Newsletter Signup
Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com
ESPN’s Field Yates maps out a Patriots draft filled with first-round trades
"They're still so far away that the advantage you're gathering from having one of those players is sort of neutralized."
The New England Patriots should have no shortage of options when they finally land on the clock with the No. 3 pick in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.
And while most conventional thinking has New England taking whichever blue-chip QB prospect is available at No. 3 — be it UNC’s Drake Maye or LSU’s Jayden Daniels — the case can be made that the “best player available” at that spot offers the safest option for a Patriots team woefully short on proven offensive talent.
During the latest episode of “The Mina Kimes Show” on YouTube, ESPN’s Mina Kimes and NFL insider Field Yates discussed several pressing questions regarding the NFL Draft — including the best path forward for the Patriots.
Advertisement:
Kimes brought up a familiar scenario that involves New England deciding to trade for a young QB like Chicago’s Justin Fields, especially if they’re not committed to either Maye or Daniels. By acquiring a young QB like Fields via trade, New England could still select a potential franchise playmaker like Ohio State wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. with pick No. 3.
But even if New England is not smitten with whatever quarterback falls to them at No. 3 overall, Yates brought up another scenario if the Patriots do set their sights on a signal-caller like Fields.
Considering the several holes that New England has to account for across its depth chart, Yates stressed that the best move for the Patriots in that scenario might be to trade down from No. 3 and recoup more draft capital — especially if they relinquish a high second-round pick to pry Fields out of Chicago.
Advertisement:
“If that’s the path that I’m going down, Mina, then my intention at pick No. 3 is to move back and find a trade partner for the team that views… whoever the remaining quarterback on the board is as my target and say, ‘Alright I’m turning [pick No. 3] into — again, making this up here — [pick No. 8], plus [pick No. 41], plus a future first or something like that,” Yates said. “That will be the only way that I would justify that if I were the Patriots.”
For all of the appeal that might come with trading for Fields and trying to mold the 24-year-old QB into a franchise fixture in Foxborough, that also presents several risks.
Beyond the potential franchise-shifting consequences of seeing someone like Maye or Daniels thrive with another team, Fields hasn’t exactly established himself as a can’t-miss QB prospect at the NFL ranks.
In three seasons with Chicago, Fields has thrown for 40 touchdowns but has also been knocked for 30 interceptions, while his career-high for completion percentage in a single season is just 61.4 percent (2023).
New England can certainly get creative in the first round when it comes to trading down and/or acquiring someone like Fields. But Yates added that New England’s lack of impact players might mean that even a “safe bet” like Harrison Jr. or another stud wideout may not mean all that much — not without a talented QB in place in Foxborough.
Advertisement:
“I’m of the view that the first three quarterbacks in the draft are capable enough that no matter what happens at pick one, pick two, the Patriots — bereft of a quarterback option right now on the roster and needing to plug so many gaps elsewhere — that even if you just added Marvin Harrison Jr. or [Washington’s] Rome Odunze, [LSU’s] Malik Nabers, they’re still so far away that the advantage you’re gathering from having one of those players is sort of neutralized that I would just take whoever quarterback three is,” Yates explained. “You and I both know though, there’s very few things in life that football teams like more than certainty.
“So if there’s a certainty that you can acquire Justin Fields for something that’s not the third overall pick in the draft, maybe the team would explore it. I would be an advocate against such a maneuver. But the Patriots may also have a different evaluation of quarterbacks two and three than I do and say to themselves, ‘Well if we’re not guaranteed our guy or one of our two guys, then we might pivot.’”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com