2017 Patriots position-by-position review: Quarterback

With the Patriots’ 2017 season done, we’re going to take a look back at the team by position, and provide a few thoughts as to what they might need at that spot moving forward. First up, it’s quarterback.


2017 depth chart: Tom Brady (4,577 passing yards, 66 percent completion rate, 32 TDs, 8 INTs, 102.8 QB rating, 35 sacks); Brian Hoyer (42 passing yards, 4-for-6).

Contract status: Brady (signed through 2019), Hoyer (signed through 2019).

Overview: Brady’s MVP season was the dominant storyline at the quarterback spot this past season. While he wasn’t as statistically overwhelming as his first two MVP campaigns, he was the best of the bunch in 2017, putting enough distance between himself and the rest of the field at the start of the season to withstand a statistical late-season dip and challenge from the likes of Carson Wentz and Todd Gurley. The quarterback ultimately fell short of his ultimate goal -- a sixth ring -- but if he stays healthy and the Patriots continue to provide him with offensive difference makers like Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Dion Lewis, another title remains a possibility next season, even at the age of 41.

Best Moment: We’ve got two: One, throwing for 505 yards in the Super Bowl was astounding. He missed a few throws here and there -- James White was open in the flat on the play where he was strip-sacked by Brandon Graham -- but that's fundamentally nitpicking. As my colleague Greg said here, he was "sensational" against the Eagles. How good? He was the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 500-plus yards, three touchdowns and no picks in a game and still lose.

And two, his back-to-back performances in Week 2 (against New Orleans) and Week 3 (against Houston) when he combined for 825 yards, a 74 percent completion rate, eight touchdowns and no picks. The win over the Saints was a wide-open free-for-all, but his first signature moment of the season came when he led the comeback against the Texans, which concluded with an absolute dime to Brandin Cooks for the game-winner late in the afternoon.

Here are our three favorite deep balls of the year. The first is Brady to Cooks against the Raiders, a 64-yarder that was as sweet a connection as we saw all year. Cooks starts at the bottom of the screen and just waltzes past the defender with one subtle fake on the way to the end zone. It was the longest pass play of the season for New England.



The second is the game-winner to Cooks against the Texans. Brady stands in the pocket before getting drilled. He puts the ball into the narrowest of windows, and Cooks -- who starts at the top of the screen -- gets his feet down for the catch that allows the Patriots to sneak out with a win.



The third was a deep ball to Chris Hogan against Houston. This was probably more of a combination of Hogan making a nice move to shake the defender and some misdirection by Mike Gillislee, who leaks out of the backfield and draws the linebacker toward him underneath to open things up a bit. But Brady delivers a perfect ball to the receiver.



Worst Moment: Late in the year vs. Miami was pretty miserable. (When have we heard that before?) In a Dec. 11 loss to the Dolphins in South Florida, he was 24-for-43 (56 percent) for 233 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Here's one of his two picks from that game, part of a stretch where he threw interceptions in five consecutive games for the first time in his career.



By the numbers: Here’s how Brady’s 2017 stacks up against other 40-year-old quarterbacks through the years. (Minimum five starts, as ranked by passer rating.)



A few thoughts about the position: This was a strange year for Brady. We’re going to remember the MVP, the great performance at the age of 40 and the near-miss at the Super Bowl. All of which was done without his binky Edelman, who went down for the season in August with a knee injury. But there were also moments where he was caught up in off-field drama: the hand injury in the days leading up to the AFC title game, the Tom vs. Time documentary, the soap-opera nature of Jimmy Garoppolo’s departure and the reported flap involving the team and its relationship with his personal trainer Alex Guerrero. Individually, none of these things would necessarily distract the quarterback from his singular, laser-like focus. But it’s worth wondering if the combination of it all combined to wear on him a bit over the course of the season.

The return of Josh McDaniels will help him; the comfort level between the quarterback and offensive coordinator is extraordinary. They can speak in the sort of familiar shorthand that few players and coaches enjoy. And history tells us that a comfortable Brady is a happy and productive Brady. The Patriots could use some more depth on the offensive line, and they have some free agent decisions to make with some of their other offensive skill position players. But the bottom line? If he gets Edelman and Malcolm Mitchell back at something approximating full health, if Gronkowski decides to put off his acting career for another year or two, and if most of the others are back (Cooks and White will return, Lewis and Danny Amendola are among the notable offensive free agents) he should be back on the short list of potential MVP candidates in 2018.

Chance Patriots address this position in free agency: Slight. They will go after another quarterback in the offseason -- they almost always do -- but history tells us that with a few rare exceptions (Damon Huard, etc.) they usually do it in the draft.

Chance Patriots address this position in the draft: Excellent. Despite the stability the Patriots have enjoyed at the position with Brady over the last dozen-plus years, there are few teams that have been more aggressive at making sure they get a backup signal-caller almost every year. Look for them to target someone on the second day of the draft, an under-the-radar type like Garoppolo who might be able to flourish with a couple of years in the system. While the pre-draft scouting process is fluid and opinions can change at the drop of a hat, we listed a few possibilities here in November. There's also Richmond quarterback Kyle Lauletta to consider, someone who has been described as a perfect Patriots' backup.