By With the regular season winding down and the 3-10 Patriots in possession of the second overall pick for the time being, the focus among media and fans is shifting toward the 2024 NFL draft. As far as quarterbacks go, there are plenty of names to like who are set to be taken in April’s draft who could fit in Foxborough. USC’s Caleb Williams, UNC’s Drake Maye, Oregon’s Bo Nix, LSU’s Jayden Daniels, and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.
headline slated to be selected in just under five months. Assuming New England stays on a losing path and ends up with a top pick in the 2024 draft, those names and more will be monitored closely despite its win over the Steelers on Thursday night. Mac Jones’s 12 interceptions and 36.
4 quarterback rating were bad enough to get him benched in favor of and his 27. 2 QBR. A major shakeup at the position via the draft feels like a no-brainer, but anything is possible in New England.
Regardless, Daniels in particular is already being mentioned as a potential fit for the Patriots if they indeed start fresh under center. “You put him in that stadium with Bill Belichick and that defense, and you get a weapon or two to go with those tight ends, there’s a lot to like,” ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday, which aired at Gillette Stadium ahead of Saturday’s Army-Navy matchup. Kirk Herbstreit in Foxborough on Jayden Daniels and the Patriots: “You put him in that stadium with Bill Belichick and that defense, and you get a weapon or two to go with those tight ends, there’s a lot to like.
” The 22-year-old Daniels is a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and had a spectacular 2023 season at LSU. His 40 touchdowns to four interceptions ratio helped him earn the FBS’ best QBR this year (95. 7).
Daniels, who was named the this week, logged 3,812 passing yards this season, surpassing his 2022 total of 2,913 by a wide margin. He completed 72. 2 percent of his passes (236-327) on a 9-3 LSU team that finished third in the SEC West.
recently said Daniels is “trending toward” being a first-rounder coming off an impressive year in Louisiana. As Herbstreit mentioned, New England would certainly need to give Daniels a solid weapon at receiver if the team were to select the young quarterback. With Kendrick Bourne’s torn ACL, Demario Douglas’s two concussions this year as a rookie, and vast general uncertainty down the rest of the wide receiver position on the depth chart, the Patriots would need to provide a new quarterback with another option.
As for “those tight ends” Herbstreit referenced, Hunter Henry, Mike Gesicki, and Pharaoh Brown would need to be re-signed by the team if New England wanted Daniels to throw to them. None of them are under contract with the Patriots beyond this season. Nonetheless, the thought of a player like Daniels in Foxborough next year is very appealing.
It would be wise for the team to draft a quarterback who uses his legs more than New England signal callers have in recent memory, and Daniels is just that. He rushed for 1,134 yards in 2023 and even ran for an 85-yard touchdown Daniels recorded 234 rushing yards in that game, not to mention his 372 yards in the air. Get breaking news and analysis delivered to your inbox during football season.
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From: bostonglobe
URL: https://www.boston.com/sports/new-england-patriots/2023/12/08/patriots-quarterback-lsu-jayden-daniels-kirk-herbstreit-mac-jones-bailey-zappe/
