During the 2017 NFL season, the New England Patriots made some trades that left many wondering what the motivation was behind the moves. The team traded away both of their talented backup quarterbacks sending Jacoby Brissett to the Indianapolis Colts and Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers.
After parting ways with Garoppolo, who was thought to be Tom Brady's successor under center eventually, the team signed veteran backup Brian Hoyer to fill the void. Obviously, Hoyer isn't the long-term answer with Brady now 40 years old. That being said, the team should address the need for a quarterback during the offseason, and according to ESPN's Mike Reiss, the team may go after a quarterback in the 2018 NFL Draft.
They'll take a QB early hoping to develop “the next Jimmy Garoppolo.” They have good draft capital with three picks in the first two rounds. Tom Brady will be 41 years old next season, and developing his potential replacement is a high priority.
The upcoming draft class is as talented as it gets at the quarterback position. The first two picks of the draft could be quarterbacks with USC's Sam Darnold and UCLA's Josh Rosen potentially going one and two.
Along with Darnold and Rosen, this draft class also has talented gunslingers in Lamar Jackson (Louisville), Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma), Josh Allen (Wyoming), Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State), Riley Ferguson (Memphis), Luke Falk (Washington State), Ryan Finley (NC State), and Clayton Thorson (Northwestern).
With the Patriots' first-round pick coming at No. 31, the team likely won't have a shot at the top-tier quarterbacks unless they pull off a trade to move up. There could be three or four quarterbacks taken in the first round, but it remains to be seen whether New England will go that route that early or potentially wait until the second round if at all.
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