I’ll be honest, I spent the bulk of Thursday afternoon watching college quarterback highlights.
Caleb Williams looks as advertised. He’s undersized but ultra-athletic. His ability to keep plays alive with his feet in the pocket is mesmerizing. What makes him special is his arm talent combined with his athletic skill set. Williams extends plays with his legs and then makes absurd throws downfield.
Williams uses different arm angles that make you think of Patrick Mahomes. It’s understandable why this quarterback from USC is the projected No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Then there’s the other gem of the draft – Drake Maye. A 6-foot-4 pocket passer, he has a cannon for an arm. There were times when Maye threw off his back foot and the ball still traveled over 30 yards. When he sets his feet and throws, you see a player who can easily throw it 60 yards downfield. Maye is also athletic and can escape out of the pocket. He’s hard to bring down.
The more you watch, the more you see similarities with players like Josh Allen and Justin Herbert. There’s no doubt Maye deserves to go near the top of next year’s draft.
Either Williams or Maye would look fantastic in a Patriots uniform next season.
The Patriots entered Thursday night’s game in position to draft at No. 2 overall next spring. After beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-18, they’re still in a position to draft with the second pick, but the margin for error has become extremely thin. Getting that pick or one of the top two quarterbacks isn’t going to be easy.
With more performances like we just saw, it might not be possible.
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The easiest path to relevancy is finding a franchise quarterback in the NFL Draft. That’s why this Patriots season has become so strange. On a night when the offense finally found some life, it felt deflating in a sense.
This team isn’t winning a Super Bowl and very likely won’t be in the playoffs. At this point, wins will certainly make the players and coaching staff feel great. But come next spring, it could sting and make the path back to dominance that much farther out of reach.
A loss stings, but that improved draft slot would be nice.
In one night, the Patriots showed they were capable of winning games in the NFL. Their defense, as we’ve seen, is far too good to be an NFL bottom-feeder. The reason for their 3-10 record is obvious, the offense has been the worst in the NFL.
Except on Thursday, the Patriots showed if they can score 20 points, they’ll have a good chance of winning. If they win any more games, they could quickly go from a top-two pick to somewhere out of the top three. If they land a top-three pick, you’re either looking at a top quarterback prospect like Williams or Maye or a generational receiving talent like Marvin Harrison Jr.
After that, the Patriots will start looking at one of the top tackles on the board such as Notre Dame’s Joe Alt and Penn State’s Olumuyiwa Fashanu. There’s nothing wrong with landing an impact tackle – the Patriots need one with both Trent Brown and Michael Onwenu hitting free agency. But it’s hard to build a team around a tackle.
That’s why the biggest storyline heading into the Patriots final four games is not about their current quarterback situation. It’s about how many games they win and how far they slip down in the first round.
At 3-10, the Patriots are currently tied with Arizona but would have the No. 2 overall pick due to strength of schedule. They’re 1.5 games back from the top pick with Carolina having a 1-11 record.
Behind the Patriots, however, there are five teams with four wins (Commanders, Bears, Jets, Giants, and Titans). More wins could theoretically push the Patriots down from the second pick to somewhere between fourth and eighth.
Out of the four remaining games, the Patriots should lose at least two – next week against the Kansas City Chiefs and on New Year’s Eve in Buffalo. Games against the Denver Broncos and New York Jets are the ones that could haunt the Patriots come draft time.
The Broncos head into this weekend with a 6-6 record. They’ve been inconsistent this season. Their offense lacks dynamic playmakers and their passing game with Russell Wilson ranks 26th in the NFL. Denver leans on their run game, ranked 13th in the league, but that plays into the Patriots defensive strength.
It’s certainly possible the Patriots could go into Denver on Christmas Eve and upset the Broncos.
The way this season is shaping up, it’ll all come down to the Patriots regular-season finale against the New York Jets. The Jets are in disarray and are going back to quarterback Zach Wilson, who’s never looked good against the Patriots.
It’s very easy to envision Bill Belichick leading his Patriots team to a decisive victory over the team he hates. That’ll set up an awkward situation where a win could push the Patriots out of a golden opportunity to draft a blue-chip quarterback.
That’ll only hurt them when it comes to trying to get this franchise back on track. That’s why this disappointing 2023 NFL season felt strange on Thursday night. Even in victory, there’s still a feeling of defeat.
That’s if you’re rooting to see a quarterback like Williams or Maye in a Patriots uniform next fall.
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