2021 NFL Draft: Front-runners in the Tank for Trevor Lawrence campaign

New England Patriots

The biggest news story of the 2020 offseason was without a doubt quarterback Tom Brady leaving the New England Patriots after 20 years and six Super Bowl rings to join Bruce Arians and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He even got tight end Rob Gronkowski out of retirement to join him down in South Florida.

The question now remains: why have the Patriots made so little effort at adding another quarterback to their roster to replace Brady long term? Cam Newton is still a free agent, Josh Rosen is a trade candidate (although the Dolphins are unlikely to trade him in-division).

Instead the Pats brought back veteran and lifelong backup quarterback Brian Hoyer, allowing him the chance to compete with second year quarterback Jarrett Stidham. While Brady was a sixth round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, and turned out to be potentially the best quarterback in NFL history, finding their successor with a day-three pick seems highly unlikely.

The Patriots let just about every conceivable free agent walk this offseason to a new team, and have shown no interest in upgrading their options under center. What is Bill Belichick scheming up in Foxboro? Do not put it past Belichick to plot an ultimate heist to tank for one year and land Trevor Lawrence in the 2021 NFL Draft to lead him into the future.

Chicago Bears

General Manager Ryan Pace’s draft day trade during the 2017 NFL Draft to trade up one spot to land North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky has turned out to be quite the boneheaded move. Trubisky has yet to develop into the quarterback the Chicago Bears thought he would be, to the point where his fifth year option was declined.

Not only that, but they gave up a fourth round pick to acquire Nick Foles from the Jaguars. This situation reeks of a bridge-to-franchise quarterback situation for the Bears. The only problem: Chicago has unloaded a ton of draft assets in the past to acquire elite pass rusher Khalil Mack.

They also traded their 2021 seventh rounder for kicker Eddy Pineiro,and used their fourth round pick this year to move up to select Tulsa edge rusher Trevis Gipson in the 2020 NFL Draft. They only have their first, second, third, fifth, and sixth round pick entering the 2020 season. If they want Trevor Lawrence, they will either start unloading veterans for 2021 NFL Draft assets, or they will have to be horrid on the field.

While the Bears are a bit of a wild card in the Tank for Trevor race, we will have a better idea of what their plan is by the time we get to roster cutdowns at the end of training camp.