The New England Patriots passed on taking a quarterback in Round 1 of the 2020 NFL Draft. In fact, they passed on making a pick at all.
Instead, they traded the No. 23 overall selection the Los Angeles Chargers for picks 37 and 71, giving them five picks between Rounds 2 and 3. That sets them up for what could be an eventful Day 2.
Perhaps this will be when New England drafts a QB to compete with Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer for the starting gig in 2020. There are several interesting prospects still on the board, including three that were discussed Friday by ESPN's Dan Orlovsky, Jim Nagy, and Mike Tannenbaum.
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Orlovsky picked Georgia's Jake Fromm as the QB the Patriots should take on Day 2.
"Jake Fromm would be somebody that I think really fits New England. If you think about the things that -- the intangibles, right? That are totally in line with what New England wants.
"But also, he fits their style of offense. He's really good throwing the ball in-between the numbers, he's great in the pocket, he's got great command, he's a ball distributor, he's kind of your dink-and-dunk style of quarterback."
Nagy, a former Patriots scout, argued that if New England does indeed draft a QB, it should be Oklahoma's dual-threat Jalen Hurts.
"He kind of came into this draft as a fourth-round pick," said Nagy. "The more the NFL has spent time around this guy, the more they've bought into him.
"So just from knowing what New England values at that position, a guy that might not have the same arm talent and physical tools that Jarrett Stidham has, you're going to have to have some of these other things to compensate, and the two guys that have them are Jake Fromm and Jalen Hurts."
QB No. 3 on the list? That would be Jacob Eason. Tannenbaum is especially high on the Washington product.
"He's sort of the prototypical in-the-pocket quarterback. He has to clean up his footwork, his accuracy. I think maybe at the bottom of the second or third round. I like his upside," Tannenbaum said.
"And even though Fromm has incredible intangibles, I just think at the end of the day, [for] Fromm, the field's going to be condensed so he can't get the ball outside the numbers, and that's why I would separate Eason over Fromm, because at least Eason can get the ball down the field outside the numbers."
Regardless of which QB the Patriots choose -- if any -- ESPN's panelists made it clear it won't be easy for them to beat out Jarrett Stidham for the starting job. Passing on Utah State's Jordan Love in Round 1 further emphasized their faith in the 2019 fourth-round pick.
Day 2 of the 2020 NFL Draft is set to kick off at 7 p.m. ET. New England's first pick of the night will be No. 37... unless, of course, they trade down again.