If Bill Belichick and the Patriots stick with their scouting philosophy, then longtime NFL personnel executive Mike Lombardi doubts the Patriots will feel inclined to trade up for Justin Fields or Trey Lance — and they may not be interested in them at No. 15.
Speaking on his The GM Shuffle podcast, Lombardi — who goes back to the Browns with Belichick, was a Patriots personnel analyst from '14-16, and whose son, Mick, is the Patriots receivers coach — was speaking of the Patriots during his "Fix My Team" segment.
Lombardi started off talking about solidifying a few spots in this draft due to shortcomings with the 2022 roster (good timing ... we broke down that very topic — that this draft is more important for '22 than the '21 squad — on Tuesday) before getting into the quarterback situation.
"This is a draft that can really impact their 2022 team when they won't have any free agent money to spend, so they've got to really look short term and long term here," Lombardi said.
"I think they need a three-technique, if they can get a defensive tackle in there I think that would be certainly something that could really help them. More speed on defense, another corner to help them cover. I think that could help them tremendously. I don't think they're going to trade (Stephon) Gilmore, they still have (JC Jackson), but he'll be a free agent after the season. So I think that those areas that I would start on.
"They're not far away. Obviously, they've got to fix the quarterback position ..."
His QB comments and our reaction to them:
"Cam Newton's got to play much better. Where are they with Jarett Stidham, and can they trade up? If Mac Jones goes 3 which is what we all believe to be true, then where does that all fit? That means get to 4.
"Do they like Justin Fields? I don't think so. Do they like Trey Lance? I'm not sure. I don't know. Just knowing how they operate. I couldn't imagine that they could get either one of Lance and Fields to a high enough point (on their draft board) to justify trading up to get them.
"See this is what fans don't understand. If you have a grading system that you have to really adhere to, you've got to be able to say ... 'Well Lombardi says they don't like Fields and they don't like Lance.' Well, that doesn't mean they don't like them. What I'm saying is they don't have them graded high enough to be able to justify drafting them at that point in the draft."
"That player 'has abilities to and can create mismatches versus most opponents in the league. He's a featured player on the team has the ability to impact the outcome of the game, no one player can take him out of the game. Each week, he has a consistent level of performance, plays at a championship level in most situations, rates at the top 10 in the positions of his league.'
He's a one-dimensional player that can do well, has certain skills to be productive in a role, he may never be a full-time starter.
A player that has the ability to be a starter, but can't overcome some of the limitations. He's adequate at position, struggles to be productive versus blue or top-level players, doesn't play on a consistent level.
