Tom Brady isn’t getting any younger so the New England Patriots must look for his successor in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Believe it or not, the day will come when New England Patriots legendary quarterback Tom Brady calls it a career and announces his retirement.
With one April Fool’s tweet on the inauguration of his Twitter account, the almost 42-year-old quarterback gave fans a brief heart attack as he announced he was calling it quits. It was just a joke, but it put the team’s current lack of a Brady successor to the forefront.
As Brady is expected to play beyond 2019, there is no guarantee. The team has yet to give him an extension and at his age, he can wake up any given day and decide his body just can’t take it anymore.
With rumors that the team is in on Arizona Cardinals second-year quarterback Josh Rosen, the team appears ready to address a succession plan for Tom Brady. If not through trade, they certainly have to have their eyes on a couple of quarterback prospects entering the 2019 NFL Draft.
Unless they feel last year’s seventh-round pick Danny Etling is the next coming of Matt Cassel (the 2008 version), then the New England Patriots must take a quarterback with one of their top selections like they did when they selected the first vision of a Tom Brady successor in one Jimmy Garoppolo.
Who fits that mode in this year’s draft?
Well, here’s three prospects the New England Patriots must draft in hopes of finding the next guy.
3. Clayton Thorson, Northwestern
Projected to go in the third or fourth round, Big Ten quarterback Clayton Thorson is a prospect the New England Patriots should consider with one of their three third-round picks if they don’t use one or two of them to move up in an earlier round for either an offensive playmaker or QB they fill is a better fit.
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At 6-foot-4, 222 pounds, Thorson is a four-year starter who had his best season in college in 2016 throwing for 3,182 yards and setting a school record with 22 touchdown passes. He followed that year up with a solid season as a junior but suffered a torn ACL in the Music City Bowl.
An injury that certainly slowed him a bit, Thorson did return to start 14 games in his senior year. Again, throwing for over 3,000 yards, the Northwestern product showed he could produce big numbers with limited talent around him like Tom Brady at points in his career.
Unlike Brady, Thorson does lack field vision which contributes to his lack of consistency finding open receivers once his first option is abruptly taken away. An offensive coordinator like Josh McDaniels can work with him on that, especially with the physical attributes he does have.
Along with his height, he does have some intangibles that stand out and would work in the type of offense the New England Patriots run. He does have good ball placement and can stand in the pocket long enough to work through his reads.
With an impressive Pro Day, Clayton Thorson has gained the eye of some NFL teams. The Patriots should certainly consider him if they don’t take a quarterback in a higher round.
2. Daniel Jones, Duke
The quarterback the New England Patriots have been most linked to is Duke product Daniel Jones.
Like Thorson, Jones has great size for a quarterback, but does have some accuracy issues. However, his athleticism and advanced footwork in the pocket is something the Patriots can work with, especially with him learning behind Tom Brady for a season or two.
Projected to go anywhere from the mid-first round to the late second round, ESPN’s Mel Kiper does have the Patriots selecting him with one of their second-round picks. If they see more promise in the 6-foot-5, 221- pound Jones than they see in Thorson, who they can target in a later round, they should definitely take a shot at Jones.
In his final year at Duke, Daniel Jones threw for 2,674 yards, 22 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in just 11 games. He also ran for 319 yards and three touchdowns to support some of that athleticism.
In all, with his ability to sense pressure and use his feet to move around in the pocket, along with his ability to work through progressions at a quicker rate, Daniel Jones could start out as more of a game manager like Brady did in his first couple of seasons.
With similar attributes, that’s why he has drawn comparisons to Brady. The hope here is that Daniel Jones eventually flourishes into a franchise quarterback combining his pocket awareness with his high football IQ.
1. Will Grier, West Virginia
When it comes to accuracy and confidence, it gets no better than West Virginia quarterback Will Grier.
The New England Patriots actually met with Grier during a pre-draft workout and got to see some of that accuracy and confidence first hand. Enough to make him a first or even early second-round pick?
Who knows with the Patriots, but in completing 67-percent of his passes during his final season at West Virginia to go along with 3,864 yards and 37 touchdowns, Grier appears to be less of a project than both Clayton Thorson and Daniel Jones.
It also helps that he has studied Tom Brady and what the New England Patriots do offensively.
"“Honestly, Jake Spavital, my OC at West Virginia, watched a lot of Patriots film and built our offense off a lot of what they (do),” Grier said, as transcribed by NESN.com. “Obviously, different terminology, but we would see stuff and be like, ‘We’re going to do that.’ Tom Brady does all right. So, we watched a lot of Tom Brady film.”"
Grier also has experience running a spread offense, which should be intriguing to Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
At 6-foot-2, 217 pounds, Will Grier is a must draft quarterback, especially if he is available in the second and third rounds.
Three other names to watch
One of two things will happen in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Either Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots select a player high in the draft like they did with Jimmy Garoppolo. If that is the case, one of the three players above would have impressed them enough to do so. Or, the team takes a quarterback prospect late in the draft.
If that is the case, keep an eye on the three names below.
Ryan Finley, NC State – Projected to go in the third round or later, Ryan Finley is a tall quarterback who does have experience in a pro-style passing attack. He possesses an intelligence and accuracy that should make him a quarterback of intrigue to the Patriots.
Easton Stick, North Dakota State– A lessor known talent is North Dakota State’s Easton Stick. He is a quarterback we have actually mentioned here at Chowder and Champions and a name worth watching. As a rhythm passer and team leader, Stick is a quarterback the Patriots can take a shot on in the late rounds.
Kyle Shurmur, Vanderbilt – If the New England Patriots want to completely make a fan out of Skip Bayless, they will select Vanderbilt prospect Kyle Shurmur. Another big quarterback, Shurmur is a player the Patriots can take a chance on in the later rounds. He has a poise for the game and an ability to scramble that may be worth working with.