We are just one day away from the NFL Draft, which means the final mocks are coming in before the real show begins on Thursday. Nate Davis of USA Today put a mock draft together on Wednesday, and he had the Patriots selecting Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert.
Herbert had a productive career at Oregon, and he is coming off his best season of football. He passed for 3,471 yards, 32 touchdowns, and six interceptions in 2019. His best game statistically for Oregon came on September 7 against Nevada. He went 19-of-26 on the day, throwing for 310 yards and five touchdowns. It was all part of a resounding 77-6 victory for Oregon.
It is perhaps the worst-kept secret that the Patriots want to take a quarterback this draft. Herbert could certainly be an intriguing option for them . In this particular mock draft, it Davis has New England drafting 13th overall after making a trade with the San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers received the 13th overall pick from Indianapolis as a result of the DeForest Buckner trade. Here’s what Davis wrote about the trade:
“The Niners, who obtained this pick from Indy in the DeForest Buckner deal, need mid-round picks. The Patriots are flush with those, more so after dealing TE Rob Gronkowski on Tuesday, but might really need quarterbacking options beyond Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer. So the teams that worked out the Jimmy Garoppolo swap get together again, enabling New England to add another smart, physically gifted passer.”
With Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham in the quarterback room already, Herbert would add another piece to the equation. As noted in his NFL.com draft profile, Herbert is a player who can read through his progressions without panicking and he has the ability to throw in tight windows. This is something that Patriots quarterbacks, namely Tom Brady, have done well in the past.
It will be interesting to see if the Patriots move up to select a quarterback, or stay put. With where New England is located in the first round, they could take a quarterback that fits their needs without having to trade up. New England certainly has many areas they need to address, and quarterback is certainly one of them as they look to find their signal-caller for the future, and perhaps regain sustained organizational stability.
