(SP) – According to several sources inside the New England Patriots front office, the team is loading up on picks early in the 2018 NFL Draft in hopes of being able to land a quarterback with the basic athletic skills of being able to catch a football while jogging at a brisk pace.
“I think we all realized in the Super Bowl that we were limited in certain areas by what Tom Brady can and can’t do,” said a team staffer. “That game turned on Nick Foles’ ability to catch versus Tom Brady not being able to do so. We hope to find ourselves a Nick Foles 2.0.”
Brady has reportedly been working with his personal trainer on catching, but the Patriots don’t believe they can ever trust him in that capacity.
“This is a guy nearing his mid-40s,” said a Patriots coach. “You don’t learn to catch then. Catching is a skill you pick up by, like, age 4 or 5. I’d trust your average toddler wide open in the flat with a pass in the air over Tom Brady. No offense to Tom. He had some great years for us, but the NFL has clearly moved past unathletic, one-dimensional quarterbacks like him. We need a QB who can stretch the field. We need a dynamic specimen like Nick Foles.”
The Patriots currently hold two 1st Round picks and two 2nd Round picks and could possibly package them to move up to No. 1 overall to take a quarterback who can catch.
“They’re hoping to have private workouts with Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen and have them run some routes,” said a source. “But they aren’t looking at Lamar Jackson. Bill Belichick doesn’t like the look of him as a receiver.”
