The New England Patriots are entering a new dawn at quarterback, as Tom Brady decided to bolt the Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after spending the last couple of decades as New England's starter.
Now, the Pats are kind of between a rock and a hard place. Do they go with Jarrett Stidham under center? Do they sign a veteran like Cam Newton or Jameis Winston? Do they trade for Andy Dalton?
Or will they do none of those things?
Is another option on the table?
Apparently, there is.
According to Peter King of NBC Sports, the Patriots are enamored with University of Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert in this year's NFL Draft.
The problem is that Herbert is widely expected to be a top-10 pick, and New England owns the 23rd overall selection in the first round.
But could the Pats trade up to acquire him?
King notes that the Patriots have 12 picks in the draft overall, more than any other team. However, only one of those picks is in the top 85, so New England would almost surely have to part with future picks to move up for Herbert.
Here is the thing: trading a wealth of assets for just one player is not typical of the Patriot way. But at the same time, Bill Belichick and Co. have never really been in this situation. Well, not since drafting Brady in the sixth round back in 2000, anyway.
With Brady gone, the Pats are in desperate need of a quarterback. The Patriots can tout Stidham as much as they want to, but I'm not sure anyone believes the Pats are truly committed to him.
Meanwhile, Herbert has been tagged as a can't-miss prospect by some. As a matter of fact, he has jumped Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa on some draft boards.
The cost for the Patriots to land Herbert would be great, but sometimes, you need to pay a significant cost to acquire a franchise player. Let's say Herbert becomes a perennial Pro Bowler and leads New England to some Super Bowls. If that happens, I don't think anyone is going to care about how much the Pats had to cough up to acquire him.
At 6-foot-6, 240 pounds with terrific arm strength and solid accuracy, Herbert profiles as a very fine NFL prospect, and while no one is going to confuse him for Lamar Jackson or Russell Wilson, he has good mobility and can make plays out of the pocket.
Herbert also played for a major school, so it's not like he is some quarterback who played against inferior competition at a mid-major program.
Here is something to keep in mind: the Detroit Lions seem very open to moving the No. 3 pick, so perhaps the Patriots can put together a package to entice the Lions to make a deal? Considering New England doesn't have any picks inside the top 10 (or even the top 20), it would take a haul, but for Herbert, it might be worth it.
Herbert may very well be a future star, and the Pats may end up regretting not at least making a significant push to land him.
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