2021 NFL Draft: Patriots and other dark horse teams in quarterback market

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs are a playoff team with a loaded roster, led by a 43-year old Tom Brady. Despite the fact that he’s a senior citizen in football terms, he’s still a good starter capable of winning once again given the talent on the team. For these reasons, no one truly knows when he’s going to retire. Will he retire after this season? 2021? Even 2022?

Nevertheless, after Brady leaves the sport, Tampa Bay will have to replace him somehow. A good idea is selecting one of the better quarterbacks in the upcoming draft in order to groom him under the greatest player we’ve seen at the position. Once Brady is gone, having a young stud available would keep the Bucs in a solid spot rather than having complete uncertainty at the most important position.

5. Detroit Lions

Matthew Stafford has been in Detroit since being the No. 1 overall selection back in 2009. Although he’s been one of the statistical passing leaders in this era by putting up Hall of Fame-caliber numbers, those feats haven’t exactly resulted in success for the Lions. They made the playoffs three times with Stafford as a starter with no division titles nor playoff wins to his name.

Injuries, poor coaching and lack of execution also play a role in Detroit’s playoff win drought yet, Stafford’s ability to bring the team to greater success has continued to be a concern. Several NFL aficionados feel as if it’s time for the Lions to let Stafford go to a contender rather than have him suffer with the average-at-best rosters he’s had to deal with for a while.

If Stafford is let go, the Lions would most likely want to find the new face of the franchise. Moving on from Stafford, while bringing in a new coach and general manager would make a selection of a quarterback almost a given as they look to resurrect the franchise.