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If you’re a New England Patriots fan, you’d be lying to yourself if you said you weren’t interested in seeing the team draft the second comings of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. The chances that happen are slim, but you couldn’t blame Bill Belichick for trying.
According to Pro Football Focus, the Patriots will be in a position to take two players who have drawn some comparisons to the two Patriot greats and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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Jones at 15, Good or Bad?
Several mock drafts have the Patriots filling a void at quarterback with Alabama star Mac Jones. After Jones impressed at the Senior Bowl this past week, the talk of the 22-year-old landing in New England seemed to get a little louder.
Truthfully, Jones appears to be the fourth or fifth-best quarterback prospect in the draft this season. That’s a preliminary take because obviously none of the highly touted quarterbacks has played a down in the NFL.
However, at this point, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would rank Jones ahead of Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State’s Justin Fields, BYU’s Zach Wilson, or North Dakota State’s Trey Lance.
Do the Patriots think Jones is worth the 15th overall selection. We’ll likely find out.
Freiermuth at 47, Good or Bad?
Freiermuth in a Patriots uniform seems like a natural fit. He grew up in Newburyport, Massachusetts as a Patriot fan and he idolized Gronkowski. That’s the reason he chose to wear number 87. His hard-nosed style earned him the moniker “Baby Gronk,” which makes this little exercise even more entertaining.
Freiermuth isn’t nearly as athletic as Florida’s amazing, pass-catching machine Kyle Pitts, and he’s also considered a little behind Miami, FL’s Brevin Jordan as an overall prospect by some scouts. However, you could make the argument Freiermuth is a better blocker than Pitts and Jordan, and that might make him the kind of well-rounded prospect the Patriots usually covet in this spot.
I’d rather see them come away with Pitts, who looks like a gamechanger, despite his blocking deficiencies, but New England might need to trade up to take him. Without any moves, Freiermuth actually seems like the more practical pick.
The Ceiling for the Duo
It all depends on what Jones can become in the NFL. Quarterbacks from Nick Saban’s Alabama teams haven’t done well in the NFL. They are usually surrounded by such great talent in college, and it seems to help to hide their shortcomings.
It was a good sign watching Jones do well at the Senior Bowl practices away from the Bama cocoon, but there will still be questions as to whether he has what it takes to be a franchise quarterback–let alone someone worthy of being likened to Brady.
Quite honestly, the Patriots would probably settle for him being better than Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham, and every other available quarterback within their grasp.
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