It’s never a great thing when you head into an NFL Draft in dire need of a quarterback and given the recent history at that position, it’s definitely an inexact science.<\/p>\n
Since most quarterbacks typically take a couple (or more) seasons to potentially develop into something special, I took some time to look at quarterbacks over the course of three drafts from 2016 thru 2018 and the results are fairly depressing.<\/p>\n
As we know, the biggest problem in New England is the fact the Patriots got caught in-between due to the abrupt departure of Tom Brady, leaving them in a tough spot again this year in the event they’re not able to secure a serviceable quarterback through free agency.\u00a0 Even then, we saw what happened over the course of last season with Cam Newton, so someone else’s castoff may not necessarily guarantee a winning season.<\/p>\n
From there, it’s going to likely be somewhat of a crapshoot.\u00a0 Going back over a three-year span from 2016-2018, those drafts produced one real true superstar, a handful of solid starters, a couple of good players and a few guys who filled in for injured players but don’t appear to be starters.<\/p>\n
Here’s a quick look back beginning at 2018 and going back to 2016.\u00a0 Again, since it usually takes a few seasons, it’s safe to say that here in 2021, we know about all we need to know about all of these players at this point.<\/p>\n
If you look at the list below, here’s how they’ve been color-coded:<\/p>\n
Purple – Proven Elite Difference-Maker Players<\/strong><\/span> QUARTERBACKS TAKEN FROM 2016-2018<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n 2018 NFL Draft<\/strong> 2018 Notable Undrafted<\/strong> 2017 NFL Draft<\/strong> 2017 Notable Undrafted<\/strong> 2016 NFL Draft 2016 Notable Undrafted Man…I don’t want to be a Bears fan.\u00a0 Looking at that 2017 draft has got to be absolutely killing them.<\/p>\n And yes, I’ve got Deshaun Watson listed in the same category as some that aren’t at his level.\u00a0 He’s a really terrific player, but he’s not yet at the level of Mahomes, who has been a proven Super Bowl-winning player who has already had a lot of postseason success in his young career.\u00a0 Watson is just above his peers but hasn’t taken that next step just yet.\u00a0 He’s slightly ahead but not enough to create another category – at least not for the sake of this exercise.<\/p>\n Either way, that’s not the point.\u00a0 The point is there are still very few exceptional QBs out of three years worth of drafts and the talent pool then drops off considerably.\u00a0 The rest are really just average and some are simply back-ups.<\/p>\n Again, Mahomes is the one notable name, while the rest in red are competitive enough to get you to the postseason but from there, it’s tough to guess how it will go.\u00a0 That’s six in three years, and the jury is still out on potentially even half of those (Prescott, Goff, Jackson).<\/p>\n That’s going to be the problem the Patriots are faced with. Snagging a good quarterback who can win in the NFL is tough, and finding another great one is like being struck by lightning.<\/p>\n Then again, while lightning rarely strikes twice, it does happen.\u00a0 The Patriots will just have to hope they have a little luck on their side in the months ahead.\u00a0 They certainly need it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s never a great thing when you head into an NFL Draft in dire need of a quarterback and given the recent history at that position, it’s definitely an inexact science.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":32869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[22266],"tags":[22265,34,44],"class_list":["post-34834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2021-patriots-draft","tag-2021-patriots-draft","tag-bill-belichick","tag-new-england-patriots"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nRed – Excellent, playoff-caliber QBs<\/strong><\/span>
\nBlue – Decent, Competitive Starters (When Healthy)<\/strong><\/span>
\nGreen – Decent Back-up<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\n
\nBaker Mayfield – 1 | #1 Overall – Browns<\/strong><\/span>
\nSam Darnold – 1 | #3 Overall – Jets<\/strong><\/span>
\nJosh Allen – 1 | #7 Overall – Bills<\/strong><\/span>
\nJosh Rosen – 1 | #10 Overall – Cardinals<\/strong><\/span>
\nLamar Jackson – 1 | #32 Overall – Ravens<\/strong><\/span>
\nMason Rudolph – 3 | #76 Overall – Steelers<\/strong><\/span>
\nKyle Lauletta – 4 | #108 Overall – Giants
\nMike White – 5 | #171 Overall – Cowboys
\nLuke Falk – 6 | 199 Overall – Titans
\nTanner Lee 6 | 203 Overall – Jaguars
\nDanny Etling 7 | #219 Overall<\/span> – PATRIOTS<\/span><\/strong><\/span>
\nAlex McGough 7 | #220 Overall – Seahawks
\nLogan Woodside 7 | #249 Overall – Bengals<\/p>\n
\nKyle Allen – Panthers<\/strong><\/span>
\nJohn Wolford – Jets<\/p>\n
\n
\nMitchell Trubisky – 1 | #2 Overall – Bears<\/strong><\/span>
\nPatrick Mahomes – 1 | #10 Overall – Chiefs<\/strong><\/span>
\nDeshaun Watson – 1 | #12 Overall – Texans<\/strong><\/span>
\nDeShone Kizer- 2 | #52 Overall – Browns
\nDavis Webb – 3 | #87 Overall – Giants
\nC.J. Beathard – 3 | #104 Overall – 49ers
\nJoshua Dobbs – 4 | #135 Overall – Steelers
\nNathan Peterman – 5 | #171 Overall – Bills
\nBrad Kaaya – 6 | #215 Overall – Lions
\nChad Kelly – 7 | #253 Overall – Broncos<\/p>\n
\nTaysom Hill – Packers<\/strong><\/span>
\nP.J. Walker – Indianapolis
\nNick Mullens – 49ers<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\nJared Goff –\u00a0 1 | #1 Overall – Rams<\/span><\/strong>
\nCarson Wentz – 1 | #2 Overall – Eagles<\/strong><\/span>
\nChristian Hackenberg – 2 | #51 Overall – Jets
\nJacoby Brissett – 3 | #91 Overall <\/span>– PATRIOTS<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/span>Cody Kessler – 3 | #93 Overall – Browns
\nConnor Cook – 4 | #100 Overall – Raiders
\nDak Prescott – 4 | #135 Overall – Cowboys<\/strong><\/span>
\nCardale Jones – 4 | #139 Overall – Bills
\nKevin Hogan – 5 | #162 Overall – Chiefs
\nNate Sudfeld – 6 | #187 Overall – Washington
\nJake Rudock – 6 | #191 Overall – Michigan
\nBrandon Allen – 6 | #201 Overall – Jaguars
\nJeff Driskel – 6 |\u00a0 #207 Overall – 49ers
\nBrandon Doughty – 7 | #223 Overall – Dolphins<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Joe Callahan – Packers<\/p>\n
\n