New England Patriots: Robert Kraft addresses need to draft a quarterback
As Tom Brady nears his 41st birthday, the New England Patriots are acknowledging the need to find his heir apparent in the NFL Draft.
The New England Patriots are entering April in a relatively unfavorable position. Superstar quarterback Tom Brady is still the top player at his position, but he’s also soon to be 41 years of age in a league that rarely sees players go as deep into a career as he’s been able to.
As the Patriots prepare for the future, the ultimate authority figure has publicly acknowledge the need to find Brady’s heir apparent.
When the Patriots traded Jimmy Garoppolo during the 2017 NFL regular season, a media storm inevitably arrived. Garoppolo represented a future beyond Brady, but the decision to trade him was labeled as something between stroking Brady’s ego and the product of a short-sighted vision.
According to Mike Reiss of ESPN, Patriots owner Robert Kraft acknowledged that the Patriots will have to draft a quarterback at some point in the near future.
"“I’m going to put my fan hat on, and obviously at some point we have to,” owner Robert Kraft said, when asked if finding a quarterback in the draft is a high priority for the team. “Not just that, but think what happened in the ’08 season when in the first quarter against Kansas City, Tom [Brady] goes out. How many people would have said that Matt Cassel would have led us to an 11-5 season? I put my faith and confidence in Bill [Belichick]. He knows his responsibilities. Anything can happen, even if Tom comes in [and is in] tip-top shape.”"
Brady may still be the best quarterback in the NFL, but father time is undefeated and, as Kraft stated, injuries can unfortunately occur without a moment’s notice.
It’s worth noting that New England selected a quarterback in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft and the third round in 2016. Those players, Jimmy Garoppolo (2014) and Jacoby Brissett (2016), became starters for other teams during the 2017 campaign.
Garoppolo is now one of the highest-paid players in the NFL, while Brissett has positioned himself to earn an opportunity elsewhere after a solid season in relief of Andrew Luck in Indianapolis.
Unfortunately, their success with different franchises does little to help the Patriots, as they dealt both players in speculative favor of placating Brady.
New England will have the No. 31 overall selection in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. It will also have picks No. 43, 63, 95, 150, and 193, and the growing expectation is that the Patriots will utilize one of those six selections to find Brady’s heir apparent.
Kraft has all but confirmed that it will at least be considered, and Bill Belichick is the type of forward thinker who’s unlikely to have made the Garoppolo move without a backup plan.
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The question is: Will the New England Patriots invest in a future face of the franchise at the 2018 NFL Draft?