The New England Patriots had boots on the ground in Durham, North Carolina, on Tuesday as Duke quarterback Daniel Jones worked through his pro day in front of NFL evaluators.
Tight end Daniel Helm and linebacker Joe Giles-Harris are two more Blue Devils who could be drafted late next month, but Jones was the main attraction.
The Patriots, it should come as no surprise, are kicking the tires on quarterback prospects yet again this season. As they did last year. As they do every year. They do their due diligence on hundreds of prospects before each draft, at all positions, eventually whittling down their board to a smaller number of players they'd be willing to select.
The front office's goal is to be prepared for any scenario that may pop up on draft weekend, including a scenario in which an enticing quarterback may fall into New England's lap. Or a scenario in which a quarterback slides to a point where the Patriots would be comfortable trading up.
Jones has been linked to the Patriots in various mock drafts because he's generally viewed as a borderline first-rounder, making him a logical choice for the last pick on Day 1.
The 6-foot-5, 221-pounder has prototypical size, and he's been a three-year starter under quarterbacking guru David Cutcliffe, who coached Peyton and Eli Manning at Tennessee and Ole Miss, respectively. Jones' numbers at Duke won't blow anyone away, and he falls just outside the range the Patriots typically draft in terms of his career touchdown-to-interception ratio (slightly worse than 2-to-1 at 52-to-29) and completion percentage (59.9 percent). But the argument can be made that Jones elevated some relatively pedestrian talent around him (he had 38 passes dropped in 2018) thanks to his quick decision-making and his ability to scramble.
Jones looks a little like a Manning behind center at times -- he holds the football a little low and pats it repeatedly as he makes his reads -- but he's probably a better athlete than either brother. That athletic ability led to a lot of running (319 yards and three scores last season) and more than a few hard shots from opportunistic defenders. Unlike West Virginia's Will Grier, who we dubbed the Most Confident Man at the Combine, Jones is more soft-spoken.
Is Jones the Patriots' type? He could be. Given where the Patriots draft, their affinity for drafting passers with good size, and the possibility that Jones could take his game to a level previously unseen by playing with more capable teammates, Jones might make sense at No. 32. He'd make even more sense somewhere in the second round, if available.
On The Next Pats Podcast, we asked The Athletic's lead draft analyst Dane Brugler whether it would be "genius or insane" to take Jones at No. 32 overall.
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"It's kind of somewhere in the middle," Brugler said with a laugh. "With Daniel Jones, I have a second-round grade on him. He's right around No. 50 overall on my board. But it's hard to rank quarterbacks in respect to these other positions because it's such an important position. If you believe DJ can be an NFL starter, help you compete for the division well then it's genius to take him in the first round . . .
"But with Jones I kind of see him as a B-level starter at best. That's kind of his ceiling in the NFL. Love the cerebral approach. I just think he's kind of capped out in terms of physical traits."
You can listen to Brugler's entire breakdown on Jones -- as well as other quarterbacks, receivers and tight ends who may interest the Patriots -- right here.
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