As usual, there's a ton of chatter going on as draft week starts off, and the Patriots are at the center of it — like every year. Breaking down the latest rumors and notes:
Patriots are making calls to trade up and teams think it could be for Justin Fields
https://twitter.com/TomPelissero/status/1386662137829920770
I'm pretty sure if we looked back at coverage of every draft week going back a decade, there's some report about the Patriots making calls looking to move up and speculating about a target. When I was at the Globe I contributed one in 2011 about Robert Quinn (turns out the team didn't clear him medically for the first round but like him), and I'm sure there were others.
Look, the Patriots always make calls. It's called due diligence. They want to know when a good deal can be had should certain players drop. Could they move up if a QB drops? Yes. Do I think it will happen? No. I think it's more likely ...
Patriots looking to trade down to pick up picks
Todd McShay, who was early and often on the Patriots trade-up for a QB bandwagon:
Two separate sources within the league (not inside the Patriots organization) said New England is more likely to move back than up based on pre-draft conversations. So no, it doesn't sound like the Patriots are going up the board to get a QB. And like we all already know, moving back is more in line with what coach Bill Belichick likes to do on draft day.
One additional thought: Could we see the fifth QB fall this far? It's possible. But if New England is truly not in love with one of the top five signal-callers and won't make the trade up, we could see Washington and Chicago racing up to get whoever is still there, be it Mac Jones, Trey Lance or Justin Fields.
“It won’t surprise me if the Niners make Jimmy Garoppolo more available than he’s been,” wrote King. “In other words, instead of trying to get a first-round pick for him, maybe considering taking a two for him. I wonder if the Patriots would deal the 46th pick in the draft, or their second-rounder in 2022, for their old friend.”
"We decided we needed a starting quarterback,” Shanahan said. “So we traded two 1s to get a starting quarterback. Hopefully, we end up picking the best one. But I know we’re going to get a starting quarterback with that. That’s a smart move to me. Not necessarily a smart move, but that’s the move you have to do and how much it costs to do these type of things. You just sit there and wait and keep your fingers crossed and hope things work out. And that’s something we didn’t want to do this year.”
"I can't guarantee that anybody in the world will be alive Sunday, so I can't guarantee who will be on our roster come Sunday. So that goes for all of us."