New Patriots assistant Ben McAdoo has an impressive resume as QB evaluator
Ben McAdoo tabbed Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson as the top QBs in the 2018 NFL Draft.
It remains to be seen what the Patriots will do with the No. 3 pick in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.
But New England’s latest additions to Jerod Mayo’s staff might shed some light on what prospect group the Patriots plan on targeting with such coveted draft capital.
The Patriots’ decision to add Alex Van Pelt as their next offensive coordinator gives credence to a scenario where New England adds a blue-chip quarterback prospect in the first round. Not only is Van Pelt a former signal-caller, but he’s served as a quarterbacks coach with the Bills, Buccaneers, Packers, Bengals, and Browns over the years.
But beyond Van Pelt’s hiring, New England’s reported appointment of former Giants head coach Ben McAdoo as an offensive assistant coach further validates that the Patriots are doing their due diligence before targeting a quarterback like LSU’s Jayden Daniels or UNC’s Drake Maye in the draft.
While McAdoo’s primary focus will likely involve helping Van Pelt craft a new offensive scheme, the veteran coach has also established an impressive track record when it comes to evaluating QB prospects.
After McAdoo was let go by the Giants as their head coach in 2017, he provided a scouting report of the 2018 NFL Draft in an interview with The New York Post.
According to McAdoo, the top quarterback prospects in that draft class were:
- Josh Allen
- Lamar Jackson
- Sam Darnold
- Josh Rosen
- Mason Rudolph
- Baker Mayfield
That interview, which ran three months after the 2018 NFL Draft took place, aged rather well — especially given how that first round played out.
Mayfield was selected with the No. 1 overall pick by the Browns, while the Jets selected Darnold with the No. 3 selection. Allen was the next QB off the board at pick No. 7, while Rosen was plucked up by the Cardinals at No. 10. Jackson, who could be on track to win his second NFL MVP Award in the coming days, was selected by Baltimore with the No. 32 pick.
While Allen and Jackson have established themselves as two of the top quarterbacks in the league, McAdoo was critical of New York’s selection of Darnold with that No. 3 overall pick.
“He’s obviously a talented guy, he can make plays with his feet,” McAdoo told the Post of Darnold’s game. “I’d just have a hard time drafting a guy in the first round where you don’t necessarily like the way he throws… The quarterback, his No. 1 job is to pass the football. If I don’t like the way he throws the ball, I have a hard time picking him, right?’’
McAdoo also hit a home run with his QB evaluations in 2017 — given his affinity for Texas Tech QB Patrick Mahomes. According to ESPN New York’s Anita Marks, the Giants wanted to trade up in the 2017 NFL Draft for Mahomes because McAdoo “loves” him and was “very upset” when the Chiefs selected him with the 10th overall pick that year.
While it’s to be expected that Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolf and director of player personnel Matt Groh will be spearheading New England’s draft prep work, having a QB evaluator like McAdoo on hand could come in handy — especially if the Patriots are in a position to pick between Maye or Daniels.
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