction.com

Holy saeurkraut! Who knew?