He was wearing his fan hat and not his owners' hat, but -- at this week's NFL Owners Meetings in Orlando -- Robert Kraft acknowledged something most every Patriots rooter has been thinking about since . . . well, since the day Jimmy Garoppolo was traded.
"I'm going to put my fan hat on, and obviously at some point we have to," Kraft said, as reported by ESPN's Mike Reiss when Reiss asked if finding a quarterback in the draft as the eventual replacement for Tom Brady is a high priority. "Not just that, but think what happened in the '08 season when in the first quarter against Kansas City, Tom [Brady] goes out. How many people would have said that Matt Cassel would have led us to an 11-5 season? I put my faith and confidence in Bill [Belichick]. He knows his responsibilities. Anything can happen, even if Tom comes in [and is in] tip-top shape."
So who might the Pats be looking at? Well, we have some ideas.
This week, Mike Giardi did a five-part series on QBs the Patriots could draft. They are:
- Lamar Jackson of Louisville (click to read the story)
New England Patriots
Phil Perry, meanwhile, did his first Mock Draft of the offseason. (There'll be others in the weeks ahead.) And if you get to the Pats' second-round pick, you'll see he thinks they'll take Lauletta. Here's our scouting video of Lauletta:
The draft will be here before you know it. (April 26 is when it begins.) We'll see what unfolds in the weeks to come.